Thai people?

Question

Do thai people like westerners? i was there for 6 months and never heard a bad word from them or about foreigners,but it seems impossible because westerners behave appallingly when there,is there a secret code by which thai people live by to just stay quiet and just keep taking the money. I'd love to know wot goes on inside the head of the thai .

before any old expats talk down to me
i can speak a fair amount of thai and can read and write thai.

Answer 1

Very interesting question - and a subject of great interest to me too - an expat westerner who lives here and writes on the subject.. What makes this so curious is the many contradictions here. The politeness and the "wai" being societally important and then, as you know, if you walk through a mkt you will here - behind your back - farang farang farang, everywhere you go - They know it is not polite to gossip behind someone's back, but they do it regularly.. so, they don't really stay quiet..

There are no manners when a Thai is behind the wheel of a car... I would not call anything here a secret code - Thais do not like people with appaling manners and that would apply to Thai as well. I share many of the same values as they - and therefore am treated well and readily accepted. Yes, I speak ok too - I get along particularly well with monks and family - but in the head of a Thai - often, there is a logic that defies our sense of logic. I find they can oft be very clever, and totally absent - they can double park and never even consider that someone might return to their car and want to get out.. They can be easy going 98% of the time and then get murderously hot headed in an instant - - so many paradoxes keep it all fascinating and I continue on the quest of this question..

Answer 2

generally yes they do........very much.It's not just about the money,they are fascinated by lilly white skin and blue eyes,especially women and thai's absolutely adore 'european' children.Thai's seem to be just about the most tolerant people on earth and are keen to be a part of the modern world as equals to anyone,indeed they are a very proud people and will do their utmost to show themselves in the best possible light
However do not interpret this to mean they are a pushover,seriously offend the thai male and you will end up face down in a ditch or with a female your eyes clawed out.Never ever give a thai unsolicited advice or constructive criticism
A favourite put down from a thai to a thai about a westerner is kii nok which means bird sh1t ie white and falls out of the sky (usually thai airways)
visualthailand has made several interesting and valid points particularly being the eternal tourist.....fit in,learn at least some language and be productive is the way to go

Answer 3

First of all Thai people all speak in Thai, so unless you are fluent in Thai, you probably would not recognize if they were talking bad about you or not.

There are a couple different catagories of westerners here. Tourists which are probably the most taken advantage of, people that come to be school teachers because they want to be in Thailand and find that is the only job they can find, married people who often set up their own business.

How a Thai would look at you depends on what you happen to be doing here? Did you set up a business, get married, have a family and provide jobs for Thais?

Or do you come over as a school teacher to smooze the 20 years olds?

Or did you come over as a tourist to see how many girls you can sleep with? Even though in your own country you could not get one?

Lets face, you are not Tom Cruise or Keanu Reeves by any means. Getting a girl in your own country might be a challenge.

If you are a tourist, of course most of the places you frequent, the Thais probably get the idea you are here temporarily to do everything you possible can bad, that you cannot do in your own country. So will they take advantage of you if you have money sure, so would I.

I guess if all the Thai men went to your country and starting having sex with your sisters, daugthers, etc for 20 bucks you would get the idea quite quickly how welcome you are as a tourist.

Tourist? The idea is to go somewhere and SPEND money. To the Thais the idea is to be the ones to get the money. A pretty simple concept that needs little analysis. A fool and his money are soon parted and in Thailand it is true as well.

But to make a long topic short, if you live here, provide some value for being here in exchange for what you are taking, and can speak Thai, you will be much warmer received than a tourist, that is for sure.

Westerners get a bad rap because of the ratio of every good westerner coming to Thailand, 1000 bad ones will follow.

When you have lived in Thailand for a few years, you really see westerners in some disturbing situations. The only reason it is tolerated is because of money. If there was not a money trail attached to tourists here, most of what you know and see westerners doing in Thailand would be long gone.

But as long as you are a tourist here, that is all you will ever be. Someone to be looked at as an opportunity to make money.

Sure there are some good cases, but the few goods ones are drounded out in the seas of 1000's of bad ones.

Answer 4

I'm Thai. Basically, I do make sufficient money without taking money from Westerners, or YOU. Do I like western people? Depends from person to person, probably same to you. I mean you don't like all the Americans, or European people do you?
Thais are like normal Homo sapiens. I mean we do interact with people on a people to people level, so I guess each one of YOU would be different from one another. Don’t you find that?
Thais have had interaction with Westerners – i.e. Europeans – for more than three centuries. About ten years ago, we’ve just celebrated three centuries of relationship with Portugal, Britain, and France. We have of course had our fair shares of good and bad experiences with Europeans in the old days; and those were the days before the US was founded. Portuguese and Dutch found the Kingdom of Siam since Sukhothai period. One of the Portuguese guys made his way to the top of the King’s advisory council, and was granted the rank equal to Lordship, but later when that King died, he was killed because he offended many other high ranking Princes. But, that was the only one Western guy who had it made and then had them all taken away, including his Japanese wife.
I have many great friends who are American, British, French, and etc. And, so do I have some people that I don’t like who happen to be Europeans and Americans. I pretty much guess it is the same as you, so please stop building stereotype and pass judgement on a nation as a whole.

Answer 5

I don't understand your need to answer this question. If you have lived there for six months and speak the language, you should have enough personal experience to form an opion.

Thais can be too polite to say outright what the truly mean (but in true friendship, I find they are more open than westeners), but you can easily catch their drift based on body language.

Not all westeners behave appalingly, but those that do are (rightly) considered "loso" (low society) and ordinary Thais avoid associating with such people. Money eases the pain of having to demean oneself dealing with losers.

Answer 6

Thai are like everyone else in the world. I've seen Thais drunk and fighting and yelling and knife fights. They have all the traits that westerners do. They just try not to show them in public.

You can live there and be a farang in their neighborhood but you will never be them. The difference is between Tolerance and Acceptance. You are tolerated but you will never be accepted.

You are dting dtong (crazy) so as a farang you can't help what you do. Its a way to blow you off, make you unimportant. Nobody has to say it.

Answer 7

I have a Thai friend. And she tells me that Thai people often call westerners 'dogs', which is an insult in Thailand.

Of course they speak like this only among themselves in their own language. When they think that the westnerner can understand them, then they try to be nice.

Answer 8

I think you had found out indirectly how tolerant the Thais are or foreigners in their country. They perceived and understand that foreigners do not live and behave like them, so they will never say anything bad about you. However bad you behave. They take it that that is your upbringing and accept that from you. This is the Thai hospitality for visitors to their country.

But not from their fellow Thai.

Answer 9

some liek to rip of westerners, which isn't exactly a show of love. I thought it was because they are buddist and are not allowed to show anger, which is why there is no road-rage dispite appalling driving!

Answer 10

i your lively hood depends on other people you would be okay with them whatever your personal feelings especially i you want to make money.