But, do they really like us?

[PigDogg]

(dummy_plug @ Jun. 13 2006,09:50) There is a distinction between someone willing to sell their body and someone who won't do it on principle.

Sure there is.

But isn't there also a distinction between those willing to buy a body and those who won't on principle?

We have met the enemy and it is us.

[Guest]

Being one that enjoys travelling and experiencing different cultures,food,languages and sex I find myself drawn back to Thailand each and every year. What experiences have I had or endured in Thailand concerning love or something that resembles it?

Too much and too complex to share now, but suffice to say what has been written by my fellow forum members is some of the most accurate and informed information you will ever read on Thailand and its people.

Fortunately for me most of my experiences have been with normal, average non-bar or sex working Thai woman and men.

What have I learnt from my experiences:

Enjoy Thailand on a level that you are comfortable with and don't think you know everything about Thailand and the culture. You will never know or understand.

Have a wealthy mistrust of Thais as 9 out of 10 will try to cheat you or lie to you. That doesn't mean they don't like you or you will have a bad experience , just that you are a means to an end and generally not respected the same way as their fellow Thais.

As I have come and gone over the years, once they realised all they could get from me was my friendship, like dinners, advice, english lessons etc they slowly dropped off or tried to put the hard word on me for something they want like money, visa to Australia etc. Of well, another bites the dust and I walked away.

Funny this topic should raise its head now as I have just returned from Thailand after a 4 month stint. Only new to the LB scene I stepped in slowly and only took what I considered as safe bets and those I would have no problems with. I didn;t ask for phone numbers or email addresses and have returned to Australia getting on with whatever I do and not worrying about Thailand until I step foot at Don Muang again. I applied the superficial theory of having fun and paying for sex with no committment or promises. Works for me.........but not everyone.

Now compare that with trying to live and or work and have Thai friends and find someone you can trust, well it just does not happen. A few examples:

Thai friend I knew for 4 years, helped his family with English, allowed him to act as my guide (paid) whenever I was in ChiangMai and Mae Rim area finally told me he had a great deal for some land in his community as I wanted to build a school for the hill-tribe kids and start a small english language school.

Ok, I said show me and tell me the story. So, to cut a long story short he tried to sell me farming or forestry land which in Thailand has no title (unlike chanote which does) or deed attached to it. He wanted the money upfront and said he would look after everything. I asked him for the paperwork first with the information in Thai so I could have my lawyer take a look at it.

He appeared confused and angry but gave me a small amount of paperwork. Needless to say I never went through with it and the friendhsip ended there. I was able to save face by going back to Australia and sending him emails. Only one example but I treated this guy like my brother because he was so pleasant and accomodating to me and my friends when we came to Thailand. But in the back of his mind was that I was rich and he needed money to survive and I was his means.

Fast forward to this year and the same type of stories with other Thai friends wanting money to start businesses because I had made the mistake of telling them i wanted to live in Thailand and start a business. This also ended in tears when I said no I dont really want to be involved in that business.

When you speak with the successful farang business people they almost all tell you the same thing. We gain our income from other foreigners not Thais. My USA mate has the best small business going around in Bangkok............he has a internet website business selling custom made dress shirts to other US citzens and he lives and works in Thailand. All paid in US dollars and he lives the life of a KING with extra benefits of course.

So finally, if you have plans for a business, be very careful and work only with foreigners, if you plan to buy something like real estate, be careful and only buy condos which you can put in your name, never send large amounts of money to a Thai and take your time, the truth will surface. Good luck guys, but for me now, travel to Thailand, enjoy the food, culture,isalnds and sex and dont get caught up with all the bullshit because the deeper you go the dirtier it is..............

[dummy_plug]

(PigDogg @ Jun. 13 2006,11:18)

(dummy_plug @ Jun. 13 2006,09:50) There is a distinction between someone willing to sell their body and someone who won't do it on principle.

Sure there is.

But isn't there also a distinction between those willing to buy a body and those who won't on principle?

We have met the enemy and it is us.      

That's a fair point, and yes, I think there is a distinction between someone willing to buy a body and someone who won't do it on principle. To those who won't do it, I applaud them for their morality and character.

What you say is absolutely, unequivocally, 100% correct.

[dummy_plug]

Excellent post Newcomer.

[Guest]

I think you'll find "working girls" quite different when they are really, really outside work, and I don't mean on a date with you for a week.

This "working" mindset is largely what's called a "stage persona".

Once they truly stop the job, the persona stops.

If they're still in the job, the persona continues.

I can think of Gif, May, Yuyi as people who worked, stopped, and you'd never know they worked. The persona dies fairly quickly outside work.

[Guest]

While I read the board frequently and enjoy the conversations (mostly), I haven't posted. Don't ask me why. I guess I'm just more of a listener than a conversationalist.

This thread moves me to break radio silence for only one reason: it's just so damn good that I really thought I had to say so. I've lived in Bangkok nearly fifteen years; I know an awful lot of folks at all levels of society, both Thai and farang; and I read most of the internet boards on which expats post their commentaries about their lives here.

The content of this thread is, frankly, a classic. The quiet wisdom and thoughtfulness of the reflections concerning the culture which we find ourselves wrestling with everyday gives me new hope concerning the kind of foreigners who are connected to Thailand. You read the other boards, you wade through all the venom and the stupidity on display on them, you watch the sweaty louts stumbling down Sukhumvit at midnight, and you have no trouble at all understanding why Thais on the whole think so little of us.

Thanks. guys. You've rekindled my conviction that there is be intelligent life in the foreigner community in Bangkok after all.

Now here's an interesting question: Why does that intelligent life seem to be restricted to the AsianTS board? Uh......don't answer that. Stricly a rhetorical question. I guess. Probably.

[vangough05]

(dummy_plug @ Jun. 13 2006,13:58) Excellent post Newcomer.  

And i second that. A good read NC. Well U are a Aussie and what else would we expect from a cousin downunder

[donnnnnny]

Mr morant . most western countrys including mine australia have opened there doors to people from less privilaged backgrouds, and refugees from war zone. have been welcomed them into our society, where most settle down well and contribute to society. to say whay you have said is just down right stupid, and has nothing to do with the original thred here." do they like us"
And in al honesty it really doe'nt matter as long as they give us a good time.while they are with us. iof they dont, well just dont go with them again.
Most daft farangs look for love in bars. (as stogie said) waist of time.
most feelings a bar girl gets for you ( and they do get them)are basically a school girl crush, which will dwindle to nothing once you leave the country
by the was stoggie, when are you going to get into the thai culture and try some of the marvelous food on offer. instead of eating pie and mash every day.)

[Mai-Kee]

(oldasiahand @ Jun. 13 2006,09:17) Now here's an interesting question: Why does that intelligent life seem to be restricted to the AsianTS board?

.... because the IQ of an average LB lover is of course at least 30% higher than of any average pussy licker and on this board, Sir, you'll find the creme de la creme of all LB lovers!

MK

[Guest]

I like LB's and girls - am I in for only 15% now?

[Guest]

(Mai-Kee @ Jun. 13 2006,16:39)

(oldasiahand @ Jun. 13 2006,09:17) Now here's an interesting question: Why does that intelligent life seem to be restricted to the AsianTS board?

.... because the IQ of an average LB lover is of course at least 30% higher than of any average pussy licker and on this board, Sir, you'll find the creme de la creme of all LB lovers!  

MK

On the basis of the responses on this thread, if nothing else, I'll drink to that.......

[stogie bear]

OldAsiaHand has said something that I have thought for a long time...

In a country full of expat nutters and deadbeats it is THIS community of residents and visitors that stands out so much more in terms of gumption and intelligence more than any other.

That's what keeps me here... the general level of intelligence and courtesy of the readers and writers.

For such a controversial subject we have one of the least argumentative and controversial message boards!

Long may you run...  

[Guest]

(mdavidsf @ Jun. 13 2006,04:15)

(JaiDee @ Jun. 08 2006,02:49)

(Road Runner @ Jun. 08 2006,02:43)  The Thais are very parochial  -  look it up in a dictionary!

I know what it means....racist also  .......shhhhhhh

    The word Parochial is not racist!Just means "old fashioned"!Catholic schools in the U.S. are called Parochial Schools!

I said I know what Parochial means... I went to a Catholic school for Crissakes!

  But I meant that  Thai's are also Racist....again, shhhhh.... but ask any black guy or just ask me after a cruise down Tanaya [sp?] street in Patpong and been refused entry to clubs because I am not a Japanese guy.  Yucccchhh.

       Yes, this thread has turned out very well and I am happy to see no one is angered or put off by my theory and that no romantics have come out of the woodwork to say it's all false and that we are all full of shit here.  Reality has been presented before your eyes in this thread, folks; face it.

   Nice posts from  the Newcomer and OldAsiahand.......good to see you here    

[jmaryt]

to brocklanders!

excellent point well taken!..could not have said it better myself!..one addendun though:..get out into the countryside,and you MAY determine that their attitude is different!..emphasis on MAY! be different!,however they are in love with money too!..a roll of the dice!

regards!
john

[Looker]

I've been living abroad since almost 30 years now..yes..quite a long time. Been to S. America, Africa, Middle East and the Far East.
I've never really met any group of people from any nationality that was really in the liking of foreigners!
So, to answer to the mother of all threads: DO THEY LIKE US? The BIG answer is NO!
And this goes well from Mexicans to Zulus and from Indonesian to Mongols!
Face it or not, this is our nature and how we were brought up in our small narrow minded families, living in our small and narrow minded neighbours located in our small and narrow minded towns or cities.
But without having to take a plane and discover the world, let's look at our own courtyards.
Do Northern Italians like Sicilians, do Londoners like people from Yorkshire..yes! I was twice warned in London to be careful with people from Yorkshire..may someone tell me why?
Are Swedes liking Danish OR Dutch liking Belgians, and how about asking a New Yorker what he thinks about the HilliBillies?
And we are talking about people who at least have the same alphabet, eat more or less the same food, and in most cases even speak the same language!!!
So, why are we so amazed that people who were brought up speaking and writing a total different language, eating completely different food and having radical different habits and concepts about life, should so easily accept and like us...
Only because Yahoo has simplified the way to meet them??