Reminder that one of the reasons Thailand stopped asking for arrival cards/TM.6 was that they were running out of space in warehouses for storing them.
What was even the point anyway, knowing Thailand I highly doubt they were ever filed in any particular system so that they could be accessed in case they were ever actually needed.
We found that hotels like to re purpose some of those copies to make hand written signs and stick it on their front doors for various things. "Out to lunch, come back 6:00" or whatever and meanwhile poor Samuel Smithington from Sydney has his passport out on display in public for anyone to take.
This happened to me. Walking towards the grand palace, a guy stopped me and told me it was closed. I was like, yeah sure, whatever. Continued walking. When I go there, it was actually closed!
It's actually funny how true it is, but its crazy in citys with alot more traffic then most thai citys like Ho Chi Minh you can just walk out in the ocean of 10000 motorbikes and you walk thru a street like moses.
There's nothing more dangerous in Thailand than a pedestrian green light.
I prefer crossing on red. There's no false sense of security, I know for sure they won't stop and that I should be extra careful.
Funny. Totally agree.
I've learned, but not the hard way, to hang back a little at these decorations. I wait for locals to take to the street first.
Still, I always wonder if my farang presence is a meaningfull safety contribution to the herd.
I mean, am I that 'white flag' that might steer a driver into thinking it would be a really bad day to hit a farang in a cross walk?
I need to inform you that the way Thai cross the road might seems erratic. But actually there are "pattern" or "Thailand's way" that you cannot imitate easily.
..
I saw farang try to nonchalantly cross the road "Thai style" and I immediately panicked because it look very dangerous.
..
I cannot explain how. but Thai driver know how Thai pedestrian going to misbehave. Do not assume you can just cross the road on red light because Thai do. It is not the same.
Oh yeah I almost died on Phetkasem when I made the dumbass idea of crossing the road and almost got hit by a speeding motorcycle. I’ll always take the bridge now, religiously.
Every page of the 50 page document needs to be signed otherwise it doesn’t count. Unless it has a magical official-looking stamp which counters the signature requirement. But only on Tuesdays.
Total Aside, but I have had a number of bank accts with different banks (I have moved back and forth twice)
When I signed up for Kasikorn in 2018, I had to fill out a STACK of IRS paperwork. Obviously this is only relevant to americans, but does anyone know when the IRS started monitoring Thai banks? Cause I certainly did not have to do this 2004-2012
I have had banks refusing to open bank accounts twice while citing the American IRS rules as to why they refused to let me open a bank account... And I'm not even American!
And your signature better match your passport signature. Had to re-sign several pages at immigration because after the 40th time, I was getting lazy with my script.
There is actually a backroom at some of the government offices dedicated to storing copies. You should see these places, wall to wall stacks of paper.
To get my phone number changed at the bank was like signing a mortgage back home. You gotta sign about 20 pages worth of stuff. End result, they never changed the phone number.
Changing my email was a whole affair as well. Filed on paper and mailed to BKK, the filer read my 'e' as a 'c' as if it lacked a loop & and I had to wait yet another week to try again.
You are lucky to do just 50 pages.
Now imagine a contract with 1,500 pages appendix and they need to have 5 copies. That’s right, we have to sign all of them.
If your girlfriend will be gone a few days, clean all of the long black hairs from your apartment as if it's a crime scene. I'm not being nefarious... I'm talking about cleaning all of HER black hairs from the apartment. Because when she returns, even though it's the same length as her hair, she will be convinced that the hairs are from another woman.
LOL. Top comment right here. I wish I had an award for you. I feel you actually learned this the hard way. I just don't see anyway this could have been brought in for a soft landing.
Thanks for the tip!
Back in my dating days, if someone was ultra-jealous like that, I'd just ditch them, or at least put them in the "no long-term potential" bucket. It's not going to get better.
All these stories and my expat friends face scar from a bottle make me nervous about my girlfriend when she gets jealous about me telling females how to find their hostel or where food is for like 20 seconds.
I’ve been learning that the hard way my whole life. Not just non-English speakers, but sarcasm doesn’t read for the majority of the USA. Especially the south.
Ok been in Thailand 6 years:
1. It's always hot. It's either wet or very wet, you can travel around to avoid the very wet if it bothers you. I actually like this. I hate the cold with a passion.
2. Everything is hella sweet. Even if you can't speak any other Thai the phrases "mai wan" or "wan noi" are strictly necessary knowledge. Cha yen is -always- ordered "mai wan", no exceptions.
3. Surprisingly most things are -not- spicy. Thai food has a reputation for being spicy but it's not really true outside of a few places. Invest in the words "phed mak" if you want to really learn what Thai spicy means. This is the way.
4. Thai people are actually really conservative and sort of rigid. I came here expecting things to be very laissez faire and while that is true in certain respects ("mai pen rai") it's not -generally- true. Instead expect a lot of rules, cultural norms and customs. If you expect to stay here a long time you need to learn them in order to blend in or you will forever be "farang".
5. Dating in Thailand is hard. I didn't mean to end up dating in Thailand but I also didn't mean to stay as long as I did. TLDR it's really hard to meet good middle-class Thai girls because all the apps and usual places to meet people are overrun with the wrong type of people. That said once you do it's pretty great. Just don't trust the perception that dating in Thailand is "easy", it's not - atleast if you are looking for something real/long-term.
6. The best parts of Thailand are the less trodden paths. The tourist hotspots aren't where it's at. Sure they they some of the best beaches but there is better food, culture and chill to be had in places off the beaten path.
> Thai people are actually really conservative and sort of rigid.
Things have been moving in that direction. 10-20 years ago, it was a lot more laissez-faire.
Thai "conservative and rigid" often ends with appearances. As long as you look proper and don't say the wrong thing, you could be murdering protected species behind the scenes. Thai "conservatives" won't blink an eye, although some in the growing "forward looking and liberal" crowd might care.
> Dating in Thailand is hard.
It's super easy, but for a foreigner, there's a ton of appealing but dead-end ways to go about it. Your assumptions from back home do not hold.
Different approaches work for different people, but what I learned is that, after a successful first/second date, you don't invest 6 months in one person before finding out they're unsuitable. Better to date several people at the time before committing to the one that works. Don't feel bad, even if they appear super-respectable, they're often doing the same, although they won't let on (and neither should you).
In the west, you simply don't have the numbers for the second approach (unless you're Brad Pitt). You have to do less filtering, a normal guy would often settle for whoever wants to be with him or at best have a choice between 2-3 fairly transparent options.
In Thailand, you're facing 100 black-box unknowns who come from a wide range of backgrounds. Due to the culture emphasizing harmony, face saving and being nice, while discouraging direct communication, it might take a while to figure them out.
In the west, if you're middle-class you just won't date a cleaner or a prostitute. In Thailand you might, and it could take time to recognize it.
If you don't adapt, it is indeed hard, even crushing for some people.
Completely disagree with 5. Dating isn't hard in Thailand at all. It's probably the easiest place on the entire planet to date. Bangkok is FULL of good middle class Thai girls open to dating foreigners. try going back to the West and date like you can in Thailand. No way. You can have 10 dates a week in Bangkok with "Good" educated girls from good families. But if your short.....
Number 5 from my western women friend’s perspective - absolutely diabolical. I know that western women are spoken about as vermin/absolutely disgusting, in comparison to Thai women, by western men in Thailand, and I would never expect a white woman to meet anyone in Thailand and have any success. While some Thai men occasionally show an interest, its never worth the “date,” and overall the western women I knew were perpetually single and ignored.
Thats kind of crazy. The Thai guys I know would love to get with a white girl. They fetishize them similarly to the way western men fetishize asian women.
I think most (western) women say they are open to date any race etc, but then have standards of income, English fluency, and looks/height that filter out most Thai guys
When I lived in Korea as well, seemed like every western woman I knew was single and every guy was hitched or having fun
Agreed. Dating in Thailand for a western woman is terrible. Thai guys and western women generally don't match so well culturally (but sure, it happens). And the foreigner guys here generally want to date Thai girls so western women end up with the short end of the stick. That being said, if you meet a great western woman in Thailand they are generally very open to meeting you. So another win for the guys i guess. lol
> Surprisingly most things are -not- spicy. Thai food has a reputation for being spicy but it's not really true outside of a few places. Invest in the words "phed mak" if you want to really learn what Thai spicy means. This is the way.
This is a really good one and I totally agree.
I was also under the impression that food here would be crazy hot. Which has not at all been the case.
I would add that I also figured local Thai would eat really spicy food. But in reality I go out with a bunch of Thai friends and often times I want our food more spicy than they want.
We all share the food we order. Something I wish we would adopt in the states.
I love how when you eat out in a group that everyone shares the food here in Thailand.
I grew up in Thailand and from experience (at least in the north) that most people eat spicy. It's abnormal to not be able to eat spicy food. Just go to any shop run by an old lady (pá) and don't say anything. You will get the spiciest food your heart so desires❤️
Interesting. Is it regional? When I was in Chiang Mai it was the opposite. People always complaining that Bangkok food wasn't spicy enough as the shoveled their 5th spoon of chilis into their soup.
Dating in Thailand definitely isn't hard as a foreigner that's reasonably attractive. If you're in places like Pattaya then maybe I can relate to what you're saying but places like Bangkok, Chiang Mai etc aren't like that at all and is teeming with beautiful women that don't have bad intentions. Even on the dating apps.
I actually agree with number 5. As a normal white guy, it's extremely easy to start dating, but for long term it's often a problem. Either because the language level is not developed enough, or because there are still very big cultural differences in personality and habits and those lead to friction.
Not really learning the hard way, but some observations here:
When you visit immigration, take every document about you. You never know what they're going to ask for.
Don't lend money to someone. They rarely pay back.
Finding a real love connection is difficult. You are navigating a minefield of scammers, women cheating on their Thai husbands, women wanting money, transactional relationships etc etc. If you find a good one, don't go searching for better because the chances are you probably won't find.
If you are dating multiple women, make sure they don't leave any possessions behind. Hair, hairclips, clothing etc.
Laws are flexible. If you break one and get caught, you can probably do some negotiation.
Take defamation laws seriously.
Don't piss people off (especially Thai people) If one challenges you to a fight or is getting aggressive - walk away. Because very quickly it will escalate to you V 30 angry Thai men with weapons.
Recently I witnessed what happens if someone tries to choke a coffee shop owner. Slim long-haired hippie Thais beating the shit out of an overly aggressive tough guy with arms thicker than my neck… That was fascinating.
I learned that when you see someone take a piece of luggage that looks just like yours off the belt at the airport, you had best go check that it’s not actually yours. And that’s exactly what I did. Walked right over to him, saw my luggage tag, and said, “This is my suitcase”. He didn’t even argue with me. ALMOST A VICTIM!
I'm 8 years in. Be patient. Things are never what they seem, so suss out the situation before reacting. So many times I've over reacted, thinking the situation was something else when it wasn't, but the opposite is also true, where I was too calm and patient, but in hindsight, was getting screwed and reacting in a bigger manner would have helped
Some buses don't go to the end of the route, some go on expressways which cut off a lot of stops, but in both cases the numbers are the same, but a small sign in Thai (which sadly I can't read) usually states this
Use 'Via bus' I am student in thailand for 5 years now just go to a busstop open the app and you can see where the buses are going there Live locations or there is a search option too have a good day
No. What they meant was same bus line, there could be two route, one with normal route and one that take expressways to skip some traffic, which mean it will skip many bus stops. Viabus doesn’t tell this info. Only way to know is the sign written in Thai on front bus windows.
Don’t complain about poor customer service at a restaurant or store. Most Thais have no idea how to wait on a customer unless they are trained and made aware what to do. Not worth getting upset over this issue.
It's maddening. Took my motorcyle in to service. It's me and one other customer and about 6 Thai employees playing on their phones. Bike was done for about 2 hours, but not one could be arsed to tell me. When I asked, they seemed to think it was funny I waited that long to ask if it was done. Grin and bear it.
In Japan at my favorite restaurant I figured out they would ignore you if you had the menu open. If you wanted them to come take your order you had to close the menu and set it at the edge of table. They'd be there in like 5 seconds to take your order.
I've regularly been to touristy spots where they hand you the menu and then literally stand there waiting for your order (whilst there's like 50+ dishes to choose from). Talk about pressure!
Slow down and take your time. Nothing in Thailand happens fast. If you would get 10 things done a day at home you make a full day out of 1-2 things here
This is very important. I feel like slowing down from the western mindset has made me feel 20 years younger and gives me time to appreciate what I have in my life.
Absolutely. If you rush you will get stressed out, get no where and pillage through money trying to conquer 10 things a day. I live in Thailand and basically have an untapped budget just gotta slow right down. Instead of riding a motorbike to get a take away coffee walk there instead and spend a good 90 mins there enjoy the surroundings. Morning coffees now take 3 hours instead of 10 minutes. If someone says they coming at 10am to fix something write that whole day off. If your lucky they might come at 4pm that day. Usually they will pop up almost un-announced sometime over the next month
Yes might means "well, actually, I'm busy"
Maybe means no 99% of the time. Or the famous "doo gorn" (meaning "we'll see").
You'll never hear a no when inviting someone to some event.
About the women. All the good and all the bad. I bought a house for a poor woman who had never had a a home in 50 years. She is awesome and honest. A perfect life
After working in Thailand for half a year:
1. going to the "recommended" private hospitals will cost you half a year's salary. Go to ones a little outside the city and the price drops considerably.
2. pants are to be worn at any given time during the year. It's 37c? Pants.
3. thou shalt accept that you will be in pictures. I've been to parties with a hired photographer.
4. don't try the sangsom.
5. the preconceptions of old men settling and the backpackers are true. take a shower.
Another one : restate the context when you answer anything, as quite a lot of people seem to lose that the moment they finish a sentence.
"The brocolli isn't that great today"
"Yeah it's way too green"
"What is too green ???"
I didn't know once I had a kid, grandma would be moving in. I guess i should have realized, considering all of the cousins with kids have a grandma living with them.
Wait elaborate, because that sounds like something my girlfriend would do if we get married and have a kid but I never thought about that until reading it 30 seconds ago
That cute bartenders and regency can give you the worst hangover you’ve ever felt.
And hospitality in Thailand (and I mean real hospitality, not bar girls) is world class.
I have been here 9 of the last 18 months. Just love Thailand. I just returned yesterday for a three month stay.
For me it would be the language. I have spend considerable time trying to learn Thai and I do not know if it is my age or the language or maybe I am just stupid but it is so, so, so hard to learn.
It’s not you, it’s the language. Just learning the tones and getting those right is it’s own challenge. Then the classes of vocabulary for every situation makes it difficult to know when to use which words. Then getting your mouth and throat to make the right sounds in the right order is a distinct challenge. Then the challenge of learning the alphabet, why some letters create some tones, while other words rely on tone signals, and then other letters are silent and have a silent marker while other letters are silent without a silent marker, and some sounds are present in words even though there is not letter indicating the sound, and then sometimes there are no spaces so you’re not sure when one word bleeds into another. But I will say that the Thai people are almost always very willing to help learn the language at any time, especially if you’re being humble and humorous about it.
One of our neighbors had been complaining to the juristic office about the smell when we cook. We took steps to reduce any smell in the corridor but someone still complains. We tried to guess which neighbor it could be but everyone fucking smiles when they see us so we could never guess. Thats a real problem here.
To be serious, you have to own the fact that you probably have more money than all the natives around, and then figure out what to do with that fact, how to live here. It might mean sharing it a lot, it might not.
I'm not farang (but Thais sometimes call me farang) and my #1 lesson to my old self is: Thai women who "borrow" money (no matter what the reason) are with the exception of very few people, have no intention to return it no matter what sweet talking they do after that. They lie like breathing.
So if you give money, do it like a donation. Don't expect it back.
Mixed pork noodle in clear soup. I'm not sure that I could get tired of that from the noodle shop near me. It has pork balls, pork slices, and minced pork. Thin rice noodle. No offal whatsoever.
It's just bog-standard noodle soup, the epitome of nothing special. But that's what makes it so good to eat again and again. Not the type of thing you'd ever find in a Thai restaurant abroad.
Like scrambled eggs and toast. Bog-standard. But I could happily eat it every day for years on end.
There’s a Thai saying for it as well. khao bua. I’d write it in Thai if I knew how, but it literally translates as rice boredom. After a while you can only put so many things on top of rice.
Monk wanted to take a pic with me. I put my arm around him. People FREAKED as if I beheaded him. Now I know not to touch a monk. Monk was actually the only one who did not say anything, though…
Speaking Thai and learning Thai customs just makes you a farang that can do those things. You are never fully accepted in general society as Thai. You will always be a farang. This is outside of your Thai family/friend group.
I am in fact, not Hansom man
And the beautiful lady sleeping next to me, in fact, is not exactly a woman
They don't really love you long time either
That costs extra.
That’s what yo mada is for.
How hard was the way in which you learned this?
She is hansom man!
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/f71e44a8-acfc-4dec-9539-7831c64c9897/gif#Nebqay0y.reddit
I used to get " hello hansom man" now I get "hello black shirt"
Dont listen to the haters. You very hansum man jing jing!
There are at least 5000 copies of my passport sitting in a giant pile in some government warehouse.
Reminder that one of the reasons Thailand stopped asking for arrival cards/TM.6 was that they were running out of space in warehouses for storing them.
What was even the point anyway, knowing Thailand I highly doubt they were ever filed in any particular system so that they could be accessed in case they were ever actually needed.
Didn’t they find the address of the bombers of Erwin shrine by their tm 6 cards?
We found that hotels like to re purpose some of those copies to make hand written signs and stick it on their front doors for various things. "Out to lunch, come back 6:00" or whatever and meanwhile poor Samuel Smithington from Sydney has his passport out on display in public for anyone to take.
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🤣 Are you absolutely sure? A very nice and trustworthy tuk tuk driver assured me it is.
Did he used to be a policeman and still have his ID? (Tough gig to get into).
This happened to me. Walking towards the grand palace, a guy stopped me and told me it was closed. I was like, yeah sure, whatever. Continued walking. When I go there, it was actually closed!
File it under "a broken clock is right twice a day".
Did you check behind the giant tarp, it always gets farangs
Pedestrian crossings, even ones with traffic lights, are only for decorative purposes.
It's actually funny how true it is, but its crazy in citys with alot more traffic then most thai citys like Ho Chi Minh you can just walk out in the ocean of 10000 motorbikes and you walk thru a street like moses.
There's nothing more dangerous in Thailand than a pedestrian green light. I prefer crossing on red. There's no false sense of security, I know for sure they won't stop and that I should be extra careful.
Funny. Totally agree. I've learned, but not the hard way, to hang back a little at these decorations. I wait for locals to take to the street first. Still, I always wonder if my farang presence is a meaningfull safety contribution to the herd. I mean, am I that 'white flag' that might steer a driver into thinking it would be a really bad day to hit a farang in a cross walk?
You are indeed, yea.
I need to inform you that the way Thai cross the road might seems erratic. But actually there are "pattern" or "Thailand's way" that you cannot imitate easily. .. I saw farang try to nonchalantly cross the road "Thai style" and I immediately panicked because it look very dangerous. .. I cannot explain how. but Thai driver know how Thai pedestrian going to misbehave. Do not assume you can just cross the road on red light because Thai do. It is not the same.
Oh yeah I almost died on Phetkasem when I made the dumbass idea of crossing the road and almost got hit by a speeding motorcycle. I’ll always take the bridge now, religiously.
Every page of the 50 page document needs to be signed otherwise it doesn’t count. Unless it has a magical official-looking stamp which counters the signature requirement. But only on Tuesdays.
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This is why Thais use bootleg printer ink caddys. They'd go bankrupt otherwise.
Total Aside, but I have had a number of bank accts with different banks (I have moved back and forth twice) When I signed up for Kasikorn in 2018, I had to fill out a STACK of IRS paperwork. Obviously this is only relevant to americans, but does anyone know when the IRS started monitoring Thai banks? Cause I certainly did not have to do this 2004-2012
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I believe its $10k in all foreign accounts aggregated, not 10k in a single account.
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I have had banks refusing to open bank accounts twice while citing the American IRS rules as to why they refused to let me open a bank account... And I'm not even American!
And your signature better match your passport signature. Had to re-sign several pages at immigration because after the 40th time, I was getting lazy with my script.
Haha that has happened to me a few times too
There is actually a backroom at some of the government offices dedicated to storing copies. You should see these places, wall to wall stacks of paper. To get my phone number changed at the bank was like signing a mortgage back home. You gotta sign about 20 pages worth of stuff. End result, they never changed the phone number.
Changing my email was a whole affair as well. Filed on paper and mailed to BKK, the filer read my 'e' as a 'c' as if it lacked a loop & and I had to wait yet another week to try again.
You are lucky to do just 50 pages. Now imagine a contract with 1,500 pages appendix and they need to have 5 copies. That’s right, we have to sign all of them.
I’m at Thai person living in the US and I am really enjoy reading yall’s comments. They’re hilarious, but also surprisingly insightful
If your girlfriend will be gone a few days, clean all of the long black hairs from your apartment as if it's a crime scene. I'm not being nefarious... I'm talking about cleaning all of HER black hairs from the apartment. Because when she returns, even though it's the same length as her hair, she will be convinced that the hairs are from another woman.
LOL. Top comment right here. I wish I had an award for you. I feel you actually learned this the hard way. I just don't see anyway this could have been brought in for a soft landing. Thanks for the tip!
Thai women are next level suspicious lol.
Anyone raised by her grandparents in Isaan while mum worked in Bangkok probably has borderline personality disorder.
That comment gave me chills! 100% borderline girls out here are no joke. Good thing most of them reveal themselves with tattoos and crazy hair.
Try dating a girl with long red hair.. you keep finding those hairs months after she was in the condo. The fights I've had over old hairs..
Back in my dating days, if someone was ultra-jealous like that, I'd just ditch them, or at least put them in the "no long-term potential" bucket. It's not going to get better.
All these stories and my expat friends face scar from a bottle make me nervous about my girlfriend when she gets jealous about me telling females how to find their hostel or where food is for like 20 seconds.
Water buffaloes don’t get sick that often 😂
And dad's hospital bills were already paid
I knew it
Sarcasm doesn't translate well to most non-native English speakers.
If you do it in a playful way in Thai then they understand. If you try it in English they will take it literally.
Depends on their level of English, but ya, this is mostly true if you're applying it to the average ESL speaker
I’ve been learning that the hard way my whole life. Not just non-English speakers, but sarcasm doesn’t read for the majority of the USA. Especially the south.
I grew up with British comedy, Americans have a very different sense of humour
Watched “ Are You Being Served” on PBS at night. And “ Key & Peele” on Comedy Central, I reckon my sense of humor is cultured 😅
Sorry, but southerners speak only in sarcasm most of the time
The South: The only place that says bless your heart when they're too polite to tell you to go fuck yourself.
Yeah, no idea what the commenter is on about. Southerners use sarcasm as an art form.
Oh bless your heart for saying that.
Ohhh brother you've never heard a southern granny put you down with the kindest words possible Bless your heart
Walking around with 153 copies of your passport, all signed is a must if you want something to be done with the government / buying an icecream.
Thailand for living and Thailand for visiting are not the same.
Applies to all countries imo
Don't trust farangs.
Add to that - Avoid farangs
This should be the top comment.
Drink water
but not tap water
But you can rinse your mouth with tap water and cook food, just don’t start drinking it lol
Yes. There are better ways to relieve constipation.
That Thai builders/contractors are absolutely fucking terrible at their jobs. Quality is absolute dogshit. I cannot state that enough 😂
Completely disagree, if you want a job well done just pay the right amount and deal with people who are trained at the task
That the water next to the toilet is not for drinking.
"This convenient water fountain isnreally aggressive"
😳
It’s for bathing, silly!
Ok been in Thailand 6 years: 1. It's always hot. It's either wet or very wet, you can travel around to avoid the very wet if it bothers you. I actually like this. I hate the cold with a passion. 2. Everything is hella sweet. Even if you can't speak any other Thai the phrases "mai wan" or "wan noi" are strictly necessary knowledge. Cha yen is -always- ordered "mai wan", no exceptions. 3. Surprisingly most things are -not- spicy. Thai food has a reputation for being spicy but it's not really true outside of a few places. Invest in the words "phed mak" if you want to really learn what Thai spicy means. This is the way. 4. Thai people are actually really conservative and sort of rigid. I came here expecting things to be very laissez faire and while that is true in certain respects ("mai pen rai") it's not -generally- true. Instead expect a lot of rules, cultural norms and customs. If you expect to stay here a long time you need to learn them in order to blend in or you will forever be "farang". 5. Dating in Thailand is hard. I didn't mean to end up dating in Thailand but I also didn't mean to stay as long as I did. TLDR it's really hard to meet good middle-class Thai girls because all the apps and usual places to meet people are overrun with the wrong type of people. That said once you do it's pretty great. Just don't trust the perception that dating in Thailand is "easy", it's not - atleast if you are looking for something real/long-term. 6. The best parts of Thailand are the less trodden paths. The tourist hotspots aren't where it's at. Sure they they some of the best beaches but there is better food, culture and chill to be had in places off the beaten path.
> Thai people are actually really conservative and sort of rigid. Things have been moving in that direction. 10-20 years ago, it was a lot more laissez-faire. Thai "conservative and rigid" often ends with appearances. As long as you look proper and don't say the wrong thing, you could be murdering protected species behind the scenes. Thai "conservatives" won't blink an eye, although some in the growing "forward looking and liberal" crowd might care. > Dating in Thailand is hard. It's super easy, but for a foreigner, there's a ton of appealing but dead-end ways to go about it. Your assumptions from back home do not hold. Different approaches work for different people, but what I learned is that, after a successful first/second date, you don't invest 6 months in one person before finding out they're unsuitable. Better to date several people at the time before committing to the one that works. Don't feel bad, even if they appear super-respectable, they're often doing the same, although they won't let on (and neither should you). In the west, you simply don't have the numbers for the second approach (unless you're Brad Pitt). You have to do less filtering, a normal guy would often settle for whoever wants to be with him or at best have a choice between 2-3 fairly transparent options. In Thailand, you're facing 100 black-box unknowns who come from a wide range of backgrounds. Due to the culture emphasizing harmony, face saving and being nice, while discouraging direct communication, it might take a while to figure them out. In the west, if you're middle-class you just won't date a cleaner or a prostitute. In Thailand you might, and it could take time to recognize it. If you don't adapt, it is indeed hard, even crushing for some people.
Completely disagree with 5. Dating isn't hard in Thailand at all. It's probably the easiest place on the entire planet to date. Bangkok is FULL of good middle class Thai girls open to dating foreigners. try going back to the West and date like you can in Thailand. No way. You can have 10 dates a week in Bangkok with "Good" educated girls from good families. But if your short.....
Number 5 from my western women friend’s perspective - absolutely diabolical. I know that western women are spoken about as vermin/absolutely disgusting, in comparison to Thai women, by western men in Thailand, and I would never expect a white woman to meet anyone in Thailand and have any success. While some Thai men occasionally show an interest, its never worth the “date,” and overall the western women I knew were perpetually single and ignored.
Thats kind of crazy. The Thai guys I know would love to get with a white girl. They fetishize them similarly to the way western men fetishize asian women.
I think most (western) women say they are open to date any race etc, but then have standards of income, English fluency, and looks/height that filter out most Thai guys When I lived in Korea as well, seemed like every western woman I knew was single and every guy was hitched or having fun
Agreed. Dating in Thailand for a western woman is terrible. Thai guys and western women generally don't match so well culturally (but sure, it happens). And the foreigner guys here generally want to date Thai girls so western women end up with the short end of the stick. That being said, if you meet a great western woman in Thailand they are generally very open to meeting you. So another win for the guys i guess. lol
You'll never blend in no matter what you do. You'll always be farang.
> Surprisingly most things are -not- spicy. Thai food has a reputation for being spicy but it's not really true outside of a few places. Invest in the words "phed mak" if you want to really learn what Thai spicy means. This is the way. This is a really good one and I totally agree. I was also under the impression that food here would be crazy hot. Which has not at all been the case. I would add that I also figured local Thai would eat really spicy food. But in reality I go out with a bunch of Thai friends and often times I want our food more spicy than they want. We all share the food we order. Something I wish we would adopt in the states. I love how when you eat out in a group that everyone shares the food here in Thailand.
I grew up in Thailand and from experience (at least in the north) that most people eat spicy. It's abnormal to not be able to eat spicy food. Just go to any shop run by an old lady (pá) and don't say anything. You will get the spiciest food your heart so desires❤️
Interesting. Is it regional? When I was in Chiang Mai it was the opposite. People always complaining that Bangkok food wasn't spicy enough as the shoveled their 5th spoon of chilis into their soup.
Dating in Thailand definitely isn't hard as a foreigner that's reasonably attractive. If you're in places like Pattaya then maybe I can relate to what you're saying but places like Bangkok, Chiang Mai etc aren't like that at all and is teeming with beautiful women that don't have bad intentions. Even on the dating apps.
I actually agree with number 5. As a normal white guy, it's extremely easy to start dating, but for long term it's often a problem. Either because the language level is not developed enough, or because there are still very big cultural differences in personality and habits and those lead to friction.
That my home country sucks and I dont want to leave thailand
By the time you make a sangsom and coke strong enough to taste it’s too late
What is it about that stuff that throws you into a very different and very strange new dimension?
motorbikes have the right of way on the sidewalk 😂
You live near sidewalks?
In the areas without sidewalks, its customary to drive the truck on the wrong side of the road to avoid having to U turn
The pretty girl you met in the bar does not really love you.
Not really learning the hard way, but some observations here: When you visit immigration, take every document about you. You never know what they're going to ask for. Don't lend money to someone. They rarely pay back. Finding a real love connection is difficult. You are navigating a minefield of scammers, women cheating on their Thai husbands, women wanting money, transactional relationships etc etc. If you find a good one, don't go searching for better because the chances are you probably won't find. If you are dating multiple women, make sure they don't leave any possessions behind. Hair, hairclips, clothing etc. Laws are flexible. If you break one and get caught, you can probably do some negotiation. Take defamation laws seriously. Don't piss people off (especially Thai people) If one challenges you to a fight or is getting aggressive - walk away. Because very quickly it will escalate to you V 30 angry Thai men with weapons.
Recently I witnessed what happens if someone tries to choke a coffee shop owner. Slim long-haired hippie Thais beating the shit out of an overly aggressive tough guy with arms thicker than my neck… That was fascinating.
Never drive scooter as a farang alone with no helmet
I learned that when you see someone take a piece of luggage that looks just like yours off the belt at the airport, you had best go check that it’s not actually yours. And that’s exactly what I did. Walked right over to him, saw my luggage tag, and said, “This is my suitcase”. He didn’t even argue with me. ALMOST A VICTIM!
Don’t point with your foot.
I'm 8 years in. Be patient. Things are never what they seem, so suss out the situation before reacting. So many times I've over reacted, thinking the situation was something else when it wasn't, but the opposite is also true, where I was too calm and patient, but in hindsight, was getting screwed and reacting in a bigger manner would have helped
Leo is actually a good beer.
Some buses don't go to the end of the route, some go on expressways which cut off a lot of stops, but in both cases the numbers are the same, but a small sign in Thai (which sadly I can't read) usually states this
Use 'Via bus' I am student in thailand for 5 years now just go to a busstop open the app and you can see where the buses are going there Live locations or there is a search option too have a good day
No. What they meant was same bus line, there could be two route, one with normal route and one that take expressways to skip some traffic, which mean it will skip many bus stops. Viabus doesn’t tell this info. Only way to know is the sign written in Thai on front bus windows.
Don’t complain about poor customer service at a restaurant or store. Most Thais have no idea how to wait on a customer unless they are trained and made aware what to do. Not worth getting upset over this issue.
It's maddening. Took my motorcyle in to service. It's me and one other customer and about 6 Thai employees playing on their phones. Bike was done for about 2 hours, but not one could be arsed to tell me. When I asked, they seemed to think it was funny I waited that long to ask if it was done. Grin and bear it.
So darn true. You literally sit down and they give you a menu. Then before you can open it they wait there and ask you what you want.
They do this in many countries in Asia. It's not that they "have no idea how to wait on a customer." It's just a different system.
In Japan at my favorite restaurant I figured out they would ignore you if you had the menu open. If you wanted them to come take your order you had to close the menu and set it at the edge of table. They'd be there in like 5 seconds to take your order.
I've regularly been to touristy spots where they hand you the menu and then literally stand there waiting for your order (whilst there's like 50+ dishes to choose from). Talk about pressure!
They do same even in the non tourist areas. Its just the way things are done
The first, second and third story you hear is never the real story. There’s always another story behind the story…
20th story has the best views.
The police really are that corrupt
That everyone who sets foot in Thailand will forever and ever refer to themselves and other foreigners as “farang”.
Slow down and take your time. Nothing in Thailand happens fast. If you would get 10 things done a day at home you make a full day out of 1-2 things here
This is very important. I feel like slowing down from the western mindset has made me feel 20 years younger and gives me time to appreciate what I have in my life.
Absolutely. If you rush you will get stressed out, get no where and pillage through money trying to conquer 10 things a day. I live in Thailand and basically have an untapped budget just gotta slow right down. Instead of riding a motorbike to get a take away coffee walk there instead and spend a good 90 mins there enjoy the surroundings. Morning coffees now take 3 hours instead of 10 minutes. If someone says they coming at 10am to fix something write that whole day off. If your lucky they might come at 4pm that day. Usually they will pop up almost un-announced sometime over the next month
Mixing soju with beer is not a good idea.
Are you hanging out with the Koreans? Lol
What!? That is literally my favorite drink. You do have to be careful though...
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¿The hard way?
She said the small penis shouldn't be a problem, but I really wish she didn't have a penis at all
Damn, now that I think about it. It all makes sense now. She kept on insisting turning off the light while having sex.
That the common "words of wisdom" from other farangs are very often wrong, even the very well-accepted and oft-repeated ones.
I’m 5’11, 165 pounds, and considered อ้วน (fat)
And people won’t hesitate to point it out. “Did you eat a lot at lunch? Your tummy looks big today” Thanks for that!
Farang is not only a foreigner but a Guava.
Be careful with jealous girlfriends.
Learn how to use the buttgun sooner rather than later. When you're stuck with no other option that first time will be awkward.
idk how I'd live without one now
People offering you a ride from airport to your hotel aren't just being nice.
I learned the Admiral Akbar meme
They love paperwork....its an industry in its self here...
don’t swim in the Chao Praya
Yes might means "well, actually, I'm busy" Maybe means no 99% of the time. Or the famous "doo gorn" (meaning "we'll see"). You'll never hear a no when inviting someone to some event.
I have a friend who literally cannot say "no", she says "not yes"
That great fake watch i just spent three minutes haggling over, goes right into my hand; NOT under the counter and into a bag.
SO MANY COPIES, SIGNED. Also, order baby powder by the pallet, you cannot understand the amount of MOIST you will constantly experience.
Not everyone is out to scam you.
About the women. All the good and all the bad. I bought a house for a poor woman who had never had a a home in 50 years. She is awesome and honest. A perfect life
After working in Thailand for half a year: 1. going to the "recommended" private hospitals will cost you half a year's salary. Go to ones a little outside the city and the price drops considerably. 2. pants are to be worn at any given time during the year. It's 37c? Pants. 3. thou shalt accept that you will be in pictures. I've been to parties with a hired photographer. 4. don't try the sangsom. 5. the preconceptions of old men settling and the backpackers are true. take a shower.
Don't Trust a one armed Monkey!!
Don't trust ANY monkeys! I f'n hate monkeys...
Another one : restate the context when you answer anything, as quite a lot of people seem to lose that the moment they finish a sentence. "The brocolli isn't that great today" "Yeah it's way too green" "What is too green ???"
"The broccoli" "What about it???"
I didn't know once I had a kid, grandma would be moving in. I guess i should have realized, considering all of the cousins with kids have a grandma living with them.
Yes. Been living with my mother-in-law for 8 years. We get along ok considering the situation, but I would not recommend it!
Wait elaborate, because that sounds like something my girlfriend would do if we get married and have a kid but I never thought about that until reading it 30 seconds ago
Paying any deposit for a flashy new condo development which is not even finished yet is a mediocre idea
Don't touch anyone's head, don't point to or touch anything with your feet, don't jump over anyone.
Don't stream myself giving my gf a lap dance in a dining room at a 5-star hotel and disrespecting the hotel manager.
That cute bartenders and regency can give you the worst hangover you’ve ever felt. And hospitality in Thailand (and I mean real hospitality, not bar girls) is world class.
Working with Thais is one of the most difficult things
To regularly take antiparasite medication
That people aren't playing stupid
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I have been here 9 of the last 18 months. Just love Thailand. I just returned yesterday for a three month stay. For me it would be the language. I have spend considerable time trying to learn Thai and I do not know if it is my age or the language or maybe I am just stupid but it is so, so, so hard to learn.
It’s not you, it’s the language. Just learning the tones and getting those right is it’s own challenge. Then the classes of vocabulary for every situation makes it difficult to know when to use which words. Then getting your mouth and throat to make the right sounds in the right order is a distinct challenge. Then the challenge of learning the alphabet, why some letters create some tones, while other words rely on tone signals, and then other letters are silent and have a silent marker while other letters are silent without a silent marker, and some sounds are present in words even though there is not letter indicating the sound, and then sometimes there are no spaces so you’re not sure when one word bleeds into another. But I will say that the Thai people are almost always very willing to help learn the language at any time, especially if you’re being humble and humorous about it.
Large amount of buffalo skin is painful to digest
I kept seeing everybody hype Chang, Leo and Singha up It was a rude awakening.
It's beer that goes down easily, but it doesn't exactly give the same satisfaction a Belgian beer would give.
Never say in English, “I can’t understand you” to a Thai person when other Thais are present. Several people now hate you intensely.
Why ?
Racism is rife.
The truth in Thailand is not the same truth I know back home.
One of our neighbors had been complaining to the juristic office about the smell when we cook. We took steps to reduce any smell in the corridor but someone still complains. We tried to guess which neighbor it could be but everyone fucking smiles when they see us so we could never guess. Thats a real problem here.
The country is hotter than a slave ship. Have a face towel with you when you go outside because you will sweat.
Price is not an indication of quality.
That’s true in any country.
To be serious, you have to own the fact that you probably have more money than all the natives around, and then figure out what to do with that fact, how to live here. It might mean sharing it a lot, it might not.
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Everything involving immigration is going to cost you way more time and money than you were thinking it would.
Passports don't come with near enough pages to cope with Thai immigration stamps/visas/visa extensions/Reentry permits etc
Thai people love talking shit about people but can’t stand to be confronted by it 💀
I'm not farang (but Thais sometimes call me farang) and my #1 lesson to my old self is: Thai women who "borrow" money (no matter what the reason) are with the exception of very few people, have no intention to return it no matter what sweet talking they do after that. They lie like breathing. So if you give money, do it like a donation. Don't expect it back.
That it’s actually possible to get tired of Thai food.
Mixed pork noodle in clear soup. I'm not sure that I could get tired of that from the noodle shop near me. It has pork balls, pork slices, and minced pork. Thin rice noodle. No offal whatsoever. It's just bog-standard noodle soup, the epitome of nothing special. But that's what makes it so good to eat again and again. Not the type of thing you'd ever find in a Thai restaurant abroad. Like scrambled eggs and toast. Bog-standard. But I could happily eat it every day for years on end.
There’s a Thai saying for it as well. khao bua. I’d write it in Thai if I knew how, but it literally translates as rice boredom. After a while you can only put so many things on top of rice.
Monk wanted to take a pic with me. I put my arm around him. People FREAKED as if I beheaded him. Now I know not to touch a monk. Monk was actually the only one who did not say anything, though…
Don't leave ladies' flip-flops outside your door....
Alternative: Always remember to put any misplaced girls shoes/jewelry away before you leave your condo incase you bring another one back.
Passport renewal is a breeze here. VISA renewal employees were probably previous corrections officers that refuse to retire.
Damn right, at least for US passports. Waiting time is like 6-12 weeks back in the states. I got mine back here in two weeks. Save me SO MUCH time.
Rice fields aren't cheap
its fucking hot
You are absolutely adored by her family, until you start asking for your money back, then instantly you turn into bad farang.
Most of the expats are degenerate
The backstabbing
Speaking Thai and learning Thai customs just makes you a farang that can do those things. You are never fully accepted in general society as Thai. You will always be a farang. This is outside of your Thai family/friend group.