Thai people love gold. The only class in Thai society which doesnt like to wear gold and show off their gold much is the small “middle class”, I guess. The top and lower ends of society show alot and often choose to buy gold before other things in life.

But buying gold is not just throwing money away of course as its also an investment, or a way to have some insurance when finances become tight. This rule is shown just before any major social event such as term finishing and the kids returning home or just before a major holiday like songkran. Gold is often sold back to shops or pawned temporarily to give a much needed injection of cash for families in Bangkok and everywhere else.

How do you tell that a Farang has a bargirl girlfriend or wife? He’s wearing gold! Bargirls are often from the poorer parts of the country and gold is a real treasure in these parts. Farangs mistakenly try to assimilate themselves into what they think “thai culture” is by copying the uncles and brother and fathers who wear copious amounts of gold on their bodies, showing it off at every available opportunity. But there’s something plain odd about a farang wearing thai gold.

Amulets are also popular among the farang gold wearing community and there’s nothing more ridiculous than seeing a farang wearing a Buddha amulet, because we all know farangs have completely different beliefs about these things. I guess it would be ok for a farang to wear a gold cross out of thai gold.

Giving gold to people is really just another way of giving them money, and as the price of gold tends to go up in the long term it can be a good investment if held onto. You can even buy gold bars and coins. Normally if a farang buys gold for his thai bargirlfriend, she will pawn it for cash as soon as he isnt around, and temporarily get it back for the short time he visits her. Or sell it and claim it got lost.