Last night I was enjoying the last of the Songkran festival celebrations with some friends- we went to eat pad thai in our favourite eatery and then drove over to a friend’s place. To get to our car however we had to walk the roadbridge not far from the middle of Sukhumvit. I was particularly feeling awkward because I was with an older friend of mine who has never really been to Sukhumvit during the evening time and I knew there was a chance of something embarassing happening. Sure enough, a fat farang waddles along the bridge in the opposite direction and says something in very bad Thai to my friend. Fortunately my friend didn’t understand it, unused as she is to the attempts of most farangs to speak our language. I told her he just said “Hello” but in German. I think she believed me.
What he actually tried to say was “You are very beautiful”, except what he actually said was “You are very unlucky”. If I had a 20 baht note for every time some farang has called me unlucky I would be a very rich girl. This is why you need to learn to understand tones before you learn any Thai words. You have to copy the exact way a word is said or there is a big chance you will end up getting it wrong and embarassing you, the girl and whoeever else hears you. And why are you going up to strangers in the dark on roadbridges and telling them they are beautiful anyway? Don’t you realise you stink of beer and ciggies? Haven’t you spotted the large sweat patch under each arm?
Then I walked past a street stall (yes.. I know.. ) and one thin tall guy waved me over, obviously thinking I was for sale. I was wearing a trouser suit you complete ass!!
April 28th, 2008 at 12:36 am
I can certainly understand how thai women are disgusted by the typical tourist seen on the streets of Thailand. What you may not understand is that it is everywhere in the world that these people exsist.
The first time I went to Pattaya years ago I wanted to put a bag over my head I was so embarrassed.
But, fortunately, all of us “farangs” as you like to call us, are not like that. MAny of us choose Thailand because we love the culture and the people and just try to blend in and live togeather with all of you.
Personally I take offense to your grouping us all togeather with a word that was brought about after the French tried to suck all the life out of your country.
I am glad you finally kicked them out.
As an American, I do not teach our children to stand in the street and point at Asians and yell out. Hey ASIANOO!
We are all just people trying to survive and be happy, togeather. Well most of us anyway. There is still, and always will be I think, going to be that fat assed smelly, drunk, bastard looking for a little hoy.
May 5th, 2008 at 5:52 am
so wayne, if I’m not fat or drunk, and I’ve had a shower, and my parents were married when I was born, is it ok if I look for a little hoy in Thailand? or should I wait till I go back to the US and look for some action there? (and help the US economy)
December 22nd, 2008 at 4:51 am
Curtis or Fon? ; )
I like your experiment.
January 17th, 2010 at 1:50 pm
Again it’s the only type of farang you get here – thailand is known in the developed world as a big whore house, so if even just our 1% of all societies that is sociopathic came here you’d have millions of tourists.
The problme is Thaland has only ever developed it’s image as a big whore house. Nobody is coming to see the birthplace of the Thai Shakespear or Geothe – there isn’t one. Or the great Thai movies, lol – even Thai people know that’s a joke. Or the Thai tech museum – ours would have space shuttles, the invetion of the car, internet, computers, modern medicine – here nada. Time to change focus. If South Korean can do it, so can you.
April 13th, 2010 at 5:30 am
A poor Thai girl, especially if she is good looking, can earn far more from being a bar girl than say working in a hotel as a cleaner or as a waitress.
Is that Thai culture’s fault or the farang’s fault?
You ever seen a late night karaoke bar in BKK- basically a girly bar for Thai men- they existed before the farang stampede to Thailand.
The sex industry existed in Thailand long before we got here, the fact is it is accepted as an occupation by poor families (that’s right their parents know!) because they can send more money home, and it is far easier than a real job.
Without farangs most of the tourist areas in Thailand would still be coconut/rice farms and they would still living in bamboo shacks in 99% of the country.