I like to go shopping now and then at this market near my home. Its normal to see plenty of farangs there but this is even though it is a very cheap market. Usually they come hand in hand with a Thai girl who dresses suspiciously provocative, so you tend to know where the happy couple met one another. I was standing next to one particular stall looking at some earings when just such a farang appeared looking through the dvds on the shop beside me. He barked “you how much this” at the shop assistant who was taken by surprise and jumped up to serve the customer. She asked him very politely what he would like to buy and he raised his voice again saying the same thing in loud English: “how much this”. The problem was he did not point at any particular thing so how was she supposed to know what it was he wanted to know the price about?
I looked at the girl next to him- very short, looked a bit shy but when she saw me looking immediately became confident and asked the seller (in Thai) ‘If I tell him to buy many you must give me some money’. The seller looked at her, and then looked at me, a little shyly. “That’s not possible, sorry” was the seller’s reply, to which the girl said to her “boyfriend” “Honey here no good have only bad movie make from copy very shit”. The farang grunted and finished the scene by waving his hand derisively at the seller and saying “My Ow My Ow” with a big frown on his face. Then they turned and walked away.
The seller looked at her feet, then at me, while I tried not to stare. I felt so sorry for her, so I ended up buying a dvd. The quality was fine, as it turned out, but then I wasn’t surprised by that. I tried to find the happy couple again to see if the girl was trying this trick with everything the farang wanted to buy, but unfortunately she had obviously decided to take him onto richer pickings elsewhere.
The thing is that I can imagine this to be understandable if the girl was so poor and desperate for her next meal, but she was covered in all sorts of jewellry, much more than I have myself and I have what is considered an OK job. Im pretty sure there was more than 100 000 baht of gold on her. Is it really going to help her to make another 50 or 100 baht from commission on a few movies? The seller by comparison wore no jewelry.
I don’t know actually who I felt more sorry for- the farang, the girl who was so selfish or the seller.
April 29th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Here is a dissenting opinion.
There is often talk among us farangs living in Thailand about avoiding a “farang price” for big-ticket items. Well, my experience says that ajahn farang do not pay more than Thai people. Granted, it is limited, and I do my own negotiation in Thai, but I would believe that we teacher-types get treated very well, even in the market.
Sometimes I will be accompanied by my wife’s attractive young daughter. So I make a point of calling her “luuk” or “luuk sao” to avoid misinterpretation. Still, no farang surcharge.
April 29th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
My God… Why does this farang put up such a site.. Wait! I know.. he’s describing all the things his last Thai bar girlfriend did to him. hahh hah. Dude..Ive not met a Thai whose grammar is that good.. You should have known that if you choose to hook up with a Thai bar girl that this is what you’ll get..No need to hide behind your silly website pretending to be a thai girl and bad mouth your own people..Pllleaseeeee.. lol
April 29th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Ok dooood! Was it many years before you met every single Thai person? Must have been ya!
April 29th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
You need to look at your self in the mirror before questioning farangs in thailand. i have been here many years and have never met such a racist as you and never have felt so much hatred as you give.
My wife also who is a university teacher says you should be ashamed to be thai as she is thai and never would be as racist as you and narrow minded. you make me sick get a life and grow up do be such a low life.
do you think the Thai king would like to hear what you say about farang in Thailand? or even the thai people who may of us have helped with temples and schools. i think its time for people like you to leave as your heart is not thai….
May 3rd, 2008 at 4:57 pm
I think ‘Fon’ is actually a farang woman who has lived here for several years but ‘can’t get no satisfaction’ between the sheets and is jealous of us smelly, fat, old, and ugly farangs (and maybe all you good looking farangs, too) who can get almost as much as we like. She’s also jealous of Thai women because they’re hogging all the ‘beef’. Still, I enjoy reading her rantings.
May 29th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
“I think ‘Fon’ is actually a farang woman who has lived here for several years but ‘can’t get no satisfaction’ between the sheets and is jealous of us smelly, fat, old, and ugly farangs (and maybe all you good looking farangs, too) who can get almost as much as we like. She’s also jealous of Thai women because they’re hogging all the ‘beef’. Still, I enjoy reading her rantings.”
so..because a Thai woman, an asian woman at that sees things in her society that she doesnt like she has to be a disgruntled “ugly fat “farang”? look how sick that sounds,as if asian women can’t have minds of their own and that they may not l ike the image that alot of farang – thai relationships are giving the country, you are essentialy saying you like your women dumb and poor, which she isn’t
July 11th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
I don not know or care who Fon is. I like this site, it makes me think, giggle, agree, and want to point out deficiencies in Thailand all at the same time. My point on this post would be that maybe Thais shouldn’t be so judgmental all the time. “Fon” points out that she knew that the farang had picked up a bargirl. How do you think you have a right for such a judgment?
The reason I get upset is I have many Thai friends in the north, never go to bad places, respect Thai culture, but still get instant judgments. I have a 25 year old friend, (I am 39), and she has to intentionally dress like a Tom just so we don’t get nasty stares if we happen to go shopping together, just like Fon did here. Did you ever think its possible that farangs ever are truly friends with your countrymen, visit each other, but have never put our hands down their pants? When she visits here, she loves it because we can hang out and we never get judged, and she can dress how she likes.
One of the biggest diaspora for Thais is in LA, and I have talked to Thais there, and they feel the same way. Thailand is too judgmental, too quick to assume the nastiest thought that comes into their head.
This is coming from a farang who agrees with an awful lot of what is on this website, is usually embarrassed by other farangs in Thailand, and winces when he hears the whining of farangs about how their country is better. Just please do not always assume the worst. Some of us truly are friends here.
August 8th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Quote:
‘I don not know or care who Fon is. I like this site, it makes me think, giggle, agree, and want to point out deficiencies in Thailand’. Unquote
Chris, that is exactly what this Fon chracter wants people (foreign people) to do – criticize Thailand and its people. Fon posts some petty writing on here designed to make foreigners react (or over react)to the blog and then do what Fon doesn’t have the balls to do himself/herself.
Fon, why don’t you move on and do something a bit more … genuine.
December 22nd, 2008 at 5:11 am
Chanida Says:
May 29th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
“I think ‘Fon’ is actually a farang woman who has lived here for several years but ‘can’t get no satisfaction’ between the sheets and is jealous of us smelly, fat, old, and ugly farangs (and maybe all you good looking farangs, too) who can get almost as much as we like. She’s also jealous of Thai women because they’re hogging all the ‘beef’. Still, I enjoy reading her rantings.”
so..because a Thai woman, an asian woman at that sees things in her society that she doesnt like she has to be a disgruntled “ugly fat “farang”? look how sick that sounds,as if asian women can’t have minds of their own and that they may not l ike the image that alot of farang – thai relationships are giving the country, you are essentialy saying you like your women dumb and poor, which she isn’t
Chanida? Really? Who are you kidding Fon?
May 5th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
I think that there just needs to be an excise tax on bar girls in Thailand for the farangs. How many Britons have cheated on their English spouses sleeping with Thai ladies in Thailand? Their deeds are a legion.
July 18th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Can someone tell me why Thais giggle so much at us farangs? I went into a shop at Bangkok Airport, and the screams of laughter from the assistants had me completely baffled and horrified. No, I was NOT trying to speak Thai! In fact, I hadn’t said a word, and was just looking. Before long, the assistants called in some cronies for a point- and-laugh-at-the-farang session, whilst I grew more and more puzzled, embarrassed and uncomfortable. One of them was actually bent double and appeared to be in the grip of convulsions. I was almost in tears after 10 minutes of this, and left without buying anything. I have never been able to discover why they do this, and I now feel very apprehensive whenever any Asian giggles near me. I wish I knew the reason, maybe then I would feel so negative towards them.