Are Thais Childish?

[gobbledonk]

I know Laos is not Thailand but the similarity between the Lao and the Isaan peoples is well known.

 

Not surprising, given that they are, historically, the same people ...

 

I'm sure you've seen differences - the stereotype seems to be that people on your side of the border are quieter, more restrained etc - beats me. Whatever the language and (supposed) cultural differences, the rednecks I encountered in Chumphon seemed awfully similar to their cousins from Udon - it's the taller, 'white' Thais in BKK who are oddities in their own country, IMO. They just happen to be oddities with money, and that makes all the difference.

[gobbledonk]

Hi,

 

"And yet Thais turn up to factories, presumably on-time, every morning and work long shifts."

 

And quit without any prior notice by just not showing up one day.

 

Sanuk!

 

OK, but I look at the BKK skyline and it's clear that quite a few of them 'showed up' for long enough to finish the odd building - even the notorious hulks that were left over from the currency crisis seem to have been largely replaced by gleaming new buildings. I wouldn't want to be a Health and Safety Officer on those sites, but they clearly know how to build. Malaysia and Singapore rely on imported labor from places like India and Indonesia - Thailand has been able to source a ready supply of cheap labor from within their own borders. I'm not saying these guys are supermen, but I wouldnt last 4 hours on a site in that heat.

[cavanami]

Try hired help from Burma!

 

There are over 100,000 working/living in Samut Sakhon alone...the Thais are NOT doing it all.

[Flashermac]

Not surprising, given that they are, historically, the same people ...

 

 

The Thais and Laos would give you a good kicking for saying that. Thai was once considered part of the Sino-Tibetan language group, but is now classified in the independent Tai-Kedai family of languages. There are many borrowed Chinese words in the Tai-Kedai languages, but none of the basic vocabulary is Chinese.

 

http://en.wikipedia....Kadai_languages

 

[Flashermac]

Try hired help from Burma!

 

There are over 100,000 working/living in Samut Sakhon alone...the Thais are NOT doing it all.

 

Once the Asian Economic Community's free trade agreements kick in in several years, nationals of the ASEAN countries will be able to move around and work at will. I wonder what that is going to do to the Thai work force.

[khunsanuk]

Hi,

 

I actually find that that differs greatly between people. My wife tends to be on time and a Thai business man I know also tends to make it a point of being early rather than late.

 

Sanuk!

[JaiRai]

People in Bangkok are oblivious when they walk, and they walk very slow. I sometimes wonder if it's just a coping mechanism to deal with the massive population around you at all times. When I first got here and was approaching others I would habitually move a little to the left or right to be polite and make room and expect it to be reciprocated, it wasn't it. Quite the opposite - I would find people forcing me off the path. So now I just walk oblivious too, or look down, and people get out of the way.

 

The thing I find alarming is the recklessness of the driving with pedestrians in the road, especially the motorcycle drivers. Where before I thought it was whiny expats exaggerating when this was mentioned - now I see it's very real. I also find the universal belief in ghosts interesting - a belief that definitely impacts behavior. Not passing judgement there, just interesting.

 

OTOH, here it's not unusual for relative strangers to invite me to a meal and show kindness - or invite me into their home. And I'm not talking about Sukhumwit scams. Back where I came from (California) one would be suspicious of any stranger trying to be friendly, but here I've encountered random unexpected kindness from strangers several times. That makes up for a lot of minor annoyances.

 

Beautiful women by the gaggle makes up for the rest.

 

[WorldFun]

I think you rather mean willing women

 

"Beautiful women"

 

beautiful women are in any country. period.

[JaiRai]

I don't know sir. Certainly where I came from there were beautiful women. And it was appreciated. You'd see one here, see one there, and it was a many splendored thing.

 

But HERE, all I do is walk outside. And it's like OH MY GOD, LIFE IS GOOD.

 

That said, I haven't figured out an approach yet to the non working girls. I just admire them.

 

btw - WorldFun - you were involved in a discussion on another forum involving schools, and that input helped me not to make a mistake. I was THIS close to enrolling in a program that really isn't all that great when you talk to the students there (which I did after reading said discussion on another forum). Now I"m happy where I am attending. It's not easy -- and I find myself ripped out of the comfort zone, but I've actually learned a few things. Imagine that.

[gobbledonk]

The Thais and Laos would give you a good kicking for saying that. Thai was once considered part of the Sino-Tibetan language group, but is now classified in the independent Tai-Kedai family of languages. There are many borrowed Chinese words in the Tai-Kedai languages, but none of the basic vocabulary is Chinese.

 

 

Chinese ? I was talking about Lao people on the Laos side of the border and the Lao people on the Isaan side of the border - you know as well as I do that they are the SAME PEOPLE, regardless of which flag flies over their homes or the language they are taught in school. OK - some aren't ethnically Lao, but they are the majority of Isaan people. I quoted coss' post where he mentioned the 'similarities' between Lao people and the people of Isaan.

 

The Chinese live in Bangkok - you need to take a wander down Yaowarrat Road some time, old man. The Chinese influence can be found everywhere in SE Asia, but I fail to see where I mentioned the Chinese in my earlier post.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaan#History

 

In the 20th century, a policy of nationalist "Thaification" promoted the incorporation of Isan as an integral part of Thailand and de-emphasised the Lao and Khmer ethnicities of the residents. The national government claimed (incorrectly) that the name "Isan" was derived from that of IÅ›Äna(Sanskrit: ईशान), a manifestation of Shiva as deity of the northeast, and the Sanskrit word for northeast. This interpretation was intended to reinforce the area's identity as the northeast of Thailand, rather than as a part of the Lao world.

Before the central government introduced the Thai alphabet and language in regional schools, the people of Isan wrote in the Lao alphabet, a similar script. Most Isan people still speak the Isan language, a dialect of the Lao language. A significant minority also speak Northern Khmer. The Kuy people, who are concentrated around the core of the Isanapura kingdom, and known as "Khmer Boran" or ancient Khmer, speak otherKatuic languages, a link to the region's pre-Siamese history as part of the Mon–Khmer kingdom of Chenla.