trotsky2 Posted September 13, 2002 Report Share Posted September 13, 2002 You don't have to speak Thai in my opinion but there are consequences to this. If you only speak English you will always feel and be an outsider. Sure you never can be a Thai but the feeling of knowing nothing versus something matters. With only English you overtime will be living the life of a space alien. If you don't mind the pyschological effects this can have you will be ok. I just think it leaves you in a permanent state of culture shock if you can only talk to foreigners and .001 of the 60 million people in the country. The more you know the less you feel alienated and the less susceptible you are to fall into the "negative self-defeating expat mindset". While not always true, I have noticed that the expats who can speak some Thai have a much better attitude on Thailand then the ones who can't. It seems more often than not it is the non-Thai speakers who are saying, "Thai people cheat, Thai people no good, Western culture is much better, etc." It is really dangerous in my opinion to stay in a country for a long time and not try to get some language down. You will always be around other expats and you will not know anything about the local people. You will most likely spend your time hanging out drinking with other expats and talking about how stupid and evil the local people are. This is not always the case but it is a danger I have seen and come close to falling into. As to the Thais who make fun of you. It is annoying but grow up, you are a big boy now. Don't feel insulted by these folks they are uneducated and have a crap job which leads to low self-esteem which leads to them taking easy pot shots at khun falang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 14, 2002 Report Share Posted September 14, 2002 ALHOLK: there actually was more to it than that, but the "fan" = boyfriend/girl friend. just heard enough to get my attention, as I was past the "checkpoing" already, and waiting just past that area. got the whole story ( rehash) of the conversation from my daughter. to sum it up, some little shits ( thai person/officer) inpression of any farang male with young girl, but taken past the point of just rude comment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pescator Posted September 14, 2002 Report Share Posted September 14, 2002 As a matter of fact "Faen" does not only mean boyfriend/girlfriend but is commonly used about husband/wife as well. Hua Nguu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 14, 2002 Report Share Posted September 14, 2002 So if a hooker tells me 3000 bath, she can come down to 1000 baht? Wow, bartering is powerful stuff over there. he he he Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pom_Jao_Choo Posted September 14, 2002 Report Share Posted September 14, 2002 No I do not work in Thailand. Others can answer your questions about visas better than I. I will PM you my location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nkped Posted September 14, 2002 Report Share Posted September 14, 2002 "Being with a Thai person who takes care of things is even a better idea." Sometimes, but I remeber a friend in the Philippines with a Filipina wife who said that if she was going to buy something significant in town, she dressed down and left him at home. The theory was that if she was identifiable as the wife of an American, she was going to be charged the American price, no matter how much Tagalog she spoke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bibblies Posted September 14, 2002 Report Share Posted September 14, 2002 I've heard it said that it's more important to understand the culture than the language and I think there's some truth in that. "This evening I was sat at a beer-bar near NEP. I asked a girl how much ST was. She told me 3000baht..." I've tried that old trick as well and I've never been quoted anything as high as that! You must be an ugly bastard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJsushi Posted September 14, 2002 Report Share Posted September 14, 2002 First I challenge you to name me a few major tourist regions or expat living places where prices are not inflated. Wherever you generally have foreigners in mass the locals will charge higher rates. I don't believe that it is essential to speak the language to get fair prices. You should know what fair value is and bargain accordingly. Getting a good price is more dependent on your skills as a bargainer than language. I remeber a street vendor in Chiang Mai that I spent a full hour haggling with over a silver bracelet. I think the difference in our prices was 400bt. When she finally succumbed to my price she had a big grin on her face and said to my Thai speaking friend that I was the best haggler she ever met who was a foriegner. Mind you we never spoke a word to each other just a calculator going back and forth between us. Mind you wasting an hour haggling over 400bt was not very time efficient for me but it was damn good fun. I think that speaking Thai is an essential skill needed in order to socialize properly and to have a bettter LOS experience especially if you are an expat. I personally have a rough time when I socialize at events such as dinner parties and I am the only non-Thai speaker. I rely heavily on other guests speaking English to me or translating the surrounding conversations. A girl charging you 3000bt short time I am sure had nothing to do with your Thai speaking skills so I would think this is a poor example to support your case. Criticism is part of posting. There are many who disagree with what I have to say and some who may think I am a complete moron, yet I don't get touchy and sensitive about it. We all don't view things din the same light. As long as you believe in your opinions that is what matters. You remind me of another poster who was so sensitive to criticism that he always threatened to quit posting when someone didn't agree with him. 2 questions. Did you buy a drink in the go-go bar you were in or did you just sit down. Before you discussed price with the BG did you buy her a lady drink? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 14, 2002 Report Share Posted September 14, 2002 "(she) said to my Thai speaking friend that I was the best haggler she ever met who was a foriegner" Did she also say you are hansum man #1 also. I not that all the boys who say it is not neccessary to speak thai, CAN NOT speak thai. Thai is 100% essential to speak if you want to live in the kingdom, just like all countries that do not speak english. Try walking into the tax office every year or trying to live as a normal upper class thai would day to day and not speak any thai. It is impossible. There are cases every week that I wish I knew more thai. I probably know about 1000 words but have problems with saying conditions, and more technical phrases. It is a pain in the ass trying to get my car fixed sometimes. You never know when you need to order pizza without ham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sayjann Posted September 14, 2002 Report Share Posted September 14, 2002 i find speaking thai is not essential. many of them speak passable english,espiecally in the tourist areas. was with my girl in patong and i bought a bulk order of the 'pictures painted on cloth'. i thought i had done well with the bartering,but when we left,she told me i was 'stupid falang',paid too much,thai would pay only a 1/4 of what i paid. i complained why did'nt she say anything?,and was told i was falang and thai had to live and get as much money from falang. from then on,i have always got the girl to buy the stuff i want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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