[Nautilus]

Welcome to the Forum. Weird experience!
It is possible this guy was raising funds for one of the voluntary organisations that attend road accidents and suicides etc and undertake funeral arrangements for those dead without families. Thats all I can think of.

[dmoiknlasd]

My question is, Was the first person he went up to a Thai, was he brushed off in the Thai language, then he came up to you and as you don't speak Thai he just smiled.
I think he was either raising money for charity, or a psychopath showing off his work.

I'm going with the latter.

The man at the first table didn't talk or even look at him...I thought he was being rude. Maybe he had encountered the man before.

He didn't take the time to find out if we spoke Thai or not, or to show us a price/donation list. Just showed the pictures, smiled and walked off.

: )
SM

[bensabath]

My husband & I just got back from 3 weeks in Thailand. We loved it so much it was hard to come back to the states. The Thai people are incredible and aside from this one experience were very friendly and nice.

We were having lunch in Banglamphu (@ May Kaidee's-a great vegetarian place) and saw a nicely dressed man with a thick photo album approach the table behind us. The man at the table just brushed him off so he came up to our table. His photo album was open and had a picture of dead person hanging from a noose and a picture of a dead girl curled up on the floor with a head wound. I didn't look at the other two, but looked up at him and he had the nicest, warmest smile on his face. Then he walked off with no words exchanged.

What on earth was that about do you suppose? I can't come up with a single explanation.

Thanks,
SM

That's weird, especially for us who can't speak thai, I really don't know how to response to him.

[Mjyzpzph]

Some things just 'happen' without a rational explanation.

David

[dmoiknlasd]

Tell me, which of May's branches were you in. I eat in the Samsen branch once a week and occaisionally in the branch behind Burger King, and have been for nearly 3yrs. I've never seen this guy before, if I do see him I'll try to ask what he is all about, or at least ask the staff anyway.

I believe we were at the one right by Th Khao San.

I should have asked the guy that was working there if he knew anything about it, or asked the guy at the other table, I didn't though. I think I was in shock.

Thanks Ben Kroo!

[largonioulurI]

My question is, Was the first person he went up to a Thai, was he brushed off in the Thai language, then he came up to you and as you don't speak Thai he just smiled.
I think he was either raising money for charity, or a psychopath showing off his work.

[darieBarexish]

It is possible this guy was raising funds for one of the voluntary organisations that attend road accidents and suicides etc and undertake funeral arrangements for those dead without families. Thats all I can think of.

Yes, this guy was raising funds, but for which organization!!!! I had this kind of experience once, people told me not to give money to them. We don’t know whether they are from real foundation or not, they dress in uniform, came by pickup truck, look like a rescue team, they spread around to do their work, few words from them, might be “ ·ÓºØ*¤ÃѺ/ tamboon krub” or please make merit. And they are very polite, nicest and warmest smile on their faces waiting for your money. Even though they don’t get your money they keep on smiling and move on to others.

The major voluntary foundation in Thailand - Pohtecktung http://www.pohtecktung.com/home.htm warns in the website to beware of scams, they don’t send their staff to collect money or anything at home or public places unless donators are inconvenient and want them to, but by appointment only.

[ireleda]

most likely a family photo album and it was just a way to tell you to be nice and don't kill any girls or they will hang you. 555

[ireleda]

same thing used to and most likely still does happen in Mexico, people come around asking for a donation to help in the recovery of alkies and junkies and say that they are collecting donations for AA, which I know is a scam because AA never goes public or even asks for donations from members at a meeting, sure they do accept and the org. operates on donations but only from members and never a public asking.
some meetings will not accept donations from members at their first meeting either and AA has no outside interests and dopers are not alkies, so they are outside interests too and detox facilities are a private interest.

[Boripiomi]

Tell me, which of May's branches were you in. I eat in the Samsen branch once a week and occaisionally in the branch behind Burger King, and have been for nearly 3yrs. I've never seen this guy before, if I do see him I'll try to ask what he is all about, or at least ask the staff anyway.

[dmoiknlasd]

My husband & I just got back from 3 weeks in Thailand. We loved it so much it was hard to come back to the states. The Thai people are incredible and aside from this one experience were very friendly and nice.

We were having lunch in Banglamphu (@ May Kaidee's-a great vegetarian place) and saw a nicely dressed man with a thick photo album approach the table behind us. The man at the table just brushed him off so he came up to our table. His photo album was open and had a picture of dead person hanging from a noose and a picture of a dead girl curled up on the floor with a head wound. I didn't look at the other two, but looked up at him and he had the nicest, warmest smile on his face. Then he walked off with no words exchanged.

What on earth was that about do you suppose? I can't come up with a single explanation.

Thanks,
SM

[Yswxomvy]

Thai people often smile in a situation like this in order to cover up their embarrassment. Foreigners often see this as the Thai people laughing at them. But, that is not always the case. He was just trying to defuse a situation.

Now I understand better why Thailand is called "Land of Smiles". Haha!

More about Thai smiles, seriously speaking, I had seen some Thais smile in situations where a more categorical verbal answer would have been more appropriate. They smiled as a reply to the question, "Did you understand the instructions? Do you have any questions?" And the smiles didn't mean 'yes' or 'no'.

I handled a workshop in Thailand where the participants had to do a Structured Learning Activity that entailed a lot of instructions. I knew the exercise was rather complicated and so I was asking them every step of the way if they understood the direction. I only got smiles--sweet smiles.

When we ran the exercise I found out they had not understood!

I learned a lot from that experience .

[LarryRda]

So SM, can you sleep well that night after you saw the photos?

[ASSESTYTEAH]

It is possible this guy was raising funds for one of the voluntary organisations that attend road accidents and suicides etc and undertake funeral arrangements for those dead without families.

That was my first thought too. Though they usually show me the price list of what your donation pays for. Like 100 baht for the funeral cloth. They have never shown me dead people.

[Dominick Yo]

There have been a lot of reports in the Thia langauge press about 'fake' volunteer donation collectors for charities. Some of the time these charities simply do not exist (fake brochures/ID card etc..) or the swindlers 'claim' they are collecting on behalf of a legitimate charity.

The same goes for 'fake' monks and nuns!

Most of the swindlers as reported, either work alone or in pairs and move from one collecting location to another quite hastily - so avoiding any suspicious municipality law-enforcers.

The guy, as mentioned in this thread, sounds pretty dodgy.

[ASSESTYTEAH]

Just showed the pictures, smiled and walked off.

Thai people often smile in a situation like this in order to cover up their embarrassment. Foreigners often see this as the Thai people laughing at them. But, that is not always the case. He was just trying to defuse a situation.