[QwOpHGyZ]

Quote[/b] (Seeker @ Feb. 28 2005,16:49)]Yep, this was another funny one! I especially agree with your advice and reasoning for eating out. However, I can't agree with the one where you advise against criticizing Thai politicians:
Originally Posted by [b Quote[/b] ]ours aren’t exactly worth writing home about.

Whose are 'ours' , Steve? For people who live in Thailand, who are their politicians?

Finally, the word 'Farang' can, in some cases, be derogatory, spoken with insults in mind. It really depends on the situation.

Quote[/b] ]Do go for a 100 baht haircut, you will be impressed by the service.

I went for the 120Bt haircut just the other day, and their service was excellent indeed! i have a place i visit in bangkok for 60 baht haircuts- they always assume im in the service though-

[pkxlugbsbv]

cheers...best one was about farang as i have been very confused by it......i am very proud to be British and to just keep being called a 'farang' and not British i kept feeling offended being lumped into such a huge catagory just like the 'white man' but i guess if that is not how Thai's see it i will not be so offended now.

[Indian Butt Magic]

Quote[/b] ]Do go for a 100 baht haircut, you will be impressed by the service.

Well. that is just a little cheaper, than A$6 Hair Saloon in Hurstville Sydney Australia. That's all I pay, 180 baht, probably illegal immigrants for that price.

[Tazqoaap]

some places in my town, samut prakarn, provide a really good service just for 50 baht!!! do you believe that?!?

[entaifsfets]

Today I get a hair cut for less than (equal to)50Baht. And also a head & shoulders massage and neck and ear cracking.

[VtLe67WR]

Enjoy, Trangam...

Quote[/b] ]some places in my town, samut prakarn, provide a really good service just for 50 baht!!! do you believe that?!?

Yes Gor, I believe it - when I was in a tiny village in Isaan, I got a nice, no-frills haircut for 30Bt.

[Tazqoaap]

30 baht, that's very very cheap!!!

[VtLe67WR]

Yes, it is.

The small village doesn't have any Farang residents, and this particular barbershop was off the main road; a local friend of mine took me there. Perhaps it would have been more expensive if it was one of those Farang Isaan villages that are in the news nowadays.

Oh, the perks of living in the middle of nowhere!

[euylvaygdq]

If stevesuphan doesn't mind, I'd like to add a couple more Dos and Don'ts.

DO

Remember that you are a guest in the kingdom.

DON'T

Make negative comments about the Thai government or its officials.

Become a political activist, especially a communist.

Forget that you are farang and will never be accepted as Thai, no matter how much you try to identify with the locals.

[entaifsfets]

Vision, I think you are angry. Sorry. I know you and your posts from long time and I will not feel good when you may feel otherwise. So, whatever be the case my apologies to you.

[euylvaygdq]

Quote[/b] ]Vision, I think you are angry.

Actually, I am quite happy. Do my dos and don'ts express some sort of emotional overtone? Are they not good advice to visitors to Thailand?

[Indian Butt Magic]

Quote[/b] ]Do my dos and don'ts express some sort of emotional overtone?

This terminology translates from Vision to English = "Vision packs a weapon so don't provoke me and I won't get angry."

[euylvaygdq]

Quote[/b] ]So my Jit Pumisak tee shirt design is not really a good idea then?

I would suggest that it is in poor taste, especially if a farang were to wear it while visiting the kingdom. What one wears in one's home country is, of course, quite a different matter.

[VtLe67WR]

Quote[/b] ]It is, of course, quite mature to make false insinuations and direct insults, then close the thread so the individual in question has no opportunity to reply. Now that's mature.

The explanation for closing that topic was crystal clear. Whether you agree or disagree with the reasons, that's completely irrelevant, considering that it was my topic.

Get over it and stop the stalking.

[snunsebrugs]

This verbal sparring match has got to stop. It is disturbing to see it in so many threads. Especially when it is between two senior and reputed forum members. Maybe you guys could use the PM system to settle any personal differences. It would be much neater and wouldn't reflect badly on you guys. I'm not siding with anyone, from my point of view, all this does the forum no good. I sincerely hope you guys can find middle ground or just amiably agree to disagree. I have the deepest respect for the both of you and am impressed consistently by your posts for the knowledge and experience of their contents, but this verbal wrestling does not reflect well on you guys.

[entaifsfets]

I think it would be quite hard for a farang to be accepted as a local, unless a lot of sacrifice is exhibited? However, it easier to attempt to 'mix' with the local culture in a way that is accepted - like, sugar mixes in milk!

[oplapofffe]

Glad you like that one Seeker!

Got a couple of comments at thai-blogs from Thai girls that read: 'Yep, my boyfriend just like that' and 'Lol... its so truuuuu!'

So before any farang start any arguments with me they had better start with the Thai girls first!

[Fertionbratte]

Quote[/b] (stayingalive @ Mar. 23 2005,10:34)] Originally Posted by [b Quote[/b] (visionchaser45 @ Mar. 09 2005,18:11)]DONT
Forget that you are farang and will never be accepted as Thai, no matter how much you try to identify with the locals.

i dont agree, I've lived all my life in thailand, speak read write fluent thai, all my friends are thai, i chill out with all my thai friends, even though both my parents are dutch, and im as white as they come, they dont see me as any different to them.. Without presuming to speak for visionchaser, I can see his point here. You may fit in with your friends, but if you went to live in a different part of Thailand you (or any of us) would just be 'that farang' again. Put it this way - would you regard Andrew Biggs or Jonas Andersson to be as 'Thai' as natural born Thai citizens ? I don't think most people would.

But compare that to a Thai living all their life in USA/UK and speaking fluent English, and they'd be accepted as being just as American or English as anyone else.

[oplapofffe]

Hi lads just back to this topic after an absense. Can i have a few words here.

If you are here living as a Farang for a long etc.. would you honestly want the locals to see you as a Thai and not a Farang? I think not, as living here as a farang is much more fun than hospitable than for more Thais. Example: you are a Thai country lad with a dirty bag and shirt and sit down at a shop table, along comes a scruff Farang - who will be more welcomed? The Farang sure and not just cause they are after your cash thats unfair to say, the Thais are genuinly much more welcoming to Farang than they are their own people.

What Vision has said (as quoted above) is true but only to a certain extent. If you are fluent in Thai, your habits are almost Thai etc.. you will be seen nearer the halfway mark ie not a Tai but still not so Farang ( I get thiswhich is made even more so by my dark hair and small frame, similar to a thai).

I am regarded more Thaish than say Andrew Biggs who is seen by the Thais as a full on Farang, not a thai at all cause of his appearance and very Farang argumentative nature. Jonas is considered much similar along the lines as myself.

As for stayingalive, if he really has lived all his life here then for an outsider farang to argue with him about 'what life is like for people like him' is unfair

[Fertionbratte]

I agree! Please, Visionchaser and Seeker, if you can't possibly get along can't you just ignore each other's posts and not rise to the bait ? This constant flaming on loads of topics reflects badly on the forums as a whole and doesn't seem to serve any positive purpose at all. Too many threads are being taken over by it and I hope for the sake of these forums that you two can just agree to disagree and move on.