Thread: Farang ‘Begpackers’ selling Thai flags in Bangkok

Farang ‘Begpackers’ selling Thai flags in Bangkok

A week ago, this photo of a foreign man on a roadside with Thai flags appeared on Twitter with the caption, “This farang at Sri Ayutthaya junction hands out flags to the cars stuck in traffic with a small piece of paper.

Every car would return the flags to him. I’m not sure if he’s trying to sell the flags”. Well, if every car gives them back, it’s probably a safe bet that he’s trying to sell them. Today, a similar photo of a young, attractive, smiling, white blond woman appeared in the Bangkok Post with the caption, “A Western woman sells miniature national and royal flags at an intersection near the Customs Department in Klong Toey district. She hands potential buyers a note saying she is deaf and trying to raise money to buy a hearing aid. Concerns have been raised over whether she is breaking labor laws by selling the flags without a work permit”.


Hmmm, her routine of handing a note with the flag sounds very similar to the routine of the man in the photo above. Could they both be deaf? Popular blogger Richard Barrow in Thailand shared the Bangkok Post’s photo of the woman. Commentators seemed to believe she was scamming. Some noted that, if she is European, she could likely get a hearing aid for free in her home country. Selling the flags of a country not their own seems to be a new way for foreign begpackers to raise money on the street. It seems like another way to play on the heartstrings of generous and patriotic Thais. Source: Coconuts Bangkok



Farang 'Begpackers' selling Thai flags in Bangkok - PattayaOne

I wonder if they could hear when they get to jail.

Good luck with your new business venture Chitty.

Originally Posted by DJ Pat

She hands potential buyers a note saying she is deaf

Throw an M-80 at her when she's not looking....see how high she jumps.

I'd flag that blonde

I could show her how she could earn 500 baht in a night.

Originally Posted by DJ Pat

play on the heartstrings of generous and patriotic Thais.

Originally Posted by DJ Pat

Every car would return the flags to him.

Errrmmmm, so what generosity and patriotism was that then?

Originally Posted by Muppet

Good luck with your new business venture Chitty.

Hellu

You're like the nerdy kid imitating the person he thinks is the coolest in class.

It's embarrassing.

Originally Posted by cyrille

It's embarrassing.

You should see his private life.

Pairs of knob jockeys that have got nothing better to do than fish for a reaction.
Be patient, i'll rip you both a new one when I'm really bored.

^just don't have the audacity to get dates with uni girls

Wouldn't be a lose if they were invited to disappear.

Originally Posted by Maanaam

I could show her how she could earn 500 baht in a night.

Not everybody wants to push meth, man.


*shakes head*

Some backpackers are taking traveling on a shoestring to a new level.

According to a recent report by The Guardian, authorities in Thailand, Indonesia, and other countries are cracking down on "begpackers": usually young Westerners who ask locals for money to help fund their journeys. Some of the travelers sell photographs or perform songs on sidewalks, while others simply ask for quick handouts, the report said.

The locals who give begpackers money are often poorer than the travelers.


In Hong Kong, new busking laws are forcing out street performers, mainly because of noise complaints. According to the South China Morning Post, begpackers were all over the city three years ago, including outside train stations, on footbridges, and on sidewalks.

The Indonesian island of Bali is also clamping down on foreigners who ask locals to pay for their trips. The South China Morning Post quotes an immigration official in Ngurah Rai International Airport saying that tourists who run out of money or are pretending to be beggars will be sent to their embassies.

The crackdown on begpackers has affected street performers who busk to support their art. One such performer is Tomoya Nagayama from Japan, who the South China Morning Post says won't be busking in Hong Kong any longer.

"Someone called the police on me," Nagayama told the South China Morning Post. "I think it's because many older Hongkongers feel contempt for me — well, not just me, but Hong Kong buskers, too."

Whatever happened to djpat?

The photos have nothing to do with the story. Some sort of meta humor?

Originally Posted by Cujo

Whatever happened to djpat?

He followed Smeg down his rabbit hole.

I'm sorry but isn't that what Heinz 57 sauce inferred tefflers are all about?

It's like acting in a way. I'll school you out of some money if you let me. Granted there are some good actors and some that are just plain bad.