Yesterday I read about a TEFL-er who dived to his tragic death from his balcony at his 'apartment' just outside Bangkok. He was intoxicated and depressed according to friends. Sad and quite common though. As one person said, this has gotta be the world's capital for this kind of death. In most cases it is because some foolish idiot can't believe that his bargirl "darling" would have the 'heart' to rip him off or cheat him in some way. But as the top 10 goes, the farang boyfriend is even lower than the buffalo.
Anyway, this got me thinking, about Thailand being called "The Land Of Smiles" and I honestly think that many take this phrase literally and confuse it with real actual life. Yes, the real world.
Like when the backpacker sees the polluted canals strewn with rubbish and can't believe that these smiling kind folks who cook them pad thai are capable of such environmental damage.
I mean, do they expect the locals to be permanently smiling for fucks sake?
Believe it or not I've met guys who think that this should and can be the case, and after a few weeks of living, Tefl-ing and being amongst locals in their real lives and day-to-day activities, and living in one of those concrete boxes for 4000-5000 Baht a month in say, Saphan Khwai, Nakhon nowhere, Bang Kanshithole or Pinklao, start to lose it completely.
My belief is that living life this way was never meant to be like this, seriously, what do these guys see down the line in their future?
Some may have savings, yes, ok, fine, several thousand pounds or dollars in an overseas bank, but I've met farang guys who are here and expect their life to be almost identical to that of when they were a tourist who lived in the real world and went back to the real world. People being nice to them, smiling, eating at expensive restaurants, tipping staff who smile a lot and don't act blatantly like they despise you, I could go on, and I will, because the locals can be morons, and here are my examples why.
Also, before I start, I want to mention that being a luuk-kreung is no walk in the park at times. Thais make immediete assumptions and most of them are quite rude ones at that, no prizes for guessing what they are.
Anyway let's move onto the subject of this thread that I'm sure yu'll be able to identify with, and that's when the locals act like they are primitive, ignorant pricks:
Invading my personal space: Mainly but not always, I have found that it's the lower classes that behave in this way, acting like they are the sole race of people that exist on earth, (most are 'educated' this way sadly) and when I am walking along the road and some twit with his bicycle barges straight into me or the guy on the bus next to me doesn't move his leg so I can sit comfortably, I am now conversant enough in Thai to tell him to either "fuck off" or "move themselves", while shaking my head so they are aware of my derision for them.
"I own a Mercedes Benz so I am the most superior person on the road or on earth": These kind of people are the same kind that also need you to see them talking into a mobile phone, just so that you can see that they have one, and if you are a farang, then even better. I despise these people and their driving habits.
You're a farang so you are only interested in purchasing the most expensive television in the store: Ignorant sales staff at the Big C think that your eyes are blinkered to only notice the most pricey set they have for sale and when you ask or enquire about an alternative model that's cheaper they usually tell you it's "no good" and then when I ask further questions in fluent Thai, it puts them off even more.
The movie is Thai so why would you want to watch it?: I had a couple of hours to kill the other night so went to watch a film at Central World Plaza. As I'd already seen "The Mist" the only other option that interested me was a Thai film called "Soul's Code". It wasn't bad, though neither would it sweep the oscars.
Anyway this isn't the first time I've bought tickets to watch a Thai film, and the ignorant member of staff told me while acting confusingly, screwing up her face, that it was "movie Thai" four times before she'd sell me a ticket for it. I assured her I knew, and again she screwed up her face as if I'd asked her to KY her arsehole for me (I would have given the chance, mind you).
Playing a computer game for 6 hours at the age of 30 when you could be, or should be, doing better things: This one gets me, as I used to live close to a large internet cafe, and use it quite often when I had to store all my stuff in Pattaya back in January. On many occasions the place would be almost full of fully grown 'boys' playing the game which has the loud sound of gunfire, constantly for sometimes hours on end.
On some occasions they would even be sitting there with their car keys and phone next to them. Car keys? If I owned a car Isure wouldn't be sitting in some crummy net cafe playing a game. Is this one reason why Thai females prefer farangs on some occasions? Possibly.
Anyway, over to some of you. What makes the locals morons in your eyes? Be honest please and Smeg, you don't need to ask if I'm sick of this country or about to throw myself seven storeys down cos I wouldn't dream of it.