Good Farangs

[Glasseye]

We get bombarded with bad farang stories, usually completely understood and well deserved. But, we hear little regarding the goodness that we sometimes do.

A few minutes ago @thegrogmonsterposted a nice one on helping a kid's family with doctor expenses/treatment. It gave me the thought.... It might be nice to share stories now and then about folks who do the little (sometimes big) things to help. Even if just amongst ourselves. 

[Nightcrawler]

I think, during Covid, many expats stepped up to help Thais who were seriously affected by lack of food and shelter. The pictures of queues for food and water were more than evident at the time. A lot of money was raised. You wouldn't know it now that just a couple of years ago, Pattaya was almost a ghost town  

For tourists, like myself, I rarely get to meet Thais, not associated with the tourist industry, but its a lot different for those for expat farangs, many who put back, into the place which they have made their home. 

I reckon most of us are good farangs in the sense that we behave respectfully and peacefully toward the country and people we are visiting and I seldom see any colonial type attitudes these days. 

Pattaya and other tourist areas are a bubble, and do not represent Thailand as a whole. Those of us who have travelled around the country and spent any time in villages and typical 3towns will know that. 

But for some, they only the tourist side behave like they might in Benidorm or Ibiza. They come and go and often behave like animals. But in my opinion, they are few and far a very small minority. 

We should not forget that the main reason for Thais coming to work in places like Pattaya and leaving their homes and families is due to poverty and a chance of employment that they might not get elsewhere, particularly if poorly educated and unskilled. 

Indirectly, we are all helping toward the economy and the welfare of Thai families from places far and wide, while having fun and relaxation. 

Sure it may feel sometimes that we are walking wallets, but everything balances out. I am sure that for most bar girls, shagging Western tourists for money, would have been their first choice of employment if there were other opportunities, and there is pressure from their families and the needs of their children to send money home. 

Once part of the entertainment industry, its hard to leave, and there is not the kind of welfare systems that we enjoy in the West. 

As in the first post, it's easy to identify bad farangs but overlook the mostly good and unnoticed 

Thailand often penned as the land of smiles but I often see beyond the smile on girls faces, who playact night after night to please us, but are constantly thinking about their families back home and the worries they have and we don't see. 

We can just walk away at the end of holiday, but not so easy for them  

 

 

[Glasseye]

1 hour ago, Nightcrawler said:

I think, during Covid, many expats stepped up to help Thais who were seriously affected by lack of food and shelter. The pictures of queues for food and water were more than evident at the time. A lot of money was raised. You wouldn't know it now that just a couple of years ago, Pattaya was almost a ghost town  

For tourists, like myself, I rarely get to meet Thais, not associated with the tourist industry, but its a lot different for those for expat farangs, many who put back, into the place which they have made their home. 

I reckon most of us are good farangs in the sense that we behave respectfully and peacefully toward the country and people we are visiting and I seldom see any colonial type attitudes these days. 

Pattaya and other tourist areas are a bubble, and do not represent Thailand as a whole. Those of us who have travelled around the country and spent any time in villages and typical 3towns will know that. 

But for some, they only the tourist side behave like they might in Benidorm or Ibiza. They come and go and often behave like animals. But in my opinion, they are few and far a very small minority. 

We should not forget that the main reason for Thais coming to work in places like Pattaya and leaving their homes and families is due to poverty and a chance of employment that they might not get elsewhere, particularly if poorly educated and unskilled. 

Indirectly, we are all helping toward the economy and the welfare of Thai families from places far and wide, while having fun and relaxation. 

Sure it may feel sometimes that we are walking wallets, but everything balances out. I am sure that for most bar girls, shagging Western tourists for money, would have been their first choice of employment if there were other opportunities, and there is pressure from their families and the needs of their children to send money home. 

Once part of the entertainment industry, its hard to leave, and there is not the kind of welfare systems that we enjoy in the West. 

As in the first post, it's easy to identify bad farangs but overlook the mostly good and unnoticed 

Thailand often penned as the land of smiles but I often see beyond the smile on girls faces, who playact night after night to please us, but are constantly thinking about their families back home and the worries they have and we don't see. 

We can just walk away at the end of holiday, but not so easy for them  

 

 

 

Tremendous post mate. Tip of the cap to you, indeed.    

[ThaiTim]

The one that choked me up was during the tsunami where many many reports of Thais helping the foreigners often at the cost of their own lives.

 

I hear much negative comment about this and especially Thai ladies who the peasants back home immediately assume are bar girls. Not once did I hear any conversationcomme ding the selfless acts of the many thais who gave their lives.

 

Moving further back google Boonpong and brothers in relation to the death railway.

[Butch]

On 4/23/2024 at 8:15 AM, ThaiTim said:

The one that choked me up was during the tsunami where many many reports of Thais helping the foreigners often at the cost of their own lives.

 

I hear much negative comment about this and especially Thai ladies who the peasants back home immediately assume are bar girls. Not once did I hear any conversationcomme ding the selfless acts of the many thais who gave their lives.

 

Moving further back google Boonpong and brothers in relation to the death railway.

Great post, Even the media glossed over the kindness that the Thai people extended to foreigners during that Tsunami period, also, when the Airport was taken over during the change of Govt (choosing my words carefully due to forum rules) - Many Thai people helped those stranded at the Airport by bringing food, taking care of the children and generally also being helped a lot by the people occupying the Airport at the time who gave ration packs and ensured there was plenty of water to go around.

As for good farangs, in Pattaya I think more so in recent years, foreigners look upon other foreigners with suspicion. I got chatting to an Aussie bloke in a bar who told me that for every 10 blokes he meets, at least 3 of them have an angle of some description.

I think Pattaya can erode the kindness of people somewhat, but as @Nightcrawler said in his excellent post, Pattaya is somewhat of a bubble. I've seen some bloody horrific behaviour by farangs in pattaya, but on the flipside I've seen acts of kindness that go largely unnoticed, but they never go unappreciated if they're genuine acts of kindness towards a Thai.

Edited Wednesday at 07:20 PM by Butch

[karon steve]

Many a pick truck loaded down with clothes, water and food went from Phuket to the Kao Lak area donated by Thai's and foreigners alike. There was no discrimination on who received help.
Many a foreigner almost emptied their wardrobes to donate.
Others emptied their wallets or purses when a whip round was made in the small beer bar area in Karon. 300,000 baht in under an hour. This was given to "Freddie Mercury" who turned it into the above supplies and shipped it north. I just wish that he hadn't showed us all the photos he took though.
Many foreigners volunteered their time and expertise to build temporary accommodation in Khao Lak.

Many, many acts of kindness and compassion were seen. 3 months later all back to normal unfortunately.

[Glasseye]

10 hours ago, Butch said:

Great post, Even the media glossed over the kindness that the Thai people extended to foreigners during that Tsunami period, also, when the Airport was taken over during the change of Govt (choosing my words carefully due to forum rules) - Many Thai people helped those stranded at the Airport by bringing food, taking care of the children and generally also being helped a lot by the people occupying the Airport at the time who gave ration packs and ensured there was plenty of water to go around.

As for good farangs, in Pattaya I think more so in recent years, foreigners look upon other foreigners with suspicion. I got chatting to an Aussie bloke in a bar who told me that for every 10 blokes he meets, at least 3 of them have an angle of some description.

I think Pattaya can erode the kindness of people somewhat, but as @Nightcrawler said in his excellent post, Pattaya is somewhat of a bubble. I've seen some bloody horrific behaviour by farangs in pattaya, but on the flipside I've seen acts of kindness that go largely unnoticed, but they never go unappreciated if they're genuine acts of kindness towards a Thai.

 

Absolutely. Pattaya presents a distorted perspective.

Years ago as I branched out my eyes were opened, new discoveries, experiences and learning opportunities around every corner. My outlook on people in general became more positive, yet I maintained a reasonable level of wariness.

Pattaya still has some quality people with truly good hearts, and I will always visit. 

For those who have hesitated to explore outside of there consider what's beyond. Doing so may change your life for the better.