A straight guy gives up on Thailand

I found this on the Internet some interesting ideas I wonder what other's think http://two.cedonulli.com/2012/06/why-im ... -thailand/ (http://two.cedonulli.com/2012/06/why-im-leaving-thailand/)

[Thai Dyed]

I found this on the Internet some interesting ideas I wonder what other's think http://two.cedonulli.com/2012/06/why-im ... -thailand/ (http://two.cedonulli.com/2012/06/why-im-leaving-thailand/)

This is quite a good article and I want to thank you BrisbaneGuy for calling it to our attention.

Yes..thanks..i enjoyed reading that....food for thought

[cdnmatt]

To me, just sounds like a guy who had a great adventure that he doesn't regret, and is now moving on with his life.

I don't think that article really says anything good or bad about Thailand. Just that he's tired of the norm, and decided it was time for the next journey / experience.

[Neal]

I guess that's why I always referred to this as Fantasyland and it seems that this person has realized it and wants to go back to reality.
Some of us will do that and some of us are in a period of our lives whether it be physically or financially that picking up and moving just would not be in the cards and decide to stay.

[Thai Dyed]

I don't think that article really says anything good or bad about Thailand.

In fact, the author stated in no uncertain terms that the good things he found about Thailand were: 1. the "mai pen rai" attitude of the people; 2. the sex; 3. the low cost of living; 4. lots of interesting characters among the expats; 5. the food. He even went so far as to say that the food was "the only thing I really hesitate about when getting excited about leaving Thailand." That's a lot of good things that you seemed to have missed Matt.

He was likewise explicit and articulate in expressing what he found bad about Thailand. Among his points were: 1. farang are always "outsiders"; 2. the "iPhone culture", which most of us have had up to our ears; 3. the sanitation in public places; 4. he particularly disliked the ignorance and superstition of the Thais. Here is his key paragraph on that count:

Good god, you think Americans are stupid? Come to Thailand. People here donтАЩt *want* to know anything. ItтАЩs bizarre, and I for sure havenтАЩt had a single even pseudo-intellectual conversation with a Thai person. And I get out quite a bit. Back to the expat thing тАж why live long term in a place where the majority of the population doesnтАЩt have or even want a fucking clue? And weтАЩre not talking about molecular biology or classic literature, either. They believe in ghosts, nobody wants to learn English (argue with me about this one, expat, please), even basic cultural references otherwise universal are totally lost on people. It is fully third world, donтАЩt be fooled by the iPhones.

Nor is he a first-world chauvinist in this regard which he made clear when he said "I need either third world a little more pure, without the status monger majority and iPhone obsession, or go full first world and have interesting conversations and smell clean mountain air to go with it."

He is now in a place that is "a little more pure" in its third-worldness. While I don't agree with all of his conclusions, I just love his free spirit nature without having been trapped in "relationships" and other hang ups that so many gays (and straights too) labour under. I actually gained some insight from this guy for which I am very grateful. On top of that, he writes well.

[adman5000]

Although the writer tried to balance the pros and cons, I thought he came off as a bit of a whiner and accepts and explains that in his last paragraph. So I took his writing as more "tongue in cheek" with cultural generalizations and as a thought-provoking way to share his observations. He did however, capture many of the things that typically bother Westerners.

In regards to learning the language, I think one can become reasonably conversational if you surround yourself with locals and view it more as a game rather than making it into work. Whether learning or teaching, using humor and making things into a game seems to be a useful method in Thailand. Add mai pen rai to that and I think it can help a Westerner cope.

Yes, I will always be "the foreigner" in Thailand. But I have found ways to use it to my advantage, rather than to sulk about it. After all, I am a foot taller and more than 100 pounds biiger than them. I have white skin and they could use one of my shoes to escape the flood. I have the money to do what I want. I guess I am not surprised to be viewed as the foreigner. I think the expats who stay in Thailand just accept most of the differences. For me, after a month or two, it really helps remind me of the things I DO ENJOY about my home country. So for now, I am happier as the visitor rather than the resident.

But if this guy thinks going to Cambodia is going to be vastly different in terms of "fitting in" or avoiding cultural differences, I think we will definitely have an interesting Part III to read in the near future. I guess he got tired of the castles and the mountain air pretty quickly. Maybe many of us do.

I liked his writing and found it a useful mental exercise to think through my own feelings about what I like/miss when I am in Thailand and what I like/miss when I leave Thailand.

I love Thailand.....but when i got back to the uk...i realised i love some of the things about my routine back home
i think if you stay in one place all the time...you take for granted some of the good things you have
and being a visitor makes Thailand an exciting place to be