What I have learned in 20+ years of visiting Thailand....

A rejoinder to Rainwalker:

Farang friends in Thailand do not need to be nurtured: a friend is a friend is a friend.

Avoid dangerous streets, sidewalks and highways: stay at home.

If you want to lose your temper go ahead; bottled up emotions lead to heart attacks.

Always drive defensively: the only idiots on the roads are others.

People usually laughing at you have a point; usually covering their own embarrassment

When "offing" a companion believe nothing of what he says he will do: actions speak louder than words.

If you live in Pattaya then you are a resident: sex tourists are transient.

You may look old but you are young at heart.

There is no such thing as Thai time unless you buy your boyfriend a watch.

You will be stared at everywhere; walking banks are welcome.

You will always have more money than most of the Thais you meet.

Friendships last a lifetime and a real friend is there to help you in any circumstances. Most of us have few friends only lots of people we know.

Thais are friendly: see above; would you turn your bank manager the door?

Thai drinking habits are contrary to their way of life; a bottle is welcomed head on.

Only some Thais like being "offed" by old, fat, bald, smelly farangs.

YOUR status matters to Thais.

Polite society would not know what "Cheap Charlies" are.

Greetings to Thai policemen should be with one hand out and the other on your wallet.

Polite members of society always dress well.

Buying your own bottle to take to a bar shows you know that bar prices for singles are expensive especially if your Thai friends drink the same as you which is nearly always the case.

Money loaned to Thais is considered a gift even before your friend asks for a loan.

Never ask a Thai to chose between you and his family; family always comes first.

Remember, at some point in the future, be it days, months or years, your Thai partner will always stab you in the back (how many of your farang friends have a relationship with a Thai that has not turned sour and expensive?).

Thailand is for Thais; farangs are a necessary (so far) evil who provides money and little else but complain about the way of life. We can always leave but which country welcomes low (or no) income, ill educated and unpredictable Thais?

And yes, I still would prefer to be in Thailand.

Rainwalker99 wrote :


What have you learned???

The same in only 10 years ! :flower:

A rejoinder to Rainwalker:

Farang friends in Thailand do not need to be nurtured: a friend is a friend is a friend.

etc etc etc

And yes, I still would prefer to be in Thailand.

And a clever rejoinder it is, geneman.

Now somebody copy it to Gaythailand, please (wowpow?).

Ayatollah Gaybutton will have a heart attack.

[Lunchtime O'Booze]

I knew all that in 6 months !!..why did it take you 20 years ?? :idea:

also "If you live in Pattaya, you are a sex tourist. "..not so..you are a sex tourist anywhere you live. :cheese:

Nurture Farangs because they are your greatest resource in Thailand. Remember that favours require reciprocation.
Friendship with Farangs is mostly situational.Hmmm. I'm sure it's sound advice ... if only I could understand what it means. Use other people as you want to be used?

[catawampuscat]

You would enjoy Pattaya/Jomtien right now as you could walk in the rain most days. Today feels like "cold" season
and very cloudy as well. Not quite a beach day.
Absolutely loved your well thought out thread topic and opening.
Geneman's response was generally humorous . cynical but clever.

Great to have a thread which challenges us to think a bit about our lives and look at ourselves. Of course, this response
will be attacked and ripped apart. You can't like everyone and everyone can't like you.

Wisdom does take time and my viewpoints have changed from the first few trips to the last few years.
Aside from mentioning one poster by names, I think your thread belongs in the resource section and could be of
use to newbies as well as long timers and expats.

Can I borrow 500,000B. because the bird flu knocked out my chicken ranch and my boyfriend needs breast implants,
and I could use a face lift and some liposuction, and my ATM card is lost in the mail, and I got screwed on a condo deal
and the money from my hotel is due any day and my passport was stolen and we have been best friends for two hours already.
PM me for account info. Oops! I forgot I already borrowed 500,000B. from you and can't remember what bullshit I told you for that. :cat:

I should add that I wake up in the morning speaking Thai and go to bed at night speaking Thai, which is a situation I regard as normal because I am living in Thailand.What a bizarre notion. Do you also dream in Thai? Accept Thai precepts about the nature of the world? Consider the king to be truly a demi-god?

[Smiles]

" ... Nurture Farangs because they are your greatest resource in Thailand. Remember that favours require reciprocation.... "
My greatest resource ~ by a country mile ~ in Thailand is my Beloved ... bar none. So I nuture that above all.
I doubt my farang friends in Thailand would begrudge me that ... as they know who they are, and who we are.

I wouldn't be quite so dramatic & negative as jaafarabutarab's post regarding "farang social circles" . . . as I'm sure Rainwalker did not mean that kind of cliched, gossipy ~ often sozzled ~ aquaintance.

Cheers ...

[TrongpaiExpat]

Of course, I should add that I wake up in the morning speaking Thai and go to bed at night speaking Thai, which is a situation I regard as normal because I am living in Thailand.

OK, if that's fine with me but what are you doing here on an English speaking farang message board? There are Thai boards.

www.postjung.com/ (http://www.postjung.com/)

nice thread - i couldnt agree more about the smiling statement rainwalker

sorry to change the subject, but following on from Cats weather update, where i must say the rain was to blame many times for me not having my share of fun at the beach for several days

- why is there so much rain in this time of year? after all this is hot season, yes!? is this normal for pty now, or global warming to blame.....

ps - what do you do when you cant make the beach due to rain?

[Lunchtime O'Booze]

"Nurture Farangs because they are your greatest resource in Thailand. Remember that favours require reciprocation."

One of the great things about Pattaya ( and eleswhere in Thailand) is having so many farangs living there..they make a great part of your community.

[bing]

I have been visiting Pattaya since the early 90s. I don't put all the eggs in one basket and do other vacations
(read holidays if you are from Europe or Aussie land) when I can. Love to cruise the Caribbean at least once a year and do enjoy a brief trip to Puerto Vallarta every year or so. The Thing I learned about Thailand and Pattaya in particular, is it is more fun to be in Pattaya than any other place I travel. I have a few Thai boxer friends, and a couple of special friends who seem to wait for my return ( read Thai guys who don't mind older farang). I seem to have learned this after the first visit. I spent most of the time in Bangkok and loved every moment, but that first stay at Ambiance and meeting Gordon and Jim, Wow, what an introduction to the city. That time I even had a long haired cycle guy who loved taking me to the beach. Moan and grouch all you want guys, but there really is not place like Pattaya, at least that I have found. No doubt I will drop into Amor Restaurant two weeks from now and start up a conversation with Richard and it will be like we are continuing a chat we started only yesterday.

[Brad the Impala]

"Nurture Farangs because they are your greatest resource in Thailand. Remember that favours require reciprocation."

One of the great things about Pattaya ( and eleswhere in Thailand) is having so many farangs living there..they make a great part of your community.

It seems curious to feel that one of the great things about a foreign country is the number of expats!

[Dboy]

My greatest resources in Thailand are my Thai friends. They understand the Thai laws, the Thai system, and all the rest of it. Of course, I should add that I wake up in the morning speaking Thai and go to bed at night speaking Thai, which is a situation I regard as normal because I am living in Thailand.

See, I think this is the healthy way to approach living in the Kingdom. What's the sense in leaving the miserable country you came from to live in Thailand, only to bring the misery with you? If you're in Thailand, at least *try* to learn some Thai, eat normal Thai food, and have real friends. Why all the fear about learning a new culture? I have often noticed that the retiree/expat crowd who whine and bitch about everything (usually Brits), know little or nothing about the culture or language. Then as they get older, they end up alone and pathetic (like the above poster with the consistently-negative comments (no, not Brad)). If you become integrated into the culture, you'll be able to develop a real support structure, instead of having to find it in farang bars or resorting to molesting little boys just to get some human contact.


Dboy

[Lunchtime O'Booze]

I didn't say expats were the "greatest thing about a foreign country"..I was agreeing that they were your greatest recourse.

Unlike some farang snobs..I don't mention any names ( but boygenyuus does spring to mind) I don't pretend I'm a local because I may have been here many years (and fancy the locals ).

Pattaya is particularly good fun because there are so many farangs from all over the world who make it a most interesting place to be. There have been similar spots in the past..Tangiers, Marakesh were hot in the 60/70's.

Afterall-all those bars and nightclubs didn't pop up to entertain the locals.

[catawampuscat]

I have met many farangs who came to Thailand for their 2 week vacation every year and sat by themselves at the
beach or their hotel pool, ate by themselves and lived for the night when they could "off" a boy and have sex for an
hour or so. Good friends enrich us and false ones are the bloodsuckers that drain us.

When farangs find other farangs to talk with, dine with, go out with, it increases the fun of being in Thailand and
decreases the lonely times unless one prefers to dine alone on occasion. Over time, friends are introduced to friends
and some become new friends and some do not. Circles of farang friends grow and it is sad when their time is up and
joyful when they return.

Good friends are a valuable asset and should not be squandered or disrespected. False friends are plentiful and drinking
buddies are everywhere. False friends make themselves apparent when they make their pitch to borrow large sums
of money for urgent reasons and the naive farang with his new good friend sometimes takes the bait and rue it later when
they realize they have been scammed.

Many belittle the sex tourist or the sex driven ex-pat, and those that are socialized find others with common interests
and friendship in middle and old age is something to be valued.

If you have to buy your friends, see what happens when your wallet closes and how long they stick around. Anyone will be your friend when you are buying the drinks but they will quickly drift away when the baht is gone. Lots of scumbags wash up in places like Pattaya, and over the years I have befriended many of them but learned after a while to take my time getting friendly with new people. Much like newbies on this forum.

I greatly enjoyed Rainwalker's thread and the op ed article and he is one farang that can talk about other things than how big some
guy's cock is or how he never pays for sex like some insist. Well, I guess in a sauna but I digress :cat:

[Lunchtime O'Booze]

"Lots of scumbags wash up in places like Pattaya, and over the years I have befriended many of them"

water always find it's own level..etc etc :cheers: :cheers:

[Smiles]

" ... When farangs find other farangs to talk with, dine with, go out with, it increases the fun of being in Thailand and
decreases the lonely times unless one prefers to dine alone on occasion. Over time, friends are introduced to friends
and some become new friends and some do not. . . . . Good friends are a valuable asset and should not be squandered or disrespected. ... "
A post of Cat's to completely agree with is a good day ( notwithstanding the tab issue :blackeye: ).

The farang friends I have made ~ and see when I come to Thailand (and a somewhat larger group when I am in LoS for much longer stints and have the luxury of time and circumstance) ~ are a warming in the heart.
Last year it was such a simple pleasure to cocoon up in the cozy living room of a friend recently retired in Jomtien and watch the final Sunday round of the Masters on TV ~ the beloved fell asleep, but he needed it ~ with beer and orange juice and some delicious apple turnovers from the Continental Bakery.

Once on the beach in Patong ~ first trip (so long ago), I knew no one ~ i met a friendly guy from Canada and his boyfriend. He turned out to be the retired head librarian of a Canadian university . . . a funny and completely down to earth (and gob-smacking smart) guy whom we see a few times now ~ lots of juicy emails ~ and whom we'll see a lot more of come this November. I hope.

These dalliances add richness to life, and not easily given up. They take away from my life with the Beloved not one iota.

Cheers ...

[catawampuscat]

I appreciate it when posters I rarely agree with, point out the times when we are in agreement.
Thanks smiles and actually I sometimes agree with you too... you do have a warm fuzzy side.

Would you mind telling Brad the Imp that you find five finger relief, like all normal gay farangs do when
home alone, without an outlet. Brad the Imp seems to think I have nothing to do but search thru the
archives to prove my inane points to him. The Internet Court of Truth and Justice has only the owners
and or moderators to be the judges. I confess to self abuse and wacking when I was back in the
home country andwas an avid fan of erotic videos. No lightning strikes from heaven, so I guess it must be ok..

Is there anyone out there in cyberland and not in Thailand who isn't sexually frustrated and has to take
matters in their own hands for sexual relief? Maybe a lucky few are still sexually active past 40 or 50,
but the vast majority of us come to Pattaya/Jomtien and the rest of Thailand for what we cannot find in
our home countries....

[Brad the Impala]

There are remedies for short term memory loss, I just can't remember any of them at the moment!

However there is another condition which covers distorting paraphrases of your own previous posts. Some people call that lying.

What Cat previously wrote was:
similes have posted many times about his love affair with his hand

Jerking off, and posting many times about your love of jerking off, are rather different. As it was, according to you so many times, that these posts were written, it surely can't be that hard to find one.

Unless of course it was just a gratuitously offensive comment, based on nothing less than a fevered imagination. Some people would call that lying too.

You and your nemesis are dragging this board into the gutter.

There are remedies for short term memory loss, I just can't remember any of them at the moment!Yes, and didn't your mother tell you that masturbating is a cause of memory loss? :bounce:

What Cat previously wrote was:
similes have posted many times about his love affair with his hand I'd like to to see that - "similes with one hand". Possibly this runs alongside George's "casting aversions" (which also involved Smiles - it must be his lucky day)


... a gratuitously offensive comment, based on nothing less than a fevered imaginationNothing more, shurely?


You and your nemesis are dragging this board into the gutter.Along with the well-known Cornucopia, perhaps?

Entertaining though this is, for those of us who like people getting very po-faced and making complete fools of themselves, could you liven it up by less name-calling and more inventive insults, Brad?

[Aunty]

You and your nemesis are dragging this board into the gutter.

Sorry, deary, but any board that has Beryl posting to it is already up to its neck in filth.

[TrongpaiExpat]

Cat, your a little strange but if you want to accuse anyone of chronic masturbation here are some Synonyms for Masturbation (http://www.unwind.com/jokes-funnies/sexjokes2/synonyms.shtml) you can use in future posts.

Sorry, deary, but any board that has Beryl posting to it is already up to its neck in filth.

Aunty, dear, I think you're confusing your old, old Uncle Beryl with NorthStar.

NorthStar = FILTH = Failed In London Try Hong Kong

[lonelywombat]

Sorry, deary, but any board that has Beryl posting to it is already up to its neck in filth.

Aunty, dear, I think you're confusing your old, old Uncle Beryl with NorthStar.

NorthStar = FILTH = Failed In London Try Hong Kong

And if that fails hide in Chiang Rai