Back to normal in pattaya

[Jellybean]

Yes there was a sort of rally on beach road. I missed it as I as out late last night and was catching up on my sleep. Whilst I was having dinner at 6.30 a stream of Thais plus the occasional farang paraded through BT holding candles and portraits of the King. They were all dressed in black. However it's 10 pm and things are normal in Boystown.

Daveuk, out of curiosity and if you don’t mind me asking, were you the very friendly gentleman I spoke with on the terrace of the Ambiance Hotel, around 19:00 on Saturday evening? The gentleman I spoke with introduced himself as [******] from England and had just ordered some food. I was taking in the sights of Boyz Town prior to setting off on a dinner date.

[francois]

Yes but what if they won't drop their pants to receive the aforementioned kisses?

Scottish-guy, you have a very dirty mind; by any other name you might be latin-top.

[colmx]

In my view, foreigners should not instigate the wai in those cases and, in other cases, a simple nod of the head in reply is usually enough of an acknowledgement, unless you are perfectly comfortable with the correct way to instigate or return the wai.

The wai argument pops up every few years - and is always so divisive!

Funny thing is my BF (of 14 years tomorrow) castigates me every time I fail to return a wai. His attitude is that if the person knows me and wai's then its an absolute insult for me not to return the wai.

Whilst I would rarely return the wai of a doorman to say a hotel (or gogo bar) I would always return the wai if he was known to me...Similarly if a gogo boy is on the floor, is known to me and wai's me, then I would also always return that wai.

So who is correct? The Thai who was brought up in this culture. Or the keyboard warrior farang?

[cdnmatt]

It’s not very often that I find myself on a different side from the opinion expressed by cdnmatt. But on the first part of your post cdnmatt, I believe you are plain wrong for the very good reasons expressed by a447 and fountainhall in their posts above.

I don't know, when it comes to things like this, I always err on the side of "respect from a distance", and it's always done me welll. Wearing black in my eyes would be somewhat of a facade, becayse that indicates I'm mourning the King, when I'm not. I know he was a great man who did a lot of help for the Thai people, but his passing doesn't emotionally affect me, like it has done to many Thais. Why would I cheapen their mourning period by faking that I'm in mourning too?

[fountainhall]

his passing doesn't emotionally affect me, like it has done to many Thais. Why would I cheapen their mourning period by faking that I'm in mourning too?

It has absolutely nothing to do with faking. It has absolutely nothing to do with cheapening anything, except perhaps your understanding of Thai people. It has absolutely everything to do with paying respect. Not to a King but to the Thai people. If you don't understand that, you don't understand Thais!

[a447]

Once I was sitting outside a cafe enjoying a cup of coffee in a small Italian town when a funeral procession passed by. Everyone stood up, so I did too. We all bowed our heads.

None of us knew the deceased but we were simply paying our respects.

Asian cultures are known for their numerous rituals and accompanying behavioural norms. It can be tiring, even for the locals, but everyone just follows the rules.

Are you even aware of this?? I wonder how the Thais you come into contact with view you, as you seem to pay little attention to their sensibilities.

Are you the farang they respect for at least attempting to understand their culture, or are you seen as the bumbling insensitive farang who doesn't understand anything and lives in a cultural desert?

[homeseeker]

a 447 says:"Once I was sitting outside a cafe enjoying a cup of coffee in a small Italian town when a funeral procession passed by. Everyone stood up, so I did too. We all bowed our heads."


Reminds me of the story of the golfer who seeing a funeral procession pass near the road of the golf course immediately delayed his putt, removed his cap and bowed his head until the procession had passed by.
A by stander was so impressed he congratulated the man for his respect, and the man then replied:
"Yes....we were married 40 years"....

[cdnmatt]

If people in this area dislike me, they sure have a weird way of showing it. There's a reason I'm still here after going blind, and not back in Canada. The pressure was on pretty heavy from my family to move, but I flat out refused. Don't worry, I'm liked just fine.

[fountainhall]

Don't worry, I'm liked just fine.

Oh please don't worry for we certainly aren't. I expect the reason is, as you put it so succinctly in an earlier post -

Why would I cheapen their mourning period by faking that I'm in mourning too?

No doubt Thais are good fakers too!

[cdnmatt]

Well, I don't know what to say. I guess thanks for continuing to validate my decision to stay here instead of move back to Canada.