Do Thai People Not Like Direct Questions ?

[Tonto21]

It’s not just a direct questions, try sorting out any possible disagreement! I sum it up like this; Thai guy gets home, finds his next door neighbor’s dog has dumped in his garden…..again. He heads off all full of piss and wind to talk to his neighbor and have it out. After talking to said neighbor, for 3 or 4 hours he comes home, not once in all that time of talking would he have mentioned the word dog!

Women thing, sorry I have to disagree. Defiantly an Asian thing.

[trisailer]

I wish I had a nickle for every time I wittnessed a farang being aggressive, impatient and impolite to Thai service people. One yesterday bitching at the clerk at Starbucks, another a few days ago at Foodland treating the guy who was trying to be clear about his special coffee order. I felt like poping the creep myself.

You truely do get a lot more with honey than with salt. When I approach them I move slowly, casually (body language) smile and wait until I have made eye contact. They know when your being polite.

I wish that immigration would ask a few direct questions; like, do you like living here? Do you have respect for Thailand and the Thai people? Do you think the Thai people are capable of managing their culture? Any yes answers should get you a ride to the airport and good riddance.

[Tonto21]

I wish I had a nickle for every time I wittnessed a farang being aggressive, impatient and impolite to Thai service people. One yesterday bitching at the clerk at Starbucks, another a few days ago at Foodland treating the guy who was trying to be clear about his special coffee order. I felt like poping the creep myself.

You truely do get a lot more with honey than with salt. When I approach them I move slowly, casually (body language) smile and wait until I have made eye contact. They know when your being polite.

I wish that immigration would ask a few direct questions; like, do you like living here? Do you have respect for Thailand and the Thai people? Do you think the Thai people are capable of managing their culture? Any yes answers should get you a ride to the airport and good riddance.

And at this point the Thai person see's what a cultured farang you are and jumps into action and sorts out all you worries and woes does he? More likely he or she will a, pass you on to someone else, b, give you some cock and bull story, or c, just move away, (slowly) and hide somewhere.

As for the immigration thing; who made you Thailand's protector? They just want to know you have money.

Fact is I very much agree with being polite and staying calm, when I need to get across a problem. However, when some Thai con-artist trys to rip me off, (be that a woman in a store a food vender or the teller at the bank) I don’t go all out of shape, I just let him or her know….I know, and walk off.

As for me saving face, Ha ha, I’m English, what do I care what some thieving Thai ass-wipe thinks of me.

[Moonrakers]

You truely do get a lot more with honey than with salt. When I approach them I move slowly, casually (body language) smile and wait until I have made eye contact. They know when your being polite.

Do you have any idea just how patronising you sound?

You sound like something from a David Attenborough documentary.

Edited April 26, 2011 by Moonrakers

[SteeleJoe]

Do you have any idea just how patronising you sound?

I'm guessing, no.

[zzaa09]

So many Thai experts. So little connections.....

[trisailer]

That's funny, been here about 6 years and never had a problem. Our greatest human gift is the ability to adapt.

Cultured??? that's rich. Respectful, yes.

The only one who ever tried to rip me off here was a farang who approached me at a ATM and thought he was going to steal my card. Good rule; meet violence with violence and kindness with kindness. Wisdom teaches us the difference.

"Ha ha, I’m English, what do I care what some thieving Thai ass-wipe thinks of me."

Thank's for the history lesson. Might explain why the sun sets in ONE place on the British Empire.

David Attenborough; thanks for the complement.

[Pontare]

Thai people leave much of the communication up to the listener. So when you ask a question, the Thai will answer and expect you to fill in the blanks. Since you are a farang with no training in filling in the blanks of a thai, you will think they have avoided the question, when in fact they think they made themselves as clear as they needed to be.

This could be a problem on the thais behalf if they were living in our country, then they should learn to communicate on our terms. Since we are in Thailand, best to learn how to interpret their completely adequate answers.

[SteeleJoe]

So many Thai experts. So little connections.....

Haven't seen any Thai experts here ( I myself have certainly never claimed to be one); but it's interesting that you feel you are in a position to know how many "connections" there are...(presumptuous much?)

(emoticons are cute though)

This could be a problem on the thais behalf if they were living in our country, then they should learn to communicate on our terms. Since we are in Thailand, best to learn how to interpret their completely adequate answers.

Nailed it. In two sentences (and without any romanticizing, patronizing or idealizing). Bravo.

[Moonrakers]

When I approach them I move slowly, casually (body language) smile and wait until I have made eye contact. They know when your being polite.

So there we were, deep in an urban jungle of the distant land known as Thailand.

Our supplies were low so we had to use what we could find. We had heard of dairy being found in this foreign world, so we ventured out for a bottle of milk.

We came to what appeared to be some kind of larder. A cave with bright lights and what appeared to be food stuffs inside, we decided to investigate further. Once inside we found some fantastic specimens stood behind some kind of barrier that seemingly acted as a counter. We left these specimens for now as we could investigate further once we have our supplies. Astonishingly, we found a bottle of milk quickly. We noticed other specimens approaching the others that were behind the counter before leaving the cave, after making some kind of exchange. It seemed only natural that we should do the same.

We approached the barrier carefully, moving through aisles of what appeared to be packets of noodles on one side and pringles on the other. We approached the counter carefully, making sure not to make any sudden movements. Just when we were about to arrive at the counter, another specimen moved in front of us blocking our way. Out of fear of startling any of the creatures around us, we did nothing and waited. After the specimen that had moved in front of us completed their exchange they left, leaving us to approach the counter ourselves.

We approached the counter, doing all we could to let the specimens behind the counter know that we were not hostile. We smiled, they looked at each other and made sounds that appeared to be some kind of primitive language. Now stood at the counter we observed one of these specimens working on what appeared to be a foot long, cylindrical packet of meat. This specimen, apparently a male, seemed to be using a knife which left us in awe at their advanced use of tools.

The two female specimens behind the counter in front of us appeared to be communicating with each other, seemingly oblivious of our presence. Not wanting to disturb this ritual we waited, and waited, until eventually one looked up and began the exchange that we had observed before. The exchange appeared to be successful and our bottle of milk was placed into a holding device, along with what appeared to be some kind of straw. We left, surely but slowly, always remembering to make no sudden movements so as not to provoke a reaction.

We left and headed straight back to our camp on the 9th floor, with UBC and hot water. We spent that night reflecting favourably on our successful and magical encounter with these magnificent creatures. We now hope to be able to learn from such an amazing experience on our next venture into this strange and wonderful land to get some beers and a packet of crisps.

[SteeleJoe]

When I approach them I move slowly, casually (body language) smile and wait until I have made eye contact. They know when your being polite.

So there we were, deep in an urban jungle of the distant land known as Thailand.

Our supplies were low so we had to use what we could find. We had heard of dairy being found in this foreign world, so we ventured out for a bottle of milk.

We came to what appeared to be some kind of larder. A cave with bright lights and what appeared to be food stuffs inside, we decided to investigate further. Once inside we found some fantastic specimens stood behind some kind of barrier that seemingly acted as a counter. We left these specimens for now as we could investigate further once we have our supplies. Astonishingly, we found a bottle of milk quickly. We noticed other specimens approaching the others that were behind the counter before leaving the cave, after making some kind of exchange. It seemed only natural that we should do the same.

We approached the barrier carefully, moving through aisles of what appeared to be packets of noodles on one side and pringles on the other. We approached the counter carefully, making sure not to make any sudden movements. Just when we were about to arrive at the counter, another specimen moved in front of us blocking our way. Out of fear of startling any of the creatures around us, we did nothing and waited. After the specimen that had moved in front of us completed their exchange they left, leaving us to approach the counter ourselves.

We approached the counter, doing all we could to let the specimens behind the counter know that we were not hostile. We smiled, they looked at each other and made sounds that appeared to be some kind of primitive language. Now stood at the counter we observed one of these specimens working on what appeared to be a foot long, cylindrical packet of meat. This specimen, apparently a male, seemed to be using a knife which left us in awe at their advanced use of tools.

The two female specimens behind the counter in front of us appeared to be communicating with each other, seemingly oblivious of our presence. Not wanting to disturb this ritual we waited, and waited, until eventually one looked up and began the exchange that we had observed before. The exchange appeared to be successful and our bottle of milk was placed into a holding device, along with what appeared to be some kind of straw. We left, surely but slowly, always remembering to make no sudden movements so as not to provoke a reaction.

We left and headed straight back to our camp on the 9th floor, with UBC and hot water. We spent that night reflecting favourably on our successful and magical encounter with these magnificent creatures. We now hope to be able to learn from such an amazing experience on our next venture into this strange and wonderful land to get some beers and a packet of crisps.

Possibly my favorite post ever.

Very funny and well made but also much implicit truth. A gem.

[BangrakBob]

Farangs talk too mutt and think too mutt and miss all of the noverbal stuff that is the basis of their communication. 80% of human communication is nonverbal so it is we who are not communicating. For some reason we seem to be satisfied to be limited to the 20% That's why they think were stupid.

People able to communicate with less language and more nonverbal communication that is completely understood suggests a more advanced system of communication.....dare i say?

[SteeleJoe]

For some reason we seem to be satisfied to be limited to the 20%

Who's "we"? Not me, anyway.

[remiss]

So many Thai experts. So little connections.....

People should ask me about stuff.

[SteeleJoe]

So many Thai experts. So little connections.....

People should ask me about stuff.

How come one sock from a pair goes missing? Where does it go?

[endure]

So many Thai experts. So little connections.....

People should ask me about stuff.

Why does a fart smell so much worse when you do it in the bath?

[geriatrickid]

I think that you will find that some westerners are of the view that Thais can be over detailed in their responses compared to westerners.

One example that comes to mind is one of the girls describing a day at the clinic. She had worked in a western clinic before her assignment in the LOS. The western clinic often received clients complaining of GI distress. Westerners would simply say, my stomach hurts, or I have diarrhea. Not much help if you are trying to determine if someone has a mild infection, a serious condition or just ate too many tacos.

However, her experience with Thai clients was that there were always a few that could be counted on to give a very detailed description of the consistency, colour and smell of their poop. They could also provide a detailed description of what they had eaten in the past day along with when they ate, where they ate, and what they thought of the meal etc.

The moral? It all depends upon the topic at hand.

[IanForbes]

If you're not getting the answers you want you are asking the wrong questions.

-- remiss, ~2011

Ah yes, that reminds me of an acquaintance who asked every pretty girl he met if she would sleep with him. I was a bit shocked and asked if he didn't get his face slapped a lot. His reply was yes, but he often got to sleep with a lot of women. It just taught me that the bad guys always get more tail.

You will usually get a far different answer if you ask a man the same question that you ask a woman. That is true no matter what country it is where you ask the question. One odd thing I noticed in Thailand is the Thais TRY to be polite, If they don't understand the question they won't just say they don't know. They try to figure out what you meant and then give an answer using their false assumption. I"ve wound up in some strange places when asking Thais directions.

[Latindancer]

When I approach them I move slowly, casually (body language) smile and wait until I have made eye contact. They know when your being polite.

So there we were, deep in an urban jungle of the distant land known as Thailand.

Our supplies were low so we had to use what we could find. We had heard of dairy being found in this foreign world, so we ventured out for a bottle of milk.

We came to what appeared to be some kind of larder. A cave with bright lights and what appeared to be food stuffs inside, we decided to investigate further. Once inside we found some fantastic specimens stood behind some kind of barrier that seemingly acted as a counter. We left these specimens for now as we could investigate further once we have our supplies. Astonishingly, we found a bottle of milk quickly. We noticed other specimens approaching the others that were behind the counter before leaving the cave, after making some kind of exchange. It seemed only natural that we should do the same.

We approached the barrier carefully, moving through aisles of what appeared to be packets of noodles on one side and pringles on the other. We approached the counter carefully, making sure not to make any sudden movements. Just when we were about to arrive at the counter, another specimen moved in front of us blocking our way. Out of fear of startling any of the creatures around us, we did nothing and waited. After the specimen that had moved in front of us completed their exchange they left, leaving us to approach the counter ourselves.

We approached the counter, doing all we could to let the specimens behind the counter know that we were not hostile. We smiled, they looked at each other and made sounds that appeared to be some kind of primitive language. Now stood at the counter we observed one of these specimens working on what appeared to be a foot long, cylindrical packet of meat. This specimen, apparently a male, seemed to be using a knife which left us in awe at their advanced use of tools.

The two female specimens behind the counter in front of us appeared to be communicating with each other, seemingly oblivious of our presence. Not wanting to disturb this ritual we waited, and waited, until eventually one looked up and began the exchange that we had observed before. The exchange appeared to be successful and our bottle of milk was placed into a holding device, along with what appeared to be some kind of straw. We left, surely but slowly, always remembering to make no sudden movements so as not to provoke a reaction.

We left and headed straight back to our camp on the 9th floor, with UBC and hot water. We spent that night reflecting favourably on our successful and magical encounter with these magnificent creatures. We now hope to be able to learn from such an amazing experience on our next venture into this strange and wonderful land to get some beers and a packet of crisps.

Very good ! And of course you hadn't inhaled, either.

[nocturn]

So many Thai experts. So little connections.....

People should ask me about stuff.

How come one sock from a pair goes missing? Where does it go?

how did the noodle seller end up with every spoon i own?

[trisailer]

Moonraker, you slay me. Excellent post.

[trisailer]

"A nod's as good as a wink to a blind horse" dosen't mean the horse is stupid. Your just not speaking his language. If you want to speak to a horse you have to learn the language.

[IanForbes]

"A nod's as good as a wink to a blind horse" dosen't mean the horse is stupid. Your just not speaking his language. If you want to speak to a horse you have to learn the language.

Whch reminds me of ANOTHER story. A great animal trainer was asked to put on a demonstration for a bunch of middle aged women. He was asked if he could get a stubborn mule to do something. He replied that yes he could. He then proceeded to pick up a baseball bat and whack the mule across the head. The mule staggered a bit and then stood still.

There was a gasp of shock from the ladies and then one asked why the trainer did such a terrible thing.

He replied that FIRST he had to get the mule's attention.

Some people are like that mule.

[Berkshire]

I wish I had a nickle for every time I wittnessed a farang being aggressive, impatient and impolite to Thai service people. One yesterday bitching at the clerk at Starbucks, another a few days ago at Foodland treating the guy who was trying to be clear about his special coffee order. I felt like poping the creep myself.

Astute observations. And I'll bet the farang was speaking English to the Thai. Try to get some service in the USA speaking a foreign language to an American who doesn't speak said language.

It seems like this entire thread is about farangs trying to speak English (or some other language) to a Thai person, other than Thai, and not getting the appropriate response. Clearly, there will be miscommunication. But there's also the issue of communicating in a high-context society, if you're from a low-context society. Ever heard of the concepts of polychronic vs. monochronic societies? Therein lies the answers to all of your questions.

[StreetCowboy]

I wish I had a nickle for every time I wittnessed a farang being aggressive, impatient and impolite to Thai service people. One yesterday bitching at the clerk at Starbucks, another a few days ago at Foodland treating the guy who was trying to be clear about his special coffee order. I felt like poping the creep myself.

Astute observations. And I'll bet the farang was speaking English to the Thai. Try to get some service in the USA speaking a foreign language to an American who doesn't speak said language.

It seems like this entire thread is about farangs trying to speak English (or some other language) to a Thai person, other than Thai, and not getting the appropriate response. Clearly, there will be miscommunication. But there's also the issue of communicating in a high-context society, if you're from a low-context society. Ever heard of the concepts of polychronic vs. monochronic societies? Therein lies the answers to all of your questions.

If God had wanted us to learn foreign languages he'd have not given us fingers to point with.

Of course, people who don't travel abroad can use them for picking their nose...

I was too lazy to look up your sociological terms - I assume polychronic people can moan about all sorts of complaints at once and can pick up a new grievance before you can say "howsthat for a solution?", while monochronic people are like a dog with a bone and won't let it go.

SC

[WebBangkok]

lol

Most of you are just so clueless its making me laugh so much lol.

Are you guys actually real? Or is it the same person with multiple accounts lol.

[Moonrakers]

lol

Most of you are just so clueless its making me laugh so much lol.

Are you guys actually real? Or is it the same person with multiple accounts lol.

Perhaps you would care to enlighten us then?

[WebBangkok]

lol

Most of you are just so clueless its making me laugh so much lol.

Are you guys actually real? Or is it the same person with multiple accounts lol.

Perhaps you would care to enlighten us then?

No need, you answered the question in your first post.

[zzaa09]

"A nod's as good as a wink to a blind horse" dosen't mean the horse is stupid. Your just not speaking his language. If you want to speak to a horse you have to learn the language.

Inter-species translations?

[zzaa09]

Most of you are just so clueless.

To be expected.