Good Deeds

Post by **parrot** » February 25, 2015, 4:21 pm

When I was passing Charoen Hotel on my way to Makro today, I spotted a foreigner cleaning out the klong between the hotel and the Shiseido Cosmetic store. I wanted to stop and inquire......but had a line of traffic behind me. I can't swear the guy I saw is the same as in the article below......but I'd guess it was.
http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/803 ... s-in-udon/
It reminded me of a time......12 or so years ago, I was homeschooling a boy/girl from the same family. One day we went to Banchiang Museum on a field trip with the children's mother. We ate a picnic lunch on the lawn in front of the museum. After we ate, the boy and girl excused themselves and walked around the area of the museum filling it up with a variety of candy/cigarette wrappers and drink containers that were strewn about. Neither the mother nor I prompted them to do so. While they were doing their good civic duty, a tour bus emptied its passengers.......and I observed the stares of the people passing by these two American kids picking up trash.
Did it leave an impact with any of the people there? One can hope.

Post by **the-monk** » February 25, 2015, 5:20 pm

BRAVO YOUNG MAN ..... we need so many more... This is 10 times better than a classroom lecture...I just forwarded the story to other Thai friends , maybe they will learn ....

Post by **Macca** » February 25, 2015, 5:24 pm

Apologies, slightly off topic but....

Walked the 4 1/2 km Hellfire Pass section in Khanchanaburi yesterday. One thing that was very noticeable was that there was not a single item of litter to be seen on the whole trip.

Apparently it is not at all popular with the Thai tourists.

Post by **Geoffrey** » February 25, 2015, 11:39 pm

Some years ago I was visiting Phu Foi Lome and took a walk on the trail by the dinosaur museum. I picked up some litter as I went. Some Thai people commented on it. I met up with them again later on the walk - their hands were full of litter. Good examples do help. But I don't do it to be a good example; like the kids, it's just in me.

Post by **PC55SC** » February 26, 2015, 7:20 am

I was curious about how littering was viewed by Thais.

My ex-wife was Chinese. If I attempted to throw out the smallest speck of garbage onto the highway, she would go ballistic. Not even a banana peel, apple core, straw wrapper, etc. (something that may be eaten by a scavenger, decompose quickly, or would not be noticeable)

When I spent two weeks driving around Thailand with a Thai lady last month, EVERYTHING went out of the window, even in pastoral scenic places.

Post by **milkman** » February 26, 2015, 4:35 pm

http://bangkok.coconuts.co//2015/02/26/ ... wn-6-years

Post by **parrot** » February 26, 2015, 4:49 pm

PC55SC wrote:I was curious about how littering was viewed by Thais.

My ex-wife was Chinese. If I attempted to throw out the smallest speck of garbage onto the highway, she would go ballistic. Not even a banana peel, apple core, straw wrapper, etc. (something that may be eaten by a scavenger, decompose quickly, or would not be noticeable)

When I spent two weeks driving around Thailand with a Thai lady last month, EVERYTHING went out of the window, even in pastoral scenic places.

I think it bears remembering that littering was a major problem in the US until major advertising campaigns in the 60's and 70's began to put a dent in the practice. Just like a lot of things we did in the US 50-60 years ago.....burn trash in public, litter, have little concern for the environment/wildlife conservation, polluted rivers......Thais are slooooowly coming to grips with the same problems. China as well. It won't happen overnight.......the same as it didn't happen overnight in the US.
I'd like to think that little things like what this guy is doing, or allowing someone to cross in the crosswalk, or allowing someone to merge into traffic from a side street........might wear off on the Thais over time. In the end, they'll fix their problems just like we fixed (and in many cases, continue to fix) the same problems on our turf.

Post by **jackspratt** » February 26, 2015, 5:00 pm

These sorts of ads in Oz back in the days of black & white TV were very effective in turning around the "drop it where you like" attitudes that were very prevalent back then:

I am not sure it would get through the PC committee these days.

Post by **parrot** » February 27, 2015, 6:25 pm

In today's 'edition' of CNN

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/02/26/trave ... index.html

Post by **jackspratt** » February 27, 2015, 7:10 pm

parrot wrote:In today's 'edition' of CNN

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/02/26/trave ... index.html

Interesting read, parrot - if only for the fact that it has made in onto CNN.

But more interesting, I think, is whether CNN has censored (blurred) the T-shirt being worn by the lady in the first photo?

And if so - why?

Post by **randerson79** » February 27, 2015, 8:14 pm

Not seeing any blurring. Spot on your glasses? Dirty computer screen? Cataracts?

Post by **jackspratt** » February 27, 2015, 8:19 pm

randerson79 wrote:Not seeing any blurring. Spot on your glasses? Dirty computer screen? Cataracts?

Perhaps all of those - make up your own minds, folks.

Post by **Buckeroo** » February 27, 2015, 8:22 pm

The blurring is from the plastic bag the person with the cell phone is holding.

Post by **randerson79** » February 27, 2015, 8:23 pm

Still don't see it. Couple of water bottles?

Post by **jackspratt** » February 27, 2015, 8:25 pm

Buckeroo wrote:The blurring is from the plastic bag the person with the cell phone is holding.

You are right - that comes as a relief on several levels.

Post by **bigsnake** » March 15, 2015, 3:23 pm

parrot wrote:When I was passing Charoen Hotel on my way to Makro today, I spotted a foreigner cleaning out the klong between the hotel and the Shiseido Cosmetic store. I wanted to stop and inquire......but had a line of traffic behind me. I can't swear the guy I saw is the same as in the article below......but I'd guess it was.
http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/803 ... s-in-udon/
It reminded me of a time......12 or so years ago, I was homeschooling a boy/girl from the same family. One day we went to Banchiang Museum on a field trip with the children's mother. We ate a picnic lunch on the lawn in front of the museum. After we ate, the boy and girl excused themselves and walked around the area of the museum filling it up with a variety of candy/cigarette wrappers and drink containers that were strewn about. Neither the mother nor I prompted them to do so. While they were doing their good civic duty, a tour bus emptied its passengers.......and I observed the stares of the people passing by these two American kids picking up trash.
Did it leave an impact with any of the people there? One can hope.

I WONDER IF HE HAS A WORK PERMIT? HMMMMMMM!

Post by **kubotatim** » March 15, 2015, 3:30 pm

Hardly taken work from a thai, they are all too lazy to clear up their own rubbish, like to live like pikies in their own detritus.

Post by **merchant seaman** » March 15, 2015, 3:37 pm

kubotatim wrote:Hardly taken work from a thai, they are all too lazy to clear up their own rubbish, like to live like pikies in their own detritus.

My wife doesn't fit into this catagory of all too lazy and neither do any members of her family.

Post by **Shado** » March 15, 2015, 4:04 pm

Same with my wife and her family, merchant seaman.

Post by **merchant seaman** » March 15, 2015, 4:12 pm

Well according to Kubotatim it's all Thai's, at least the ones he knows. Does that mean then if he is married to a Thai that he and a lot of other Farangs living with Thai's are living like pikies in their own detritus?