Falangs Invade Udon Thani

[fredwilliams]

I waited a while to say this, but daym there are a heckuva lot more falangs around than when I lived here in 2006. I mean, it's a relative population EXPLOSION.

I recall my first visit to the wife's village in 2004. We spent some time in Udon and days would pass before I'd see another foreigner. In 2006, I'd see maybe 1 per day. Now their friggin' EVERYWHERE. No, I'm serious. I have gone Samloring down some very remote backroads and encountered foreigners even there. The old Lotus and downtown area are teaming with them. And the thing that REALLY struck me is that I barely get a second glance; compared to 2004-6 when people would literally stop and gawk at me and my family were out shopping. I'm lovin' it. I feel anonymous (finally!). I've also encountered a few guys like me who are all living in the area. This town really is developing.
and it can be seen everywhere. Who knows...if enough come and settle down over the next few years, perhaps there will finally be a school with a real English program...

Have the falangs become any slimmer since 2004?

[hangsaboot]

hey tilokarat ,
lets keep nakhon nowhere out of it ..
don,t ,even mention it .. we dont want foriegners.

[trubrit]

hey tilokarat ,
lets keep nakhon nowhere out of it ..
don,t ,even mention it .. we dont want foriegners.

Now this is an interesting comment . Although I am sure it was meant jokingly I have heard it from so many sources that there must be an element of fact in it .
I live in one of the many villages that comprise Amphoe Nong Wau Sor . An area said to have a larger percentage of farang population than Udon .These are mostly of Scandinavian or German nationality. I won't go too deeply into the reasons for that, other than to say one of the earlier immigrants from Sweden established an, obviously successful, dating agency using local girls and his own compatriots.They were , for the most part, not wealthy and tended to live in the house already owned by the Thai family. With some domestic improvements. Some even worked as farmers. Unofficially of course .The families involved seemed to accept the limited benefits they brought , but generally the community as a whole looked down on them.These guys can still be seen today sitting outside the neighborhood supermarket drinking beer from cans and getting progressively drunk .Before I start getting a "I'm not like that " response. Let me add.Some farang have come here and built nice homes and have invested heavily in the community. However for the most part they, like me , keep themselves to themselves and though polite, do not want to be associated with them.I personally, certainly do not seek the companionship of other farang ,although I don't actively go out of my way to avoid them.Which makes me wonder. Was the quote a joke or do others subscribe to my sentiments ?
Maybe the start of a whole new topic .

[peterg]

i agree with you hangsaboot, the majority of farangs here are rude and obnoxious. i prefer the company of my thai "family". don't get me wrong,there are many fine farangs here, but, i don't go out of my way to meet any of them. reminds me of something that happened to me. was sitting at a coffee bar and a farang came up and wanted hot water, the girl did not understand one word he said so i told her in thai what he wanted, when she went to get it for him he looked at me, very irritated, and said that he couldn't believe how few thais spoke english, i looked at him and said this is their country and i can't believe how few farangs speak thai, irritated, he stormed away without his hot water. many farangs forget that this is their country and we are just guests here.

[Philip101]

I HATE ferangs who just expect thais to speak english

But i especially HATE ferangs who walk to a bar and think JUST because their a ferang, their physically attractive to a girl

it pisses me off and makes all ferangs look bad, thai girls are so nice i just wish most of them would just turn round and say- Who the F*** do you think you are??

Problem is, ferangs get so much attention in places like pataya that they come to udon and expect the same.

If a person walked into a shop i owned then complained that i didnt speak their language even though its ENGLAND and the language is ENGLISH jheeze i wouldnt even know what to say

I honestly do forget how high most thai peoples tolerence is.

[peterg]

i'd like to say something even though every on this board knows this already, with thais, everything is about "face". they would rather tell you a lie than something that may hurt your feelings. even if you know that it is a lie, you cannot confront them with it as it will cause them to lose face, best to just store it in your memory for future reference. thais abhor confrontation, maybe this is why they accept some rude behavior. thai culture, as well as their smiles are like an onion, there are many different layers to it.

[wiking]

oh his is therefore they call their very very old and fat, drinking boyfriend for handsome

[tamada]

^ oops, someone has started early then. or is this one of the geriatric, pissed-up swedes from trubrits abode?

[hangsaboot]

oh his is therefore they call their very very old and fat, drinking boyfriend for handsome

jealousy ,,,
the old fat boy farang boyfriend ,
has probably worked most of his live , has savings / investments .
also has,. a company and goverment pension .
sold his house uk , in my case . and added the money into his
investment portfollio ..
for some reason ,, this makes the old fat farang boy friend ,
a very handsome man ,, to his beautiful young thai girl friend ..

[nkstan]

i'd like to say something even though every on this board knows this already, with thais, everything is about "face". they would rather tell you a lie than something that may hurt your feelings. even if you know that it is a lie, you cannot confront them with it as it will cause them to lose face, best to just store it in your memory for future reference. thais abhor confrontation, maybe this is why they accept some rude behavior. thai culture, as well as their smiles are like an onion, there are many different layers to it.

This is just a thought,but I wonder what the real reason for avoiding confrontation is?IMO,most Thais concerned about ''giving''face,respect that person and since,IMO,most Thais don't show respect to most falangs(for whatever reasons),could it be that they are avoiding confrontation because they ''don't'' want to tell their truth,rather than ''give''face?

[Gaudente]

But i especially HATE ferangs who walk to a bar and think JUST because their a ferang, their physically attractive to a girl

Ladybars instead especially love them as they are the easiest to rip off

[Gaudente]

thai culture, as well as their smiles are like an onion

you mean they stink ? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZnztwiWZo4

[maaka]

maybe saving face has nothing to do about saving face, or being scared of telling you the truth about yourself, maybe it is because thailand has never been colonized, and as not been conquered by anyone that I no of in recent years, not the french, japs, brits or german etcs..maybe they feel superior in thier own way in thier own land, and we are mere minions..add this with the class structure in thailand, the law deliberately designed so farang cannot own land, and you have a country and a people very much wanting to be in charge of its own self..abit like Burma next door who wouldnt let the US military in during the last big tragdey....anyway I am rambling...as for farang invading Udon, well hold onto your hats, because from the dating website I frequent from time to time, there are oddles of udon women looking for a farang man...so expect an increase in numbers..

[nkstan]

I think that if there is a slowdown in Tourism for awhile,as it seems to be,many of the girls are returning to the provinces and that might ''pull'' some falangs after them.Also,it seems the majority of Thais think that if business slows down,rather than compete pricewise,they just raise their prices,one way or another,to compensate for the lesser volume,therefore ,expats might choose to also move out of the more costly falang tourist areas.I imagine the falling exchange rates would also add pressure for expats!Living on 65-70K a month Bangkok is not an easy matter anymore,especially if your paying rent and playing with girls and drink,but you can do it in the provinces.

The Super star girls do what they please,but they don't move back to the provinces ,so they are still there for the throwaway money vacationing falangs,those foolish enough to sponsor them from afar and those insane enough to marry one of them(unless one chooses short term superstar company)

I very seldom hangout later in the evening,but I did last night until about 2300,In NK,the freelancers were out in force,the bars were packed!The girls were about 60% over 35-40 and only 2-3 of the younger ones were ''cute'',there was a contingent of ladyboys,a few with particularly nice ''shapes'',but the faces didn't match,never the less they were the most popular and active!

[wokkawombat]

Maaka, there were lots of Japs here between 1941 and 1945 and they were not here on holiday. The people of Thailand seem to forget this.

[maaka]

yes I know that wombat. My old man fought the buggers in Burma. However the Thais worked a deal with the japs, signed a treaty, where thailand would remain neutral, and merely let the japs pass on thru their country on thier way to Burma and supposedly India..so the thais were not conquered as such..indeed, it takes some pulling power to achieve that with the japs, when Burma , Malaya and Singapore and the rest were being overrun..,the thais are very stoic in their quest to retain self governance and retain their lands from any outside forces, including us modern day farang, and I say good on em..but somewhere in the stoicism, if that the right word, I think is that saving face thingy I/we were talking about before....I wonder when their history and nature is such, as to how far they will go to allow more and more farang to reside/build in thailand, before they say stop, no more, or even worse, get out....perhaps when they see that farang behaviour, ideals and such are beginning to be taken on board more and more by the locals, which may perhaps see many thais drift further away from buddhist belief, that the axe will fall...so how many farangs will be allowed to invade is my question

[Laan Yaa Mo]

Maaka, it was not so difficult to work out a deal like the Thais had. The French made a deal with Japan too, much like Siam had, and got to keep the colonial administration in Indochina (Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia) until the final months of the war.

Furthermore, for their co-operation, Siam was permitted to take the Provinces of Siem Reap and Battambang from Cambodia, which had been part of Ayutthaya for awhile, and also Kengtung Province in Burma, which had been closely linked with the Thai kingdom of Lanna, or Chiang Mai, for many centuries.

Northern Thailand was under Burmese rule for close to 300 years until the reign of Taksin, and was basically independent of Siam under their own individual until the late 19th century. Chiang Mai and Lampang had their own rulers (Chao). It was individual Chulalongkorn, with the advice of the British, who colonised the north, or brought it under Bangkok administrative rule.

Thailand may never have been a colony but they lost land to the French (in Laos and Cambodia), and to the British (in the south: the current Malay Provinces of Perlis, Kelantan and Kedah plus Penang had been Thai as you can witness by the number of Thai wats in those areas). Furthermore, perhaps up until 1932 and a bit beyond, the Thai financial advisor was always British, and the army was composed of Malays, Vietnamese, Bugis, Mons and so on with some Thais.

[parrot]

For those interested in some historical info:
List of Declarations of State of Emergency, Martial Law, and War in Thailand
http://docs.google.com/View?id=ajg74xcjr53z_747ccjx5ffg

Wiki's version of Japanese occupation of Thailand:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_o ... f_Thailand

and wiki's info on the Battle of Koh Chang
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Koh_Chang

[Paul_33]

it is good to keep happy in your old age

[nkstan]

it is good to keep happy in your old age

It is good to be or feel happy at any age,but the task of ''keeping'' happy is the challenge that causes much misery!

Possibly,because we are imperfect humans and in order to ''keep'' happy,another human loses his happiness as the selfish desires clash!

The happiest people I have ever met,have the ability and maturity to practice acceptance ,forgiveness,seek to be givers rather than takers and exhibit no greedy behaviors!

Unfortunately,I am in the in between and waffling stage of my maturation,have a terrible time with trust,But I welcome you to the forum!!