ศาลาชุมนุม

[mangkorn]

Hmmm. Is that a typo? Should it be เคยถูกฟันมาแล้วครับผม?

Yes, that was a typo, thanks Khun Nan. ฟัน is what I meant: like getting chopped, in the head - or in the pocketbook.

I'm also happy to learn that Thai people also get cheated by them (well, not really happy, but relieved slightly to know that it's not only farangs...)

[RIGA]

It's painfull, but those people take chances on everyone they can.
Sure foreigner are a target because even if many knows the city and prices, most of them don't have a clue.
But for those tuk tuk drivers it's even more easy to understand that a thai asking their service doesn't know the distance or current prices for a run... as soon as they smell the chance they will try to scam them... I don't really like to deal with them

[mangkorn]

The ones I'm talking about know where I live, and we both know the exact distance. No, I think they must be aliens from another planet, sent here for extremely diabolical reasons that are far beyond the comprehension of mere mortals...

The basic notion of common-sense reasoning does not enter into it, not at all. They refuse to work for a fair price, instead preferring to stand there not working. Surely, there is something else going on here, some kind of strategy that totally transcends transport - at least urban transport; perhaps they are trolling for specimens to mine for other purposes...

[Rick Bradford]

^
Whenever logic has disappeared, you can bet that the notion of 'face', with its endless and counter-intuitive ramifications, has entered into the situation somewhere.

[Oevna]

Here's a tongue-in-cheek article related to this thread and Rick's question (I saw somewhere) about the proportion of Farang here learning Thai.

While that was an amusing read, that article doesn't cite any references for the "scientific discovery" that it claims to describe. It sounds more to me like the prejudices of a person who dislikes low-income expats in Thailand.

I don't dispute the numbers as I have no data to the contrary, but what I find strange is the way the author seems to have a need to portray the high-income non-Thai-speaking expats as happy-go-lucky and welcome residents, while the lower-income Thai speakers are portrayed as desperate, bitter, and unwelcome. A few supposed "interviews" with a small handful of expats is used to broadly paint all expats.

Interestingly, the closest thing to a citation is the name of the lead scientist. If you [url= http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=%22Hitesh+Murkh%22]search Google[/url] for the author's name, the only hit is this article.

NB: I am not a member of either group described, so I have no stake in the reputation of either group. I do not currently live in Thailand. I have never earned an income in Thailand, although I do earn a decent income in the US, where I am steadily employed. I do speak Thai (I am conversant, but I would not claim fluency), and can read and write in Thai. I do not have a Thai girlfriend or wife, Hi-So or otherwise.

[David and Bui]

Oevna,

Please revive your sense of humor. The article appears to be a totally contrived joke. There are no facts to cite; the article is like an April Fools story.

Read the bottom of the site:

"Note: This website is not The Nation. For entertainment purposes only."

[mangkorn]

Apart from the disclaimer at the bottom, the masthead itself is: "Not The Nation." It's a parody site, which copies the typeface and design of the real newspaper's online version. It can be fairly clever at times.

[Oevna]

Oevna,

Please revive your sense of humor. The article appears to be a totally contrived joke. There are no facts to cite; the article is like an April Fools story.

Read the bottom of the site:

"Note: This website is not The Nation. For entertainment purposes only."

Argh... Apologies, I guess I was in a bad mood when I read that. I did assume that it was The Nation, which surprised me that they would write such a thing. The thing is, I have read similar-sounding propaganda articles (not on the same subject, and not from The Nation) which the author did try to pass off as a real scientific study, so I suppose I jumped the gun when I saw something that appeared to be intellectual dishonesty.

Sorry for the thread derail, and for the (hopefully momentary) suspension of my sense of humor! I swear I have one, somewhere!

Cheers everyone,
-oevna

[zackxx]

Was It A Mistake To Learn Thai?

Its been some time since anybody has contributed to this thread but I wanted to share this Thai language learning experience written by an Italian as it echoes with much of what has been mentioned in this thread and more. Some of his anecdotes I would not concur but believe insightful all the same.

Apologies if it has already been posted elsewhere; maybe 'Khun IImeew' is a member here at T-L.com?

[simonbournemouth]

Two things... attitude and overrating ones own abilities...