Half naked Farangs

[Gail]

Just an observation, today went into town and was shocked to see lots of people wandering round town, men with no shirt and women in bikini tops, I think they obviously have no respect for the country they are visiting, I said to a Thai lady at the time, the police should fine them all 100 baht each. She agreed totally That sort of attire is for the beach, I'm not a prude or anything but it's bad enough seeing topless women on the beach especially when they look like beached whales without seeing them all parading round Hua Hin in their swimwear. Don't these people look at the customs etc of the country they are going to visit. While I'm having a little rant, other thing I saw were a couple with their children on the motorbike, they had helmets but the young children did'nt. I wanted to ask them, do you value your children's life that much, they were farang by the way. They would'nt think of doing that in their own country.
Rant over, have a nice day all

[richard]

Gail

This has been posted a few times but tourists are apparently immune.

Many Thais I know think it is an insult but shrug it off. "Only tourists" is there retort.

I learnt many years ago that you are categorised. Tourist if here for a short spell. Farang on long term stay. Farang who lives here. Thais expect different behaviour from all 3 categories.

A Thai woman is always well covered. A Thai man may be shirtless BUT only in his immediate surroundings. I never wear a shirt at home whether here in HH or Isaan but I always don a shirt venturing away from my property

As for the motorbikes they obviously observe a Thai family on a bike with 3 or 4 on the back and think its OK. Little do they know about Thai driving. At home there is probably a rule against anyway

[BaaBaa.]

I never wear clothes at home whether here in HH or Isaan but I always don a thong venturing away from my property

[PeteC]

Richard hit this spot on. The people we see on the beach like that are in most cases one time visitors only. Off to some other spot next year. They couldn't care less about Thailand and customs. Those who develop an attraction for the place seem to begin to behave appropriately after a few visits.

In high season you'll always see a Mr. Universe wannabe in a codpiece and plump Baltic women in undersize bikinis who think they look gorgeous Pete

[margaretcarnes]

Thank goodness Thai people are so very tolerant. But it's a shame they have to turn a blind eye. You would think that any tourist new to Thailand would realise that they aren't acting appropriately when they see other (expat/long stay) farang around town?
One of the problems I think is that stretch between beach and City Beach hotel area, which is such a short walk it maybe doesn't seem worth covering up for. But there are so many cheap and cheerful kaftan coverups for women there's really no excuse IMO. And how difficult can it be for a man to put on a T shirt?

[Takiap]

I think it's generally more acceptable down on the islands for that sort of dress code, but here in Hua-Hin it's just not the same, and as such, one should kinda cover up.

As Richard pointed out, it's okay for a guy to be topless when in the immediate area of your home, and even if you're just popping down to buy a beer at your local shop, but that's where it ends. I see many Thai locals popping into the nearby shop without their tops on so obviously that's acceptable, but in the 10 plus years I've been in Thailand, I've never yet seen a Thai woman in public wearing a bikini, apart from once or twice on the beach. Of course a Thai woman wouldn't go around in a bikini in any case because they want to be as light skinned as possible.

I have also never seen a really "attractive" Farang woman walking around topless on the beach. The only ones who do that are those that have reached their "sell by" date.....lol.

One thing that really got to me a while back, was when I was strolling along Takiap beach with my wife a young daughter, only to see two Farang gay men stark naked and having a cuddle. Then in front of us and others they got up and headed down into the water. Out of respect for my wife I kept quiet and carried on walking but was really tempted to go back and have a word with them. Not because they were gay, but simply because my young girl doesn't need to see that sort of behavior, and neither does anyone else.

Ah well......it takes all kinds to make the world go round.

[nevets]

Naked on a beech i would have called the police , i don't like to see this in a public area , some countries cater for it , don't know about Thailand , and have a designated area.

[richard]

I have seen the tourist police patrolling the popular stretch in HH but no where else.

Certain beaches in Phuket are sickening. Flaunting nakedness and under towel performances in front of toddlers. Parents usually move away with their kids.

[PeteC]

I wonder if anyone sells containers of sand fleas here. A few well placed distributions would do the trick. Pete

[charlesh]

Most appear to be from the Nth'n hemisphere if their language is a judge!
Lack of manners, abysmal vulgar behavior. Let em try it in dare I say it a Muslim country!
Malignant melanomas await a few unfortunately.
The beached whales are obviously trying to evade the Japanese fleet ha, ha.

[sandman67]

Im not "body-con" by any means - one of the great pleasures of living here is wandering about the house naked as a baby while nobody is about. (Mrs S now knows to call and warn me if shes bringing anyone back to the house). If Im pottering about outside I wear a sarong or shorts.

But if I go to the mom and pop shop for water or fags then I wear long shorts and a shirt...its just respectful. Im damn sure the lass and her kid dont want to see my sweaty inked and pierced white and hairy man boobs. I wouldnt do that in the UK, so wouldnt do it here.

Amy also applies the no shirt no service rule in the bar now. Makes sense.... I dont want to drink in a place full of shirtless prats as they are usually the ones who get "aggressively drunk". Amys seen that and now tells them to get a shirt on or leave. Saying that its only happened once or twice in the last couple of years.

Naked on the beach - never!

[Khundon1975]

"I always don a thong"

Naughty BaaBaa

I would never dream of inflicting my belly or my perfectly formed man boobs on anyone other than the wife, so I always wear shorts and a shirt when outside in LOS.

Back here in the UK, I wander the house in a state of undress, but unlike SM my wife has on one occasion, failed to ring before bringing Thai friends home.

Still, I got a round of applause, not sure for what though.

[migrant]

I learned early on in Central America that dress can really make a difference in the way you are looked at by the locals.

When in Thailand, if in town I dress in long pants and shirt. If in a resort town like Koh Chang, I will probably do shorts, and a pullover shirt.

It does seem to make a difference