Things that really shocked you about Thailand

[MrPlum]

The domination of advertising on TV.

The casual violence and social engineering in soaps and sit-coms.

The number of actors and clowns who look like axe-murderers.

The amount of pharmaceuticals they consume.

The gap in wealth between rich and poor.

Paedophilia and incest which seems rife here.

When they shoot out of a side road without looking.

7 on a bike, 3 of them babies. No helmets or protective clothing.

Being told to leave the scene of any accident otherwise the rich foreigner will be made to pay.

Stray dogs everywhere.

The number of beer bellies, tats, string vests and 'fcuk, fcuk, fcuk', per square metre in Pattaya.

The fact that the woman, in many households, is the provider.

The almost desperate desire to have white skin and nose jobs.

[sateeb]

The amount of Native English speakers who speak "Tinglish" to another Native Speaker

[Coldmike]

Bum Guns love em
all i use now a days, much more sanitary
wish every country used them...

I'm still not really sure how to use 'em, but I know I hate sitting down on a toilet seat and discovering its all wet from the previous 'washer'

What continues to shock me, though, is the contrast between buddhist total pacifism (some won't step on an ant), and the brutal violence that exists here against people for insignificant reasons.

[Takiap]

I can't say I'm shocked at things since I pretty much summed up the situation here in my first two week holiday to the country...................noise, soi dogs, etc, et, etc.

The intense need to dump rubbish everywhere was a bit of a surprise though. I had of course noticed that people are not too concerned with putting litter in bins, but I hadn't quite realized the vast majority are actually addicted to throwing rubbish everywhere. Just the other day I was sitting at a beach here and I couldn't help comparing it to beaches in my own country. The only stretches of beach back home that one could compare to the beaches around here, are those that are in industrial areas, where beaches aren't really maintained too well since nobody ever uses them.

Of course not all Thais are guilty of trashing the place. I have seen many groups of Thais enjoying a picnic on the beach and putting all their rubbish in a plastic bag. I've also seen two women who regularly walk along the beach picking up bits of broken glass from bottles which have been tossed about the place. In general though, most popular beaches are rather disgusting, and I really hate having to say this, but the more popular they are between Thai, the more disgusting they become in terms of litter.

When we visited Sam Roi Yod (spelling) National Park, the first thing my wife (Thai) said to me, was that the beach is disgusting.................it was absolutely covered with litter.


And, it's not only the beaches..........I've seen bus company staff sweeping rubbish of buses straight on the road, and that in full view of everyone as well.

At the end of the day, I guess kids are never taught about such things at school here.


Apart from the litter addiction, not much else shocks me in Thailand, and some of the things some posters have quoted, I actually find adds to the charm of the place. When you're stuck behind one of those pickups travelling at 5mph advertising a 29 baht toothbrush, just pay closer attention to the announcement, and you'll hear it's actually telling you to chill out because there's no hurry......lol. Mai pen rai, cha cha.

[Pleng]

I guess I should have thought better than creating this thread. I was kind of talking about things learned in an instant that made you think "wow! I never expected that", as opposed to things that gradually creep up on you over time.

Shame that ever single post aside from glassdude007's (I've always galled them bum showers, though I do like the term bum gun!) has been a list of things people just generally don't like about the country :S

[hhfarang]

You guys all know what has shocked me...

The actual cost of living here vs my once perceived cost of living

The sheer incompetence of most Thai "professionals", especially in the building/repair trade

The number of foreign criminals that come here simply to prey on other foreigners for their livelihood

The never ending incessant heat and humidity... (I thought there was a winter like in Florida)

Nothing much else was a surprise to me as I had visited Thailand many times (since the early 80's) as a tourist (not to Hua Hin until 2002 mind you).

[Coldmike]

OK Pleng,
I guess that my first impression 'shock' was the smell upon landing. Back in the 80's landing at Don Muang I smelled mixture of pollution and incense that was strangely erotic. I came to look forward to it every time I visited.

Next big shock was the squatter at my, at the time, soon to be mother in laws house. Long flight, stress to meet the family etc. then have to try to squat for the first time in my life with no warning or instructions was shocking.

[Arcadian]

What really shocks me is why everyone with a long list of negatives still lives/visits here.

[moja]

Back in the 80's landing at Don Muang I smelled mixture of pollution and incense that was strangely erotic. I came to look forward to it every time I visited.

What saddened me after living here a few months was that I could no longer smell Thailand; friends who come to visit often comment of the smell of wood smoke, incense etc but it seems I have become too used to it - shame

[usual suspect]

Moja.. When I sit outside the bar in a morning, and the girls are doing their 'Buddha stuff'/offerings..when the smoke from the inscence-sticks comes back at me & wafts all around..then maybe thats when I look around me, see the temple nearby, dismiss the vulgarness of the local 7/11 store & remind myself the Far East CAN be an enchanting place after all...

[MrPlum]

What really shocks me is why everyone with a long list of negatives still lives/visits here.

Being 'shocked' is a short term experience. Not the same as hating the place. If the question had been 'what delighted you', I would provide a long list of positives.

[BingoBango]

The amount of silly old fat men who have little children to a dumb young tart, its not just in Thailand i saw a daft old clown in tesco UK yesterday with one of the ugly fat ones that no one wants at the bar and true to form, they had a mixed 3 year old with them.

I know the girl wants the child as a course of trapping the pensioner even though she has probably left her previous thai kids back in Issan with the thai husband and the red tobacco chewing mother in law, but I just dont get why the old fat man wants to start again, and in most cases when she has dumped previous kids and his kids are older than his new wife

[Randy Cornhole]

What shocked me (and still does) is the many foreigners I knew who died too young from drink, despair, and road accidents.
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I still think of you my friends...RIP.

[Homer]

That motorbike riders hit puppies and cats with the same apparent amount of concern as I have when I step on an insect.

[richard]

What shocked me (and still does) is the many foreigners I knew who died too young from drink, despair, and road accidents.
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I still think of you my friends...RIP.

Too true RC

Me too