Nice upcountry experience

[migrant]

Not sure how else to describe it, but we get many stories of Thais only interested in our money I thought I'd share this nice experience.

We were in Thailand in November, driving up around Pai looking for some caves we heard about (here I think).

Driving a rental on narrow back roads we got run off the road by a truck going the opposite way.
The side of the road dropped about 12 inches so the car bottomed out on the frame.

We were on the edge of a small village and about 8-10 20 year olds were walking or driving near, or stopped when we went off the road. They immediately started helping look at the car, find ropes, push thru the mud, etc.

We ended up actually picking the car up and moving it back on the road, with everyone muddy and sweating.

They went under the car, looking for dents and leaks (none).

When all was said and we were ready to leave I pulled out some baht to give them

"Kop Khun Krap" from me holding out a decent amount of baht
"No, no money" They ALL said
"Ok for beer or soda"
"No, no money"

They were adamant, they would not take money at all, and without them we would have been stuck for a long time!

Here in the states, if someone deemed to help, they would probably ask for money up front.

[PeteC]

Yes, true. There are still many more nice Thais than nasty Thais. Unfortunately tourist areas and places where foreigners live in mass tend to attract those with money as their primary motive. Jet ski operators, tour guides, taxi drivers, unscrupulous service businesses of every type etc. Plus, on any forum people tend to talk about their bad experiences rather than their good experiences. Happy to see you posted up a good one. Pete

[margaretcarnes]

You're qute right Pete, and HH is no exception. Fortunately there are still a lot of genuine Thai people there who have lived there for years. On return trips I bump into many old Thai friends and they always stop to chat and are lovely. But the road to those sort of friendships has taken time, mutual understanding, and respect. Most of all it has taken a willingness for us all - farang and Thai - to live and work together.
I'm sure many of the Thais I know and love will still - in HH at least - treat tourists quite differently. The strange thing is I can understand why and would be 100% behind them!

[Lung Per]

Yes, true. There are still many more nice Thais than nasty Thais. Unfortunately tourist areas and places where foreigners live in mass tend to attract those with money as their primary motive. Jet ski operators, tour guides, taxi drivers, unscrupulous service businesses of every type etc. Plus, on any forum people tend to talk about their bad experiences rather than their good experiences. Happy to see you posted up a good one. Pete

Yes, there are so many wonderful and helpful people here and in our grumpiness we often tend to fergit the sunny side of life in LOS. I have therefore established a group called "Positive Experiences in Thailand" and encourage everybody who has positive experiences to report them.