Some of this help has been in situations where I was unlikely ever to see the person again. Where it involves comparatively poor people I see regularly, there are opportunities to return their generosity and hospitality. But in very simple and unextravagant ways.
Much of this is undoubtedly down to Mrs D-M, who is Thai and seems to make friends wherever she goes and whoever we meet. But we live a quiet life, work quite hard, share what we can (within reason! - let's not get carried with all this happy-clappy talk
), accept help gracefully and treat those around us with respect. Seems to work for us.I don't think 'we' fit into the hierarchy at all. On this forum alone, which at a rough guess might account for far less than 1% of all farang resident in Thailand, there are so many different categories that it's impossible to generalise, apart from the fact that most of us are over 50. By and large, you make your own little niche, and you either fit in as much as you can or you don't.
As far as respect for farang by local Thais is concerned, I'm amazed anyone has the gall to expect it. The vast majority of farang I've met in Thailand don't have my respect, why should they automatically get it from a Thai?
