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Old 08-17-2013, 04:50 AM
 
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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Granted I've only been to Bangkok for 4 days and Phuket for 5 days, but I didn't find the people in either city particularly friendly, at least other than if they were buttering you up to get money out of you. I didn't find them rude or unfriendly with a couple of exceptions, and there were some who did seem genuinely friendly, but I don't think it stands out as a particularly friendly country of the 10 countries I've been to. Also the people don't seem to smile any more than any other country in the 'land of smiles.' I saw more smiling faces and genuine friendliness in Sri Lanka than in Thailand (although of course there were people there who were also opportunistic). Maybe they're friendlier in the countryside and rural provinces though, maybe Bangkok is a bit too much of a big city.

 
Old 08-17-2013, 08:14 AM
 
Location: Eindhoven, Netherlands
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In general Thai people are very friendly, in the North and East more than in Central and South.
It's just that the (sex-)tourist area's Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket have many that are forced to make money by mamasan/mafia/boyfriend/their own family or even police.
That's all i have to say about it, don't want to make problems with Thailand since i visit the country a lot.
 
Old 08-17-2013, 10:08 AM
 
Location: East Bay, San Francisco Bay Area, CA
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Having visited only Bangkok, I have found the Thai people to be friendly. The hotel staff, servers, business people and even common folks on the street were pretty friendly. Bangkok is a pretty heavily congested city and the people there seem to deal with it pretty well.
 
Old 08-18-2013, 12:41 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Postman View Post
Granted I've only been to Bangkok for 4 days and Phuket for 5 days, but I didn't find the people in either city particularly friendly, at least other than if they were buttering you up to get money out of you. I didn't find them rude or unfriendly with a couple of exceptions, and there were some who did seem genuinely friendly, but I don't think it stands out as a particularly friendly country of the 10 countries I've been to. Also the people don't seem to smile any more than any other country in the 'land of smiles.' I saw more smiling faces and genuine friendliness in Sri Lanka than in Thailand (although of course there were people there who were also opportunistic). Maybe they're friendlier in the countryside and rural provinces though, maybe Bangkok is a bit too much of a big city.
People in BKK do smile, but not always, or maybe you just didn't see them. I recall an old saying: "There's Bangkok... and then there's the rest of Thailand." It's worth keeping in mind, as you noted, that BKK is a very large, hectic, busy city. Traffic can be insane. People rushing to catch a bus or the skytrain to get to work or head home. Sometimes people are just plain tired, or they're wrapped up in other thoughts. Not everyone stops to smile at every passing stranger. Doesn't mean they're unfriendly. They're just ordinary people who are trying to get on with the routine of daily life in the city. Part of it might also be what area of the city you were in and the time of day. A lot of times if you give someone a smile, you can get a smile back from them in return.

Smiles can tend to be more noticable in rural provinces, especially villages, where it's less crowded and the pace of life isn't quite as crazy as the large cities.

Here's a video of BKK for you. Look around. You'll find a few smiles in it.



Bangkok Tamada - YouTube
 
Old 08-18-2013, 12:47 AM
 
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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I actually roamed around Bangkok, and the areas I went to were really quiet (around the Old City, Chinatown). I later went to Lumbini Park, Silom, Patpong.etc which were of course more crowded. Maybe it's because most common folk don't speak English, but I didn't feel it was particularly friendly.
 
Old 08-18-2013, 02:22 AM
 
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The Tourism Authority of Thailand definitely exaggerated the friendliness of their own people. I actually think that Filipinos are friendlier and smile more compared to Thais.
 
Old 08-18-2013, 11:40 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Postman View Post
I actually roamed around Bangkok, and the areas I went to were really quiet (around the Old City, Chinatown). I later went to Lumbini Park, Silom, Patpong.etc which were of course more crowded. Maybe it's because most common folk don't speak English, but I didn't feel it was particularly friendly.
In the Yaowarat (Chinatown) area, did you happen to visit Wat Traimit that houses the large eye-dazzling, 5.5-ton gold Buddha? Patpong is too crowded and commercial in my opinion. Silom Road area is fine if you're into upscale stores and office buildings. Lumpini Park is a pretty nice park to get away and escape the urban chaos for a while. There are a number of monitor lizards that live in the lake there and wander around. Did you spend any time wandering around any of the malls, or go to any of the popular nightclubs (like around Siam Square)?

Don't let your short-time experience in BKK give you the impression that Thais don't smile and are not friendly. The video I posted should show otherwise; that there ar indeed friendly, smiling people. Language differences had nothing to do with the friendly nature, although iit's fair to say that when some people see a camera they respond with big smiles. That can be a pretty good ice-breaker. But not all do, as I previously mentioned for any number of reasons. The point is that it doesn't make them unfriendly. I mean think about it - there are a lot of people in BKK. Like anywhere in the world, some may be more outgoingly friendly, some may be more shy around strangers, some may be preoccupied with other things on their mind. The point is that Thais in BKK are not all that different in that regard than people in any other big city around the world.

BKK is fine and a must-see destination for tourists. It's also the central economic/international business hub of the country, meaning a lot of people are busy. But there's plenty of sanook (fun) to be found there as well. I rarely spend time in BKK anymore - been there, done that. To me, smaller and less hectic areas can be pretty enjoyable and social, although to hold a general conversation with locals usually depends on knowing the language. In locations like BKK or Phuket (as you mentioned), they're more tourist oriented so knowing the Thai language isn't as significant for visitors. If you think about it, why do some Thais learn English? It's pretty clear that they know most westerners, tourists and people there on business, don't know the language, so learning English can be helpful in terms of income and other opportunities. In some ways, it''s really about making money. Whereas out in the sticks, there's no real advantage in learning English, although even in rural communities, English is taught to students. However, the problem there is that English skills don't always stick with rural students very well because they don't always have the opportunity to practice. As soon as school is out, they're surrounded by their native Thai language at home as usual.

Just curious, but what exactly were you looking for in people in terms of 'spotting' the "Thai smile"? People who smile directly at you? People who smile among their friends? Or that everyone should have a permanent smile on their face as they go from one place to another? That'd be pretty creepy though, LOL. I don't care what anyone else says about the smiles or lack of it. But I know from decades of personal experience that when you mingle with the Thais, you'll see a lot more of it. A few simple Thai words and phrases like "sawatdee" or "khop khun", can work wonders. You may likely get people saying things like "Oh, you speak Thai so well", even if you don't.
 
Old 08-18-2013, 12:26 PM
 
Location: Metro Phoenix
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GoldenTiger View Post
The Tourism Authority of Thailand definitely exaggerated the friendliness of their own people. I actually think that Filipinos are friendlier and smile more compared to Thais.
Filipinos are, IMHO, on the whole the friendliest group of people around.
 
Old 08-18-2013, 12:47 PM
 
Location: Singapore
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 415_s2k View Post
Filipinos are, IMHO, on the whole the friendliest group of people around.
Agree
 
Old 08-19-2013, 12:36 AM
 
Location: Melbourne, Australia
9,744 posts, read 20,666,753 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NightBazaar View Post
In the Yaowarat (Chinatown) area, did you happen to visit Wat Traimit that houses the large eye-dazzling, 5.5-ton gold Buddha? Patpong is too crowded and commercial in my opinion. Silom Road area is fine if you're into upscale stores and office buildings. Lumpini Park is a pretty nice park to get away and escape the urban chaos for a while. There are a number of monitor lizards that live in the lake there and wander around. Did you spend any time wandering around any of the malls, or go to any of the popular nightclubs (like around Siam Square)?

Don't let your short-time experience in BKK give you the impression that Thais don't smile and are not friendly. The video I posted should show otherwise; that there ar indeed friendly, smiling people. Language differences had nothing to do with the friendly nature, although iit's fair to say that when some people see a camera they respond with big smiles. That can be a pretty good ice-breaker. But not all do, as I previously mentioned for any number of reasons. The point is that it doesn't make them unfriendly. I mean think about it - there are a lot of people in BKK. Like anywhere in the world, some may be more outgoingly friendly, some may be more shy around strangers, some may be preoccupied with other things on their mind. The point is that Thais in BKK are not all that different in that regard than people in any other big city around the world.

BKK is fine and a must-see destination for tourists. It's also the central economic/international business hub of the country, meaning a lot of people are busy. But there's plenty of sanook (fun) to be found there as well. I rarely spend time in BKK anymore - been there, done that. To me, smaller and less hectic areas can be pretty enjoyable and social, although to hold a general conversation with locals usually depends on knowing the language. In locations like BKK or Phuket (as you mentioned), they're more tourist oriented so knowing the Thai language isn't as significant for visitors. If you think about it, why do some Thais learn English? It's pretty clear that they know most westerners, tourists and people there on business, don't know the language, so learning English can be helpful in terms of income and other opportunities. In some ways, it''s really about making money. Whereas out in the sticks, there's no real advantage in learning English, although even in rural communities, English is taught to students. However, the problem there is that English skills don't always stick with rural students very well because they don't always have the opportunity to practice. As soon as school is out, they're surrounded by their native Thai language at home as usual.

Just curious, but what exactly were you looking for in people in terms of 'spotting' the "Thai smile"? People who smile directly at you? People who smile among their friends? Or that everyone should have a permanent smile on their face as they go from one place to another? That'd be pretty creepy though, LOL. I don't care what anyone else says about the smiles or lack of it. But I know from decades of personal experience that when you mingle with the Thais, you'll see a lot more of it. A few simple Thai words and phrases like "sawatdee" or "khop khun", can work wonders. You may likely get people saying things like "Oh, you speak Thai so well", even if you don't.
I might have. A tuk-tuk driver took me around to some of the main cultural attractions of the city, many of which included golden pavillions and buddha statues. I actually didn't go to any malls in Bangkok, I wasn't interested in that...I was going to this nightclub on Khao San road but it was closed at the time so I didn't go to any clubs. Mainly just those awful touristy bars, often with the go-go dancers dressed in bikinis lol.

The standard of English seemed scarcely better than Vietnam, even a lot of hotel staff etc. I don't know, maybe I'm not giving them a fair go, but I just didn't find the Thais exceptionally friendly like I'm always told. Of course people don't smile all the time, but I found people smiled a lot of the time in like Sri Lanka, whereas there were a lot of dour frowns in Bangkok.
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