Foreigners in LOS

Various types of foreigners reside in or come to visit Thailand. I am one such foreigner and have visited numerous times since the year 2000. Every year I have boarded a plane, destination Thailand, and some years I have done so twice. All together I
have had about eight months of time spent “in theatre”.

I know there are many readers here with far greater experience from Thailand – the Kingdom – the Land Of Smiles – than I have. But since I know myself to be a keen observer with an eye for details I’m still going to make an
attempt to categorize the different foreigners that come to or reside in Thailand.

That’s right. I’m going to take all the farangs & Japanese, westerners & easterners, permanent residents & temporary ones and I’m going to divide them in a very sweeping and generalising way completely according to my
own biased world view, based on the form, or type, of visitor they are.

I have consulted myself and come up with the following all-covering categories:

-Charter Tourists

-Tour Groups

-Backpackers

-Explorers

-Retirees

-Visiting Businessmen

-Expats

-Sexpats

-sex tourists

While most foreigners in Thailand belong solidly in one of the above categories it’s possible for some to transcend the boundaries and belong to more than one group. The Charter Tourist who makes it a habit to sneak away from the wife when she’s
having a Thai massage on the beach and get himself a soapy or a BJ, he could also be labelled a sex tourist. The Korean Tour Group member who defies his instructions and boldly strays from the group to have a Tom Young Gung on his own could be
considered an Explorer, of sorts.

It’s also possible to morph from one category to another. The backpacker who settles down and starts teaching English, soon he’s a proper Expat. The Expat (perhaps our former backpacker) with an itch becomes the Sexpat. Etc.

OK, you get the point. Let’s get to it. Here follows a detailed and scientific description of each category:

Charter Tourists

Charter Tourists are from Europe or Australia and come to Thailand on a two to three week trip on a package deal including travel and hotel and possibly a few of the daily meals. It’s an easy sort of tourist and one that Thais likes for obvious
reasons. In – spend money in a short time – out.

It doesn’t take that much to please a Charter Tourist. Some peace and quiet, a bit of relaxing in the sun, some nice food and some giddy drunkenness in the evening, that’s about all it takes. And of course Thailand has this and more to offer
at very reasonable prices so it’s no wonder Thailand is popular with this breed of foreigner.

Charter Tourists are a gullible lot. They are a favourite mark for tailors, Tuk-Tuk drivers and other hustlers. They kindly give money to a begging child so that the child’s father can drink beer instead of working and the child gets to skip school
and run around at night instead. They are easily lured on elephant hikes and various such activities at about the quadruple price compared to arranging the same activity themselves, without going through the travel agency or the resort hotel they
stay at.

“A whole day in a boat of our own with delicious food for only six thousand baht! Can you believe it?”

“No, I can’t because I did the same thing and had 19 year old Som short time in the evening and still paid less.”

“WHAT!?!”

“I said I did the same thing and had 19 shirts sewn in a short time in the evening and still paid less.”

“Oh…. that sounds…great”

“It was. It sure was.”

Anyway, the Charter Tourists are a harmless bunch and easy to avoid if you so desire. When they’re not dragged on tours they’re being given Thai massage from old ladies on the beach or they’re sweating by the resort hotel pool. Move
more than 50 meters from the beach, the resort hotels, the main restaurant street and the night-market and they’re nowhere to be found.

An annoying thing about them is that they travel in constellations of one to a few families and the women invariably scrutinize any lone male they come across with piercing eyes. But it’s fun to observe their husbands trying to sneak a peek at
a sweetie if one should pass by, both excited and curious yet deadly afraid of letting this show. The nuisance of staring females and the good fun in observing the frustrated males almost balance each other out.

Fact: Of every ten pieces of fake jade sold in the Kingdom, Charter Tourists buy nine.

Tour Groups

A Tour Group is basically a big, most likely Asian, constellation of Charter Tourists. Unlike the western, regular, Charter Tourist the Asian Tour Group member cannot be trusted to roam free. He must be kept in line and easily identifiable using the famous
wearing-identical-clothing identifying strategy, for his own well being. He must be pampered and led around and kept in line and spoken to only in his native tongue.

The Tour Group member is curious about his new surroundings and likes to photograph it with a later photo show for colleagues and friends back home in mind. Most of all, the Tour Group member is fascinated by any westerner (farang) acting in a way they
find strange. Look at, for instance, the Galaxy Cabaret on Walking Street in Pattaya where they have white western looking girls dancing in the windows dressed like whores (because they are whores). At any time of night there is an Asian Tour
Group snapping pictures of this remarkable spectacle. They seem almost unable to believe their eyes. White? Whores? Can it be? It’s even rumoured that this scene is more of a photo op than the Grand Palace in Bangkok these days.

I would like to tell you what goes through mind of Asian Tour Group member but I can’t because I have no idea, and if I did you most likely wouldn’t comprehend it anyway. They look at you and you look at them and they think that you’re
strange and you think that they’re strange, and then you go find a place to order a Heineken and they find something to photograph.

There is a small subset of the Tour Groups that instead of catering to Asians cater to Americans. These are mostly senior Americans with a lot of money and time who like to go around and look at stuff. These groups are smaller than Asian groups, rarely
comprised of more than 3-4 couples, and they always have a guide with them who explains about the sights they’re seeing in English. Still, they give a much more independent impression than their Asian counterparts. The guide is convenient,
not necessary. They are generally well behaved and they are good tippers and thus well liked by the locals.

Fact: An Asian Tour Group member sees approximately 43% of his holiday through the camera lens.

Backpackers

Backpackers are a strange breed. To observe a group of backpackers socializing can be interesting but can also quickly become nauseating. A lot of effort is spent on trying to appear as relaxed and laid back as possible. With time the experienced Backpacker
will learn to embrace this attitude and always appear a bit blaze about his/her surroundings, walking around as if constantly daydreaming with a seen-it-all-been-there-already kind of appearance.

The social status amongst Backpackers is decided by a few agreed upon factors:

1. How long time are you travelling? The longer the time the greater the status, which I guess is not that strange considering that travel is all the Backpacker wishes to do. A student taking a break from his studies to travel South East Asia for a few
months is a mere novice. A fifty year old crew cut, camouflage pants wearing hag who’s been slithering around the globe like Gollum in LOTR for the last twenty years – she’s a goddess.

2. How many places are you including in your travelling. Thailand is a favourite spot but any self respecting Backpacker must have included, or be planning to include, at least a few other places such as Goa, Burma, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. South and
Latin America gives bonus points, so does China.

3. How little do you live on per day. You see, the Backpacker is actually proud to be living in squalor and extra expenses such as paying for decent living conditions, enjoying your own hotel room instead of sharing one with strangers and tipping low-paid
third world service staff is actually looked down upon.

4. To try to look the part of #3. Dreadlocks and really old and beat leather sandals and worn clothes are considered cool whereas a neat and tidy presentation is not. If you want to gain respect in this crowd think POW-look instead of GQ-model appearance.

While it’s possible to understand the first two factors It’s more difficult to understand why a person from a western, prosperous nation (the origin of ANY backpacker, by the way, is a western, prosperous nation) would actually make an effort
to sink below poor locals when it comes to living conditions and their personal presentation. But they do, if only temporarily, seem to compete with one another for how low they can sink.

This is probably why the backpacker actually has a very limited understanding of the locals, while he praises himself of being the only kind of foreigner who really understand the local and his society (yes, it’s a paradox). He believes that he
shows that he is not afraid to mix with the locals on their own level of living and believes it earns him their respect, while the opposite is more likely to be true. Going around in dirty clothes or skipping showers is not going to earn you any
bonus points with the Thais and neither are your dreadlocks, the metal junk attached to your face or the fact that you don’t tip. You receive a smile at best but the Thais really don’t respect you at all. But this doesn’t
bother the backpacker because he is both respected and accepted, in his mind. He makes lasting friendships and is remembered with admiration where ever he goes, in his mind.

Backpackers have nothing but contempt for most other types of tourists and foreign visitors in LOS. The most hated being sex tourists and Sexpats of course. But really all sorts of foreigners who doesn’t get in touch with the real Thailand or see the real local people, and learn to really understand them and their everyday lives, are looked down upon. Apparently the best way to really get to know the real Thailand is to drink a lot of cheap booze, smoke
some dope and dance to techno music under the full moon on the beach on Koh Phangnan, without a Thai in sight.

If you come across backpackers just ignore them (Provided you yourself is not a backpacker of course). They will ignore you, unless you are accompanied with a local girl in which case they will sneer and make faces at you and possibly voice their disapproval.
One can counter this with an ear-to-ear wolf grin back at them, that can be fun, but it’s generally best to just keep on ignoring them.

Fact: Backpackers mentally picture themselves as the lead characters in the film “The Beach” but don’t openly admit it.

Explorers

For lack of a better definition I chose to name this category Explorers. They are sort of a mix between many other types of tourists and they want to come to Thailand and do a little sightseeing, travel around a bit without any fixed schedule, party some
and generally have a good time. They like to be free to move around on their own and can take care of themselves so they are not likely to go for a constrained Charter Trip. They have jobs back home and like to have a shower when they are dirty
so while they can socialize with Backpackers to a degree they can never fully join their ranks. Their political correctness varies from prude to downright sleazy and hence some have amorous dealings in the naughty nightlife, giving them a glimpse
of the life of the sex tourist, while some object fiercely to its mere existence.

One reason many Explorer types come to South East Asia in general and Thailand in particular is the ease with which it can be explored. It’s easy and cheap to get from A to B. There are many spectacular sights worth seeing. The climate is great.
It is much more safe to travel around in on your own than most other locations. It’s just well suited for people wanting to have an adventure without putting themselves at too much risk and without losing too much comfort.

One funny thing about Explorers is that they can become a bit over enthusiastic in their exploring, especially the younger ones. They tend to sometimes get into something of a great-white-discoverer mode. Girls becoming Lara Croft and boys becoming Indiana
Jones they bravely scale the ruins of Angkor Wat for an entire day or even two, suddenly experts in Khmer culture and customs, before they go back to the hotel and exhausted collapse watching cable TV and forget all they just learned about the
different points in time when different Khmer kings built this or did that.

All in all Thailand and its neighbouring countries has a lot to discover and people who go there to check it out and have a good time can’t be all that bad. The Explorer can be befriended but at a risk of having to suffer boring tales or political
correctness.

Fact: An Explorer forgets 99% of the facts told by guides and pamphlets but remembers encounters with interesting people.

Retirees

I have to say that although I’m not near the age of retirement and no young (well – early middle age at least) man is in a hurry to become about twice his current age, the prospect of retiring in Thailand one day is tempting.

A retiree in Thailand seems to have it made compared to a Retiree in Farangland. If he’s on a pension it’ll buy him more. If he’s got savings they’ll last longer. He can enjoy a lot of work intensive services like getting his
laundry done or having stuff delivered or getting a massage at a fraction of the cost compared to home. He can have all his meals cooked and served to him just as cheaply as buying sloppy microwave dinners back in Farangland and eating them at
home. The cost of healthcare is said to have increased but it can still be had and, more importantly, the quality is generally acceptable. If his home country has better healthcare this may well be outweighed by Thailand having a more forgiving
climate, assuming our Retiree can afford an air-con that is. Sun and nice beaches, that’s got to be good for your health.

The women. It has to be said that if our Retiree is a man (as I have already assumed) and if he’s without a life partner there are options in Thailand. If he lacks companionship and care he can find a woman who will provide him with this and he
can give her financial security in return, which she may lack. If he’s a horny old bastard he can sleep with lots of women of an age and with a beauty he could never find back home. In short – he’s got options.

And if he’s not into the women or he’s got morality issues with such liaisons or if he’s got a woman already there’s so much else. Like golf? Rent a condo close to a golf course. Like swimming? Get a bungalow close to the beach
in a compound with a pool. Like reading? Buy a bunch of books and kick back under an umbrella on the beach. Like getting drunk? Drink.

Unless you have a family situation that calls for it I really can’t see any advantages at all with retiring in Farangland as opposed to retiring in LOS. I realise I have a limited ability to picture this as it’s far in the distance for me
– but still. Who wouldn’t want to retire there? Why the hell aren’t more old folks doing that?

Sometimes I’m a bit envious of older guys I meet in LOS who are retired or semi retired. I can stay a few weeks then I have to get on a plane to return home and work 50 hours every week while they get to stay on and sit under a big umbrella sipping
a JackN’Coke in the middle of the day if they feel like it. I guess it’s really a good think to feel a bit envious about the older guys one meets, because that means I don’t have to be afraid of becoming older myself, even
though I plan to make the most my relative youth.

Fact: To retire in Thailand could be like reaching heaven before you actually die.

Visiting businessmen

I’m sure there are many business women also spending some leisure time in Thailand when the work they came to do is done, but I won’t go in to that in detail. I will assume that they eat at nice restaurants, shop at expensive department
stores and treats themselves to various facial treatments and manicures and such. Like business women do anywhere else in the world, more or less.

But for the businessman there are other options for extracurricular activities that are if not unique to Bangkok then at least much more common here that elsewhere. I should think that many a businessman across the world gets a tingling,
excited feeling in his stomach when he hears the upcoming conference will be held in Bangkok. “Nana-time”, he thinks, “Oh-Yeah!”, before going home to his wife with a frown on his face moaning about the hassle of holding
a conference in Bangkok: “Should’ve picked Singapore if you ask me! We’re going to work long hours every damn evening anyway so we might as well have stayed near the airport!”

But of course he is secretly a happy camper knowing he and his male colleagues are in for some serious bonding time. Nothing is better for the team spirit than getting stone drunk together and purchase sex from prostitutes. It really glues the team together
and creates that productive, manly I-watch-your-back-you-watch-mine feeling that the successful international businessman likes.

“Let’s see that damn bitch Lizzie try to get the upcoming promotion when I’ve been whoring with the boss! That’s NOT gonna to happen. Ha!”

Of course not all visiting businessmen are whoring but for reasons sake I will assume most of them are.

Japanese businessmen are a breed of their own. I assume any Japanese I come across is a businessman since I have understood that they get no vacation time in Japan, so they can’t be tourists. I have no idea what these guys tell their wives before
they head off to Bangkok, “Bangkok, Hai!” maybe. I just wanted to tell you that there is a big difference between farang businessmen and Japanese businessmen. A Japanese businessman spends three times as much money in a third of
the time compared to the farang businessman. I guess they have to take advantage of the little free time they get by going all out. Some bargirls specialize in Japanese men and they tell them that they like only Japanese men and that farangs are
smelly and behave like animals. The rest of the girls tell us farangs that Japanese men have small dicks. We win!

Fact: 70% of the money spent in Suvarnabhumi gift shops is spent because of feelings of guilt rather than adoration.

Expats

The Expat is a bit tricky for me to describe accurately since I’ve never belonged to his ranks. He’s more multifaceted than most other LOS foreigners and an accurate description could be divided into sub-descriptions. Could be but won’t
be, not by me.

First of all an Expat in my mind is a farang Expat or at least an Expat hailing from a farang country. A person coming here from India doesn’t qualify, because I would rather label him a Thai-Indian, as there are so many of them already. Similarly
a Cambodian labourer is a guest-worker or an illegal immigrant, not an Expat.

My impression is that the Expat is much more likely to be an American than tourists are. While there are comparatively few American tourists in LOS there are many American Expats. The Tsunami struck the Charter Tourist beaches in Phuket and killed a lot
of Swedes and Germans but hardly any Yanks. Had it struck Silom a much higher percentage of foreign casualties would have been American. This might have a lot to do with the Expat society is largely English speaking and the opportunities to become
an Expat is limited for those who are not proficient in English. And of course those who have English as their mother tongue is more likely to be proficient using it. Brits and Aussies are of course also native speakers of English but they are
well represented among tourists as well so this logic doesn’t apply to them in the same way as to Americans. Hence my typical Expat is an American – isn’t it amazing how easy logic works? He’s also a man by the way
(logics again).

A big difference when evaluating an Expat is what came first: the opportunity to reside in LOS or the will to reside in LOS. If the opportunity came first he’s more likely to be a well off resident with a nice salary and
great benefits, many problems taken care of for him, because he moved here as a career choice which he wouldn’t have done if the deal sucked. If, on the other hand, the will came first he is more likely to be struggling with employment
and salary and visa and housing, etc. because he had a dream to come live here and took whatever employment he could get in order to make this dream come true.

Regardless of what sort of the above types our Expat belongs to he’s more likely to reside in Bangkok than in other areas. Sure, there are Expats out in the provinces also but you find the greatest Expat density in the capital.

Some Expats try to assimilate to a great degree and adapt as much as they can to Thailand, but they will never be Thai. Unlike a Thai coming to the US and later on being granted citizenship who can truly call himself an American and also be accepted as
such our American Expat could never do the same in Thailand. I am not sure if there even exist a way of obtaining a Thai citizenship for a farang but even if there is one I wouldn’t trust that it couldn’t be revoked under some circumstances.
And even if you obtained one you couldn’t go around claiming to be Thai anyway. So an Expat may adapt all he wants, he’ll always be a farang, always a guest.

An Expat is bound to eventually get in touch with the naughty nightlife in some way. Some will distance themselves from it completely, others will largely avoid it others will sample it on occasion and others again will be drawn to it like moths to an
open flame. Those last mentioned are not necessarily destined to become Sexpats but some of them will.

I have a close friend who is a long time Expat and I remember when I was a complete newbie discussing my observations of this strange, exotic country with him and asking a ton of questions. He was quiet for the most part and I felt I had to drag the words
out of his mouth. I wondered why he didn’t tell me stories and shared his knowledge, for surely he must know a lot? I know now that it was so as not to shatter my illusions. I had drawn premature and erroneous conclusions about such a lot
of things and was so enthusiastic about LOS that I blabbered a lot of nonsense. He, others and my own experiences eventually filled me in but initially my friend only steered me away from the worst pitfalls. Now I know enough to know that I don’t
want to know any more. Ignorance is bliss they say and I wish to keep the rest of mine. But then again, I’m no Expat so I can afford to be blissfully ignorant.

Fact: When an Expat meet another Expat for the first time it takes, on average, 32 seconds until the topic of discussion is visa regulations.

Sexpats

The sexpat can be described as a permanent sex tourist. He (It’s always a he, not a she) can also be described as an expat that has only one major interest in life: to pay money and get sex in return.

That might sound simple enough, but the life of the sexpat can be surprisingly tough. Much of his thoughts and efforts revolve around maintaining his inflow of money so that he may continue to purchase sex. Of course a sexpat with an endless supply of
money has it made – he can go on to purchase himself sex for ever. But most of us are really not that well off financially and the sexpat probably less so than most others. Since he is so preoccupied with buying sex the sexpat has had little
chance of maintaining a career and keeping himself solvent. Frequently the sexpat in LOS is in a position where his spending outpace his income, and that’s a downward slope to be on.

Other hazards in the Sexpats seemingly carefree life include excess exposure to alcohol, shallow and sometimes false friendships and the inevitable small conflicts and grudges that comes with being a known profile amongst the customers of a red light
area.

Theoretically: you won a hundred million baht on the lottery and you are really, really horny and have no wish for a deep and meaningful relationship with a life partner, then the life of a sexpat might be the life for you. You have the money and it makes
you happy since it allows you to have as much sex as you have always wanted. You can live comfortably and have a great lifestyle and if you have some sense you will be able to maintain your initial wealth and live off the interest from it. Life
in sex-soaked bliss for ever!

The big thing is that you have to have the money for it. If not then you’re at risk of becoming the dreaded broke sexpat and that’s a tragic character. He just can’t face having to go back home, and most likely he’s
sold his ticket and possibly even his passport anyway. He lives in a constant search for small amounts of cash to get by the day, frequently as a parasite on other foreigners in LOS. Perhaps he helps bargirls write letters with money requests
to Teerucks in the west for a few hundred baht compensation, the farang now working for the whore. He’s sunk from bedding the finest bargirls to the beer-bar freelancers to the streetwalkers. He’s gone from Black Label to
Mekhong. A typical day in his life could be: dodging the landlord in the morning, spending the day fishing the Biergarten for some free beers and some time spent telling strangers “the truth about Thailand” and ending up lurking
outside Thermae at 2AM for a girl with no customer and an empty wallet, drunk as a skunk.

Fact: A broke sexpat has a suicide rate 36 times higher than a recently fired Japanese midlevel manager with a cheating wife and a gay son.

Sex Tourists

Thailand is the biggest worldwide destination for Sex Tourism. There’s no doubt about it, no competition. But why is that?

It’s a mix of beautiful women, comparatively low prices great surroundings and most importantly a relaxed and non threatening atmosphere in the industry. People who would not even consider brothels on the borders of the east/west divide of Europe
with their alleged pimps, mafia and trafficked girls see a completely different picture in LOS. It’s a fun atmosphere where the girls are working out of their own choice. The choice is based on poverty and hardships – yes – but she had
and still has a choice. And it’s mostly a fun party scene where the prostitution is mixed into the nightlife in a way that sort of veils it.

This is what the sex tourist likes and what draws him in from the beginning, until he hardens and sees through the veneer and notices the illusions. But by then he’s hooked.

The sex tourist is not really admired by anyone. Other tourists look down on him, or even hate him. Expats, even the ones who are in favour of P4P, think he sullies the reputation of farangs in LOS with his inexperienced and sometimes rowdy behaviour.
Even his long term counterpart the sexpat is pissed at the sex tourist because his kind overpays and sponsor girls and generally causes P4P related inflation.

The Thais know the sex tourist exists and he is remarkably well tolerated by them, the ones who really have the soundest reasons for hating his guts. This is probably best explained by the rampant Thai-Thai P4P business, and the fact that it’s
mostly “low class” girls selling themselves to farangs like him. Also he generates money, a LOT of money.

Let’s calculate the typical daily spending of a sex tourist coming for a 3 week holiday to LOS, let’s say Pattaya. He wants a decent room, but nothing too fancy – 1200 baht. He’s eating well and mixing cheap Thai food with
more pricy farang food – 600 baht. He’s a drinker and parties every night and also treats a few ladies to some drinks – 2000 baht (Yes, it’s easily that or more if you’re not on a budget and your time is much
more precious than your money). He likes a girl to accompany him home and stay until morning – 2500 baht. He likes a short-time or a massage with a happy ending during daytime most days – 1500 baht.

OK, that’s just the basics and he’s already spending close to 8K baht a day. Why is he tolerated again? Because he, alone, spends more money than 20 Backpackers or a whole family of Charter Tourists.

The sex tourist doesn’t want to mingle with other tourists and he hates when regular tourists stumble into his domains. He cringes when he thinks about a possible future expansion of Charter Tourism to Pattaya and he’s completely given up
on Patpong in favour of the Sukhumvit area. He just wishes his little part of LOS to remain the way it is and not change or disappear. He’s a true conservative, in that he wishes to conserve the present way of things. He knows changes are
inevitable, but how will they turn out? This worries him.

If you haven’t guessed it already this is the category I belong to. I am a sex tourist.

“I am a sex tourist.”

Try to say that out loud back in Farangland and it will not very often earn you any goodwill or give you any advantages. So, while I’m not ashamed of my preferred way of travelling I am not blathering openly about it either. I can tell you that
going to Thailand for the fourth time in two years on a month-long holiday, on your own, being male, raises an eyebrow or two around the coffee table at work. I have resorted to inventing imaginary friends (in addition to a few real ones) working
and living in Thailand as a way to justify going again and again. I might even buy myself an imaginary house one day. Clever? Pathetic? Necessary? In a western PC environment you just have to watch your back I would say.

Sex tourism is something you get sucked into, for good and bad. You don’t wake up one day and think: “I’m going to go on a long holiday and pay for sex and continue to do that when I have future holidays.” You go on a holiday,
perhaps with the prospect of some naughty business in the back of your mind and you get sucked in by the bar scene. It’s that enchanting.

You know, unless you are very naïve, that it’s a fantasy land. The love is not real, of course it’s not. The sexual desire is more often than not one-sided and the money flows the other way. Both parties may consider it to be a good
deal but it’s still just that – a deal. It doesn’t matter, it’s the best time you’ve ever had and you want it again and again. It doesn’t mean you’re a pathetic loser back home although admittedly
the worse you fare with women back home the bigger the contrast will be. Once the line is crossed it’s hard to become less of a sex tourist and easy to become more of one. To break the pattern would require a big effort and it would need
to be a decision based on a will to change your life, for some real reason.

Fact: A Charter Tourist would be scared off from LOS by one terrorist bombing but a sex tourist would keep coming even if there was an ongoing nuclear war.

Conclusions

That’s all of them. If you reside in Thailand or have visited Thailand there is a 99.9% probability that you belong to at least one of the above groups. (And if not then you belong to the 0.1% constituted by left behind Vietnam POWs, Burmese connected
drug lords, CIA-agents and International Men Of Mystery. Good for you!)

For any newbie going to LOS for his first stint just print this submission and keep it as a guide to use to screen fellow farangs and other suspected non-Thais on your upcoming trip and to help you decide their character and whether to approach them or
avoid them. And don’t overpay!

For any old-timers who feel like I missed out on some stuff or presented inaccuracies, feel free to call me on it. I won’t admit to it, but I might silently acknowledge to myself that you have some kind of valid point.

Since this is my first attempt at a submission on Stickman, although I’m a long time reader, I have no idea about what kind of feedback to expect from other readers. If you encourage me to do so I have the framework for a submission ready (in my
head) where I’ll describe foreigners in Thailand not based on which general type of visitor they are but on their respective nationalities instead.

Are Aussies really that well liked? Do Scandinavians keep only to themselves? Are Brits in LOS as unbearable as Brits in Mallorca? What’s the deal with those Russians? Who is a farang and who is not? If you see an Indian and you
also see a snake – what would a Thai advice you to do? This and much more will be answered if and when I put the nationalities of Thailand foreigners under the looking glass.

Fair and balanced!

//Mac

Stickman's thoughts:

Hmmm, I think the types of foreigners in Thailand is much more diverse than you suggest. This may have been a simple and somewhat accurate analysis 20+ years ago but now I think the story is very different. you could segment foreigners into many more groups.