"Thai people are nice." I hear a lot of tourists say this. Well, if you are from New York or Los Angeles, or Tokyo or London, you may feel that way (sorry all the nice folks in those cities) With their Buddhism tradition and gesture of Wai(putting hands together to greet or thank) and especially if you are one of those tourists willing to spend money, there must be a definit reason why you would think that Thai people are nice. In the last three or four years, however, I can clearly see that nice Thai mentality -hospitality, generousity, modesty, willingness to offer help, etc. has quickly deteriorated, especially in the capital. Bangkokers seem to have forgotten their own traditional spiritual wellness. I hope I'm wrong, and i also know that i'm speaking out of such little experience in tourist area of Bangkok.
March 19th, What's up with all the pagodas around Bangrampoo area being repaired anyways? I can't find my quiet meditation spot in this scaffolding and the loud noise. So I set out on a long walk, just like the very first time I visited this city years ago, to this large, vibrant Wat Suthatthepwararam. This pagoda in the picture is easily four, five times bigger than say, Wat Bo in Siem Reap, far more equipped and maintained. On the way there, a souvenier shop is not nice to me, -if i touch their marchandise and decide not to buy it, they would get upset. and a girl on a street randomly asks me with hand gestures if i want to have a sex with her 11 in a morning, when i say no she laughs and jokes with her co-workers. and at the music store if i try to ask a few questions about their Ping, Thai traditional musical instrument, instead of an answer the lady of the store yells at me 'you buy it? you buy it?' even if i did like the instrument that yell is enough to put me off from buying. 'Are you angry?' i ask, and she just furiously shakes her head.
I further continue towards Chinatown, through the small alleys of shops where you can find every imaginable electronics and their parts, -car stereo, play station, mobile phone, hard drive, iPod... i pass a group of young monks. then i enter a bigger section of market where they sell textile -Thai silk and other clothes etc. There are just so many people. There again a vendor girl i ask to let me stand on her stool to take a picture from just for one second, doesn't even look at me, saying 'No' and sits down into the stool.
exhausted, i take a boat back from chinatown to Bangrampoo, a lady at the pier, a young guy on boat, they're all hostile to me. and that's when i'm acting relatively calm, peaceful and smiling in my monkish shaved head and everything.Bangkok has become just another capitalistic metropolice. It's all that much sadder because of the tradition this country withholds for centries. And it's horrifying to think that, the same type of capitalism, consumerism and materialism, along with tourism, is clearly on it's way to young minds of Cambodians and people in other developping countries trying to catch up to the western, modern countries' materialistic wealth.
1 comment:
I totally agree with you. I have been living in Thailand, just outside of Bangkok, for for four years now. I have seen the changes you mention. I also have learned the way the Thai family system operates. All smiles and psuedo respect when they are getting their way. The moment one says anything to them they dont like (which is normally the truth), they close up on you. They dont seem to have a realistic comprehension of financial matters - they see debt as just a way of life, buying what they want and not worrying about the consequences (when the credit card bill comes in). Very frustrating, as when I try and discuss the credit card issues with my spouse, she disregards it as an over reaction and closes up.
The tourist who comes to Thailand sees what they want to see, after all, they are on holiday and they want to have a good time. The Thais are masters of illusion. For under the smiles, in many cases, beats a drum of discontent, debt and misery. I see this as being predominantly self-inflicted. Then they just sit there feeling sorry for themselves, hoping a farang will come and pick up the pieces. I have been subjected to giving to my wife's family, over the past four years to about 30k pounds. It always seems the case that if i dont pay up when they owe money to a loan shark immediately, I'll just be subjected to it in a few months time when the debt has doubled. So basically I am damed if I do, and damed if i dont. I don't think this is a good way to behave as a Thai.
Whenever I go to a temple, all I can hear are people praying fro more money, a better car etc. That to me is not buddhism. The country is filled with hypocrites."you can't do that over here in Thailand, it's not in tune with our faith", they say. The truth is they have little idea about their faith in the first place and will tell you anything to keep you happy. Ask a Thai person which way the restsuarnt is and they may not know. Rather than telling you they don't know, they'll guess. Why? Because they lose face if they don't know the answer.
Maybe I have been living here too long. I have read that if I have these sentiments, why not go back to my own country? I won't go back because the other aspects of my life, other than those mentioned above, are doing fine, better than if I lived in my own country.
A lot of Thais I meet are great people, educated and have integrity. Maybe I have been unfortunate with my circumstances. Everyone has their cross to bear.
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