ParkCungHee
Deity
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2006
- Messages
- 12,921
I've heard Muay Thai is the national sport and is surprisingly common for younger Thais. Is this true, or a result of most of my knowledge about Thailand coming from Kickboxing?
Ask a Thai
- Thread starter Tee Kay
- Start date
SouthernKing
crickety cricket
What is Thailand's opinion of India?
ShahJahanII
Homesick Alien
Do you know a lot about Thai history?
Most people love farangs (Thai word for a white guy).
The usual things one does when one is in a foreign land. Study a bit about the country before you go. Make some friends, learn a few tips from them and let them know where you're going. Don't walk alone at night or in unsavoury places. Avoid talking about politics. Be polite to people. Stay away from drugs. Those sort of things.
Last night we had left overs from the night before. Some satay chicken with salad.
Chilli, maybe lemongrass, chilli, perhaps something sour like lemon juice or vinegar, chilli, maybe some Chinese broccoli and long beans if you can get them, chilli, season with fish sauce and sugar to your taste. And chilli.
It's becoming more popular as far as I know. My parents attempted to get me interested in it. I'm not.
The law's rather vague. Basically, do not say (or type; people have got in trouble for what they put in websites or text messages) anything critical (let alone outright insult) of the King, royal family, and the House of Chakri, and don't contradict or openly debate official proclamations from the Palace. When due respect should be given, such as standing up for the Royal Anthem or make way for a royal escort, give respect.
Officially, India is just another country with friendly relations. However, and I'm sorry to report, that the stereotype of Indians (kaek) among Thais is that they're poor, filthy, smelly, uncouth, backward (with special references to the caste system and their treatment of women) and untrustworthy (an old adage goes like this: "if you see a snake and a kaek, hit the kaek first"). Thais also generally prefer light skin, so Indians with dark skins are looked upon as inferior. Note that this perception does not necessarily translate to active discrimination against Indians. I'm not Indian so I can't say if they face any significant discrimination or not, but as far as I know, it usually doesn't happen. There's a large-ish Indian (Sikh, Hindus and Muslims) community in Bangkok, and I've seen more Indians than before (especially Sikhs, or maybe because they're just easier to spot) during my last visit to Bangkok.
Thais generally have a very bad perception of all their neighbours, not just Indians, I must say.
Not as much as I would like.
Kraznaya
Princeps
Why do you think Thailand has done a comparatively better job of assimilating overseas Chinese than her neighbors?
Kraznaya
Princeps
It's true that it doesn't have much in the way of competition, but still.
aronnax
Let your spirit be free
What's the Thai stereotype of Singapore then?
Ask fifty people and you get fifty different answers, from "Thais are naturally tolerant" to "It's all lies" and everything in between.
If you ask me, it has something to do with the Thai idea of a common citizenship/allegience to the King that transcends any ethnic or religious backgrounds, which in turn is partly to do with the fact that Sino-Thais historically often reached very high political and military positions, as well as dominated commercially, and partly due to assimilation campaigns sponsered by the State over the years; more often than not, these campaigns were directed by Sino-Thais (one of the most aggressive anti-Chinese campaigns was run before and during the Second World War by Luang Phibunsongkram and Luang Wijitwathagan, both of Chinese descent). Thailand is also richer than most countries in the region, which helps. It also helps that Thailand doesn't have a deep historical wound to heal; never had a history of invasion by the Chinese (like Vietnam or Burma), of overt Chinese support of frankly insane governments (like Cambodia), or of a level of ethnic violence intertwined with politics approaching genocide (like Indonesia).
Basically Mini-London, but Chinese, with more skyscrapers and an unhealthy obsession with social order.
AmnestyBosh said:
Yeah, it does. Most Indonesian's of Chinese descent don't consider themselves Chinese and would take exception to being called Chinese. Those who do consider themselves Chinese are most often 'peranakan' (Ind: descendants) who are well integrated. The 'archtypical' peranakan is someone who speaks the local language as a first language, adheres to local customs, marries local and is 'different' because of their relative wealth/affluence. The smallest part of the Chinese population are totok (Ind: pure) who are the least well integrated group and can be expected to speak a Chinese language, adhere to recognizable Chinese customs and be 'singled' out. Most totok are middle-class and above (because of the costs associated with maintaining culture) and are often the most disconnected from the host population(s). Then again, most totok live in large cities where maintaining cultural distance over a few generations is possible through inter-marriage. Much the same is the case with the Philippines.
taillesskangaru said:
Plaek Phibunsongkhram?
See, my idea of a successful assimilation is if you can simultaneously be assimilated and be comfortable enough not to deny your ancestry.
Not quite on the same level.
taillesskangaru said:
That's ridiculous. Most Chinese have integrated. It happens after a couple of generations in all but the most favorable situations. To begin with, you need a self-sustaining population to allow inter-marriages, robust cultural institutions to facilitate cultural transmission and a constant flow of people from the homeland to imbue that culture with meaning and replenish the population. That wasn't possible in Indonesia until the wide-scale in-migration of women (often dated to the 1900s). Even after that point most incoming Chinese assimilated. It was in a handful of cities - Jakarta for instance - where all those factors conspired to allow Chinese to maintain their culture across generations and... like the whole period 1929-1980? Hence the totoks as an urban phenomena. That lots of Chinese don't think themselves Chinese has nothing to do with fear and lots to do with the assimilative influence of local communities. I acknowledge that some Chinese are reluctant to be seen as Chinese because of the stigma associated with it, and that's unfortunate, but that doesn't mean all or even most Chinese are like that.
Forced name changes? Disruption of cultural life? It was. It just wasn't happening in the 1970s. Thailand just got the jump as it were.taillesskangaru said:
Point taken. Not that I was arguing that Chinese Indonesians don't assimilate in the first place, anyway. It was a comment on what I consider the ideal assimilation process to be.
I was thinking more of 1965, actually. Lest you think I'm a whitewashing nationalist, I'm not denying the anti-Chinese measures in Thailand. I do believe though that in Indonesia it happened on a larger scale, and as well as being more recent, it had a larger impact on contemporary psyche. After all, we are primarily dealing with perceptions here; perception of the level of assimilation/integration, perception of the relevance of historical events, perception of identity.
HannibalBarka
We are Free
Oh, I was in Bangkok 15 days ago for a buss trip. I loved the people, they seemed all very nice, not only towards me (as that happen often when I travel to "poor" countries), but even between Thai on the street, people looked all nice and friendly. I also found the city very clean, which surprised me to be honest.
I hated the "sex" street though, that was a gross experience. I however was surprised by the number of lady boys
I hated the "sex" street though, that was a gross experience. I however was surprised by the number of lady boys
Large parts of it aren't. But the major usually thoroughfares are. (Same as most cities in Asia).HannibalBarka said:
I've walked down some of those and I never get propositioned. I'm still yet to figure out why.HannibalBarka said:I hated the "sex" street though, that was a gross experience. I however was surprised by the number of lady boys
