I love the Entourage TV show on HBO. Always hard to tell how much of it is true but it is based on some true characters but given what happens in the celebrity world I am sure most of what goes on in the show is probably tame compared to what really goes on in the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Funny thing is when I watch I think that other than the trappings of the celebrity lifestyle, the cars and big pads - I pretty much have in Bangkok what those guys do on their TV show. More on that later.
Hat tip to a reader for this link - too bad it was not with a hotter girl but good fun anyway. When my friend sent this to me the email was titled: What passes for entertainment in the US. Then in the subject of his email he said - I know, I know - we are pathetic. Love the Wii. I may have to make a similar video if I had the Wii Fit board but I would get more girls and make sure they are naked. That would be the difference between the RW and here. Plus I would be watching it live - not on the boob tube.
Well here is McCain showing again how out of touch he is with the real world. I am not saying this to mean that since he is not a big social network user that he just does not get it but I think the admittance of not really using a computer or email shows his age and shows how he has no idea with what is happening in the world at large. Scary.
Stick at it this week with an interesting topic - sponsorship. I think he makes some fair points but I think this is very easy to solve. You should not sponsor a girl if you don’t live here. Simple as that. Why would you need to anyway - just look her up when u come to town but the idea of taking care of someone while you are away has always seemed strange to me. Why would u need a remote GF? Phone sex? Webcam sex? U can get that anytime plus you can have her when u come to town. Problem with Thai birds - bargirls or not is they get lonely, they like sex and they like going out. So the whole model is just very difficult to manage remotely. I am speaking from experience here so please don’t everyone chime in and give the remote sponsorship can work comments. I did not say it can’t work but I think it is a waste of time and money, but hey - my heartfelt thanks to those that do.
Ever check out Fred on Everything? I read it from time to time and although I don’t agree with him all the time I find from time to time some very interesting articles that provoke some thought. I also love how he tends to get the feminazis all fired up. One of his latest articles on Farang guys retiring in the land of 3rd world girls is spot on.
Here it is important to get beyond the often unconscious but powerful condescension that so many have toward Third-Worlders. This attitude urges that women (and men, but we are not here interested in men) in most of the world are ignorant if not illiterate, uncouth and, not to put too fine a point on it, not very bright. This view doesn’t hold up well to experience.
Great point there. I get all the time from my western friends the - how could I settle down or have a meaningful relationship with a younger Thai girl. What about discussing politics, business and so on. Well, having been married(speaking again from experience) I find that I don’t really care to discuss politics with a girl, I don’t plan on doing business with one and I find that the Thai girls cook, entertain and generally take care of the day to day things better than her Western counterpart. She looks good doing it and most of all she likes being a woman. I am not specifically talking about my girl either but the general attitude of the women here.
Let’s just say Thai girls still likes being feminine, they like taking care of their men and they think it is cool to be a sexy woman. This is the big issue for me. This area is where I find life in Thailand to be so much more amazing than life in the RW. Sure I don’t make the cash I did, I don’t have the belongings I used to, but I have better experiences overall. I won’t get into the differences of living here versus working in the RW since anyone who does get to come here should realize how good they have it.
Moving on since this is not just about older guys settling down but young guys have amazing options here too. Think back to celebrities in the RW - younger, decent guys here can have it all. Sure you need to earn a living, keep your head screwed on and find a focus but if you can do that the world of possibilities for having fun, enjoying women and carousing with your friends is endless.
Fred makes a great point here:
It is perhaps worth noting that marriage has always had a large element of self-seeking, and that women, when they have not actually sold sex, have at least bartered it. This practice is hotly denied, and as hotly pursued.
Take identical twin brothers, introduce one as a recent graduate of Harvard Medical, and the other as a bus driver, and compare their amatory successes. There will be no comparison. Give me a Ferrari and money enough to leave hundred-dollar tips for a beer, and women will line up for blocks outside my door, though I have the appeal of a tree fungus. And while sex is often associated with marriage, not always accurately, it’s far cheaper to rent than buy. Only the crazy marry for it.
I always laugh when people talk about football stars, celebrities, and so on with their hot women but let’s face it - if they were not football stars they probably would not have the hot women. Well - welcome to Bangkok boys. You to can have the lifestyle of rockstar without being one.
Hence I go back to Entourage - I got my posse here, we party hard, work hard and everyone seems to have more women than they know what to do with. Now for the beach pad…
Spent some time in the G-Clubs over the past few weeks. Some coinage was dropped and generally everyone who went admits it was tough to get some but that the quality was no comparison to the go-gos. I am just deciding how much of Tricycle’s advice to emulate.
*****”Here it is important to get beyond the often unconscious but powerful condescension that so many have toward Third-Worlders. This attitude urges that women (and men, but we are not here interested in men) in most of the world are ignorant if not illiterate, uncouth and, not to put too fine a point on it, not very bright. This view doesn’t hold up well to experience.”
Actually, I think that view DOES hold up pretty well to experience, far more often than not, and anyone who has lived in the Third World more than a couple of hours knows it.
Unless, I suppose, you’re so deeply into this sort of politically correct horse shit (is that the opposite of ‘unconscious but powerful condescension’?) that saying the truth out loud give you a wedgie.
View all comments by Old Asia Hand
Well, keep in mind that a lot of that perception of Third World people as “ignorant if not illiterate, uncouth and, not to put too fine a point on it, not very bright” is a function of education level…
When you’re hanging out with Thai bar girls, you are for the most part hanging out with people from a rural background who have had 0 to 6 years of education.
What impression would a moderately educated foreigner have hanging out with that same cohort in your country??
Also, that perception of Thais as “ignorant, etc.” can be greatly reduced if you take the time to learn to speak Thai. Then you get to hear Thais’ presentations of self and expression of ideas without the filter of that godawful “bar-girl English” or the many other types of inferior Englishes (sorry, but what’s spoken in Thailand doesn’t belong anywhere near those varieties of English which you may think are “poor” but are actually valid dialects, like Indian English…) one hears in Thailand if one hasn’t made the effort to learn Thai.
As you struggle with learning Thai, YOU will be the one who often comes off as ignorant, only competent at baby talk, etc. It’s a good, humbling experience. Especially since, don’t forget, it’s you who is living in THEIR country, haha.
View all comments by ratchada
Entourage is supposed to be based on the life of Mark Wahlberg, who is also credited as an executive producer of the show.
View all comments by MSB
Check out infowars.com. On another note, I cannot do business in Thailand without having a European/Expat at the helm. Sorry, but that is the truth.
View all comments by auk
- Smitty: so do you think that one should sponsor a girl if one leaves here???
View all comments by Suk Psycho
I think dressing up in a Li-Kay outfit and getting on top of the tables and dancing Maw-Lum is still unchartered in the G-Clubs. Try that. The girls are sure to smile atcha and a few would probably throw you one just for being a card, entertaining, funny, and daring. And remember, the key in G-Clubs is always to leave your wallet at home.
View all comments by G-Club Ace
IMHO intelligence isn’t the problem - it’s education/cultural differences. I can think of two non P4P women I know that illustrate the point well.
One is an industrial chemist - a couple of days a week she works at the FDA and is responsible for authorising new drugs and medicines. She is as smart as they come but has little western cultural exposure which makes intelligent conversation technically possible but culturally difficult.
The other works for a Thai distributor of western high-end goods. Her exposure to western culture is regular, attending conferences and trade exhibitions. She can not only speak english well, but she understands instinctivly when to take what you say literally, when you are joking or being cynical/sarcastic and when you are using idioms and expressions with which we are all familiar. She is really the only Thai woman with whom I can have a good conversation - so it is possible.
View all comments by doctorbond
Entourage.tv - A great place to watch every single episode of Entourage online in high quality HDTV streaming FLV format. NO BROKEN LINKS!
Check it out!
View all comments by John
there is an important difference that you’ve glossed over:
real rock stars can get any woman they want
guys in thailand can get any hooker they want
despite the tempting illusion that all Thai girls love Mr Farang, the truth is that real Thai girls beyond the neon wouldn’t be seen dead with most of the chumps arriving at Suvarnabhumi every hour. To say otherwise is just encouraging these guys to believe their own deluded fantasies.
View all comments by Hugh Heffer
Heff, I think you’re a little off the mark. Real rock stars can’t get any woman they want; they can get any skank they want who will get with a rock star. When they’re not getting those skanks, you’ll find them in strip clubs and dialing the local high-class madam. The vast majority of western women aren’t getting plastic surjury and auditioning for Rock of Love, and aren’t spreading them for some guy with a bunch of tats and a coke physique just because he fronts a band, but everywhere you go you’ll find p4p.
View all comments by fender
Well, having had to work in some real shit holes of the third world, and having to work closely with some of the locals, they were just plain fucking stupid. Im not an asshole but come on. P.s I’m not racist.
ratchada… I like what your saying, but when language, wasn’t an issue I still found explaining simple concepts to people i worked with from under developed country’s to be pulling teeth.
“Let’s just say Thai girls still likes being feminine, they like taking care of their men and they think it is cool to be a sexy woman.”
I’m sorry and not trying to be mean but this what I read is ” I can actually get laid in Thailand”
Is it just me or is the average Thai women far less emotionally mature then the average western women? I’m really sure they are and thats why the are easier to sleep with. God bless em.
View all comments by yesman
The issue of intelligence is relative - how do you measure it? Thailand does pretty well - infrastructure, schools, hospitals, commerce, etc. - and mostly runs on its own steam, ie without Western-style intelligence. Example: the tyres on my girlfriend’s pickup (yes, I’m in Issan - how did you guess?) needed inflating, so I take it to the local car care place thinking, in my Western mode, that a couple of minutes with the air hose will do the trick. A young guy takes over, and wanders off somewhere to find a tyre gauge that works, after trying a couple that don’t. I’m getting antsy, thinking, “in the West, I’d have done it myself and been out of here by now - why do the Thais always …” etc. So anyway, it takes a good fifteen minutes to inflate four tyres, me trying to reign in my impatience, and I’m expecting a bill for this inefficiency, but the young guy just nods and smiles and that, apparently, is that. Free, I’m feeling suddenly stupid and clumsy and very Farang. I give the guy a 20 baht tip, which he’s surprised and pleased with. The point is, if I was Thai, I’d have chatted with him while he took his time to do the job, and we’d have enjoyed ourselves a little in the undemanding Thai way, and our day would have been a little more worthwhile. Instead, I got impatient and then felt like shit for imposing my Western “intelligence” on Thailand.
As to the intelligence of the girls; try cruising UK pubs or French bars and evaluating the girls’ IQ. Lots of luck.
View all comments by Pants Elk
How do you measure intelligece?
How about this?
An IQ test.
Recent results.
Average Bangkok IQ = 88.
Average Isaan IQ = a few points less.
I use to like “Entourage”. Now I kinda’ see it as ReALlY pretentious and why the USA has maybe five years left (i mean Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both going down?).
I usually like Wahlberg’s roles though. How can you not like Bostoners?
Right on about most Thai women’s acknowledgement of their natural good looks. Is their hair, freshly washed, freaking great or what? And I like how they’re always checking for split enz.
“Though to get some” at G clubs? And your point in going is what? Of that’s right, to spend a lot of money and not get laid (sorry, can’t resist; travelling back to LA from the Utah national parks I’d stay in the car while my buddy went into Crazy Horse II Industrial Road Vegas to get a lap dance to get him through to Barstow).
View all comments by jack dawson
The IQ test is a western test, measuring intelligence in a western way according to what the west thinks is intelligent. The point of my tyre-inflating story was that the Thai way, as seemingly inefficient as it may seem to western standards, leads to an enjoyable life. That’s something the IQ test can’t measure.
Another example (there are millions across the country, every day, every second) - we arranged to see a house for rent. The woman was late. For my girlfriend, no problem. She chatted to the neighbours in Thai time. The woman turns up, with the wrong keys. No impatience or anger shown by anybody (including me - I’m learning). There’s a lot of talk, contacts made, fun had. Result; one unrented house, a lot of good human interaction. We found a better place the next day anyway, as a result of the talk. That, to me, is intelligent living.
The IQ test is an inadequate and clumsy and patronising tool when used outside the western paradigm is was set up to measure. Try using it on the Masai.
View all comments by Pants Elk
msb - they say that after about season 2 it was more fictional than it was modeled after mark but yeah that is the premise.
auk - sorry. I think that would also be the truth for china, vietnam, and other places. this is not just a thailand thing.
suk - I dont have an issue with the sponsoring but I think it is not something I would do if I did not live here. The issue is keeping track of things. I never get why anyone would sponsor a girl who is not going to school, working or doing a business. If a girl is pretty busy then she is less likely to stray me thinks.
hh - say what u want but u are making to broad a generalization. Learn some thai, dress cool(does not mean suits and tie but have some style), think young, and observe local customs and you cant meet girls past the neon. My point is it is NOT all about the P4P an that is why I love the place. THe P4P is the fall back position in times of need.
yesman - u missed it again but thanks for playing the game. I was not talking about getting laid but about the fact that even in the office and around town the women love to look and be women. Just stand at the elevator bank to the central world office tower and u will see what I mean.
jd - we will never agree on this one. g clubs are like sales. constantly making sure my pipeline is full - one cannot expect they are always going home with u. But a full pipeline and some amount of closing means that one came over last night and I had a good time. america is so full of itself and the day of reckoning is coming but bummer part is that it will drag all of down with it to some extent.
pe - hence my point to the post pe. providing on can make sure they are getting what they need out life, which is up to u, then thailand provides a great place to enjoy life, the women and the day to day of getting by. I think u summed that up pretty well. just make sure I get invited to the pre-wedding parties.
View all comments by smitty
Fred is interesting. To me he is a great old-time American, the rugged reporter-under-fire type… Hemingway & al, don’t make many like him anymore. We have grown soft and unable to live without appletinis and five star hotel rooms, and anything that is not remote-controlled sucks. Just look at what passes for ‘rock’ music these days?! Avril Lavigne, and emo? WTF is that? Back in my day ‘gothic’ etc had real grit, this stuff is just whiny junk.
Anyway, I think that this is the problem with the Western civilization, and the reason why us Westerners put up with bitchy unattractive women (no guts to ask for more and blindsided into believing their psycho-babble-claptrap), patronize ‘3rd world-ers’, and so on - we’re out of touch with the real real life.
As far as what one poster said, I am not sure what ‘emotionally mature’ means. But I will take someone who is genuine over someone who has grown ‘mature’ through lessons learned from Cosmopolitan and Sex & the City.
View all comments by Julian
j - great stuff. spot on.
hence why I like living here - it is not America. Sure it is not perfect, all the girls did not go to good schools (some did) and the place does not always attract the best of what the world has to offer but it is real, gritty and interesting. Works for me indeed but maybe not others. I just hope people don’t think the place needs fixing. It doesn’t.
View all comments by smitty
smitty - you’re right - the place doesn’t need fixing. We do.
Also, they have a great religion here. It’s not depressing or guilt-driven or fake-joyous. I met some Christian evangelists in Cambodia recently, and I found the sight of the few Khmer souls they’d managed to hook happy-clapping along to a hymn deeply unsettling. Best not pull at this particular thread, perhaps, but the Theravada Buddhist culture has a lot to do with what we see as infuriating inefficiency. Looked at it another way, the Thais are a pretty cool bunch of people. Until they redline on rice whiskey or Burmese metamphetamines.
View all comments by Pants Elk
HH,
But they are my deluded fantasies!
View all comments by Pablo
@ Smitty, was not singling out the Thai work ethic. Agree that it is wider spread. Or is our western work ethic f**ked up, where we have to do everything immediately!
View all comments by AUK
@S - It was gritty and it has already been fixed too much. Now it is gentrified and stroller friendly. Any grit remaining is post processed grit. Not same same, but tame.
Hey, what happened to all the more interesting chatter about G-Clubbin? I got my pink booties on, done up a mullet, painted my fingy nails, and I is raring to go!
View all comments by G-Club Ace
IMHO the issue is not one of intelligence but rather a combination of culture,education and economics. The economics comes in when anyone is basically struggling to survive. If you do spend time thinking about where your next meal is coming from then it is difficult to find the time to think about the big moral issues which often make for interesting conversation in the west.
But culturally Thailand is way ahead of the materialistic RW - pants story about the car tyres is so true - I recall being stuck in a subsoi off Suk for nearly 30 mins why two Thai guys who were passing each other stopped their cars and had a conversation out the drivers’ windows. No-one except me seemed bothered at all - but I got all steamed up to no benefit. Everyone else took the opportunity to have a kip (as Thais seem to do at the drop of a hat).
View all comments by Not in Paradise
Have to agree with Heffner on his points.
Sponsorship, man this is really a foreign concept to me. Thought the idea was to pay for ass,
Entourage? why? why would anyone waste their time watching much less discuss it.
McCain is out of touch because he doesn’t use the internet? How ludicrous. How does surfing the web prepare one to be a leader. hey, i see it as at least he isn’t spending 8 hours a day surfing porn. And anyway he has staff for that.
Seem to feel a thread of anti-Americanism here. America will survive the sub-prime crises. Hell, it doesn’t even effect me, my business which provides an unnecessary luxury service, one if money was tight would be the first people would give up to save money. My receipts are up 20% over last year and last year was my best year on record. The one’s hurting the most is the finance industry, mortgage brokers and builders, which were 3 professions that made butt loads of money before it crashed. Mortgage brokers were making $250,000 US a year before it crashed. Let’s see, skill needed to be a mortgage broker,can you say, ” sign here, and here, and here”?
Maybe my recollection of history is wrong, please correct me if I am, but wasn’t it the American military which really got the foreign P4P going in Thai? or at least institutionalized it?
Julian- “and the reason why us Westerners put up with bitchy unattractive women” Who is this “us” you refer too, i don’t put up with that shit but sounds like you do, Why? if you not willing to stand up for yourself and other men then that makes you as bad as the fem-nazi’s. The west does not have a monopoly on un-attractive woman. Not sure what is happening in Asia, the last few years there, see more and more way overweight girls. OK OK, i concede, there is far more in the US but then again, look how many men are grossly overweight too.
April LaVergne or whatever and Emo are rockstars? Wow news to me. think the correct term in Pop stars. Pop music has always been the worst and devoid of any substance. Has always been that way. Jimi Hendrix’s first US gig was playing warm-up for the ’60’s pop band, The Monkee’s. Shit man, what a mis-match. Actually believe now, that the rock, not pop, live music scene is the best it has been in almost 40 years. Is way more fractured today with the loss of control of the big record companies to the internet and the 3 decades long destruction of american FM radio. But the internet has changed all that and it still really hasnt found its way yet. But on the club level, the variety and quality of music is at its highest level ever. Something VERY BIG maybe happening in the US non-pop music scene, can’t wait until it fully evolves.
Question? has nothing to do with the topic, farang versus farina. My understanding of it is farang is a very un-polite word for foreigner, and farina is just foreigner with no slander intended, or has my thai GF just hoodwinked me. Have heard the excuse, well it has been used for so long that it is accepted but find that very hard to swallow. Cracker, nigger and spic have been used for generations here, but is still not socially acceptable to use them. Maybe we tolerate the insult to much, myself, dont tolerate it, neither does my GF. It took some training, but none of her friends will use the farang word around me, and we will not hesitate to up and leave a shop or restuarant, or even hotel when she hears the f word. And of course the offender gets an earful from the GF on the way out. Love then Isan girls. Maybe if more us let them know we find it offensive???? Maybe my skin is too thin.
Sorry, was very bored tonight and maybe a little anal retentive.
View all comments by farina
Just a little. Some good jokes though.
View all comments by Bangkok Bad Boy
farina -
welcome to the blog. i won’t tear u a new one for starting off this way, I know u are new since u just registered, but I would suggest coming on a little softer if u hope to make friends here.
It is not prepare to be a leader to surf the web - don’t think said it. I said it shows how out of touch he is with the real world and how he won’t be able to listen to what those are saying about him. That is how I feel about it. Someone who wants to be a president in 2008 should not admit to feeling they don’t need email.
I am american bud - so not anti american but I think maerica has been blowing it for some time and it is coming back to haunt them.
I like entourage. deal with it. start an anti entourage blog if u get bored.
I think juian, a frequent commenter here, had some great points. I agree the internet is changing the media game all the way around. good stuff.
on the farang thing. I don’t think it is a bad word. just means foreigner really. I have heard that it is just linked to the sanskrit root word farangi. I don’t know what farina even means. best to give us the thai word to be sure. I think it is not that big of a deal really.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farangi
View all comments by smitty
maybe ‘farina’ is the way some thais pronounce ‘foreigner’ (kinda like fa-ree-nah)?
View all comments by go go groupie
Farina - in UK it’s a brand name for some kind of mushy baby food
View all comments by andyxyzb
Off topic:
I just wanted to thank this blog (and Werewolf’s) for writing so much about Thailand. It’s been very interesting. I’ll be in Bangkok for 3 weeks in August, and I can’t wait!
I started trying to cram a little pa-saa-Thai into my head this week. The brain is willing, but my ears just don’t get it!
My language CD says repeat the word, and I can’t even hear/decide what the heck they’re saying.
For instance, the masculine courtesy sentence-ender. I can’t tell if it’s “krap”, “krab”, “klap”, or “klab”.
Oh well. I surved a month in Germany knowing only “ein bier, bitte” so I guess I’ll live.
Wave if you see me in Bangkok next month. I’ll be the fat American (that ought to narrow it down for you).
View all comments by Twice Shy
TS: Don’t worry about learning Thai.. Just keep repeating ‘I’m not French’…. you’ll be an instant hit.
View all comments by Day Walker
so, farina, it takes you 300 words to brag ur sales ur up 20%?
smartest woman i knew was my ex who said “NEVER tell anyone how much u make. who knows (i.e., the IRS) who’s listening?”
don’t get us wrong. we’re happy 4 u. but probably not as happy as your issan GF.
and ur right about mcbush. we need to neatly transition from a commander in chief/national CEO who doesn’t read a newspaper to one who can’t use a computer (no wonder he crashed a bunch of taxpayer-paid for planes).
perfect !
View all comments by jack dawson
@DW: http://notthenation.com/pages/news/getnews.php?id=532
View all comments by Bangkok Bad Boy
@ BBB
okay then.. “I’m not a Scouser”
View all comments by Day Walker
@ TwiceShy - after a few years I settled on ‘Carb’ - linger on the ‘a’ for about as long as it takes to squeeze out a moderate sized stool
View all comments by doctorbond
A little anal retentive…Guess I was understating, correction, am extremely anal retentive tonight.
No need to handle me with kids gloves, am very old school, if i need a beatin, then beat me. cool? I grew up an orphan on the streets of Chicago, made something of my life, and as a result, tend to talk very direct… at least here in the states, god forbid doing that in thai. But can take a punch better than most, up 2 u.
would like to get to the bottom of the farang, farina thing, as I now think about it more,my first GF in Thai, what you would now call a Hi-So, she hated the word farang too, only used it when she was angry at me. Current GF has never steered me wrong with thai language so tend to believe her and it was her that brought it up, early on she asked me to stop calling myself farang. But then again, she won’t tell me the thai word for fart, just says “it’s impolite” wtf.Of course when I ask Thai’s I know here in US, i get that typical thai, empty blank look that am sure everybody here is so familar with. Wasn’t farangi an alien species in one of the star trek spin offs? Yep, farina is some kind of cream of wheat type stuff, never had it.
I love thai girls but also love western girls too.
the 3 best qualities of western woman (and this is not me saying they are better than thai girls, thai girls are tops)
1. On first date never ask you for money cause families water buffalo died.
2. No 3am wake up calls with a deranged crazy girl banging on your door, well ok, sometimes, but is not the norm for them.
3. and unless your married to one, so much easy to get rid of when you are done with her
Back to USA, am more worried about the current attitudes here, somewhere between the time i came of age and now, we went from a country of individualist freedoms to a collective Nanny state. That I think is the biggest threat to the UsA.
The story about the tire shop is perfect, is one of many reasons that i love thailand.
Did not intend to offend anyone, just ramblings from a stressed out manic-depressive in the manic stage now.
1st time poster, but have been reading you for awhile. Thanks for the reads.
View all comments by farina
Bullshit is also up 20% around just lately.
@Smitty
Entourage is an awesome show though I’ve heard several people here in Australia call it sex in the city for men. Maybe Farina needs to change his name to drama he sound like him. Looking forward to season 5 which I’ll hopefully buy a mbk. The music rocks on the show too, makes the credits worth watching. If America crumbles I hope HBO survives.
View all comments by Wentworth
farina -
I would say you are slightly off on this since your GF is using a newly co-opted word “faw-lii-nerr”…yeah, it’s as one person commented, the Thai (mis)pronunciation of “foreigner”. I would say that’s a relatively new addition to thai vocab, and certainly not that widely used. farang has been around a really long time.
of course it has a derogatory side (farang, that is), but not always, depends on the speaker and the context. it’s not fair to compare it to, say, “nigger,” though, since there is pretty much no social stigma against being racist in Thai society…I would compare it more to the archaic (for the most part) American English term “colored,”
haha…
entourage kicks ass.
View all comments by jimbobknowshisthai
Having lived here for 3 years, I’ve never heard the word ‘farina’ used for foreigners, that isn’t to say it doesn’t exist, I’ve just never heard it. Thais also use the word ‘farang’ for guava and chewing gum which were both initially imported into Thailand - hence foreigners. The word ‘farina’ could be from the Isarn dialect? And Farina, the Thai word for fart is ‘dtoht’, use it wisely my friend
I talked with my Thai gf (from Si Saket) and she reckons that ‘Farang’ isn’t a bad word and that she’s never heard of ‘farina’
As for the whole internet thing - the internet played a big part in the downfall of John Howard and rise of Kevin Rudd in Australia who was able to use it to get in contact with younger generations and prove how in touch he was.
View all comments by Jase
jase - I agree on the farina - farang thing. seems silly. It is only derogatory if used that way.
internet is huge. it is why obama raised more money than clinton. it is what created the changing of the guard in south korea. it is a part of life now and to pretend it is not there or not useful seems really silly.
View all comments by smitty
“Farang” derives from “Farang-say”, the Asian pronunciation of “Francais” (French) which, in colonial times became the generic term for any foreigner. It has no embedded pejorative sense unless the tone of voice implies it. To get upset at being called one is totally inappropriate. This is always news to someone.
“Farina” is new to me, but it’s obviously a mis-pronunciation of “foreigner”, ness-pah?
View all comments by Pants Elk
I always tought that the word farang came from français pronounced farançais by the Thai, meaning French. It was invented when the King, 2 or 300 years ago, had a French advisor.
But for Daywalkers sake, I hope that I’m wrong.
I believe that a Frog gives him a rash.
Still, I can’t see the problem when being called Farang.
View all comments by hanuman
Damn, Pants Elk beat me to it!
View all comments by hanuman
Hanuman: A frog did give me a rash once
That’s why I moved on to Monkeys
View all comments by Day Walker
Hey Entourage does have some real good episodes..
@ Farina, are you having a bad night or what? you seem to be trying to push the envelope , and thats fine,I always like a good battle of the bloggers..
A few things though, your wealth doesn’t have too much weight on a forum, Dont you know were all millionaires here?
But other than that you seem to talk straight and I like that, the Farina word really doesnt exist in Thai lingo , the village princess is probably saying “fo-rin-na as most do when not using farang.
If your new to the whole Thai seen then this is a good place to start learning some new things. Enjoy
@ Wentworth,
the next half of the season should actually be 04×13 (just in case your searching for downloads of it)they split the season again like in season 3 , over the winter break but the writers strike fucked everything up,next month we should see the next episodes coming out..
Cheers
View all comments by Jboy.Bkk
@DW, We all know about your monkey business.
View all comments by hanuman
‘Farrang’ is derived from the noise ancient telephones used to make in the colonial masters house that the labouring Thais could hear out in the paddy fields. This was a big improvement on the earlier tickertape telegraph which led Thais to thrash the grass repeatedly cursing those ‘licentious crickets’
Then at the turn of the century, about when DW’s forefathers lifted their grazed knuckles from the ground because they were being beaten to suitable mates by frenchmen, the mobile phone was invented along with the wearing of tight teans, hair clips and Hello Kitty fashion accessories. That’s why a truly great Egg McMuffin needs processed cheese not some hi-faluting Canadian Cheddar - Smitty take note.
View all comments by doctorbond
I bow, as ever, to doctorbond’s erudition. His breadth of knowledge is as vast as the starry heavens, his wisdom as penetrating as a bright sword, and his dick as spotty as a boarding-house pudding.
View all comments by Pants Elk
Thank you PE - you are gracious to the last - I’m seeing the Queen on Monday - I’ll put in a good word
View all comments by doctorbond
Been watchin’ the world financial system teeter on the verge of collapse since I got back from the LOS, and it’s time to reverse the sponsorship thing. For real. I officially request someone from Thailand sponsor a fetching American lass named Fannie Mae. She’s worth about $8 billion these days but has potential claims on her that run into the trillions and her current sponsor, a chap named Uncle Sam, hasn’t done right by her of late. We need it folks, round up a few oligarchs, will ya?
Small note on education. First, if my interaction with stateside women was primarily strippers that would not lead me to believe the US educational system is worth a can of paint. There certainly are some very smart strippers, and those are some of the more interesting people you’ll ever meet, but the huge majority are woefully ignorant and uninformed. Expecting a Thai pole dancer/climber who has been living by her wits and tits and (maybe) a ninth grade education to have particularly evolved opinions about, say, Russian history or prime number sequences is asking a bit much.
View all comments by tosh
I don’t see where being called “farang” is offensive when it is said to describe a caucasian. No problem at all.
But what really “rankles” me is being called “PaPa”
I really find this is many times used as deliberate attempt to insult when used by the various touts. Forget about that nonsense that it is complimentary yeild to an older person. If you want to compliment my age then just “wai” when you say “PaPa”
View all comments by midland
the aussie soccer team used to be coached by a guy with the name “farina” until he got replaced by some dutch dudes. certainly cant find that word in my thai dictionary (under ฝ or ฟ).
as for the word “farang” im sure its not intended to be negative, they have plenty of other words for that! farang also means guava, as in the fruit
View all comments by Mr Carpet
@farina: RE the US music scene. Good things: Bonnaroo, Coachella. Exciting band: Thievery Corporation. Other than that, I am really past the point where I was distinguishing between popular musical genres. I don’t follow the scene anymore, gave up on it around circa 1994, but today you will find me listening to Aterciopelados and Stereolab. I was mentioning Avril Lavigne and emo because this is what I am told is what kids listen to these days. I don’t watch MTv and don’t listen to radio, but cursory reading of Rolling Stone doesn’t inspire me much.
RE Fat women. Obviously, as the tone of my post implied, I don’t put up with ‘fat bitchy women’. I see plenty of folks who do though, and who are surprised why I don’t! I was perhaps generalizing, but unfortunately that is the trend I see from my vantage point. I have been working/living in several countries in the last 10 years and if I have to say in a few words something that characterizes the “West” when it comes to womenfolk, I would say what I said above. Are there fatties in Asia (or for that matter, Latin America). Certainly. And yet, the gist of my point stands, and I doubt there will be many posters on this blog who will disagree.
View all comments by Julian
Since this is my first post, I’ll keep it short. I’ve been coming to Thailand for about 8 years for business and pleasure, and have spent 8 additional years living in SE Asia and Hawaii (currently CA). As has been said, Farang can be used just as a lazy description of the person, or as an insult, usually the former. What I tell my Thai acquaintences to refer to me as is an “American”. Why you ask? Because I’m not just a “foreigner”, just as they are not just “Asian” or “Oriental”. I give them the same respect by refering to them as “Thai”, and not either of the other two. I don’t have a hard on about this policy, and don’t tell it to everyone, but over a Chang or Singha most seem to understand my point.
Regardless, “Farang” is nothing to get bent out of shape over.
View all comments by Tunafisher