4 ms·

Lived in Thailand for a bit. The "foreigner tax" (farang is usually reserved for White foreigners) is usually for untraceable cash payments (i.e. taxis, stalls,

Lived in Thailand for a bit. The "foreigner tax" (farang is usually reserved for White foreigners) is usually for untraceable cash payments (i.e. taxis, stalls, etc.) and government ran spaces (national parks, etc). In the case of the latter, usually foreigners pay 5X for entry -- this is government mandated. Now, as for the former, it's more for gullible tourist fresh off the boat. I was drunkenly making my way home one night, and hopped in a taxi. Guy told me something like 1,500 baht ($40 USD). I just laughed at the guy and said "meter", followed by him giving me a knowing look and a laugh as he turned on the meter. It was a 5 minute drive and ended up costing like 50 baht...If you know, then you know. Aside from the constant absurd and abusive racism handed out by Thai police in BKK, the country is an amazing place to live. Safe and friendly. And, I want to make it clear that I only received racist attacks (physical and verbal) from cops in BKK and nowhere else in the country -- but of course, everything became fine once they realized I was an American...

toolz 4y ago
wait, which white people would thai people have not liked (since you've implied being white was bad except for being a white american)? My time vacationing in thailand has always been overwhelmingly friendly...like the most friendly locals of any places I've been, but I stayed out of bangkok, which I hear is completely different.
- distantaidenn 4y ago
  I didn't imply being white was bad -- and not sure how you came to that conclusion. I was referring to OP's usage of "farang tax". I was pointing out farang is usually used for white foreigners. So it's more of a general "foreigner tax" than a "farang (only) tax".
  - toolz 4y ago
    > And, I want to make it clear that I only received racist attacks (physical and verbal) from cops in BKK and one where else in the country -- but of course, everything became fine once they realized I was an American... you said you experienced racism, that's what I meant, which I thought was pretty clear by the context of people were racist against you until they realized you were american, which is the heart of my question - why is being american an acceptable form of whiteness to the people who were racist against you
    - distantaidenn 4y ago
      You're assuming I'm white...think about that for a second. I don't mean to be flippant, I really mean to give it a thought as to why you made the assumption.
      - toolz 4y ago
        because the whole context was around a farang tax that you clarified was for white people, not just any foreigners - I see now that you never said you had to pay that tax, but this isn't some "hidden racism" twitter keeps going on about. I would've never put any thought to what you looked like if the whole context wasn't made about something exclusive to white people. I'm curious, when people misunderstand some context on the internet that has to do with race - do you often find yourself thinking it has racist undertones?
        distantaidenn 4y ago
        Here is my point. OP said "farang tax". Farang == white foreigner. This is the Thai language and not something I'm making up. So OP is essentially saying a "white foreigner tax". I wanted to make it clear that it's better to call it a "foreigner tax" in order to be more inclusive (and correct) -- because that's how the "tax" is applied. I don't see how this is confusing. Also, I never clarified any tax as being for white people. The only thing I clarified was that the word "farang" is typically used excluisively for white foreigners. I have no comment on the absurdity of your last sentence, btw.
        toolz 4y ago
        > I have no comment on the absurdity of your last sentence, btw. The only absurdity here is that instead of attempting to interpret my questions hospitably, you immediately went on the defensive and then refused again to address my question with a lovely touch of asking me to ponder deeply why I would mistakenly think you were white. I'm not sure what fantasy land you live in, but the people I talk too aren't just sitting at their keyboards hoping everyone on the other end is white. It's pretty gross that I replied with the most sincere curiosity and ended up with some not-so-veiled racism implications.
jamal-kumar 4y ago
In my experience living in Latin America, you have to know decent numbers in Spanish in order to not get people ripping you off. Really important here, considering that prices are often above 1000 pesos/etc for things, if you can't understand (with conversion!) mental math in those units or how to say numbers that high you're probably going to get screwed over at least once by someone looking to capitalize on your ignorance. It's the first bit of advice I have for anyone coming in from out of the country other than the other two bits: don't take offence to someone making fun of you (If they don't make fun of you or mess with you a bit after getting to know you, even just a little bit, it means they don't like you, which is really quite something a lot of other cultures don't get so easily), and don't do cocaine unless you want to be looked at as a potential victim. Same thing with the taxi, except it helps to know the local slang for a 'meter' -- 'la maria', and a phrase around the lines of 'no me jodas, no soy gringo, muchas gracias' (Don't fuck with me, I'm not a gringo, many thanks) will get you a lot further too.
- Jcampuzano2 4y ago
  In most Latin American countries if you live in a larger or more touristy city you can just take Uber as well since it's pretty commonly used here. I normally tell people to stay away from getting involved at all with drugs here, for your own safety. Obviously that may be s little overboard depending on what fits your fancy but I stand by it. Currently live in Lima, Peru coming from being in CDMX for 6 months and Guadalajara for a couple as well.

toolz 4y ago

wait, which white people would thai people have not liked (since you've implied being white was bad except for being a white american)? My time vacationing in thailand has always been overwhelmingly friendly...like the most friendly locals of any places I've been, but I stayed out of bangkok, which I hear is completely different.

distantaidenn 4y ago
I didn't imply being white was bad -- and not sure how you came to that conclusion. I was referring to OP's usage of "farang tax". I was pointing out farang is usually used for white foreigners. So it's more of a general "foreigner tax" than a "farang (only) tax".
- toolz 4y ago
  > And, I want to make it clear that I only received racist attacks (physical and verbal) from cops in BKK and one where else in the country -- but of course, everything became fine once they realized I was an American... you said you experienced racism, that's what I meant, which I thought was pretty clear by the context of people were racist against you until they realized you were american, which is the heart of my question - why is being american an acceptable form of whiteness to the people who were racist against you
  - distantaidenn 4y ago
    You're assuming I'm white...think about that for a second. I don't mean to be flippant, I really mean to give it a thought as to why you made the assumption.
    - toolz 4y ago
      because the whole context was around a farang tax that you clarified was for white people, not just any foreigners - I see now that you never said you had to pay that tax, but this isn't some "hidden racism" twitter keeps going on about. I would've never put any thought to what you looked like if the whole context wasn't made about something exclusive to white people. I'm curious, when people misunderstand some context on the internet that has to do with race - do you often find yourself thinking it has racist undertones?
      - distantaidenn 4y ago
        Here is my point. OP said "farang tax". Farang == white foreigner. This is the Thai language and not something I'm making up. So OP is essentially saying a "white foreigner tax". I wanted to make it clear that it's better to call it a "foreigner tax" in order to be more inclusive (and correct) -- because that's how the "tax" is applied. I don't see how this is confusing. Also, I never clarified any tax as being for white people. The only thing I clarified was that the word "farang" is typically used excluisively for white foreigners. I have no comment on the absurdity of your last sentence, btw.
        toolz 4y ago
        > I have no comment on the absurdity of your last sentence, btw. The only absurdity here is that instead of attempting to interpret my questions hospitably, you immediately went on the defensive and then refused again to address my question with a lovely touch of asking me to ponder deeply why I would mistakenly think you were white. I'm not sure what fantasy land you live in, but the people I talk too aren't just sitting at their keyboards hoping everyone on the other end is white. It's pretty gross that I replied with the most sincere curiosity and ended up with some not-so-veiled racism implications.

jamal-kumar 4y ago

In my experience living in Latin America, you have to know decent numbers in Spanish in order to not get people ripping you off. Really important here, considering that prices are often above 1000 pesos/etc for things, if you can't understand (with conversion!) mental math in those units or how to say numbers that high you're probably going to get screwed over at least once by someone looking to capitalize on your ignorance. It's the first bit of advice I have for anyone coming in from out of the country other than the other two bits: don't take offence to someone making fun of you (If they don't make fun of you or mess with you a bit after getting to know you, even just a little bit, it means they don't like you, which is really quite something a lot of other cultures don't get so easily), and don't do cocaine unless you want to be looked at as a potential victim. Same thing with the taxi, except it helps to know the local slang for a 'meter' -- 'la maria', and a phrase around the lines of 'no me jodas, no soy gringo, muchas gracias' (Don't fuck with me, I'm not a gringo, many thanks) will get you a lot further too.

Jcampuzano2 4y ago
In most Latin American countries if you live in a larger or more touristy city you can just take Uber as well since it's pretty commonly used here. I normally tell people to stay away from getting involved at all with drugs here, for your own safety. Obviously that may be s little overboard depending on what fits your fancy but I stand by it. Currently live in Lima, Peru coming from being in CDMX for 6 months and Guadalajara for a couple as well.