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Here are more of my observations of Thais and their culture.
I saw an online real estate ad with the words “Indians Welcome”. Are you telling me Indians are not welcome in some areas? Hmm… This is similar to Singapore.
I made some new Singaporean friends in Bangkok. We have discovered that Thais generally do not say no. What they tend to do instead is to tell you a long and indirect story, which may or may not be true that implies a no answer. For example, my friend was supposed to meet someone for dinner and his friend did not show up. His excuse was he does not have a Thai SIM card and he does not know how to use a public phone. Unbelievable!
Bangkok apartment buildings are generally not pet-friendly. Most property agents are reluctant to help you find a place that allows pets.
The BTS sky train and MRT subway train networks belong to 2 different companies. You can’t use a single card on both networks. The MRT uses this token system while the BTS uses a card system for single trips. I bought a 10 trip contact-less smart card for the BTS. It is great for longer journeys but a waste for short journeys that are 1 or 2 stops apart.
The Tuk Tuks and taxi drivers are very sneaky. It is not uncommon to hop into a taxi and have the driver tell you that they won’t use the taxi meter. They will quote you a price depending on the traffic. It is also not uncommon for them to drive around in circles to try to jack up their taxi fares. If you’re a tourist, they might even drive you to shops. What’s worse, if they feel like it, they might just stop their vehicle and ask you to get off because they are going somewhere else.
I see a lot of people in tiny “7-Eleven” shops. I don’t understand why they would need more than 2 people to man a store. Sometimes I see 4 people doing a night shift.
I also do not understand why they need to hire men to wear uniforms to open the doors of shopping centres. Some of them even salute you while they are opening the door. An automatic door would save a lot of money in my opinion.
Some restaurant menus are designed to rip off farangs (Westerners) and other foreigners. I see prices that read “Market Price”. What is that supposed to mean?
I have been told that the 10000 Thai Baht currency bill is not accepted at many places because a lot of fake notes that have been circulating around Thailand. My Thai friend told me that I should withdraw 900 Thai Baht at a time. Even the ATM machines might have fake 10000 Thai Baht notes! That explains why Thais tend to thoroughly examine 10000 Thai Baht notes against a light source to see the King’s holographic face and feel the note to check if it feels too smooth to be real.
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