How do khmers compare with thais?

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jubo2
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Re: How do khmers compare with thais?

Post by jubo2 »

Yerg wrote: Tue Dec 03, 2019 12:23 am I think it is nearly an impossible comparison to make. The history of both countries is different. The cultures of the two countries are different. I've spent (roughly) equal amounts of time in both countries, and like each for their own things. If push came to shove and I had to avoid splinters in my arse, my preference is Cambodia for myriad reasons. I speak a smattering of both languages, certainly enough to get by, but by no means fluent. I can't say I ever made any great Thai friends in BKK and Hua Hin, but in PP I certainly did. Of all ilks. (Let's leave the bar workers out of this equation.) I found it far easier to make friends with Khmer people than it was to make friends with Thai people. I also found that Khmers (despite their recent history) were far quicker to trust you than my experience with Thais. In the workplace, I found my Khmer associates fiercely loyal and thankful for the training and development we put in place for them, whereas the Thais were tough to get to buy in to what we were trying to train them. So, it's a bit of a mixed pot for me. But still, if someone asked me to choose between KoS and KoW as a place to live and/or retire (forgetting the visa and financial elements), it would be KoW hands-down for me.


True that it's easier to be friend with Khmer because it's a small country with a small population. Thailand is as crowded or more than some EU countries, so they clearly don't need us :-)
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Re: How do khmers compare with thais?

Post by Yerg »

jubo2 wrote: Tue Dec 03, 2019 12:29 am
Yerg wrote: Tue Dec 03, 2019 12:23 am I think it is nearly an impossible comparison to make. The history of both countries is different. The cultures of the two countries are different. I've spent (roughly) equal amounts of time in both countries, and like each for their own things. If push came to shove and I had to avoid splinters in my arse, my preference is Cambodia for myriad reasons. I speak a smattering of both languages, certainly enough to get by, but by no means fluent. I can't say I ever made any great Thai friends in BKK and Hua Hin, but in PP I certainly did. Of all ilks. (Let's leave the bar workers out of this equation.) I found it far easier to make friends with Khmer people than it was to make friends with Thai people. I also found that Khmers (despite their recent history) were far quicker to trust you than my experience with Thais. In the workplace, I found my Khmer associates fiercely loyal and thankful for the training and development we put in place for them, whereas the Thais were tough to get to buy in to what we were trying to train them. So, it's a bit of a mixed pot for me. But still, if someone asked me to choose between KoS and KoW as a place to live and/or retire (forgetting the visa and financial elements), it would be KoW hands-down for me.


True that it's easier to be friend with Khmer because it's a small country with a small population. Thailand is as crowded or more than some EU countries, so they clearly don't need us :-)
The size of the population is not relevant. You meet people, you strike up conversation, things roll from there. If anything, I'd counter that the reverse is true. With a smaller population, it might be arguably harder to meet people and make genuine friends in Cambodia. My point remains (certainly from a professional sense), that the Thais are not easy to manage (as a foreigner) compared to the Khmers. The Khmers wanted to learn. In fact, I would say they were desperate to learn. The Thais? Not so much. Still nice people. Just "not so much". I think @clutchcargo hit the nail on the head, a few posts earlier...
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Re: How do khmers compare with thais?

Post by jubo2 »

Yerg wrote: Tue Dec 03, 2019 12:51 am
jubo2 wrote: Tue Dec 03, 2019 12:29 am
Yerg wrote: Tue Dec 03, 2019 12:23 am I think it is nearly an impossible comparison to make. The history of both countries is different. The cultures of the two countries are different. I've spent (roughly) equal amounts of time in both countries, and like each for their own things. If push came to shove and I had to avoid splinters in my arse, my preference is Cambodia for myriad reasons. I speak a smattering of both languages, certainly enough to get by, but by no means fluent. I can't say I ever made any great Thai friends in BKK and Hua Hin, but in PP I certainly did. Of all ilks. (Let's leave the bar workers out of this equation.) I found it far easier to make friends with Khmer people than it was to make friends with Thai people. I also found that Khmers (despite their recent history) were far quicker to trust you than my experience with Thais. In the workplace, I found my Khmer associates fiercely loyal and thankful for the training and development we put in place for them, whereas the Thais were tough to get to buy in to what we were trying to train them. So, it's a bit of a mixed pot for me. But still, if someone asked me to choose between KoS and KoW as a place to live and/or retire (forgetting the visa and financial elements), it would be KoW hands-down for me.


True that it's easier to be friend with Khmer because it's a small country with a small population. Thailand is as crowded or more than some EU countries, so they clearly don't need us :-)
The size of the population is not relevant. You meet people, you strike up conversation, things roll from there. If anything, I'd counter that the reverse is true. With a smaller population, it might be arguably harder to meet people and make genuine friends in Cambodia. My point remains (certainly from a professional sense), that the Thais are not easy to manage (as a foreigner) compared to the Khmers. The Khmers wanted to learn. In fact, I would say they were desperate to learn. The Thais? Not so much. Still nice people. Just "not so much". I think @clutchcargo hit the nail on the head, a few posts earlier...

100% agree. Thai are not really interested to learn and never learn anything more than what is really necessary. This is why most staff anywhere know nothing and are not interested to know what you could tell them.
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Re: How do khmers compare with thais?

Post by SternAAlbifrons »

adders28 wrote: Tue Dec 03, 2019 12:27 am
jubo2 wrote: Tue Dec 03, 2019 12:26 am
clutchcargo wrote: Tue Dec 03, 2019 12:21 am Khmers don't have tickets on themselves like the thais do imo.
they are taught since being kids that they are the best
Some Thai late teens and 20's from middle class and above, are the most egocentric, spoilt, obnoxious and worst behaved adolescents i have ever seen.
The sense of being able to behave however they want is something they seem to take pride in - competing with each other to see who can be the biggest a/hole.
You get that in some kids from the top elite in Cambodia, but it does not percolate down nearly as much as in Thailand.

All a generalisation of course, and just my own limited observations.
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Re: How do khmers compare with thais?

Post by phuketrichard »

adders28 wrote: Tue Dec 03, 2019 12:17 am
John Bingham wrote: Tue Dec 03, 2019 12:12 am As far as I know he's been living in the region for more than 30 years.
I doubt any single newspaper article or opinion is going to affect his,
or anyone else's, view.
He repeats what he reads in thai media most of the time, real info in blocked in thailand, one only has to look at older threads where more times than not he is proved wrong, for example he defended the coup and said corruption is down, he changed his tune since and you must remember his rants at all re the king dieing.....More recently he ranted at me about Goi and andrew marshall insisting that andrew has left thailand and could not possibly have any sources of info, som nam na as they say over there
:please:
For the record.
I dont own rose colored glasses.

i did defend the coup and for a time corruption was down, that does not mean it continues to get better. Yes, its getting worse now for thai's and the country and they are getting upset. But dam the baht is strong, how do you account for that?

Andrew is not allowed in country, his website is banned sometimes and need a vpn to read him, sure he has contacts and he gets their view point but if ONLY one side is presented to him.... You can keep posting links to anti goverment stories, that does not make therm right. ANY happy or disgruntled person can make a blog.
Have you seen the tons of misinformation out there on twitter and fb?? or are you so sure everything you post is 100% accurate?

I dont spend ANY TIME with tourists, (hate them) and the only thai's i know involved the tourist industry own restaurants.

You all keep bringing up things i said 1year, 3, 5 years ago and at the time they were correct, things change,the world changes, governments change. I've been lucky enough to have witnessed the changes in thailand and SE Asia since the early 80's. More than i can say for most of you all here.

Educated Thais dont tow the line, do think outside the box, do understand the world, (many of the thai's i know travel alot more than many of you all). Students are discouraged from having any new ideas or to think and the teachers dont allow them to think. Cant tell ya how many thai's i have met that have degrees in english, yet cant carry on a conversation...They are taught in school how great Thailand is and has never been under anyone's thumb,( they just bend over) Thai's very racist, they look down on anyone not white skinned and agree with others they treat the Burmese with utter contempt BUT without them the country would be in trouble as they provide much of the construction, fishing industry labor. Reason why speaking with those educated outside the country is preferable to those brought up inside. Thai's are inherently lazy and wont do anything more than what is required, one reason why you hear,
ฉันไม่รู้...C̄hạn mị̀rū̂ (I dont know) so often when you ask a question..
Still once a thai becomes your friend, that are friends for life and treat you as one of their own. Travel outside the tourist areas and if you speak thai they are very warm and friendly.

We all have our opinions, we all read right and left an make up our own minds

Fuck, you watch Fox news or CNN /MSNBC, RT news or......and than you are lead to believe Trump is the worlds savior or its destroyer...

Perspective........
In a nation run by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely. HST
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Re: now the other side of the story

Post by Spigzy »

John Bingham wrote: Mon Dec 02, 2019 11:36 pm
phuketrichard wrote: Mon Dec 02, 2019 4:08 pm I speak thai, BUT< what does that matter??
Thai interested by outside world ? you are so funny, or just living in your own world.

Even USA educated Thai know nothing about the rest of the world, everybody knows that, and it's not stereotypes.
BS; have some very educated thai friends ( educated in the uk or usa) , some are in the goverment, some are upper police, some are successful businessmen and they are as up on world affairs as you.
So tell me,how many educated thais are you friends with?
How long have you lived in Thailand to make your assumptions?
I'm going to agree with Richard here. It really depends on the circles you move in, whatever country you are in. If you are just residing in a place and not involved you will meet likely meet very different people than those with longer-term interests. It's amusing when visitors judge a place by the low-rent motel staff they encounter. :?
Dick & JB, nail on head. :thumb:
Meum est propositum in taberna mori,
ut sint Guinness proxima morientis ori.
tunc cantabunt letius angelorum chori:
"Sit Deus propitius huic potatori."
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Re: now the other side of the story

Post by Bitte_Kein_Lexus »

John Bingham wrote:
phuketrichard wrote: Mon Dec 02, 2019 4:08 pm I speak thai, BUT< what does that matter??
Thai interested by outside world ? you are so funny, or just living in your own world.

Even USA educated Thai know nothing about the rest of the world, everybody knows that, and it's not stereotypes.
BS; have some very educated thai friends ( educated in the uk or usa) , some are in the goverment, some are upper police, some are successful businessmen and they are as up on world affairs as you.
So tell me,how many educated thais are you friends with?
How long have you lived in Thailand to make your assumptions?
I'm going to agree with Richard here. It really depends on the circles you move in, whatever country you are in. If you are just residing in a place and not involved you will meet likely meet very different people than those with longer-term interests. It's amusing when visitors judge a place by the low-rent motel staff they encounter. :?
Indeed. It's like someone spending a few months fucking cheap hookers in a Motel 6 outside Chicago saying Americans are a rough bunch, or hanging out in dodgy parts of West Yorkshire at night, saying Brits aren't educated or curious about the outside world.
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Re: now the other side of the story

Post by adders28 »

Bitte_Kein_Lexus wrote: Tue Dec 03, 2019 10:14 am
John Bingham wrote:
phuketrichard wrote: Mon Dec 02, 2019 4:08 pm I speak thai, BUT< what does that matter??
Thai interested by outside world ? you are so funny, or just living in your own world.

Even USA educated Thai know nothing about the rest of the world, everybody knows that, and it's not stereotypes.
BS; have some very educated thai friends ( educated in the uk or usa) , some are in the goverment, some are upper police, some are successful businessmen and they are as up on world affairs as you.
So tell me,how many educated thais are you friends with?
How long have you lived in Thailand to make your assumptions?
I'm going to agree with Richard here. It really depends on the circles you move in, whatever country you are in. If you are just residing in a place and not involved you will meet likely meet very different people than those with longer-term interests. It's amusing when visitors judge a place by the low-rent motel staff they encounter. :?
Indeed. It's like someone spending a few months fucking cheap hookers in a Motel 6 outside Chicago saying Americans are a rough bunch, or hanging out in dodgy parts of West Yorkshire at night, saying Brits aren't educated or curious about the outside world.
Luckily most countries dont boast about having an education system similar to north korea, its a shame they are taught like this, they have been slipping behind in education even more lately, the juntas great plan to keep the sheep dumb. Thais with money are educated abroad.
Harsh reality from the OECD in article below

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... _comment=1
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Re: How do khmers compare with thais?

Post by hiway5 »

Thais are very different depending on which region they come from
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Re: How do khmers compare with thais?

Post by willyhilly »

Everyone likes to bash Richard, I think it’s just envy. The bastard has lived a hell of a life and still lives in a nice house near the beach in Phuket. He seems to travel when he feels like it and has driven more miles around the region than anyone else on here.
When talking of the Thai don’t forget that many Thai are Lao or Khmer. I always thought I married a Thai but many years after we divorced she told me her family were not Thai but White Lao.
I called my son and told him that he was exceptionally clever because he wasn’t Thai after all but some obscure hill tribe person.
I have met several highly educated Thai who were really no different from us. Not all Thai are rice farmers, taxi drivers or taxi girls.
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