So I have a khmer friend working in a restaurant on riverside that gets lots of customers from the middle kingdom which as we all know, are intent on world domination.

Now, they like their smokes...and my friend says they fling their finished cigarettes on the ground. Naturally, my friend is not happy about this coz they don't seem to want to use the provided ashtray on the table and the floor has to be subsequently cleaned of butts and ash after they leave. I might add, we're not talking about just an ordinary ashtray...no, the staff put a wetted serviette inside to facilitate the customer's extinguishment process.

My friend has since asked these colonial customers could they please use the ashtray provided rather than throwing cigarettes on the floor. Their response: don't want to.. No further explanation or reasoning was given.

So we've been trying to figure out..as Julius Sumner Miller used to say: why is it so?

Could it be one of the following:

1. it's a cultural thing that used cigarettes don't belong on a table
2. as colonial masters, they consider themselves superior to the local plebs and they can do whatever they want
3. they are simply lazy, stubbing out a cigarette involves wasting unnecessary energy
4. they want to piss the local servants off
5. this is what they do back in their country, no change required
6. they are simply pigs
7. they have no respect for other people

So to those worldly members on this forum...which is it?

With ashtrays provided at every table, no barang or khmer does this apparently.

8. all the above

The mistake was being polite to them. That is taken as a sign of weakness.

I have stood my ground (especially at breakfast) and told these exporters of PRC culture exactly what I thought of their manners and how they should behave. I know my Mandarin is probably worse than my French but the shocked look on their faces when a white devil speaks to them in something resembling a language they can understand is priceless. To date I have been met with profuse apologies and better behaviour.

They need to be put in their place with regards to manners, strength is all they understand.

TOG wrote: ↑Sun Sep 30, 2018 11:01 pm I know my Mandarin is probably worse than my French but the shocked look on their faces when a white devil speaks to them in something resembling a language they can understand is priceless.

A further anecdote, one of the other barang customers went up to these dudes and to told them off about how disgusting it was and they looked surprised but it was all like water off a duck's back coz they don't understand english..

Same thing with me at the airport when I told off this lady for queue jumping and she just stared at me like a rabbit in a spot light..

clutchcargo wrote: ↑Sun Sep 30, 2018 9:33 pm 2. as colonial masters, they consider themselves superior to the local plebs and they can do whatever they want
3. they are simply lazy, stubbing out a cigarette involves wasting unnecessary energy
4. they want to piss the local servants off
5. this is what they do back in their country, no change required
6. they are simply pigs
7. they have no respect for other people

They are displaying that they are superior.

Cambodians are the same.

Throwing trash in front of everyone elses homes displays that they are superior.

Cutting in front of other people on the road displays that they are superior.

It is very difficult to make these people civilized, because displaying that they are superior is part of their culture.

You will see many other examples.

When they go to the casino they display their money for everyone to see.

You will see boys hitting other boys to display that they are superior.

Those who speak the language will often hear people saying things to put others down.

In Asia it is funny when somebody gets hurt. Lets humiliate them even more.

Buying expensive cars to display a persons wealth occurs all over the world. In PP there is a much higher proportion of cars over $100,000.

Tuk tuk drivers have learnt that if they are obnoxious, tourists get upset. They display that they are superior by being obnoxious.

You will often hear people saying in Asia it is important not to lose face. This is the other side of the same issue.

explorer wrote: ↑Mon Oct 01, 2018 1:20 am They are displaying that they are superior.

Then you live in a country where people throw trash everywhere.

Hundreds of people die unnecessarily in road accidents.

People display that they are superior, but trash their country.

John Bingham wrote: ↑Sun Sep 30, 2018 9:37 pm They don't all behave like that, and throwing paper/ cigarette butts etc on the floor is not exactly unknown in local establishments.

Exactly. Let's not get too carried away. It's not so long ago that it was normal to throw all your shit on the floor in local places, and in some places, it still is.
Strange but true. Everything is not the fault of the Chinese.