Area 555
Your free weekly newspaper since 2008
issue 3 33 19 June 2015
Noticeboard Sudoku Page 3 Canny Lad
enmity Victor’s ahead?
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foreigners and thais - is the love affair ending in hua hin?
hua hin, THAILAND It is a well known phenomenon that once a previously quiet place gets ‘discovered’ by outsiders and becomes a frequent tourist spot that the locals within time get jaded with their visitors, and also over time those visitors start to feel less welcome and encounter poor service and attitudes and even positive hostility. Whether it is the time of year, the weather, the financial climate or indeed the phenomenon described above, it is becoming evident that whatever honeymoon period existed between the locals of Hua Hin and it’s foreign visitors and residents is coming to an end. The expat forums are filled more than ever with stories of rip offs, poor service and general tales of woe, and many of the long term expats are calling it a day on Hua Hin (and Thailand). A common thread amongst expat comments is that it appears as though many Thais they encounter simply don’t care or have little consideration of the impact their actions have upon others, whether exhibited in relationships or more run of the mill matters like driving or business. However it is also the case that tourists and expats are becoming less careful in what they do or say when visiting foreign countries, as evidenced by the recent ‘naked on a mountain’ problem in Malaysia; in the past in Thailand locals would give the benefit of the doubt when cultural faux pas were committed but now there appears to be less tolerance to more frequent offences. Hua Hin will surely attract more and more visitors as the years go by, but it would be a good thing for both locals and visitors to show greater respect to each other than has been observed in recent times, for all our sakes.
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