Spitting - Ajarn Forum

tower · 9th April 2008, 17:29

Since arriving in this country I like many other ferang have noticed one of the national pastimes of spitting. I have no problem with it at all, except over time I have noticed that a lot of their spitting and grunting ect is done when in the company of ferang. In my town there are a lot of older thais who do this every time a ferang walks by.

Has anyone else noticed this?

SageAndOnion · 9th April 2008, 17:30

bet · 9th April 2008, 17:38

A very bizarre first post. I have never noticed any Thais openly spitting in public.

jimbo · 9th April 2008, 17:43

No smeg, but try Korea.

cluezo · 9th April 2008, 17:51

I jog every morning at the public park. There's usually 30 or so young beautiful women jogging along in tight spandex shorts, sweat bands & tank tops - not a bad sight at all until one of them stops at a bush and hawks up a bit loogie then clears her nostrils. I dunno, kinda takes the majic out of everything. Happens all the time. This is truly a country of contrasts: Thais are so careful when using a toothpick, concealing the act (god forbid someone will see a food particle plucked from their mouth) yet will jam a finger up their nose and dig for whatever in full view of the public; spit openly and urinate (men) on the sidewalk in broad daylight. Go figure.

fencesitter · 9th April 2008, 18:13

You wanna talk about spitting go to China. The Chinese will pick, spit, farmer blow, urinate, take a dump, have slits pants for their kids so they can easily piss and shit wherever they want...it's wayyyyy worse than in Thailand...

How do you know that you have crossed into HK or Macao? The absence of spitting...

China has tried to clean up by sending droves of people to educate the public that spitting, picking, or similar acts is uncivilized...this just months before the Olympics...do they really think the Chinese will clean up after hundreds and hundreds of years of doing these nasty things??? Yeah right!

Boonmee · 9th April 2008, 18:14

I've seen Thais spitting in public, but I've also seen people spitting in public in every other country I've ever been to.

My wife assures me it is a very unsophisticated thing to do in Thai culture.

BTW: I hear it is acceptable behaviour in China (can anyone confirm/refute?)

Ha-ha! Fencesitter's just sneaked in as I was posting that!

dexter · 9th April 2008, 18:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by tower

my town there are a lot of older thais who do this every time a ferang walks by. Has anyone else noticed this?

Your town sounds like it full of people with bird flu symptoms mate

There're these urban legends, which is what they are mate, urban legends. One springs to mind, Thais picking their noses. When was the last time you saw a Thai chickee picking at her nostrils? I can't remember ever seeing it happen, oh wait, once saw a chick pick her nose, but it was a 'som nom nah' job, cause she finished up cutting her nasal lip with her fingernail.

Thais coughing up loogies? Don't see that happen anymore often than the average Westerner partakes in it. They're maybe Chinese-Thais at your place. Do Chinese-Thais cough up hymies anymore than regular Thais? I don't know, but I did spend a few years in Macau, which included regular trips over the Chinese border and I can tell you, at both places the Chinese were the best loogie and hymie hockers I've ever seen. Subsequently, we had to watch out that we don't slip and fall A over T in the loads of phlem which ended up on the sidewalks.

Boonmee · 9th April 2008, 18:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by cluezo

Thais are so careful when using a toothpick, concealing the act (god forbid someone will see a food particle plucked from their mouth) yet will jam a finger up their nose and dig for whatever in full view of the public; spit openly and urinate (men) on the sidewalk in broad daylight.

Are those who are careful with the toothpick also the ones who pick their nose and piss in public?

Please do not imagine that picking one's nose in public is considered a polite thing to do in Thai society - never mind pissing in the street!
-----

Quote:

Originally Posted by tower

In my town there are a lot of older thais who do this every time a ferang walks by.

Are you suggesting that they're demonstrating some secret hatred towards farang? You are seriously paranoid, bro!

dexter · 9th April 2008, 18:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by cluezo

and urinate (men) on the sidewalk in broad daylight. Go figure.

I can emphasize with them there. It's a lack of dunnies mate. One of my regular watering holes has the closest dunnies about a 300 metre round-trip walk away. Stuff that for a joke, on many occasions I've took a slash on the nearest tree. Just gotta be careful and keep an eye out for rampant tiger tree bugs.

Boonmee · 9th April 2008, 18:29

It's just occurred to me that I have never seen a Thai person pissing in the street...
Leads me to believe that this is hardly a common occurrence.

dexter · 9th April 2008, 18:35

^ Well mate if you miss stuff like that, or would like to see it, the next best thing for you to do, would be to come out with me for a night on the piss and I'll speak a few Thai sentences.

Boonmee · 9th April 2008, 18:40

Yeah, I'd love to - thanks, Dexter!

But you are referring to night-time (we've all been guilty of pissing in public when pissed, right?); cluezo was talking about people pissing in public in broad daylight - you ever seen that in Thailand?

zeitgeist · 9th April 2008, 18:43

Boonmee · 9th April 2008, 18:47

Where the hell do you hang out???