Thailand Reality Check

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Mike

Anyone thinking of moving to Thailand or indeed actually living here really ought to  conduct their own Thailand reality check after reading a really good article by author Paul Garrigan on his blog entitled, “Culture Shock in Thailand.”

Sitting reading the the first part of the article before breakfast I realised that what Paul was describing  was something that I had experienced when I initially “discovered” Thailand back in 2000.

“When I first arrived in Thailand in 2001 I fell in love with the place immediately; it impressed me so much I decided to stay.”

“The Thais around me seemed to have all those personality traits that I admired.”

I would describe this phase as “Thailand Fever.” Most expats if they are honest suffer from it in some form before and after they move here, it might be the women, it might be the beautiful country or even as Paul admits because its just a great place to party without anyone minding too much.

Later in the post Paul examines his feelings about something he calls the culture shock that he experienced after five years of living in Thailand.

“The ‘mai pen rai’ attitude, that I so admired when first arriving, started to bug the shit out of me. The famous Thai smile began to look to me like a sneer.”

Interestingly Paul says that when you reach the “culture shock” stage of your relationship with your new home you tend to make one of two choices, you either leave or  learn to live happily within the new culture. Its a turning point. I would seek to add a third alternative here and suggest that some people suffering culture shock stay anyway but spend their days bemoaning all things Thai and never actually get over it.

So I wonder is this culture shock something we should all expect if we go to live in a different country, where things that initially attracted us seem to take on negative connotations.

Speaking personally, I have certainly noticed a change in my attitude towards Thailand.  Things that I hardly noticed during my initial period of Thai fever do start to erk. I suppose another way of putting it might be to say that for me the honeymoon period is over. Whether this is “culture shock,” or just a restless unsatisfied feeling more to do with my age, than where I live , I am not sure,  but I do know my feelings have changed towards my host country and its people.

I wonder if you can avoid culture shock, by being better prepared? Is there some sort of do it yourself reality check that you can run before you sink into the abyss?

Well I have questioned my own feelings about my adopted country on more than one occasion and weighed up the options or alternatives, but I’m still here. I guess you could say I have indeed performed my own reality check(s), albeit three years down the line and always assuming that my version of reality is unbiased.

There is no doubt in my mind that many expats successfully go through this phase of adjustment(Paul is a good example) but it is also equally plain to see that many fall by the wayside and leave or worst still spend their days bemoaning all things Thai while continuing to live here.

Finally another perspective on a similar theme is offered by Rick posting on Behind the Noodle Curtain in an article entitled, “Why move to Thailand?” I think this is a good example of the things you need to ask yourself before you decide to move to Thailand permanently. A great Thailand reality check accompanied by some excellent comments from his readers.

Related posts:

  1. Thailand Travel Guide
  2. Can a Foreigner Ever Understand Thai Culture
  3. Quality of Life in Thailand
  4. Topless in Thailand
  5. Has Thailand Changed You
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  • http://paulgarrigan.com/ Paul Garrigan

    I agree with you about the third way Mike. There probably are ex-pats stuck in Thailand who never leave and never get beyond the culture shock stage; you only have to visit some of the online Thai forums to see that. I also believe that there are those who just like to complain; it is in their nature to do so. I once believed that if you thought the worst then the worst couldn’t happen to you. A sort of fear that enjoying life too much is tempting fate to smack you down; there seems to be a lot of this in British and Irish culture. I was able to get that nonsense out of my head and my life is a lot better because of it.

    I’m a big believer that our thoughts define who we are, and negativity can take us from one disaster to the next. Disliking where you live for a long time can’t be good for you. The worst thing is there really is no need for it. It would be unreasonable to expect Thailand to change to suit us; we can only change how we view it.

  • http://www.thailand-blogs.com Mike

    Paul funnily enough I was thinking of a certain forum when I wrote that bit. But I have also met a few like that too. At the opposite end of the scale I also know an English bloke who is very positive in his views and he's been spending half his year here for the last 20 years.

    I agree about the culture(English…can't speak for Irish), my old Mum is a classic example of this.

    I can only assume folk who “endure” living here probably do so because they can do it more cheaply in Thailand. That or they can't go home for some reason.

  • http://boonsongsomboontp.blogspot.com/ Boonsong

    This is not a subject that I know much about, but that's never stopped me from throwing my three ha'pennyworth in before.
    What I suspect is that the way that someone does or does not adapt to the changes in their lives depends more on the kind of personality they are than it does on the situation that they're in.
    So some will adjust, some won't, and the rest will be a pain in the posteroir. And all three groups would have played out the same role in a similar fashion in any other scenario.

    Have a nice day, Boonsong

  • http://www.thailand-blogs.com Mike

    I wonder if say a Thai person went to live in the UK or US if they would have the same feelings? Would they go through the same phases? Guess it might depend on the person.

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  • http://missus-emm.blogspot.com/ Emm

    This post resonated with me on so many levels!! I fell out of love with Londoners a long time ago. There isn't much to love when you're dealing with rude commuters and hard-selling power salesmen on a daily basis. Nowadays I try not to judge people on site and just have to work a little bit harder to see the differences between people but it certainly isn't as easy as it used to be.

  • http://www.thailand-blogs.com Mike

    Emm I reckon many folk would get a culture shock in London(including some Brits). But I take your point. Was your culture shock something that happened sooner rather than later?

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