yeah wtf i still see things that are weird or exotic on an almost daily basis and ive been here for 2 years. thats one of my favorite things about asia in general, as fees said its alien. i havent even been to china yet either (other than hk, macau) and im 99% certain that its the weirdest of them all

i'm with dc, thailand is great and everything but for my first time in asia i was pretty surprised at how western/"normal" everything was.

fwiw i think most people would get more of a culture shock going from say, NYC to texas/vice versa or something, than going from US to thailand.

Can you give some examples of things that are normal/western?

I'm talking about things like beggars missing limbs, insects as food, everybody completely ignoring traffic lanes and huge busses crossing over three lanes without signaling, exposed electrical wires above every street corner, motorcycle taxis, dogs chilling everywhere, hoses to wipe your ass with, transvestites working at the bank, an openly racist culture and people earning $5 a day who are perfectly happy with their lot in life.

I think what he means is that because tourism is such big business in Thailand, a lot caters towards westerners, e.g. both Thai and Western food on menus and english language is posted alongside thai on everything etc.

If you go to a country where tourism isnt such big business you will experience a bigger culture shock because they arent catering to western tastes.

But, i agree with you - culture shock will depend on how much you have travelled before, and these days with access to the internet youre alot more aware of what you might encounter in advance of arriving so you have time to prepare.

I want to buy a nice ergonomic officer chair (specific idea in mind), in BKK.

1. Any recommendations on where to buy it (living near On Nut).

2. Can i just pop into one of these welding shops on the street and ask for one to be made?

Could you please define what you mean by exotic? Examples? Is hagiolatry to westerners commonplace?

as long as money isn't a issue, couple of the shops 5th floor of MBK have really nice ones, and so do some of the furniture stores in Central World.

5th floor of MBK

IIRC iStudio in Paragon sells a pretty sweet Aeron chair. Probably like $1k tho

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBJfXOnuLQY

I love thailand and I've never been these girls are so cute

It's all a matter of perspective. Any country is going to seem strange to foreigners in one way or another, but when it comes down to it tourism is a deeply homogenizing influence. Most tourists don't want to encounter anything truly foreign, so countries that cater to tourists wind up transforming their indigenous culture into something more palatable and therefore more familiar to tourists.

I've travelled pretty widely in Asia and from what I have experienced Japan is the strangest (and most alienating) country, even though it's also the most first world. The reason is that Japan's economy is dominated by local consumption, so instead of catering to tourists they cater to themselves, leaving intact plenty that is strange to Westerners.

lol.

The tip of the ice berg.But a good start.

Its wonderfully crazy,and i ***** love it.

Everything that HC82 said adds to the exotic feel. (Except the mutilated beggars part. There are very few even in the most touristy parts of BKK... almost none actually... probably no more than in Washington, DC, adjusted for population. I was actually very surprised how few beggars there are in general.) I would also add one huge difference - crowds. Whenever I come back from Asia to DC the biggest shock is just how empty and orderly DC is, even during rush hour.

But otherwise, you will find that people drive cars just like you, have regular boring and similar jobs (with longer hours and lower pay) just like you, want the same Iphone, bigger house, go clubbing and get laid, watch the same western movies and listen to the same DJs/western music, and the girls watch Desperate Housewives, etc. The differences are there if you look for them, but they are not huge. American media and increasingly lifestyle pervades Thai society - particularly when you get out of poverty stricken areas/people.

I would say the biggest difference is the more relaxed/lazy lifestyle. It manifests itself in bad customer service, corrupt police force, and flexible and arbitrary rules. Money goes VERY far in Thailand because all the rules are flexible if you have a big enough wallet.

I had to read up what hadiolatry means, but I would say not exactly/not really. Even in non-touristy cities, Thais are used to seeing Westerners. You really have to go to small villages where really poor people live if you want to get extra special attention - genuine and not. People do give extra respect to people with higher social standing, so you may get special treatment because you have money from the poorer people, and you will likewise be completely ignored by many Thais who are much better off than you will ever be. Many middle of the road Thais don't think tourists and white people are better either and they have low opinions of tourists because of all the sex tourism and weirdos going there. So it's a mixed bag. Since most people are still very poor in Thailand (esp outside BKK), we are still in good shape.

Basically, I can tell you that you might get some attention when you go to a random club in Nong Khai, but if you go to Koi in BKK you will get the same amount of attention you get in USA and generally less. It really depends on the crowd and their social standing.

The biggest shock you will get in Thailand is the one to your digestive system.

I would say its accidently shipping hoes and being asked for money the next morning when you thought it was a legit ship

lol.. I never had worse gas after eating a Burrito at Sunrise Taco.. other than that, I felt slight improvement because I rarely drank milk or protein shakes

spending 3.5 weeks w GF seeing thailand for the first time.
are you in Thailand right now?

if I eat something spicy hot my ******* will burn like a fire when I take a crap the next day...

Can you train for spicy foods or am I ****ed?

you can train a bit, but you'll prob have some FireyD

most of the time they warn you when something is really spicy, i doubt you can train for the really spicy stuff some ladybar made me taste some really spicy food even for her it looked like a pain to taste (even tho she seemed to like that feeling), i couldnt feel my tongue for 5 min and could still feel it for an hour, and i m the kind of personn that enjoy really spicy western food.

Ive recently just come back from the Phillipines,i went for visa run/play poker.Poker was very juicey there btw ( i made decent cash,but also spent awesome cash enjoying myself there

Anyway....that is a seriously fked up place,ive never felt so intimidated in a city before (manilla) and im no shrinking violet.Dodgey city mak mak.
But once you were in somewhere,casino,bar etc.Was an awesome place.

Coming back to Thailand was like coming back to a very safe western country.
Ive heard ppl saying on Thai visa they feel intimadated down walking street(pattaya!) ridiculous if you ask me.

So yes,DC, i can see your point.....to a point.

my landlord want to sell me his cdma card for 4.4K, i ve no clue what the real price is. anyone went to cdma office lately ?

they should have a promo for buying a new card where you get the first 3 months free (worth 3x845 baht). the stick itself cost 5.9k (about 3 months ago)

that said i think you can get better value even buying a new one so i wouldnt pay 4.4k for a used one

Yes, you can train. Your stomach has to recognize and digest the capsaicin correctly.

For the sting, shove some baby oil and lime up your butt after you drop a load that has lead to ring sting. Please post pictures so we know your doing it right.

the endorphin rush you get while eating spicy foods is a high that a lot of thai people chase.