Avoid These TOXIC Expats In Thailand
1. The Thailand Expat Who Only Talks About Girls and His Latest Conquest
When I was younger, hanging around the bars at 36 or 37, the talk of the day was which girl you met, which bar you met her in, and what she was like. But when you live here constantly, it becomes so boring.
I’ve met guys in the daytime for lunch and all they talk about is girls. “I went to Nana Plaza last night, then I followed it up by going to Cowboy and met this stunner from Rainbow.” I’ve heard this hundreds of times, if not thousands.
When you first come out here, you won’t mind. But after any length of time, it gets extremely boring. When you sit with people who can’t talk about anything else except their latest story, try and stay away from them.
2. The Expat Who Is Always Short of Cash (Or “Forgets” His Wallet)
There are people living out here in Bangkok, Pattaya, Hua Hin, and elsewhere on such a small budget that they shouldn’t really be out here. Maybe they’re living on an old age pension, which you can do, but you have to live a very modest lifestyle.
But there are guys who like to go out to bars every night and are always cadging for a drink. When it’s their turn to buy, they’ll be in the toilets or standing next to you at the bar. The excuse is always, “Oh, I’ve forgotten my wallet. All my cards are in my wallet.”
These sorts of guys are always trying to sponge off you. You don’t want them around you.
3. The Wealthy Guy Who Splashes the Cash Recklessly
I know a number of people who have had businesses in the UK or built up a nice investment pot. They’ve sold everything and come out here. They are fairly wealthy. But because they’re new to Thailand, they still have that buzz where they want to go to the bars.
Guys who are 50 or 60 go out and throw money around because they have a lot of it. And you know what happens in some bars? Once you get seen as a big spender, suddenly you have a lot of friends the girls, the doorman, the cashier, the waitresses. You become Mr. Popular.
The reason you want to stay away from them is that they’re throwing so much cash about. You might be on a limited budget. I, for one, can’t afford to throw 100 baht notes about to all the staff. Hanging out with a guy like that can make you feel insecure.
4. The Guy Who Shouts in Restaurants
I’ve been out with a number of guys who, if the staff isn’t immediately there, will just bellow at the top of their voice: “Oi!” or “Service!” Something like that. In Thailand, that is looked down upon. You don’t really want to hang around with loud people.
5. The Farang Who Is Constantly on His Phone
This is something I experienced myself. I have distanced myself from certain people because of this. One guy in particular, I’ve totally blocked him now because I just got fed up. He’s a very selfish guy.
When I used to meet him for dinner, he was constantly on his phone. I mentioned it to him “It’s a bit rude. It’s quite boring for me when you’re just on your phone.”
His answer? “Well, you’re the only one who complains about it.” I don’t believe that, or maybe other people are more polite. You don’t want people like that in your life.
6. The New Arrival Who Claims to Be an Expert on Thailand
We all know them. Guys who have just got off the plane and have been here maybe 6 weeks, and all of a sudden they’re gurus on everything from women in the bars to leases to laws. Most of the time, they’re giving out wrong information.
If you meet somebody who’s only been here a month or two and they’re giving you information they swear is gospel, take it with a pinch of salt. You don’t need these people around you.
7. The Guy Who Is Constantly Late (By a Big Time Period)
This might not bother you, but it greatly annoys me. People used to turn up half an hour late and say, “Oh, the traffic was terrible.” But the traffic has always been terrible in Bangkok. I’d rather be early than late.
There are guys who live on what they call “Thai time.” You arrange to meet for dinner at 6:30, and they turn up at 7:30. You arrange to meet at 9:00, and they turn up at 9:45.
I once said to a guy, “I don’t mind 5 or 10 minutes, but you’re always late.” He answered, “I’m not going to be a slave to time.” I said, “It’s not about being a slave to time you’re wasting my time.” He didn’t get it. I don’t want to meet people who are constantly half an hour to an hour late.
8. The Know-It-All Who Constantly Criticizes Thailand (But Refuses to Leave)
You know the sort. He’ll trip up on the pavement and say, “Oh, in my country the pavements are all really good. This is Thailand only in Thailand.” Or he’ll complain that cars don’t stop at zebra crossings.
These guys constantly criticize all things Thai. And the thing is, one of the charms of being in Thailand is that not everything works all the time. If everything has to be correct and smooth, then perhaps you shouldn’t be here.
If you know somebody like this, it might be a good idea to distance yourself from him.
9. The Bar Stool Expert Who Dishes Out False Information as Gospel
We’ve all met these guys. You go into a bar in Pattaya, and they sit there all day giving out lots of advice to people. But most of it is wrong. And they don’t want to listen to anybody else. You don’t want to be listening to that garbage.
10. The Investor with “Great Ideas” (Usually a Beer Bar in Pattaya)
This is an important one. Some guys come out to Thailand without enough to fund their lifestyle. They don’t want to go back home, so they get the idea to open a business normally a beer bar in Pattaya. Because that’s just what Pattaya needs another beer bar.
They don’t have enough money, but they’re good talkers. They’ll reel you in slowly until they convince you that if you put in $50,000, you’ll get big returns and can stay in Thailand.
Normally, one of two things happens: either the guy never opens the bar and steals the money, living off conning people, or they do open the bar, know nothing about business in Thailand, and it goes under. Everybody loses their money.
11. The Wannabe YouTubers Who Cause Drama
I know I have a YouTube channel, but I’m talking about guys who come out here and do things for dramatic effect. They don’t respect anybody. They go around sticking their camera in people’s faces without permission.
When I make videos, I’m careful. I won’t stick my camera directly in the face of a receptionist or staff member because that is rude. But these wannabe superstars do unnatural things for drama.
For example, I’ve watched videos where guys go up to a lady selling milkshakes she’s making a meager living but doing okay. They’ll order a drink, say “I haven’t got any money,” and when she good-naturedly hands over a free drink, they give her 1,000 baht. It’s all for dramatic effect.
If you really wanted to help Thai people, you’d give that money to an orphanage. These guys often talk rudely to people too. If you have a friend who’s a YouTuber acting like this, he’s likely to get thumped one day. We’ve all seen YouTubers get punched in the face. I’ve been doing this 5 years with no problems, so hopefully I’m doing something right.
12. The Wannabe Locals (Sarongs, Sandals, and Fake Thai)
These are guys who get really into Thai culture which is fine. But then they take it too far. They wear sarongs and sandals and speak a little bit of Thai. In a restaurant, they’ll order very loudly in Thai, then speak very softly in English. They want to give out this persona that they’re part of Thai society and speak fluent Thai.
These people are basically fake. You don’t want them in your life.
13. The Crash and Burn Rookies Who Spend Like Kings Then Go Broke
These are guys who come out here on limited funds. They get attention from girls in the bars attention they’ve never had before and they love it. The more money they throw around, the more attention they get. But unfortunately, they run out of money very quickly and end up going back home.
You don’t want to hang around with these people because the girls and staff who they’re throwing money at will expect you to be the same as him.
14. The Guy Who Wants Your Girl
This might be obvious, and it’s the same for any country, but I’d say more so here in Thailand. One of the challenges out here for foreign guys especially older guys is finding a partner. Most guys want some company. But it’s very difficult to find a nice girl. A lot of guys end up with girls from the bars, which normally goes south.
But you might be one of the lucky ones who gets into a relationship with a straight girl she might work in a hospital or be higher up in a bank. She’s educated and speaks good English.
Then you introduce her to your friends, and some guys just want to get in on the act. They see she’s a nice girl, they’re jealous of you. When you go to the toilet, they’re asking for her Line ID behind your back.
If you get any inkling that someone is after your girl, cut them straight off. They’re not really your friend they’re trying to steal your girlfriend.
15. The Backpacker Types (The Older Hippie Spongers)
There’s nothing wrong with young backpackers. 22-year-old students on a gap year with minimal money good for them. But I’m talking about the older hippie-type people. The guy who’s 60, white hair, a ponytail, an earring, colorful hippie trousers, and sandals. He’s dressed like an 18-year-old hippie, but he’s basically 60 and trying to live on minimal money.
The problem is that these guys will try to sponge off you because they think you have plenty of money and why shouldn’t you share it? You don’t want them as friends.
16. People Who Constantly Invite Themselves to Whatever You’re Doing
Sometimes you get guys who are a bit lonely. You mention that you’re going off somewhere or to a particular bar, and they’ll just invite themselves. This happens very often.
It can be uncomfortable if you’ve been invited by Thai friends or expat friends to a dinner or bar, and this guy just tags along and turns up. You can’t really tell him he can’t join, but it gets embarrassing. If someone constantly turns up just because you mentioned something, you don’t want to hang around with people like that.
17. People Who Are Always Asking to Borrow Money
I don’t really need to explain this one. If somebody is constantly borrowing money off you, it’s not a nice situation. And a lot of the time, people who borrow money out here very rarely pay it back.
Thailand can be expensive especially in entertainment areas. Don’t throw your money away like that.
18. People Who Dominate the Conversation (You Can’t Get a Word In)
You know the scenario. You go out with a group of friends maybe you and three others. And there’s this one guy who just constantly talks. He dominates the whole conversation. Nobody else can get a word in. And he’s pretty boring anyway.
You make an excuse to go to the toilet and hope he doesn’t come on the next outing. We all like to talk, but in a group situation, it’s only fair to let others speak. If someone dominates the whole evening, they’re not good people to have around.
19. Anyone Who Is Toxic in Any Way
This brings me to my very last one. I’ve put anyone who is toxic in any way. Any expat you meet out here who is a little bit toxic they just want to bring you down. They’re negative about everything. Their own country, Thailand, the Thais, the food, the taxi service. It doesn’t matter what you mention it’s just negative, negative, negative.
There’s an old saying in England: “If you hang around with five losers, you’ll be loser number six. If you hang around with five happy-go-lucky people, you’ll be happy-go-lucky person number six.”
You’re coming out to Thailand to have a good time. You’ve worked hard all your life. You’ll meet a lot of nice people out here I certainly have. But you will encounter people who will try to drag you down. Stay away from the kinds of people on this list.
