I'll preface this by saying that those are remarks I've been thinking through for quite a while. I am not looking for anyone's sympathy, but rather I'd like to understand the underlying reasons for some of the things I have noticed, and how they contradict some of the assumptions I and many have about Thailand.

I will separate my argument into 2 parts, the first of which will be about how one can feel excluded from Thai society as a foreigner despite efforts to integrate. The second part will be about how foreigners are often excluded by government policies no matter what their immigration status is.

I am a young expat 29M, who's been living in Thailand for the most part of 11 years (since I was 18), I can speak Thai with a decent level (including for some technical topics), I can read and write the language as well. I like to think I have a pretty good understand of the local culture thanks to the number of interactions I've had with locals over the years. I'm not very tall or strong, so definitely not the "intimidating" big farang type. I am not especially outgoing yet always quite friendly in my interactions with people.

Despite this, I always end up feeling like I don't really belong. I live in a local residential village in the northeastern outskirts of Bangkok where I seem to be the only foreigner (haven't seen another one in my 3 years here). While the village administration has made it a point to communicate with me, and formally invited me to attend the village's general assembly and vote as anyone else, I've noted a bit of suspiciousness towards me from some of the regular folks in the village. Do you guys know that look? When someone looks at you like they're wondering what the heck you're doing here? This often happens when I'm walking around the village or walking my dogs. Local neighbors will also often talk to each other, but I really haven't had any interaction with any of my neighbors in the past 3 years, except 1, but it was only because I'm the one who initiated the interaction. This brings me to my next point.

I often feel like locals kinda... don't want to talk to me? I have noticed that over the years, most of my acquaintances and friends were made only because I initiated first contact, never the other way around. Perhaps this is because the place where I live as well as my hobbies (aviation and car culture) don't typically attract the same kind of people who would be eager to talk with foreigners.

The following interaction is something I've seen so many times over, I can't recount exactly how many it's happened: I go out to enjoy one of my hobbies, I meet local friends there, I see a new person. That new person proceeds to completely ignore me and/or look at me out of the corner of the eye. I then begin to talk (in Thai) to that person and they will typically appear shocked or surprised. They will typically take a few seconds to comprehend that I am in fact talking to them, and that they can understand me. They then typically become much friendlier, and that's how most of my locals acquaintances and friends were made.

Considering that I'm not the most extroverted type, it never feels great to have to be the one constantly making the first move on people. It feels like everyone turns into a super introvert when around me.

So what's the big deal you say? Well even among the people I have made friends with, I always feel like I'm still a kind of outsider. Most of the time, including me or inviting me somewhere is always some kind of afterthought. This is as if yes, we're "friends", but I'm still a foreigner and not really like them. People are friendly, but it's hard to make a deep and real connection.

Now, onto the second part of the argument and how I feel like foreign expats are always excluded from government programs and measures.

This was triggered by the recent announcement that a flat fare of 20 baht will be introduced for all Bangkok electric trains later this year. Those who are interested must register through an app. Of course, this is only for Thais, as the app used for registration requires a Thai ID card number. I am personally not bothered by that specific program and I do not use public transports anyhow, but it definitely feels like yet another policy that excludes me (and other foreigners) for no reason. Case in point is that working foreign expats are much more scrutinized by the revenue department and often pay taxes much more reliably than many locals (the number of people dodging taxes is astonishing), yet when it comes to seeing some of the benefits of the taxes we pay (like being able to get a cheaper flat fare on the BTS/MRT), well we can't. Entering national parks (also maintained through taxes that we pay)? We often have to pay 5 to 10 times more. I understand that some things are reserved for locals, but in many ways, people who work here, have family here and/or have a long-term non-immigrant status should be considered locals for those matters.

It's not just the government, but also private companies doing it. I still can't register for a 7-11 All Member account, using True Money Wallet is a total pain in the butt, and I can't get a PTT Blue Member Card even though I've been filling up there for years on end. Unless it has changed, but I haven't been informed of any recent changs.

In many countries (mostly in the west, but also in some asian countries like Japan or Korea I believe), foreign expats and other long-term residents will have access to the same facilities and programs as native locals, for as long as they have a residency permit. In Thailand however, we seem to be constantly reminded that no matter how long we've been here, or how many roots we have grown here (in terms of work, family etc), we'll always be nothing more than temporary guests. When dealing with government bureaucracy, it often feels exacerbated.

I feel like this can be quite contradictory given Thailand's and Thai people's reputation as being friendly, welcoming and tolerant towards foreigners in general. It's like on the one hand, Thais are supposedly friendly and welcoming, but on the other hand, some Thais, especially the ones in government go out of their way to make foreigners feel like they shouldn't loiter around for too long. Meanwhile, in countries that often have the opposite reputation, like Japan or Korea, where it is often said that people aren't very fond of foreigners staying in their country, foreign expats get to enjoy the same privileges as locals for as long as they are permitted to stay. Everything is made to make it feel hard for me to properly integrate.

I am having a hard grasping the logic here. I would like some of you guys, locals and foreigners alike to respectfully enlighten me a little.

TL;DR After living here for 11 years, I feel like in my experience, Thais are welcoming, on the surface, but it is hard to make deep and meaningful connections with people. Government policies make it even harder to feel like one can really integrate.

I ask my co-worker, which she is a local Thai "P Kay, I have a sore throat, stuffy nose, little cough and headache.. what should I take for medicine?". And she replied "You can go to the hospital, so you can use the insurance and get the medicine for free".

Sounds like a good idea right, then I ask her "Wow sure, where do I go tho for the hospital?" and she said "Let me check... There's one hospital near your condo, it's like 600m from your condo". And then I was like sweet, I went to the hospital at 18:00. This is the hospital:

I got there, and then I was directed to the nurse who was also the receptionist. Then she asked me if I had an appointment or not, and I said no not yet. Then she ask my symptoms. and when I told her my symptoms, this was her reaction:

Sir, this is a mental hospital 😐

DAMN I was like deada$$ embarrassed. I was like "ooh really? I thought it was a general hospital" and she was like "no sir, we only treat mentally ill patients" and then I say thank you and left.

Damn that was like the craziest experience of my life.. Can't read thai, can't understand thai, and boom suddenly you're in a mental hospital 🤣

It was hella experience. I bet that nurse be like "should we take him in? maybe he is mentally ill that's why he came here and said those symptoms" damn sonnnn

and yeah, from now on, I need to check more thoroughly from the Google Maps... haha

My ride to Chanthaburi city interrupted yesterday as the runway at Tha Mai airport (navy) has an extension which crosses the road, brief holdup for traffic.

Three rainmaker planes based here took to the skies, additional photos from their Facebook page.

Heard them again this morning.

Tourists: 'clear skies'

Locals: 'rain'

I am from Hong Kong, but I work in Bangkok. In Hong Kong we like to gift nice snacks to doctors and their clinic staffs once we get to know them more. I have been visiting this hospital regularly for a treatment that I am doing, and it's been a few months and I have had a good experience with them. I want to bring them some Hong Kong snacks next time I go home as a token of my appreciation.

I told my girlfriend (she is Thai) about this and she told me Thai people don't usually do this, is it true ? If I do gift them some snacks, will it be viewed negatively ?

Have a hard time believing this

As a Thai and British mix child I’m sick of people making assumptions about my family or specifically prejudices against my mother. Everywhere we go including around Thai British, people are far too quick to assume my mother was a “poverty stricken” Thai young lady who married an older rich English man and Thai women even make remarks. I have grown up in Thailand i speak thai and identify mostly Thai but many people assume otherwise so say things in-front of me. In the UK I heard so many make sly remarks or when I attended boarding school when I was younger hear people make remarks. Even in this Reddit there are people who make assumptions or remarks about Thai women. It’s frustrating even more so when my mum is in fact the older woman she is from a wealthy family, she’s the one that pays for everything in my household from our properties, businesses, private school educations to my international uni fees in the states, while my dad is from a fairly poor background in the UK and doesn’t even work (but is great loving father). So sick and tired of assumptions especially when my mum is a hard worker from an esteemed family in Thailand and people reduce her to being a Thai wife all because when she was studying abroad she fell in love with a white man ?!?!? Rant over thank you :)

Hello. Has anyone been able to access Rapamycin / Sirolimus for cats in Thailand, please? It's newly approved in some countries to help with HCM. If anyone has any info, I would really appreciate it. Thank you.

have any foreign teachers ever reported an english agency to department of labor or immigration bureau for being scam artists? i’m not gonna get into specifics but mine fucked me out of a month’s salary and would have sent to jail if it wasn’t for sheer luck. i have evidence of illegal hiring, forging documents and illegal contracts.

i don’t need any comments shaming me for trusting them, i get they’re scumbags. looking for genuine advice and seeing if there’s a way to get my money, get these fuckers shut down and get the hell out of this country.

I'm not sure if this is just Thailand, but there seem to be 0 factory new 4090s or 3090s in any store. All online stores are out of stock or have fake un-updated listings, and individual sellers on shopee or lazada are either selling second hand or are scamming by selling the box.

Fortune Town also doesnt seem to have any 4090s or 3090s in any of the stores on the 3rd and 4th floor.

Is there any chance to get a 3090/4090 in Thailand?

hi! i'm planning (or still thinking) to have higher education / masters in thailand. may i ask the universities / colleges you may recommend that:

- specializes in i.t. (leaning to digital design or user experience, preferably)
- uses english as medium of teaching
- offers scholarships or, funding assistance to international students
- also, would likely secure you a job in thailand in the future

thank you!

Hello everyone! I hope someone can help me with my problem here as I couldn't find a concrete answer in my Google research.

I divorced my then Thai wife in 2022 at the Thai embassy in my home country. We signed divorce certificates and my ex went back to thailand.

I have not yet had my civil status changed in my home country. As life goes, I met someone new and now I would like to update my civil status. I thought I would just have to go to my registry office with the divorce certificate, but I was told that my country does not recognize divorces at embassies. I would need a divorce certificate certified by a Thai court. I was also told that divorces in Thailand are recorded in the Central Registry. As a non-Thai, can I request this court-recognized divorce certificate at the Central Registry?

The marriage itself took place in Bang Krak if that matters.

I hope someone has had a similar issue here, I would be very happy to receive a reply.

I help organize some activities and nights out for people who want to get off Sukhumvit/KhaoSarn. If you're interested in exploring more of the city or meeting some cool people, here's what's going on this month.

APRIL ACTIVITIES:

April 13 - 15: Songkran Shenanigans (Siam? Sathorn? discuss!)

April 19: Board Games (at Tortuga)

April 26: Art Battle (at Fig Lobby)

May 3: Night Out (around Yaowarat)

You can use this post to discuss Songkran plans. Personally, I'm getting a hotel room along the river and then I'll probably head over to Siam and Sathorn for fun. If anyone has better suggestions, let everyone know!

Then we can have a chill night playing board games over at Tortuga (not far from Samyan Mitrtown) on the 19th.

You can get tickets for Art Battle from their website. It's a cool monthly event and always has a good crowd.

Then we'll be doing another Night Out on May 3rd. Please join the Line group for more info about that. Normally we get a van and everyone donates 300 baht to the Bangkok Community Help charity to hold their spot in the van. Then we had out to various parts of the city to explore the unknown. This month, we'll be checking out some of the trendy cool spots around Yaowarat.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask here or in the Line group.

I loved Thailand but what I experienced is buying things (except online shopping) is very mall-centric.

I need to go to the shopping mall (Big C, Lotus, Macro, Home Pro, other shopping centers or big chains) much more in Thailand than my country to buy something.

I could buy a rice cooker in a family run electronics appliance store in the street in my country but here I need to go to the mall.

I could buy stationaries in a neighborhood stationary shop in my country but I can’t find those here, ended up in the mall.

I read and speak lower-intermediate Thai but still struggling finding small retail shops whenever I need something. I also search with Thai keywords on platforms or navigation apps and also ask locals but still I have to go to the malls at the end of the day. For me, I personally don’t prefer going to the malls.

Is this just me being ignorant on finding the small stores in proper way or do u also feel the same?

UK citizen here

I am going to Hong Kong this month for travel and just had a query on travel insurance.

I have a work permit here as I work in Bangkok so was looking to buy travel insurance online as my UK worldwide one is obviously invalid as I have been living in Thailand over six months.

From searching so far online at quotes, some companies don’t allow me to disclose my medical conditions when completing the application. I just have mild asthma but it is always important to disclose.

I have always been able to do so when buying travel insurance from UK.

Would anyone be able to help me with this or recommend a good website to use? I am just going for 5 days.

Many thanks 🙂

Hello,

First, thank you in advance for taking the time to read this. I won’t be posting specific identifying details in this post because I’m hesitant to blast someone’s photo and personal information without their permission. But putting that aside, I’d greatly appreciate assistance/advice based on the information I have and would be happy to answer follow-up questions here or privately, depending.

To begin, I’m searching for my birth mother. I have the full name she used on various documents while living in the United States, based on public records. I have done extensive searches across every platform I can think of, and from what I have determined, her trace goes cold in 2007 in Texas, United States. I tried to make an inquiry to the local police of her last known location and gave them all the information I have. They looked her up and told me her lease expired in 2007 and there were no residential updates. Her drivers license also expired in the 1990s, and there is no death record for her. She is not a U.S. citizen and given her lifestyle, I’ve been curious if she was deported, but I have no way of determining that, since I wouldn’t be able to get her signature. The detective said that no deportation records showed up on his end but that those don’t normally show up on his end.

I tracked down her two ex-husbands but only one got back to me. He gave me old pictures of her but didn’t have any names or information on her family or knowledge of what happened to her. I don’t imagine that her other ex-husband would know what happened to her either.

She was born in Thailand (I don’t know if she was born in Bangkok, but she reported that her family was from there). Her father died in 1960 and she and her mom came to the U.S shortly after, stayed for 3 years and then came back to Thailand. My birth mom returned (likely alone) to the United States in 1972. She also has/had a sister and brother. Her brother supposedly remained in Bangkok when my birth mom relocated to the U.S. and her sister supposedly lived in the United States at some point. I don’t know if she still does or if either of them are still alive or who their own families are. I have their “street names,” but no other information about them. I have my birth mother’s name and birthdate that she reported but I have no idea what her official birth Thai name was or if she changed her name when she came to the U.S. or if it’s different from her first and maiden name she used in the U.S.

I know she lived a hard lifestyle and didn’t maintain regular contact with her siblings, ex-husbands, children, etc. But even so, I’d still like to know that she’s safe and figure out what happened to her. No one seems to know. Right now, she is literally dust in the wind.

I connected with an ex FBI agent who did a brief look into her as well. She has no credit history, phone number, email address, no information on her and her last known address is the lease that expired in 2007. I am currently trying to see if one of his contacts knows any PIs in Thailand but right now I don’t even know if she’s there. She most likely would only have ended back up there if she was deported, based on what I was told.

The reason I am posting in this Thailand form is:

1. I’m curious if anyone knows if there’s a way to determine if someone was deported without needing their signature?
2. I have my birth mother’s U.S. reported first name and supposed maiden name, her birthdate and some potential birth locations (Bangkok, Ubon Rathathani and Udon Thani), and decades old pictures of her. Can that somehow be used to try and search for her or find her birth record and family names in Thai? I don’t speak or read the language so navigating Thai websites has been impossible and overwhelming, even when I do the translate to English feature which doesn’t always work for me).
3. A U.S. based "Search Angel" which is someone who helps adoptees find their birth family for free told me that my best bet is to find a Search Angel who has connections in Thailand, speaks the language, can look up/pull records, etc. since based on everything I outlined, she believes that my birth mom is likely back in Thailand. Does anyone here know of a Search Angel with Thailand connections?

DNA testing didn’t produce any results other than distant relatives. None of them know who their ancestors are, so that was a dead end too. My birth father would not be of any use in this particular case.

The people with my birth mother's maiden surname who live in the U.S. is also a short list and I confirmed none of them are her siblings. I tried also searching her siblings “street names” that I was given in different databases to try and find her sister but didn’t have enough information to figure it out.I also tried sending emails and letters to two regional administration offices based on the areas that showed up on my DNA testing profile with a birth record search request for my birth mom but never heard back.

Does anyone have any potential advice or recommendations?

I don’t really have a ton of $$$ to spend on a PI, and I’m hesitant to spend so much money given how little information people have come back with already. So, a Search Angel with connections to Thailand, who speaks the language and can look up records would be much appreciated, if anyone has recommendations.

Again, happy to answer any additional questions. Thank you very much for taking the time to read my post. :)

i went to thailand in august and found this specific tea at nearly every gas station i went and it’s so good i haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. i’ve looked for it online, but none of the places i’ve seen ship to the us. does anyone know how i could possible get this to the us? also im looking for specifically the watermelon flavor. thank yall so much🙏🙏

Hi there, I’m visiting Thailand (Bangkok) this month. Please suggest me some wholesale places for purchasing skincare items like Serum, Night cream, soap and all in bulk/Wholesale.

TL;DR: I created an Emergency Assistant AI with chat and voice features, supporting Thai and multiple languages. It’s built on OpenAI’s agent system, follows the WHO’s psychological first aid framework, and is now in its prototype version—feel free to test it! For education only, and not for real life emergencies!!!

TL;DR (for devs): OpenAI Wrapper for disaster scenarios. Testing OpenAI more advanced, agentic patterns built on top of the Realtime API. Testing Sequential agent handoffs and Background escalation.

https://www.hadrai.com/

In light of the recent earthquake and other disasters around the world, I decided to build an AI to help guide people in disaster or emergency situations. I call it HADRAI, short for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief AI. The name was inspired by my experience volunteering last year at Cobra Gold 2024 in Thailand, where I assisted with facilitation and interpretation in the HADR division.

I’m not formally trained in disaster scenarios, but I do have training in emotional intelligence and social dynamics. I used to be a heavy introvert and had to teach myself how to network and navigate various social situations. It started as a hobby, but I think that training—combined with my experience in an earthquake and typhoon in Manila—helped me stay calm during a recent earthquake here in Bangkok.

During that earthquake, I was on my way to Seacon Square. By the time I got out of the cab, the shaking had stopped, but the scene was chaotic—hundreds of people were panicking, fleeing the mall, and crowding around for buses, taxis, or motorbikes. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have gotten out of the taxi; I could’ve just gone back. Instead, I ended up stuck waiting for a ride in front of Seacon Square for two hours.

While waiting, I observed how people reacted to the disaster. Speaking multiple languages, I could understand the Thais as well as some tourists. What struck me was how unprepared the general population seemed to be in a crisis. It reminded me of conversations I’d had during Cobra Gold with other volunteers—both Thai and international, military and civilian. A recurring theme was the constant shortage of personnel in disaster situations. Naturally, no one can predict when disaster will strike, so when it does, it takes time to notify volunteers and get them to affected areas.

Another challenge is the toll it takes on those helping. Volunteers have to stay alert, absorb stress from victims, and cope with the psychological impact of witnessing disaster scenes and loss of life. That’s where the idea for HADRAI came from—an AI that could provide immediate support, lighten the load, and help people navigate emergencies. HADRAI is built on OpenAI’s agent system and is designed to follow the psychological first aid framework outlined by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its Psychological First Aid: Guide for Field Workers. This includes the "Look, Listen, Link" approach—assessing needs, listening actively, and connecting people to support—which is also widely used in UN-led humanitarian efforts. It’s equipped with chat and voice features and supports Thai along with multiple languages.

Let me know what you think, and feel free to try it out!

Hi!!

Not sure if this is the right place for my question, but are there any international students that did their bachelor in Thailand here? More specifically Bangkok.

I just recently started to think about doing this but fear that I am way too old. Turning 24 this year and I’m just not sure what the vibe is like. From where I come from it is not unusual to start studying late and I would almost say that it’s more common than going to uni directly after graduating high school. But from what I’ve seen it seems that Thailand is the opposite of that.

So I guess I’m asking if someone did something similar and can share their experience, how much of a variety is there really, is everybody 18?😭 etc.