SirToad
Crazy Mango Extraordinaire
Vigilante
MIA - CME
Posts: 2,542
Likes: 1,143
|
Post by SirToad on Apr 9, 2015 18:46:02 GMT 7
Yesterday is struck me, that there really is still a sense of community within many of the villages. Yesterday, I got home from work around 7.30 and thought I'd pop down to the local resteraunt, only to find it closed. Noticed then that nearly everything was actually closed in terms of the little shops and resteraunts. Mrs T then said that one the locals, a lady who used to wonder around the village doing strange things had died the previous night, and so nearly everyone was at the temple in the next village.
i guess really, back in the west that hit has gone, living in Bristol only really know my immediate next door neighbour and no one else. Here everyone, seems to know everyone and it's actually quite pleasant.
What is your experience??
|
|
Krisb
Crazy Mango
Posts: 914
Likes: 444
|
Post by Krisb on Apr 9, 2015 19:05:01 GMT 7
Totally agree. Community spirit is alive and well in Thailand!
Out in the wife's village all the folks donate money towards anyone's funeral. I think they all put in 50 or 100 baht from each house and it's held by the village head and used when it's that time.
|
|
SirToad
Crazy Mango Extraordinaire
Vigilante
MIA - CME
Posts: 2,542
Likes: 1,143
|
Post by SirToad on Apr 9, 2015 19:10:55 GMT 7
Yes, of course that's the other bit, this lady was what one would call a little odd, she used to walk around doing some pretty crazy stuff, but she was harmless. Many communities would just ostracise her, here was the toal opposite. We had one of our neighbours get stabbed by his son, who is schizophrenic sometime back, everyone helped out.
I've had a times where I've had the odd sick day, and I get people bringin food to my house, really hear so many bad things and actually my experience so far has been very different.
Long may it continue
|
|
|
Post by rgs2001uk on Apr 9, 2015 22:20:59 GMT 7
I go to their, weddings (for all you single guys reading, a great place to meet women) funerals, birthday parties, monks p**s up parties, uni graduation parties and tam boon ban parties.
Everyone looks out for each other, when I was in hospital it was touching the number of neighbours who visited.
My last house in England, I knew the guy directly across the street and my next door neighbour, never even spoke to the guy on the other side.
A drab dreary existence, full of grey boring people.
Yes at times it p**ses me off, but taken as a whole I wouldnt swap it for farangistan, watched the much maligned m/c taxi drivers beat shyt out of a couple of punks who had been taking the p**s out a spastic, no one saw anything.
In the PC gone mad UK, Social Services would have been involved, background reports, etc etc, oh its not their fault they didnt have a Wendy House as a kid blah blah blah.
Jeez, where in the world can you get guys to come and take a 1 1/2 metre snake away from your garden and charge nothing, they had it skinned and in the cooking pot quicker than you can say Somchai.
Where else for the cost of three large Changs can you get guys with a 3 metre long pole with a lighted rag at the end come and dislodge a hornets nest at your house, they wanted to eat the honey.
Too many stories to tell.
|
|
The Arrow
Vigilante
Vigilante
Posts: 3,034
Likes: 1,837
|
Post by The Arrow on Apr 9, 2015 22:28:44 GMT 7
Do you mean weddings are a great place to meet birds? Or funerals?
|
|
SirToad
Crazy Mango Extraordinaire
Vigilante
MIA - CME
Posts: 2,542
Likes: 1,143
|
Post by SirToad on Apr 9, 2015 22:35:28 GMT 7
No idea, both I think, . I have just had 8 fresh coconuts chopped off a tree dropped on my doorstep. Need to track down this vandal
|
|
|
Post by rgs2001uk on Apr 9, 2015 22:55:16 GMT 7
Up my way, some house owner tried to tell the locals to not steal his fruit.
The locals reply was, if its on your side of the fence its yours, if its on the soi side of the fence its for everyone.
Gotta love this place, love the way they help themselves to the plants outside the house and take cuttings from them, caught some old biddy a few years back helping herself, she went beetroot red when she saw me, I smiled and said, mai pen rai, chern krap, dont worry help yourself.
Have to laugh when the mrs walks down the soi and decides to pick something from outside someones house to poke, scratch dewax her ear.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2015 6:06:38 GMT 7
You folks are just becoming aware of these social extensions?
Bit of a novelty compared to the much beloved and civilised West, ain't it?
|
|
Mosha
Crazy Mango Extraordinaire
Posts: 5,671
Likes: 2,891
|
Post by Mosha on Apr 13, 2015 6:26:59 GMT 7
We have had wedding invites from miles away. It's like the invite you because one of their friends friends knows someone who knows you. Funerals up until the last day, are more a social gathering. Though how the family keeps smiling is beyond me. Most of the wakes here in the sticks are done at home, then the body is transported just prior to cremation. I was lucky back in Yorkshire, had good neighbours, plenty of BBQs where we all clubbed in for the food etc.
|
|
pgrahmm
Crazy Mango Extraordinaire
Posts: 1,290
Likes: 495
|
Post by pgrahmm on Apr 26, 2015 11:55:59 GMT 7
The morning annoucements help support the community feeling/needs and is actually a nice way to bring everyone together....when I had a husband/wife maid/maint man sometimes if someones the husband wouldn't be there because there would be an emergency where everyone available would help out
|
|