Thai curiousity

[Tom]

Thai people are naturally curious about the affairs of others.
 this is seen in questions asked when meeting other
people, "where are you going?", "where have you been?". "how much did you pay
for it?", etc. this interest is coupled with the activity of gossiping about the
affairs of others all the time. stories about another's failure or misfortune
are of most interest although any story about others' affairs is of interest.
(thai society and culture, pg. 13)

[Mario]

It's true and i no like sometimes when i move and they start to ask,Where you go?When you be back?Ecc Ecc

[cathyy]

Judging by the neighborhood in which I live, if there isn't any gossip, they'll make something up. It has to do with the social nature of Thais. I haven't seen any malicious intent. It's entertainment, and fun, and draws people together to get the latest "news." We westerners are the same way, except that we focus our attention on movie stars and footballers instead of the people two houses down.

[mypenry]

Every time my wife leaves the house, our neighbor across the road shouts out  ....bai nai
I asked my wife just why our neighbor wants to know where you are going every time she see you , the wife say?s its not being nosy but just a Thai way of starting a conversation. 

Mypenry

[dereklev]

Every time my wife leaves the house, our neighbor across the road shouts out  ....bai nai
I asked my wife just why our neighbor wants to know where you are going every time she see you , the wife say?s its not being nosy but just a Thai way of starting a conversation. 

Mypenry

And when she comes back they ask her bai nai ma...

[SportRider]

I think many nationalities probably have the equivalent of mentioning the weather (the us Brits use) as a way to start a conversation...

My Indonesian ex-wife's family used to spook me out with not just 'Sudah Makan?' (have you eaten yet?) but very common 'Sudah Mandi?' (have you had your shower yet?)... until I understood it is the exact equivalent of 'hot again today, ain't it?'.

[mypenry]

Hi SportRider,  yes we Brits have a few sayings , the one I think the ... where you are going every time she see you ...
 translates into ... is .... nosy bugger 


Mypenry

[dino36]

i seriously thinks that the "leave house, PAI NAI. and comes home, PAI NAI MA" thingy is funny.... it's true though... but it's funny...
Imagine you're the one answering... "what the hell, answering two different question with the same answer..." *scratch head*

[Orchid]

I, as  a thai, notice myself almost never ask Pai Nai, or Pai Nai Ma.. strange me 

Yes but thais mostly do, I often hear that but I don't think they really need detail in a reply. It's much more like cathy post.

I just try to imagine if thais had no curiousity, regarding to the op, what it's going to be like? IF they never ask me any questions, never pay attention to me .. It's happen in a big city like BKK, people do never talk, never ask, really need privacy.

I've been learning english from BBC website and they said Brits often say "what a lovely day, .. a lovely day, isn't it?" ...etc My niece goes to school (Kindergarten) and one day, back home and say (in thai) "it's a lovely weather today" (jing jing na ka) .. That sounds strange to my ears. She said the teacher teach her to say that. Even it sounds strange butut the way she says is lovely anyway. 

[caller]

I've been learning english from BBC website and they said Brits often say "what a lovely day, .. a lovely day, isn't it?" ...etc My niece goes to school (Kindergarten) and one day, back home and say (in thai) "it's a lovely weather today" (jing jing na ka) .. That sounds strange to my ears. She said the teacher teach her to say that. Even it sounds strange butut the way she says is lovely anyway. 

Hi Orchid, that reminds me a little of my wife telling me of her experiences of learning English at her then Bkk school. She spelt 'Elephant' as written, but was told by the teacher her spelling was wrong, she knew it wasn't, but as teacher knows best and cannot be challenged, and as she had no choice, for the rest of her time there, she used the spelling, 'Elefant'. 

[TeeRoy]

It appears to be type of greeting, meant to be polite, as I'm often asked whenever I stroll through the village. I think all countries have regions that have local greetings/habits that are intended to be an "ice breaker" of sorts.  As Orchid said, large cities often have populations that ignore each other, seemingly being preocuppied within their own little worlds. This attitude contributes to situations where occasionally citizens need assistance on the street, and many people choose not to get involved, sometimes with disasterous results.  Rural areas seem to have a different attitude, possibly because everyone knows everyone, and the greeting of "Pai Nai" is one way this happens.

[ajaxied]

I agree with you TeeRoy as it does seem to be some kind of greeting.

However it does get on my nerves sometimes. Everyday I hear it dozens of time and people seem to actually expect a reply. Its not like in the States when you say: Whats up? and thats it.

So for example when we head into town and people ask us where we are going my wife replies" Muang". If that was it then ok but then they continue asking. Why are you going into town? If my wife replies that we are going to eat then often they reply: What.. wow...all the way to town just to eat? And the questioning just goes on.

If I am cooking outside for example then people just wonder next to me and start asking what I am cooking. What is this? What is that? Sometimes I am just not in the mood to play 1000 questions.

About Thai curiosity.. another thing that sometimes really gets on my nerves is when I return with some bags of groceries  for example and I leave them outside on the porch for a minute. Some friends or relatives of my wife start talking to my wife and then they start looking through the bags to see what we bought and if there is a receipt then they will also look through that. I know that it is innocent but it really is no ones business what I bought and how much I paid for it.

And when we purchase something which comes in a box (tv, fan, desk, computer, box of plates etc) then there will be different people which will come ask what is in the box or they will ask how much we paid for it. This is surely not a greeting of some kind? Why is it their business how much I paid for my cutlery or new DVD player?

What really crossed the line for me was our mail. For some reason the mail man delivers our mail to our neighbor. She is my wives aunt and a very nice lady but nearly every time that she gives us our mail the envelopes have been opened. She will start asking my wife without us actually having had the time to look at the mail what this bill is for, what that "farang" letter is about etc. My mail is something private even if its bills. How the heck do you open the mail of someone else?

[dereklev]

I've been learning english from BBC website and they said Brits often say "what a lovely day, .. a lovely day, isn't it?" ...etc My niece goes to school (Kindergarten) and one day, back home and say (in thai) "it's a lovely weather today" (jing jing na ka) .. That sounds strange to my ears. She said the teacher teach her to say that. Even it sounds strange butut the way she says is lovely anyway. 

Hi Orchid, that reminds me a little of my wife telling me of her experiences of learning English at her then Bkk school. She spelt 'Elephant' as written, but was told by the teacher her spelling was wrong, she knew it wasn't, but as teacher knows best and cannot be challenged, and as she had no choice, for the rest of her time there, she used the spelling, 'Elefant'. 

That's the American spelling...

[Loz]

YEs, seems the difference in culture can be summed up as direct and indirect. Westerns initiate conversation about things of a global nature affecting all. The weather, the news etc... But our hosts here in the land of smiles tend to go straight for your personal information that we might have been raised to consider our own business and none of theirs. Hey ho, boring if we were all the same... (which is not to say it doesn't get on my beeswax from time to time! )