Laos vs. Thailand 1-1










The Mekong river separating Thailand (the far bank) from Laos















2 thoughts on “Laos vs. Thailand 1-1

  1. Andrew Johnson says:

    Quick comments, as I’m in the field.

    1) Farangophilia – the irrational love of farangs. You feel great and suddenly cool, then you realize that it’s just because of your race. It tends to come from certain classes (upper and upper middle), everything becomes about the fact that you are a farang, often people insist you speak English with them so that they can show their friends how cosmopolitan they are. Negative stereotypes come out of left field (farangs are greedy, hyper sexual, unemotional).

    You can ameliorate this a bit. Speaking and acting Thai can help a lot – remember how per formative identity is. The less “hipster” a place is, the less annoying.

    2) hipsters. What do you kids these days mean with this word? Trucker hats? Sideburns? Fleet foxes?

    More later

  2. Andrew Johnson says:

    3) TV – I like the story about the farang character on the TV drama. One complication might be, though, that the show was probably Thai (probably, not definitely). There’s one Lao station, Lao Star, but Laos gets a whole lot of Thai stations (identified by a number in the lower corner). Because of the similarities in language, and because they’re used to dealing witha wide range of dialects in their everyday life, Laos can watch Thai TV without much trouble, and most do. This character would also fit a Thai stereotype of a certain kind of farang. There’s an ethnic slur, “bird-shit farang,” meaning a poor or kiasu farang who nonetheless thinks he’s someone. (Get it? It’s white but is really just shit).

    So, just like ethnic stereotypes of Asians in the US, Farangophilia cuts both ways. Rich but greedy. Drink and gamble less than Thais, but have less love in their hearts. Can take you away from your mundane world, but might fly back to the US and leave you pregnant. Smart about some things, but have no appreciation for aesthetics. Christian. All speak English.

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