Hi

I agree with JayTee a little bit.
in the sense that no matter whether you are in the slums of Bangkok or the rice fields of Issan or the mountains of Chaing mai it is all real Thai.
but if you only know the tourist area's like pattaya or phuket or Koh samui then you have not seen the real Thailand only a fantasy like going to DisneyLand than thinking you have seen the real america.

For me the real thailand was and always will be Yasothon province in northern eastern isaan, from the first day I arrived in autumn 1963 , I was lost to its village hospitality ,the friendly people, its primitive beauty and the contrast between paddy fields and its riverside rain forests,the pleasure of driving along the beach at what is now pattaya because the road was not finished,watching isaan grow on our visits over the years and our friendships getting stronger, but most of all the feeling welcome when a strange village face says you look tired and hungry , come into my house and eat!!

If I came to Thailand for more than a couple of days or weeks, then I got out of the large towns and roamed around the countryside, but of coarse I did the sdame in any country I ever visited.
Thailand has always had somewhat of a rural chinese flavor to me and thru search I have found where they origionally came from, how they got here, well thru heavy talks with my wife, her saying Thai is just Thai and always has been, [she is a real Thai], from that to search and now I pretty well understand.
Here is a link that gives you a timeline that I found interesting.

http://www.csmngt.com/history_chart.htm

For me you can't really distinguish between traditional (i.e. rural) thailand and modern Thailand is being real or not. One is more peaceful, the other has more money and a longer life expectancy, but they're both real.

I think the things that aren't 'real' are those created for tourists - the night bazaar along the street in Chiang Mai isn't a real representation of Thailand, because it's essentially a long line of shops selling souvenirs. You wouldn't say that the various souvenir shops in London, full of I Heart London merchandise is "the real England."

I guess real Thailand is more places Thai people go and things that they do every day, but even then it's a flawed definition.

I play it by ear - in most cases, the less white people around, the more real something is. If I'm 'farang kon diaao" it's probably pretty real. Except at the grand palace and so on.

For me Bangkok is real http://www.thailandqa.com/forum/imag...lies/smile.png

Yes, just like I was trying to said back in post #23. http://www.thailandqa.com/forum/imag.../laughlong.gif

David

Of course it is, city boy. http://www.thailandqa.com/forum/imag...es/biggrin.png

Much appreciated Betti! There's more to do but it's almost 11pm now though so it's time to go out and abuse Thai women.

Yes- it is all "real, but paradoxically, I think people think something is only "real" in this context if it conforms to how they imagine it to be.

so, only the traditional things would be real in Bangkok, that is?
the traffic jams look darned real to me http://www.thailandqa.com/forum/imag...lies/wacko.gif

ok, I understand there are two meanings here for "real".
I am not a fan of BAngkok anyway but it is quite unique for a big city and conserves a lot of little things that one would not expect there (e.g. like all the little stalls and markets everywhere).