I had a Thai taxi driver who talked about Indians. I don’t remember how the topic of Indians came up but this driver had a lot to say about them, not much of it favourable I am afraid.
We were stuck in heavy traffic on Sathorn while the driver told me horror stories about Indians to pass the time. Motorbikes drove between the almost-parked cars. One guy on a motorbike crossed in front of the taxi, where the space was narrow between the taxi and a van.
I heard a screeching metal sound as the motorbike scraped against the front of the taxi. The motorbike stopped. The taxi driver rushed out to inspect the damage. The motorbike guy opened the helmet screen. He was Indian.
I often hear that Thais don’t raise their voice in public and that they avoid conflict. But the taxi driver was obviously not aware of this cultural restraint because he waved his arms and yelled and swore at the motorbike guy. The Indian on the motorbike spoke fluent Thai and responded in kind.
People in the surrounding cars rolled their windows down to follow the dispute.
I looked at the meter and wondered if I should abandon ship. If the two were going to have a fist fight I didn’t feel like joining in. But the taxi driver had enough after a while and told the motorbike guy to get lost. The Indian threw a final insult at the taxi driver while driving away, and the taxi driver shouted one back.
To calm down and lighten the mood the taxi driver gave up talking about Indians and switched to telling a story about how he had ran over and killed someone during Songkran.
May 3rd, 2007 at 10:56 am
Ah, you have to love those taxi drivers…a laugh a minute. SF, have you ever been to India? The traffic is legendary. Far worse than Bangkok. It comes at you from all directions. All the drivers lay on their horns as they creep along in gridlocked traffic. And you will see whole families on motorbikes…father driving, oldest child sitting with his/her legs over the handlebars, mother in the back holding the youngest children. And yet you rarely see accidents and no one loses their temper. This is either the ultimate in survival of the fittest or it is the final step in the descent of civilization as we know it.
May 3rd, 2007 at 11:12 am
Actually, India has some of the most dangerous roads in the world, with a very high mortality rate; Bkk is heaven by comparison!
May 3rd, 2007 at 11:45 am
My Thai ex-bf once told me there was a Thai proverb: If faced with a cobra and an Indian you must strike the head off the Indian first.
May 3rd, 2007 at 2:16 pm
I haven’t been to India. I used have plans about going there but I heard it can be stressful, in particular if you travel alone.
May 3rd, 2007 at 5:45 pm
Assuming it is stressful, and I have no way of knowing, SF could take a visa run to India, return to tell about it, and be a hero! Newspaper headline: Farang Returns from India: Thai Boys Cheer, Indian Boys Depressed!
May 4th, 2007 at 1:10 am
has it ever occured to many indian-hating thais that gautama buddha IS indian?
May 4th, 2007 at 1:16 am
me back . again, the thais do hate many ppl, i think.
the native thais dont like the thai chinese.
many thai gayboys HATE their singaporean counterparts.
singapore boys can often make fun of thai boys often mimic the thai accent for kicks (ive heard them doing it. VERY accurate, really). and they dislike the hong kong gay boys….
the hong kong gay boys dislike singapore boys back.etc etc.
jeez. why cant these asian blokes just like each other?
May 4th, 2007 at 1:58 am
Hmmm….Lyle, you seem very sure about Gautama (Siddhartha) Buddha being Indian… He’s from NEPAL honey.
May 4th, 2007 at 2:38 am
Lumpini Park in Bangkok is named after the Buddha’s birthplace.
May 4th, 2007 at 6:24 am
Lol! Ah, taxi drivers…somehow they’re all the same no matter where you go…
May 4th, 2007 at 11:00 pm
actually lumbini IS in present day nepal. but when he was born it was at the border between to two countries. some historians have said that he was a hindu indian prince before he attained emlightenment. but so far, ive never heard anyone said that the buddha is nepalese. oh well.
May 4th, 2007 at 11:05 pm
and lumbini was in the city of kapilavastu, in ancient THEN northern india. but that area belongs to nepal now. so i guess nobodys wrong here.
August 11th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
I do enjoy your posts. This contribution albeit late is as follows. Crows often pose a problem in Asia. They are trapped and killed. Imagine if a crow was white, I doubt they would be hassled. Generally the Indians in Thailand just like the Chinese are hard working and some resentment is there. Also Thais are preoccupied with trying to be as fair (of face) as possible.