Author Archives: Kris Olsen

Yes….what is wrong with foreigners in Thailand?
Why do they keep pissing you off?

I’ve been in business more than 8 years now in Pattaya and Phuket….and I’ve been pissed off so many times that I can’t even count’em!

Maybe the term “pissed off” is a bit too harsh….but let me explain what I mean:

You have a property or a business or something else for sale.
You advertise this in different spaces, either online or in print media.

You get tons of responses….and here the “problems” start:

Many responses are from curious “farangs” with dreams in their eyes but no money in their pockets to actually purchase your offer. “Time wasters” to use a well-known term.
I bet we all know them….and I bet we all hate them! Am I wrong?

These time wasters all pretend they’re interested, and maybe they really are, but how on earth will they ever pay for your property/business/items!! They very well know they don’t have the money, so why the h… waste the time of serious foreign business men who just try to make an honest living? Why the h… make the business man think that he “has a sale” and then just “disappear”….in other words….they often make the foreign business man think they has a sale and then they just stop replying to your phone calls, emails and SMS messages….like they’ve vanished from the surface of the earth!

As a professional business man you know very well the importance of follow up emails, SMS messages or phone calls….
You do some follow up…. But in most cases you get no response at all….
When you get response you can’t help thinking that you now “have a sale”.
At least you hope so! Even the toughest business man with many years of experience can’t help feeling kind of excited each time he gets a positive response even though he very well damn know that this is possible just another damn time waster….more about that later!

Back to my question: What is wrong with foreigners in Thailand?
Why do they keep pissing you off?
Yes….why??
I have often wondered why!!
There might be a simple explanation, but so far I’m still waiting for the answer!
Some answers could be:

• The guy is lonely? He just needs someone to talk to!
• The guy is just dreaming? “If I had the money I could buy this property/business!”
• The guy is envious? “Why does everyone except me have a property/business?” So it’s maybe only a kind of “revenge”…? “Make the life of those lucky bastards with properties/businesses a h_e_l_l….” ????
• The guy is simply lying to himself? “I take a look at this property/business because I know I’ll get the money to buy it soon…”…
• The guy is just a simple looser? The only way he can get some “content” in his life is to make other people feel like losers!? A saying goes: “Do to others as you want them to do to you!” . But those losers change the context: “If you’re a looser, make others feel like losers, too!”

Bet there are many of you who’ve been in contact with time wasters….what is your best bet? Why do people act like this?

I have met all of the above mentioned time wasters…..if any of you time wasters read this please let us all know why you act like this!? Thanks in advance! I don’t expect any responses 🙂
But one thing I want to tell all of you time wasters! “Keep away from me! I have better things to do!”

Even if you’re a disabled Thailand is still a Paradise!!
If you’re sitting in a wheelchair you will find Thai people wery kind and helpful, same thing if you’ve got other disabilities. In general I find Thai people much more helpful and patient than in my western home country. In Thailand disabled people get more respect than in the western countries! And best of all, in Thailand people just don’t stop and stare at you with eyes wide open!

But yes…..holidaying in Thailand is one thing, living and working here is quite another thing!
In most western countries disabled people who want to work will often be placed in a job suitable for their disability, and a place where they cannot “harm” anyone!
This is not the case in Thailand…at least not for foreigners!
One famous and very popular institution is massage school for blind people.
Blind people get an education in massage and then go on and work in one of the many blind massage cliniques all over Thailand. And those blind people absolutely give you the best massage in Thailand!

But what about disabled foreigners who want to relocate to Thailand and find a job here? Is that possible?

In my opinion the best (and maybe the only one?) solution is to set up your own company and employ yourself as the managing director.

But what kind of business? Well….it depends on you!(I am NOT talking about purchasing a beer bar and then just spending your time drinking beers with your customers 🙂

– What kind of disability do you have?
– What kind of education and experience do you have?
– What kind of interests do you have?
– What is your budget?
– Do you have family or friends supporting your decision of working in Thailand?
– ETC., ETC., ETC.

As for me, I am deaf….but I don’t consider myself a disabled… but other people who doesn’t know me probably consider me as a disabled….and maybe I am! 🙂
I am deaf, but not born deaf, so I can speak and read people’s lips….but I prefer written communication. I have an advantage to people who are born deaf. They cannot speak, or speak very little and only understandable for those who know the person.

I’ve been living and working in Thailand for 8 years now.
Of clourse it is not easy for a deaf person to start up a business, that’s also the fact in the western world!
But personally I found it a lot easier to start up here in Thailand than in my home country.
The Thai people are a lot easier to get around with!
For the past 8 years I have worked with:

– Visa Service for Thai nationals to visit abroad.
– Visa Service for foreigners who want to stay in Thailand
– Dating Service (Just to try it out! 🙂
– Real Estate
– Business Broker (I sell and find suitable businesses for my clients)
– Idea Consultant (I assist clients with ideas and problem solving in connection with living and working in Thailand)

So if you’re disabled in any way, then there is no excuse for not living and working in Paradise!!

If you have the will there is always a way!

What was the first impression you got when you came to Thailand for the first time?
As for me….my first visit 12 years ago was a 3 weeks vacation at Phuket.
I booked a charter travel and stayed at Vises Hotel in Patong.
12 years ago Patong was kind of a small town with bamboo huts and wooden houses and dirt roads.And a very nice and clean beach!
The first impression I got was HOT and SPICY food….WARM weather….poor people….dirt cheap clothes and food….FAKE goods on every corner…..and a girl in every bar who wanted to fool you into buying drinks and sex….
Today 12 years later it is almost still the same…except the prices has raised tenfold!Except the roads has been paved! Except the bamboo huts and the wooden style Thai houses has been exchanged with concrete towers and shop houses!And except that you hardly can see the beach for beach chairs, vendors and tourists!And the water is kind of ugly!
But apart from that Patong looks like itself 12 years after my first visit.

I have lived 5 years in Pattaya. After 5 years living and working in Pattaya I got fed up with the drunken foreigners, the girly bars, the go go bars, the traffic noise and pollution, the dirty beaches….so I relocated to Phuket because I remembered how nice it was 12 years ago….and now I am living in Patong which is almost similar to Pattaya with drunken foreigners, girly bars, traffic noise, pollution and dirty beaches……

But you know what? I still love Phuket! I just relocated to the east coast of the island. No noisy traffic and pollution, no girly bars, no drunken foreigners and no dirty beaches….it’s Paradise!

When I decided to relocate from my native home country and settle in Thailand I had a dream of living and working in Paradise.
No cold winters, no expensive living costs, no pollution, no traffic noise….and no dirty, over crowded beaches….
And I end up in Pattaya!! What a joke! But Pattaya is a good place to do business….Later I end up in Phuket and Patong….what a joke! But Phuket is also a good place to do business….and more a kind of Paradise than Pattaya….but an expensive Paradise….

So WHAT is Paradise? Paradise in Thailand?
Well…. it depends on WHO ARE YOU? What do you expect from Paradise? Ask 100 people the same question: “What is Paradise?” and you get 100 different answers!

For me Thailand is still Paradise….even 8 years experience here in the Land Of Smiles has learned me something…about myself! And about Thailand indeed! And I am still learning!

Take my advice….if you want to live and work in Paradise then stay away from the over crowded tourist destinations like Phuket, Pattaya and Koh Samui, then you will be more likely to discover your very own Paradise here! And at a fraction of the cost in these high profit tourist magnets!

But if you just want to retire in Paradise and don’t bother of the prices and overcrowded beaches….well then Phuket or Koh Samui might be what you’re looking for!