One quirk of living in Thailand is getting used to Thai Logic. Thai logic that in low season you charge more to maintain your cash flow. They have not grasped the notion of supply and demand.
Thavorn's brother asked Thavorn for a loan of 25,000 baht to buy a used car (12 years old) in 'great' condition and he would pay it back at 2.500 baht a month, starting in 6 months when he finished paying for his motorcycle loan.
Knowing the Thai concept of 'present' living, i.e the past is gone, and who knows what the future would bring, I told Thavorn that it will break down before he makes the first payment and there is no way his Thai logic would tell him to pay for something he has no use of.
We made an agreement to loan the money but Thavorn agreed never to give or loan a baht to her brother if he failed to pay back the 25,000. I figured that it was a good investment to divest ourselves of ever needing to shell out to her brother again.
Needless to say, my prediction came true and he has never made a payment and does not feel chagrined over failing to do so.
So, fast forward and we need to move some possessions from Bangkok to the village and Thavorn's good for nothing brother has access to his father-in-law's pickup truck. Now you or I would do it for free or the price of gas as a payment of the loan he defaulted on, but he wanted 4,000 baht to do the run. As it turns out, the father-in-law found out that Thavorn has a farang husband and jacked the price to 5,000 baht (going rate for a Thai is 3,000), we were being generous at 4,000, so I basically said WTF, we will find someone else.
Now, I know Thavorn has slipped her brother 1,000 baht from time to time to buy formula for his 2 boys and I can live with that, but I will be damned to help the brother again. We also pass Jaidan's toys down to his 3 boys. Go figure. The problem is, he is Thai, and they just don't think the same way farangs do. For example, they see nothing wrong in lying to save face, or get ahead in life, or telling you want you want to hear, rather than the truth.
I do know a few good Thai men, 2 of them.
Catching a taxi in Bangkok
Trump crossing the swamp
TTYL
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