C1ayton

I have some freinds that want to come with me on my next trip and I asked one of my friends who is Indian to come with us, and he informed me that his cousin had a nightmare of an experience when he went to Thailand where the people basically shunned them and didn't allow them to even enter their bars. Is there really something to this, and if so why? My friend is as American as you can get, but his parents are from India and so he looks Indian. He just doesn't dress or sound Indian. If he was to come would his experience be horrible, or should he just ignore it and come anyways? However, we most certainly are going to party and explore. (Not looking to participate in sex tourism, but simply go to regular bars. Part of the Thai experience when you party from my past experience however is to go to the soi's or red light districts as that is where the party is even if you aren't trying to actually get any working girls. I want to convince him to come, and I've been many times but have never paid attention to people who may be indians experience when I am there, but I love Thailand. But if my friends experience will be are nightmarsish as they claim I will not press him on coming because the trip and flights are not cheap.

Thanks,
Clayton

hoangb

I traveled here with an Indian acquaintance about a year ago, and he had no problems whatsoever. In fact, we noticed there appeared to have been quite a large Indian population in Bangkok, with many Indian restaurants, bars/clubs, and tailor shops.

That was my experience traveling with an Indian acquaintance. I can't speak for others, so maybe they could chime in.

SKT-DK

No problems at all - I have many colleagues of Indian decent (both Thai-Indian and foreign) who either live here or visit frequently, and they never experienced anything like what you describe.

Also, Thailand is one of the (if not the) prime destinations for Indian weddings, which I would say is a testament to its safety and hospitality as well

Hope you manage to convince your friend!

BinSabai

such incidents are very rare in Thailand. But you can not totally exclude it and they are not limited to Indians but can happen to any non thai ethnicity.
Best is just to move on...
Racism in Thailand is like in any other Asian country (but in opposite to western countries) not completely ostracized nor prosecuted

But 99.99% of Thais are very tolerant and very few are not

maerim

In a group which is multi national I would not expect any problems. There are bars and areas which cater for Indians, just as those which cater for Japanese and other nationalities and certainly a non-Japanese would rarely go into a bar catering for Japanese, although many times I did when working for a Japanese company. Same probably applies for bars catering for Indians.

I would say definitely come, go with the flow, buy drinks if in a bar where is is 'expected' but be careful watching the bill and enjoy. Don't linger for hours over a drink and share with a friend.

C1ayton

Thanks everyone, I showed him these responses and he's onboard : )

C1ayton

I have spent a alot of time there, and I had personally never witnessed it. Thailand is my favorite place to vacation. The people have always been very warm and welcoming to me, so that's why I thought I would ask because it's not something I had ever witnessed.

C1ayton

Thanks, I also was reading that many Indians were opening shops up in Phuket, which to me doesn't seem like something that would be possible if there was a big issue regarding my friends concern. There is a huge subreddit (On Reddit) where tons, and I mean tons of people are claiming that Thailand is racist towards Indians, but I with you all on this. Because I've never personally witnessed it with many months worth of time having been spent there. And this is just one sub-reddit of many speaking on this matter. But I used your responses to show my friend a different point of view on this, and he's excited to come.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Thailand/co...slike_indians/

SKT-DK

Glad to hear that you succeeded in convincing him with excitement!

I know you said your friend is as American as can be, but in case his is still interested in Hindu culture, make sure to take him to Sri Mariamman Temple on Silom Rd. This is the most sacred Hindu temple in Thailand - might be interesting for him

Davvidd

Absolutely Not. A lot of Indians from India itself. Lots. And they seem to have no problems at all. At some nightlife it could be the case but it could be a lot with the dress code too. In Krabi the majority of the tourists I saw was from India. Lots of new Indian restaurants and ì can tell you for a fact they have a lot of Hindu speaking staff in the areas on Krabi especially where the Indian tourists visit. Go to MBK and lots of Hindu speaking staff too. Lots. So he would have no problems at all.

BinSabai

you mean the local sales people speak Hindi (Hindi is the language, Hindu is the religion)?
have seen many Thai sales people speak some Mandarin, so they seem to have adapted very fast...
However I do not think that the OP's friend need anybody speaking Hindi, as he grew up in the USA and is more fluent in English than any of the locals....

Davvidd

Yes Hindi is the National Official Language but each State has their own language too. Hindu is the main religion. Yes they have bought in a lot of people into sales who can speak both English and Hindi so their communication is better. I am not saying the OP's friend needs to speak Hindi but the fact there are so many Indians now coming to Thailand as tourists shows that there is no general bias against them.

YVR Cockroach

No surprise here because there's a huge Chinese community is Thailand (significant part of he business elite too). Mandarin has become the de facto dialect here.

BinSabai

indeed, many Thais have a certain Chinese anchestry or at least claim so (in particular those in the business elite). Many large Thai companies have been founded by Chinese immigrants, but this was usually 2-3 generations ago.
As they married with locals, some families do not speak Chinese anymore at all and some speak, but mostly dialects (like Taechew) and not Mandarin.
However more and more private schools (and all Thais from middle and higher class send their kids to private schoos) teach Mandarin and for some, Mandarin is becoming more important than English