Farang (Thai: ฝรั่ง) is the generic Thai word for a foreigner of European ancestry. It is common in Thai to just say "farang" to point out the presence of one, without making a whole sentence. (Source: Wikipedia) The other day, while walking from the market with my friend, Fon, she noticed and remarked, "You know, a whole lot of people stare at you." "Hmm", I think, "Yes, I've noticed that for quite a while. Thanks for noticing." But I've gotten used to just smiling at them and talking in Thai, which brings about beginnings of great conversations.
(pictured below:Farang statue at Wat Pho, Bangkok)
Farang is also the Thai word for the guava fruit, which of course can lead to "farang eating farang" (ฝรั่งกินฝรั่ง) jokes from Thai people when foreigners are seen eating a guava in Thailand. This is because the guava was brought to then Siam by Portuguese traders over 400 years ago. (Source: Wikipedia) So, it's a good joke to make at the fruit stand, in case you want to stop the staring
(pictured below:Farang statue at Wat Pho, Bangkok)
2 comments:
what a fun blog post! Needless to say a 6 foot 1 inch woman walking down the street with her VERY tall white blond haired blue eyed girl gets similar stares. I assume it's guava season there? I have a tree in my yard that has TONS of fruit on it!
my favorite was to call anyone who called me farang a pineapple. Got many laughs, escpecially from taxi drivers. But, I suppose you have to be choosy with whom you do this with.
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