Racism and discrimination in Udon Thani, and Thailand in general, is a question I have seen pop up on various forums, so thought I would cover the topic here, as I see it in my day to day life.
I am quite eager to point out that I have not seen anything in the way of racism from Thai's towards foreign visitors or ex-pats. If it does exist, and perhaps it does, it is not 'in the open', as far as I can see. However, discrimination is a whole other topic, and it is quite rampant.
The most common form of discrimination towards us 'foreigners' comes in shops and tourist attractions. The Thai way of thinking is that we all have more money, so can afford to pay more for the same goods and services that Thai's receive. I don't think it is malicious, just how they are and how they think (you have to remember that as a country, they are more than half a century behind the civilized world). In many cases, the price you are 'expected' to pay is only perhaps 5% more, but I have seen it as high as 100% and more in places, which is just outrageous.
If you can avoid going to shops that do not display prices on the goods, you can avoid being 'ripped off' in this way, but in all probability you will not be able to totally avoid it, especially if you use Tuk Tuk's to get around the city. These guys will try to charge 50 baht from Central Plaza to Day and Night (5 minutes walk), when really 20 baht would be generous. I occasionally go out an 'test the water' in this respect, to see what crazy prices they try to get from us.
I have not seen any evidence of hatred towards foreigners, from the Thai population either, but I am led to believe that many Thai men do not particularly like foreigners, especially the one's that live here. I am also led to believe this is entirely down to jealousy and money, which go hand-in-hand. We come to Thailand and take their women after all, and we are normally financially better off, and able to take care of our Thai wife or girlfriend, and this can often be not well received by the men, unless there is something in it for them. Let's not kid ourselves here either, many of the women only want to be with us for financial gain, a lot of all the other stuff is merely window dressing.
I am quite eager to point out that I have not seen anything in the way of racism from Thai's towards foreign visitors or ex-pats. If it does exist, and perhaps it does, it is not 'in the open', as far as I can see. However, discrimination is a whole other topic, and it is quite rampant.
The most common form of discrimination towards us 'foreigners' comes in shops and tourist attractions. The Thai way of thinking is that we all have more money, so can afford to pay more for the same goods and services that Thai's receive. I don't think it is malicious, just how they are and how they think (you have to remember that as a country, they are more than half a century behind the civilized world). In many cases, the price you are 'expected' to pay is only perhaps 5% more, but I have seen it as high as 100% and more in places, which is just outrageous.
If you can avoid going to shops that do not display prices on the goods, you can avoid being 'ripped off' in this way, but in all probability you will not be able to totally avoid it, especially if you use Tuk Tuk's to get around the city. These guys will try to charge 50 baht from Central Plaza to Day and Night (5 minutes walk), when really 20 baht would be generous. I occasionally go out an 'test the water' in this respect, to see what crazy prices they try to get from us.
I have not seen any evidence of hatred towards foreigners, from the Thai population either, but I am led to believe that many Thai men do not particularly like foreigners, especially the one's that live here. I am also led to believe this is entirely down to jealousy and money, which go hand-in-hand. We come to Thailand and take their women after all, and we are normally financially better off, and able to take care of our Thai wife or girlfriend, and this can often be not well received by the men, unless there is something in it for them. Let's not kid ourselves here either, many of the women only want to be with us for financial gain, a lot of all the other stuff is merely window dressing.