Thailand Culture and Its Interesting Customs

The Thailand culture is not just different from the West, sometimes it seems 180 degrees from what you know. Technically Thailand is 12 hours ahead of U.S. central time and on the exact other side of the Earth but at times it feels like you’re on another planet.

Thailand has various cultures and people; from the Karen Hill Tribes in northern Thailand, to the Laos speaking peoples of the north east, to the south which is Muslim and Buddhist mix, and finally central Thailand, namely Bangkok and the surrounding areas.

However, this section will mostly be talking about the Thais and general culture you'll run into on a daily basis. I will add to these pages about specific areas of Thailand at a later date.

A couple simple things to remember right off the bat.

Don't touch the head of anyone, especially someone you don't know, even the head of a baby, as the head is considered sacred in Buddhism and the place of thought and being.

Don't show the bottom of your feet to someone, like propping your feet up on something. It is disrespectful as the feet are dirty and the lowest part of your body.

Always be aware of where the soles of your feet are pointing, they should always be down.

You usually only "wai" (which is the Thai form of bowing, putting your hands in prayer shape and putting them to the head; wai is also the name of my wife :-) people above you or the same status (level in society as you). You don't wai the door man or woman, the taxi guy, young kids, or people of this nature.

Some Thais will wai back to people below them but very quickly with the wai in a low position. The higher the wai, like hands to the head versus to the chest, the higher the position the person getting the wai is in power and stature.

The King of Thailand, high government, and well known monks get wai's to the head.

This crocodile is getting a wai because he is respecting the "gods", saying, "please don't eat me."

When you go out dancing don't go waving your hands in the air like a hip hop rap star, many Thais think this looks the same as a monkey dancing and will make them laugh. Thais don't really dance like that. They may put their hands in the air a few times but not continuously. Some things remind Thais of monkeys and monkeys are like the chicken of America, funny!

What did you call me?

Thailand people call you a "falong", an outsider, a foreigner. A foreigner most likely with lighter skin tone coming from an English speaking nation. Strangely enough, falong is the same word for the guava fruit in Thailand.

How can you know the culture of Thailand people by looking at traffic?

One thing you will not hear when stuck in traffic in Bangkok is horns blazing. You will hear the roar of the tuk tuk, motor bikes and buses but no horns. It would even lead one to think that the car manufacturer may have forgot to build horns into the car. However, upon closer inspection you will see that people are not using their "God given right" to use the horn.

Why is this? I was driving our car, stuck in traffic as usual and I was frustrated because a taxi driver in front of me was slow to go when the light was green. I was about to use the horn when my wife became very upset at me. She said why are you going to honk the horn?

And I told her the obvious and she said well is that going to make any difference to the situation? I said no but it will make me feel better. She then said but how will it make the taxi driver feel? He then feels bad and honks his horn at someone else and the chain keeps going.

I thought about it and really started to notice that no one honks their horn, at least very little.

If you've ever been to the Philippines then you'd see a complete contrast to Thailand. People are laying on the horn continuously (and America isn't much better in major cities).

Manila is just completely filled with the sound of people honking their horn and traffic volume is exactly the same in Bangkok. Manila has gotten so out of hand that people actually get out of their car and start fighting, and America is right behind them.

In Bangkok traffic they might give you a sour look on occasion but it is all very innocent.

In regards to being respectful, it looks like the West has something to learn here.

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The Thailand culture of business and formal relationships is quite different from the U.S. as well. Thailand people usually hide their feelings in a formal or business situation, most likely never letting you know how they really feel. This can be a stressful situation for a Westerner.

This is how it works; basically the first person to lose their patience and stop smiling looses. It's almost a game.

In a stressful situation with a Thai person you may feel like reaching out across the table and strangling them as they sit there and smile. However, do not do entertain this thought. Be calm and use your head.

Managers, the boss, business owners, high ranking police and military are highly regarded in Thailand culture. A great deal of respect is paid to these type of people. The respect goes so far that Thailand people will even be taken advantage of and listen to bad advice if it comes from someone of high regard.

The Thai people will even "wai" someone they hate because they are highly regarded and because it's formal practice.

This practice of Thailand culture was frustrating for me as I couldn't "wai" someone who treated me wrong or was a bad person. I didn't have any problem following the culture and customs of Thailand people but showing respect to bad people put me on edge.

Many Thai's work a lot. The number one leisure time for Thais is sleeping and relaxing and I can understand why. They do a great deal of labor, 50 to 60 hours a week their whole life.

They make anywhere from 5,000 Thai Baht a month for cooks, maids, and general construction workers; to maybe 60,000 Thai baht a month for professional educated work. Many Thais make more or much more than that but most Thais fit with-in that range.

Most Thailand people you encounter are not very good with a map or even directions. If they don't know where something is they will just point in a general direction and tell you it's over there.

Many Thai people are only concerned with their daily life. Get on the bus, walk to work, eat, go home. Which isn't bad, I think it can be kind of liberating and simple.

(Before you judge them think about this joke, A city man driving in his car is lost on a country road. He sees a country man on the side of the road. The city man pulls over to ask the country man directions but the country man says he doesn't know. The city man then tells the country man you don't know much, do you? The country man then says, well I know I'm not lost and continues on.)

However, if you must ask a Thai person for directions, do not ask security guards or most other Thais; instead ask a motor bike driver. I've found that they know the most about an area and are best with directions, even better than a taxi driver for a local area.

Also if you ask a Thai person something, they may actually make something up rather than tell you they don't know. It's not that they are trying to mislead you, they're just trying to save face or be polite and they think that saying something is better than nothing.

So be careful and confident that the information you are getting is correct.

The Thailand people and the normal working class society are actually quite reserved. The culture of Thailand frowns upon public displays of affection, inappropriate dress and behavior on T.V. or in real life. You don't see super steaming love scenes on T.V. or movies. Images of people smoking on T.V. are blanked out. Actresses and Actors are shown in bad light if they are acting as a Playboy or Playgirl.

You can't buy sex toys in Thailand, they are outlawed. There are no porn shops but they do sell sex DVD's on the street but it's suppose to be only at night and can be shut down at any time. It's all heavily underground.

You have the Go-Go Bars and such but they are in designated areas and they pay a ton of money to the police to stay open. I know it seems backward but Thailand is in a struggle for decency and some adversities are heavily entrenched in Thai society.

I think most Thai's would rather see the negative image of Thailand done away with but that's probably not going to completely happen anytime soon. However, Thailand has a great deal going for it and it will always have tourist and visitors interested in the Thailand culture.

Hospitality and happiness has always been a part of the history and culture of Thailand.

Most Thai people pretty much accept their status in life which allows them to do their job more naturally, especially service related. They just seem happier on a daily basis than every other country I've been to and this is secret and the magic of loving Thailand right here.

Why are they happier? They all know they struggle to make ends meet but still the genuine happiness shines through.

No other country in Asia or the world I've seen compares to this. Thailand people are genuinely different.

Foreigners who've never been to Thailand will always ask why do you like Thailand so much? Is it the food, the beaches, the women (or woman in my case)? Yes, but no. On top of all that is the land of smiles, the genuine happiness.

The culture and customs of Thailand people never stop to amazing me and I'm still learning. Some things are wonderful and some a little strange but overall a fantastic experience rich in history and culture. Thailand culture, its people, its religion and temples make for an memorable adventure unlike any other.

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