Thai Greetings
This is something you might even experience while entering the place. The standard greeting in the Thai language is โSawat-diiโ. It is used at any time of the day when greeting someone. You will add a polite particle at the end of the greeting, and it will also be according to the gender. While women will use the โKhaโ male will use โKhrapโ. A man will say โSawat-dii khrapโ, and a woman would say โSawat-dii khaโ. Transgender individuals will use whichever version they prefer.
If you greet someone, you should always accompany it with a gesture called aย wai. You just have to press your hands together and held below the chin while bowing the head slightly. To show a greater level of respect, the hands can be held higher, between the nose and the forehead. The protocol says that younger people or those with lowest social status should be the first to wai. And, depending on the circumstance, the second person can wai back.
Plenty of foreigners make this same mistake ofย wai-ing too much. There is no need to return a wai when someone is greeting you because itโs part of their job. Wai-ing back sometimes can just make you silly and make them uncomfortable.
On the other hand, if you meet an older Thai person, remember to wai to them and be the first to wai.
With people you are very familiar with, common greetings areย bpai naiย (โWhere are you going?โ),ย bpai nai maaย (โWhere have you been?โ), andย gin khao rue yangย (โHave you eaten yet?โ). The last one is used as an ice breaker, and not to invite you to dinner.
Family
For Thai people, family ties are very important. Even if people are leaving their hometown for work, they always speak to their family several times a week.
Taking care of the elder is an obligation in Thai culture. It is common that the elder sibling finding himself helping his parents and at the same time taking care of his other siblings. It is also usual to see some Thais sending money to their family each month.
Extended families can be very large. When visiting a Thai village, you will have this impression that everyone seems to be a relative of some sort.
Status
As we explained before seniority and status play a large role in Thai life.
While speaking to someone older, it is common to useย phiiย andย nong, which mean โelderโ and โyoungerโ sibling. Those get attached to the front of someoneโs name, so that Phii Sam means โolder brother Samโ and Nong Marie means โyounger sister Marieโ. These terms even if they are used with brothers and sisters are also used with friends and even when talking about celebrities.
If someone is much older than you, the terms you will have to use those terms: โaunty,โ โuncle,โ โgrandma,โ and โgrandpaโ instead. You donโt need to be related to that person to use it.
Face
A common problem to foreigners is understanding the idea of โfaceโ because this causes with Thai people. They want to create and keep up a good image in public, and anything that damages their image damages their โfaceโ.
A clear example of this is when someone is giving out criticism. A boss should not criticize an employee in front of the others because it makes the employee lose face in the eyes of the others. The boss should instead talk to the employee in private. In other words, people should avoid signaling a Thai person out in a way that could be embarrassing for them.
Other example can be making a show of wealth and status. If someone is wealthy they will gain face by paying the check for a large diner party. This is why normally they wonโt split the bill when eating at a restaurant, unless itโs a group of equals.
When it comes to making a large donation to a temple, Thai people will not do so anonymously. This time, they want everyone to see how much they are giving in so they can gain face in the community. One traditional ways of making a donation is to make a money three from sticks of wood with many different bills and currencies attached to form the leaves. If there is a temple fair a parade might be held that includes donors each carrying their tree to the temple. Donors can easily spotted from the color of the bills and get some idea of how much is being donated by that person.
One of the bad consequences of the face is for example the ratio of household debt as they have the largest ratios ofย household debt to GDP. An average worker might purchase a house , a car, and the latest phone all on credit, with the payments surpassing ย up to 60-80% of their monthly salary.
Relaxed attitude
โMai pen raiโ meaning โItโs no problemโ or โDonโt worry about itโ is very often said by Thai people. The mai pen rai attitude can spill over into many aspects of Thai culture. This can be a really good thing sometimes. It encourages you to not get so affected by minor incidents and disappointments in life. Punctuality is not a big deal. If someone is 10 or less minutes late for dinner doesnโt really matter that much. Not keeping it cool and making a scene is not acceptable at all.
Personal appearance
Thai people will judge the appearance of others. Mainly by the personโs grooming habits and how they are dressed. We can use as an example backpackers, as Thailand is a popular destination for young backpackers, and they haveย theย bad reputation of not washing frequently and trying to get things for as cheap as possible. This is why you might be treated like one if you dress like a backpacker, especially if the cases you are dealing with officials such as the Immigration.
There is a phrase Thais use for poor, grubby and undesirable foreigners and itโsย โfarang khii-nokโ.ย Usually, Thais think that all foreigners have money, so a farang khii-nok is a bit of a mystery to them.
Dress smart if you want Thai people to show you more respect. For example, wearing a shirt with a collar will look more proper than a shirt without a collar, or wearing long pants with good shoes.
There is a tropical climate in Thailand, and, some foreigners always do this mistake of thinking that the country is just a giant beach and go around the city topless. But you shouldnโt it just makes you look a clueless lowlife.
Youโll see even at the beach Thai people are dressed, even if Bikinis are becoming more common, so you will still see some people wearing jeans and long shirts in the water, mostly because they want to protect their skin from becoming darker.
Thai people, with their natural tan skin prefer light skin. Most actors and actress are either Thai-Chinese or half-Western (luk-khrueng) with light skin. And to make sure that everyone on TV is glowing white producers and advertisers will run the image through a heavy filter to lighten everyoneโs skin tone. The result that the entire scene can have an angelic glow, with shadows completely washed out.
Youโll find all sort of skin whitening products in store. A lot of Thai women will avoid the sun at all costs. Youโll see them wearing a jacket when riding a motorbike to keep the sun from hitting their skin, even in 40-degree heat (100+ F).
For darker skinned Thai women, you might hear people teasingly call them a โforeignerโs wifeโ (mia farang) by their friends. All, because Thai men are known to prefer women with lighter skin, while foreign men have a reputation for preferring dark skinned women.
Majority of Thai men donโt have beard because most of them struggle growing one and, this is not convenient for them because of the hot weather. The oneโs youโll see with a beard or moustache will be villains on TV. So there is this perception that beard are for bad guys.
This is not uncommon to see people with tattoos. There is a tradition of protective magic tattoos (sak-yan), a lot of older men have these. The person having the tattoo will have to follow and respect some rules if he wants the magic of the tattoo to work properly. Even with all those traditions a Budha tattoo will be seen as disrespectful.
Personal hygiene is taken seriously by Thais. Itโs not unusual to see them shower many times per days to keep the sweat out of their bodies. It is important for them to take a bathe before going to bed. Being clean is a must for them before sleeping.
Thai bathroom is really different since they donโt separate the shower from the bathroom, so the floor will get wet. Therefore, they wear special shoes for that.
The traditional way to shower that you might be able to see in small villages, is scoop water up from a large basin and pour it over your body.
Personal questions
Donโt be surprised or offended if a Thai ask you personal question. For example, they can ask you, if youโre a man, if โyou like Thai girls?โ Or โhow much money you make?โ And โhow much your rent is?โ. By asking those questions, they are not trying to be rude. It is only out of curiosity or they might be trying to make small talk. It is also a way for them to be able to put you somewhere in the hierarchy. They also need to know if you should be addressed as phii (โseniorโ) or nong (โjuniorโ).
Nicknames
Usually Thai people use nicknames in daily life. They tend to use their nicknames to present themselves. The popular ones have an English origin such as โGolfโ, โBenzโ, โBirdโ, โPancakeโ, โBallโ, โBeerโ, โOilโ, โGuitarโ, โArmโ, โIceโ, โBankโ, it can be weird for English speakers.
Gender roles
Traditional gender roles predominate in Thai society. On a date, the man is expected to pay. Also, school uniforms with skirt for girls and pants for men. It also applies for the working world. In marital situation, women take pride in taking care of their husband, and they donโt see it as an oppression of any kind.
โLadyboysโ in English and Kathoey in Thai do not suffer from any controversy for public bathroom usage in Thailand. They just use the womenโs room. On the other side, โtomboyโ in English and โtomsโ in Thai, which are lesbians with masculine appearance also use womenโs bathroom. The feminine lesbiansโ toms dates are called โdeesโ which means โladyโ.
Even if homosexuality is accepted in Thai society, gay marriage is not legal. It is possible to hold a marriage ceremony โsmall oneโ but there is no possibility of registering afterwards.
Thai Schools
Schools uniforms are common in the country. Thai students are easily recognizable by their school uniforms. This is only recently that hairstyles are no longer mandatory by law. Even though short hairs are common for schoolchildren.
A lot of universities students who wears school uniforms take pride to it, and it is even better if they attend a prestigious school.
Thai Food
Rice is the center of all recipes in Thailand. โGin khaoโ term used for โeating a mealโ literally means โeating riceโ. A lot of Thai will say that eating a meal without rice might make them feel with a feeling of un-satisfaction.
Usually people eat outsides, with affordable price, street food offers a lot of traditional dishes. Having a kitchen is not something common in small apartments, therefore people eat outside.
Thais love to mix the four-main flavor; spicy, sour, salty, sweet and give a proper balance with it. Thai food served in foreign restaurants will adapt to the foreignersโ taste. If you want to eat real Thai food head to restaurants with many Thai customers.
When eating in a group, several dishes will be placed in the center of the table. Each person takes food from the center plates to their own plate and eats it with rice. You should just take a little bit at a time from the center dishesโ2 or 3 spoons at most. Scooping up half the food from a center dish and plopping it all on your plate would appear rude.
Thais mainly eat with a spoon and fork. The spoon is held in your right or dominant hand and is used to carry food to your mouth. The fork is held in the other hand and simply serves to help you push food onto the spoon. Chopsticks are generally only used when eating noodle soups.
Drinking
Beer, whiskey, and rice whiskey are the main alcoholic drinks in the country. Lot of brands and mass-produced. Lao khao is a local rice whiskey. We advise you to stick with the professionally bottled variety and not the home brewed one.
You will notice while drinking at some restaurant someone coming and top up your glass from the opened bottle. Usually it will be a girl, sponsored by the company brand whoโll do this task. They will also come and add ice cubes to your glass, if you donโt want it, just tell them.
You can find wine in certain supermarkets and liquor stores, although be aware of the price of the wine, which can be quite high. Also, even if a lot of restaurant serves wine, they donโt seem to know how to store and conserve wine at the right temperature.
Alcohol can only be served between 11am-2pm and 5pm till midnight. It can also be prohibited for selling in some Buddhas holidays. And since it is considered that drunk people cannot vote properly, alcohol is also forbidden on election days.
Drugs
Drugs such as marijuana are forbiden in Thailand, despite the wide population of backpackers. On Koh Phangan full moon party, there was undercover police which have been known to make a lot of arrests. The police can sometimes clear out an entire nightclub and subject patrons to drug tests, but it happens rarely. They will to some drug tests and if it is positive, the person will be arrested, even if that person used that substance in a country where it is legalized, it will be irrelevant.
There is an addiction to methamphetamine pills (yaa baaย โcrazy drugโ) in Thailand, which is a big problem for the authorities.
Coffee shops
Coffee in Thailand is known to be quite good and inexpensive. The iced coffee can be tasty, with an addition of both sweet condensed milk and syrup. When you go to a coffee shop you can leave your stuff and go to the bathroom without any fear of your stuff getting stolen.
If the coffee shop is in an area with a lot of student, it might be difficult for to finding a seat, Thai student are known to stay long in those coffee shops, sometimes they live their books there and go outside the coffee for lunch.
Gambling
Any forms of gambling and casinos are considered as illegal in Thailand. Even playing cards in exchange of money with friends is forbidden. It happens that some underground gambling getting busted.ย Even if itโs still common in some villages, youโll see a lot of families into heavy debt because of gamblingโs. They then become targets of loan sharks that can charge up to 20% interest compounded monthly.
Only lottery is legal in the country, it holds drawings twice a month, on the 1st and 16th. Lottery tickets are printed ahead of time and consist of a 6 digit number. One can find sellers in random places like malls, roadsides and even bus depots. Normal cost is around 80 baht, but one ticket is actually a pair of 40 baht tickets. So, gif you get one winning ticket the amount will double. So, you will get 6 million baht if you match the grand prize with an 80 baht ticket.
A lot of people choose to play the underground lottery instead of the official one. Itโs played by picking the last 2 or 3 digits of the state lottery correctly. To try to discourage illegal gambling, the state lottery added prizes for matching 2 and 3 numbers a few years back, but the underground lottery persists due to its higher payout.
Tipping
Tipping is not in Thai culture. In some restaurants it is OK to leave a tip. A lot of people, leave the coins while picking their bills. Other people will give a more substantial tip.
No need for tip with taxis and hotels. Where leaving tips is more common is massage therapist or hair stylist.
Bargaining
Bargaining is something you will find in a regular market, even if the difference of price will not be much. This is more a friendly interaction. Usually if you find an item you are interested into, youโll the seller how much they are ready to sell it for you. They can propose a price a bit lower by 5-10% than the original price.
In a touristic market, we advise you to strongly bargain without any hesitation because it will mean that youโll be overpaying. If on the other hand you see an item with a fixed price on it, it will mean that you should not try bargaining it down.
Dual pricing
โDual pricingโ is when one price is charged to Thai people for a product or service, while a higher price is charged to foreigners. For example administration fees. Also, if you go to Thai national parks you will often get charged a 400 baht admission if you are a foreigner while Thai will only get to pay 40 baht. The same applies for grand palace, free for Thai people.
Foreign residents here object about the dual pricing since they pay taxes and work in Thailand. To encounter that, sometimes youโll see the price in English for foreigners and Thai will write the prices in Thai for Thai people so the foreigners wonโt be able to understand.
The main argument people use for dual pricing is that foreigners have a bigger salary than Thais. But even though, youโll see a lot of Thais driving luxury cars and pay the local fee.
Even if itโs rare, you will sometimes get to pay Thai price if you show your Thai working permit or driving license.
Thai Dating and marriage
Dating has become something common in Thailand, there is still a large part which is conservative, believing on the one partner in life.
Usually if you date a Thai woman, she will always come with a friend for a couple of weeks until she gets comfortable going alone with the man. If you date a woman who does that, itโs a good sign since it will mean that sheโs careful with the development of the relationship.
Even if holding hands are more common now. Other displays of affection, such kissing, are still a taboo.
If you visit your girlfriend hometown or parents, it will mean an intention of marriage. If the woman is the one inviting a foreigner to her house to visit her parents, and the man doesnโt show any interest or break up with her afterwards, she will lose face in front of her family, and will be ashamed.
The groom in Thai culture weddings must give a monetary gift to the brideโs family. It is calledย sin sod. In the tradition, it is kind of a way of showing respects to the parents of the bride, and a way to compensate them for losing someone who couldโve helped around the house.
The amount of the sin sod can vary and need to be agreed on between the two parts before the wedding. For example, a daughter from an elite family can receive around the millions of baht, and for parents coming from a working class it will be around 100,000 baht.
Sin-sod is more a tradition than something that must be done, some modern families wonโt ask for it sometimes. Usually the money is used for show during the wedding and then a part will be returned to the new couple. In some other cases, the sin sod can be spent with whiskey, TV, motorcycle or other items for the in-laws.
Disagreements over sin sod can be a problem to the marriage. Foreigners can often have a bad perception over the sin sod and the idea of him buying the daughter. Some family can lose face in the society if it is known that they gave their daughter to a foreigner who didnโt give them a sin sod.
In some cases, foreigners can be played by greedy parents who ask them a high amount of sin sod. In the major cases the marriage doesnโt last long, because they keep some resentment.
Thai Entertainment
Music
In Thailand music labels are used to make a copy of all pop music. However, the country has a lot of popular singer in the country and Thais have a passion for karaoke.
You can try to sing some Thai pop music, which could help you improve your Thai. Many of these songs are on Youtube.
Youโll hear more Western/ American pop music at cafes, shopping malls, and restaurants. Also, you can hear some on bars and nightclubs. Youโll see that a lot of restaurants have a band playing there.ย
Movies
Theaters play both Thai and Hollywood movies (Hollywood movies with Thai subtitles, or in some cases just Thai). Be sure that you picked the right one before paying for your ticket.
With different type of seats, you can make a reservation of the seat you want, of course depending of the seat, the price will be different. Some theaters will have VIPโs sofas.
You will have to wait at least 20 minutes before the movie start, there are a lot of commercials and trailers. There is also the royal anthem that will be played before every movie, at that time you must stand up!
Thai movies can be really entertaining, you should try at least one, youโll see that they can really be interesting.ย
TV
Two popular programs in Thai television: serial dramas called lackhon and comedy variety shows.
For TV dramas, you will see them run two or three days per weeks and for few weeks until the last episode of the drama. The storyline is quite predictable. Always lead male character and the lead female character, the evil, jealous female character also, and a lot of love triangle. The man always looks manly sometimes a bit aggressive and have strong feelings for the woman which have to look fragile and kind. There is always a happy ending with a wedding at the end.
The funny thing about comedy shows are the cartoons effects with the โBoing!โ โZingโ and other sounds. You will often see those kinds of sound effects in Asian comedy shows, it might be part of their culture.
Thai Sports
Thai kickboxing called Muay Thai, is the country national sport. There are a lot of Muay Thai gyms around the cities. All kind of people can train there. For people who want to have a six-pack training in Muay Thai can be a good way.
There are a lot of fight organized in stadiums. For foreigners it is an attraction and something weโll advise you to watch. Fighters are usually young since they start training at elementary school.
Before every fight begins there is traditional part all fighters must do, and it is called the wai khru which is โbowing to the teacherโ.
Even if Muay Thai is the national sport in Thailand, Football or soccer, is the most popular one.ย A lot of thai follows English Premier League. Thai donโt have a lot of interest in American sports.
As far we can go, right now Thai womenโs volley team is the one with the most success.
There is another sport like volleyball, called takraw, it is played with feet. Tha ball is kicked back and forth over a net and is made from woven rattan.
Thai Festivals and Holidays
Songkran
This something you should not miss is youโre in Thailand. The biggest the year :ย Songkran. From April 13 to 15, this is a three days holidays. The origin comes from Hindu astrology. Even if itโs called Thai new year, there is no official calendar based on it.
In that occasion Thai people visit their family in their hometown, go to temples and make merit. For foreigners, Songkran is a three days holiday where people throw water at each other, the country becomes a war zone of water fight. Donโt expect during those days to come home dry, because it wonโt happen.
In Chiang Mai people already throw water to at passer-by at April 11.
For Songkran, we advise you even itโs funny to be really careful. A lot of people ends up drunk, for motorbikes drivers the road can be slick because of the water. And there is also a possibility for people throwing water to drivers. So, it is safer to walk and put you phone in a zip-lock bag, and donโt think of bringing your laptop outside.
Loy Kratong
Another holiday is Loy Kratong, it takes place on the night of the full moon in November. During that time Thais pay respect to the river goddess, they thank her for providing water. Loy means โto floatโ and Kratong is an ornamental made of a round slice of banana stalk that is decorated elaborately with folded banana leaf. Nowadays, youโll see more of Kratong made of bread since it can easily be eaten by fish.
The tradition wants people to release floating lanterns into the night sky while releasing Kratong at the riverbank. The lanterns are beautiful to see in the sky. There were some regulations made on the recent years, about the release days and times also because of the danger to airplanes and environment.
New Year
5-7 days off are taken sometimes by people for the New Year Day (January 1), it even starts on December 31 as well. As Songkran the New year Holiday can be a bit dangerous on the road, you will hear a lot of alcohol related accident on the road.
Just like Christmas, it is common to give gifts for the family members on New Year. The gifts will be far more modest than gifts given for Christmas. And Thai donโt feel like the urge to dress up for that special event like Americans or Europeans do.ย
Chinese New Year
Falling usually between late January or February, Chinese Lunar New Year is also a major Holiday for Thailandโs for Chinese community.
Every year represents an animal, and your sign will depend from the year of birth. All Thai know their animal, the only difference is that in Thailand the local serpent called god naga takes the place of the Chinese dragon.
Know that in each year there is an unlucky year for those holding one of the animal sign (bpii-chong โunlucky yearโ). If the year you are currently in is the year of your bpii-chong you are recommended to be extra careful and make merit to avoid ill-fortune.
Taboos in Thailand
Here are few Taboos in Thailand we are going to talk about.ย
Kissing in public
As mentioned before, kissing in public is still a Taboo. Thai date will still feel uneasy and uncomfortable to kiss in public.
Feet
Feet are considered the dirtiest part of your body. Therefore, youโll must take off your shoes if you are entering a Thai home or any place where youโll see shoes at the entrance. Also, you must never point your feet at something or someone, this is really rude.
Death and ghosts
The Thai society believes in ghosts. And, that talking about something will makes it more likely to happen, like the law of attraction. Donโt make jokes about death or ghosts.ย
A final word
As you could see Thai culture, is really rich on all sides. Many things to be careful about. A lot of things to learn about public behaviors. Even if there are few negative sides, a lot of things are easy to do. People will appreciate if you try to speak with them and youโll always find a Thai to guide you if you feel lost.
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