After living in Bangkok for over a year I have learned many things about the Thai population that I wanted to share with other foreigners living or vacationing here should know. The first thing you have to accept is that eastern culture is different. The population in the east are less emotional and more polite and while they know westerners are different, they often are uncomfortable when we stray from their norms. The things I found to be important are listed below in order of importance:

Be Polite – Thai population hold being polite above all else. Their very language has politeness built into it. If you ensue what is carefully “common courtesy” you will be fine.

Thailand Travel Guide

Thai King - The Thai population Love their King, King Rama Ix. Never show any type of disrespect to him or the Royal family. The Thai population have a deep former reverence for the Royal Family, and the visitor should also show respect for the King and the Queen, and the Royal Children. When attending a collective events where a member of the Royal house is present, the best guide on how to behave is to watch the crowd and do as it does.

Safety - Stealth crimes, such as pick pocketing, are the most coarse qoute so it’s worth holding a close eye on your belongings at all times and being aware of the population colse to you. Unprovoked violence against tourists are very rare, but it pays to practice coarse sense.

National Religion - Buddhism is Thailand‘s national Religion with nearly 95% of Thailand‘s population being Buddhist. All Buddha images are carefully sacred and there are laws against removing these images for anything other that personal worship.

Buddhist Monks - Buddhist Monks are recognized fast by their shaved heads, bear feet and challenging orange robes. It is forbidden for women to touch Buddhist Monks, this includes a woman handing something to a Monk, The items should be first given to a man, who hands the item to the monk. Also, western men should never exertion to shake hands with a monk.

Buddhist Temple - Wearing shoes colse to a temple is standard but they should be removed when entering their church (the area where the Buddha image is kept).

Be Quiet - Loud population are carefully impolite. Speak softly and do not laugh loudly. Of procedure there are the coarse places such as bars, celebrations and parks that being loud is standard and expected.

Greetings - Greetings in Thailand can be quite formal in appearance to the western eye. The basic gesture is to put hands together, fingers up, with a miniature bow of the head. The words “saw dee (krup)” (or “kaw” for women) are spoken during fm bow. It is more involved for Thai people, with three levels based on age and position but westerners attempting this greeting are not unbelievable to understand. (levels: 1. Monk, thumbs touching forehead durin bow; 2. Same age or older, thumbs touching lips; and 3. Younger person, thumbs touching chin.)

Food - Food in Thailand is customarily Hot, spicy Hot. Most westerners can not handle the whole of chili spice that Thai population enjoy. For the westerner visiting foreigner, the best tip i can give them is how to ask to make the food less spicy. There are two phrases to be used based on you preference: 1) “mai ped” – not spicy and 2) “ped nit noi” – a miniature bit spicy. The food is awesome in Thailand and this tip should help you enjoy it even more. In the near future I will be publishing a description of my popular foods. Stay tuned.

Street Food - There is an old Thai saying “a miniature bit of dirt makes the food a miniature bit more yummy (rough translation). For westerners, buying food on the road can impact your condition with the inherent contraction of assorted gastro digestive problems. While most road food vendors are clean, this only by local standards. I live by “rule of thumb” which has served well living in Bangkok. This rule is straightforward but you need to stick to it. It is “only eat from the road what is cooked in front of you”. This ensures that the food is fully cooked one more time before you eat it. Unfortunately, this eliminates a lot of food served on the road but good safe than sorry for week.

Body Odor - Thai population almost never smell badly and they find it offensive if others do.

Crowds - if you go to areas in Thailand during Thai holidays and celebrations, be ready to encounter many people. To Western sense the volume of these areas can be incredible. Be ready to be pushed and shoved and be aware that they mean no harm. There sence of personal space is quite separate than westerners.

Watch where you walk - The sidewalks in Bangkok are uneven and full of obstacles, pay attention. Oh, also, the streets have many stray dogs; the dogs are not aggressive but do leave landmines on the sidewalks.

Taxi Drivers - Most taxi drivers are fine. Generally, it is all the time good to use the metered taxis. Tuktuks are all the time more expensive and with Bangkok traffic you could be breathing in a lot of smog on the way. If you are going a needful distance negotiate… Also, the Taxis marked “We love farang, we speak English”, well most of them do not. They do have a radio that has a man that knows a miniature English.

Movie Theater - After the advertising and right before the movie a tribute to the Thai King Comes on and everybody stands in respect.

Driving in Thailand - If you are a brave one and determine that you want drive yourself colse to Thailand, don’t be too worried, it categorically isn’t that bad. There are just any things to understand. Drivers use the left side instead of the right, like in the Us, and the roads tend to be narrower than in the Us. So driving next to a bus or a truck can be a miniature intimidating.

Toilets - Eastern toilets can be quite intimidating to the western traveler as well. Be aware that eastern toilets are miniature more than holes in the ground surrounded by ceramic and involve water, not paper, for cleaning. To be honest, I still have not gotten used this type of factory to its full extent. Also, there are often women in the men’s room, stationed there for cleaning. It can be quite unnerving when you first sense this but they are not there for any more than cleaning.

Following these tips will allow you to have good understanding of the Thai population and more fun in your stay in Bangkok, allowing the locals to be more comfortable with you and give you a good understanding of how things function in Thailand.

Thailand voyage Tips and Customs