Thailand Tips and Customs

Thailand Tips and Customs (for further information go to Asia Travel Pages). After living in Bangkok for over a year I have learned many things about the Thai People 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 people 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:

1. Be Polite - Thai people hold being polite above all else. Their very language has politeness built into it. If you follow what is considered “common courtesy” you will be fine.
2. Thai King - The Thai People Love their King, King Rama IX. Never show any type of disrespect to him. The Thai people have a deep traditional 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 public event where a member of the Royal Family is present, the best guide on how to behave is to watch the crowd and do as it does.
3. Safety - Stealth crimes, such as pick pocketing, are the most common problem so it's worth keeping a close eye on your belongings at all times and being aware of the people around you. Unprovoked violence against tourists are very rare, but it pays to exercise common sense.
4. National Religion - Buddhism is Thailand’s national Religion with nearly 95% of Thailand's population being Buddhist. All Buddha images are considered sacred and there are laws against removing these images for anything other that personal worship.
5. Buddhist Monks - 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.
6. Buddhist Temple - Wearing shoes around a temple is acceptable but they should be removed when entering their church (the area where the Buddha image is kept).
7. Be Quiet - Loud people are considered impolite. Speak softly and do not laugh loudly. Of course there are the common places such as bars that being loud is appropriate.
8. Food - Food in Thailand is customarily HOT, spicy HOT. For the westerner visiting foriegner, 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 little bit spicy. But the food is awesome in Thailand, this tip should help you enjoy it even more.
9. Body Odor - Thai people almost never smell badly and they find it offensive if others do.
10. Crowds - if you go to areas in Thailand during Thai holiday's and celebrations, be prepared to encounter many people. To Western experience the volume of these areas can be incredible. Be prepared to be pushed and shoved and be aware that they mean no harm. Thai people
11. Watch where you walk - The side walks 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.
12. Taxi drivers (enough said) - Most taxi drivers are fine. Generally, it is always better to use the metered taxis. Tuktuks are always more expensive and with Bangkok traffic you could be breathing in a lot of smog on the way. If you are going a significant 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 person that knows a little English.
13. Movie Theater - After the advertizing and right before the movie a tribute to the Thai King Comes on and everyone stands in respect.
14. Driving in Thailand - If you are a brave one and decide that you want drive yourself around Thailand, don't be too worried, it really isn't that bad. There are just several 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 little intimidating.

Following these tips will allow you to have better understanding of the Thai people and more fun in your stay in Bangkok, allowing the locals to be more comfortable with you and give you a better understanding of how things function in Thailand. Please visit our Website for more ideas for traveling in Thailand.

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Travel tip to avoid a Family Holiday Nightmare

The family had enjoyed a few days of a beach resort holiday in Thailand when the husband suggested that they go off on a jungle experience, organized by one of the trekking and adventure tour operators. His wife was not enthusiastic but decided to go along with the proposal because she knew that this was something her husband had always wanted to do. Their seven year old son sounded as keen as his dad and their five year old daughter seemed happy enough with the idea too. The other family member was a two-year-old boy.They booked up with a reliable tour guide and set off three days later, The seven year old had become even more enthusiastic and promised his mum that he would deal with all the nasty snakes and spiders for her.After a grueling seven hour drive, during which time all three kids had been travel sick on several occasions, the family finally arrived at their destination, a lodge in the jungle.They were greeted by a number of snarling dogs who looked as though they desperately needed a good meal of European children to fatten them up. Mum was immediately panic stricken but Dad and the tour guide reassured her that they were in no danger and the family continued safely towards on to the lodge.This building was a large, wooden hut on high stilts with a straw roof. Immediately below it, there was a small lake that looked as if it should provide a perfect home for crocodiles. Inside the lodge, accommodation was about as basic as it can get.Dad was more than happy with everything however and informed the rest of the family that anything more grand would have spoilt the back-to-nature experience. Mum was not amused.Luckily, only one overin the lodge was involved. As night fell, the crescendo of jungle sounds increased. Mum laid awake becoming more and more worried about the children who were in the next room. Very soon the jungle noises were accompanied by the sound of the children crying. Dad got up to fetch them, returning with three very frightened children who spent the rest of the night in their parents room. It was just as well, because within an hour a new sound was keeping everyone from going to sleep. Mum and the children listened in horror to repeated loud bangs on the roof-beams accompanied by ear splitting screeches. Dad explained that the source of this noise held no threat for them. It was only monkeys, he informed them but his explanation did little to reassure the rest of the family.There was little sleep for anyone that night except the two-year-old, who slept fairly soundly after the move to mum and dad's room. Mum found it hard to believe that she slept at all and was relieved when the sun finally rose and shone its light into the room. She untangled herself from under the mosquito net and looked around the room that had seemed so menacing in the dark. But her relief was short lived and her scream awoke the rest of the family. There in the middle of the floor, only a few yards from where she had been sleeping, was a large, tropical spider. It wasn't quite the last ordeal she would face before they left the lodge. Waiting for her in the bathroom were two gigantic tree frogs.The long journey back to civilization was uneventful apart from further episodes of travel sickness. Mum refused to talk to her husband for the entire length of the journey. Back at the beach resort, the relationship improved a little over the remaining few days of the holiday but not enough for Dad to ever forget the best travel tip he had learned for a very long time: don't take your family on a wilderness excursion unless they are genuinely as enthusiastic about going on one as you are.
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