Visiting Thailand would require one to have good knowledge of Thai culture, for apart from the similarities in our appearances and geography, the culture of the Thais and the Filipinos are as different as night and day.
The following bits of information are a combination of years of experiences living in Thailand of SP administrators, contributions in the forum discussions by SP members, and brochures from numerous sites visited by SP admin over the years of enjoying Thai hospitality.
Ours is an attempt to simply make any visitor to Thailand, Filipino or otherwise, be aware of certain important aspects of Thai culture so he/she may fully enjoy his/her stay in the Kingdom of Smiles. The Thais are a very hospitable people, ready to befriend a foreigner, but could also be offended if we don’t follow certain ways of conduct while we are enjoying such hospitality and friendliness.
Enjoy your stay in the Kingdom of Thailand! And to the Filipino visitor or expat, learn as much as you can from this article, and hopefully, as you discover more about this amazing country, you will also be generous towards others and contribute your knowledge in our forum. Please find the link to our forum threads here.
Apart from knowing how and when to do the “wai” (the standard Thai greeting) the next 2 most important cultural tidbit anyone wishing to visit and/or live in Thailand ought to know of are “chai yen yen” and “mai pen rai”.
“Chai Yen Yen” Simply, it translates to “calm down” or “control yourself”. Usually, this is most helpful and would readily be offered by a native local to any foreigner just about ready to go into a verbal outburst, lose his/her temper or is showing signs of emotional upset or anxiety.
“Mai Pen Rai” In English, it is equivalent to “never mind” or “no problem”. To a Filipino, hearing this phrase when someone is in an emotionally charged predicament can be exasperating.
A native Thai would naturally say these phrases not out of insensitivity or because they do not care about you. The Thais are simply easygoing and showing strong emotions in public (may it be joy, anger or sadness) is taboo in Thai culture. Perhaps, it stems from influences in the major religion practiced in Thailand – Buddhism. That being so, Thais live in accordance with its teaching, The Middle Path. Therefore, extremes of any kind are best avoided.
On a positive note, such characteristics teach one to be more patient, calm and tolerant – traits that could come in handy if you are in Thailand especially to do business or to work with the locals.
On a less positive note, these character traits could prove a deterrent to maintaining friendships with the locals. We Filipinos, for instance, are a passionate bunch (blame it on our being under Hispanic rule for more than 300 years). And so, we expect our good friends to be expressive when we see them after a long while. However, that would not be the case when you’re meeting your Thai friend after a long time. The most you should expect is a smile (not even a hug, let alone a kiss). This is not to say that your friend is not happy to see you; he/she is just being his/her calm, composed self, especially when in public. That’s how he/she was raised. This is how he/she was taught to behave.
When one is in a restaurant, for example, or when ordering your first dose of “cha yen” (cold tea) from your local street vendor, expect him/her to forget that you don’t like too much condensed milk in your tea (even after you have told him/her for the third consecutive time). Do expect to remind him/her several more times before he/she finally makes it right. Being relaxed and calm lend itself to forgetfulness most times. Meanwhile, smile and say to yourself, “mai pen rai”. Your local vendor will think of you as having very good manners when you do.
IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER ABOUT BODY LANGUAGE Ever ridden on a hired motorcycle in the ever busy streets of Bangkok? If you have, you might remember experiencing a certain awkwardness when you tried to hold on for dear life to the driver’s waist while he traipsed his way in between buses, just barely missing collisions with cars and other motorcycles. Here’s where the differences in culture come into play: you were just trying to save your precious life by avoiding falling off the motorcycle while your driver was maneuvering through Bangkok traffic at breakneck speed. Your driver, on the other hand, has never had any local touch him (they would hold on to the back hand bar of the motorcycle, not on the driver). But there you were, doing what could be among the worst taboos in Thai culture – touch!
Thai culture puts emphasis on three special body parts: the head, the hands and the feet.
The Head Whatever you do, while you are enjoying Thai hospitality, never touch anybody on the head, even a child. The head is considered the most important part of the body, and must never be touched, even in jest. This is also why when having an audience with members of the Thai monarchy, the local Thais would either kneel or sit. This way, the monarch’s head would be higher than his subjects, which demonstrates a high form of respect. Likewise, this is also true among locals of different age groups. So if you are a foreigner about to visit your Thai friend’s parents in the province, make sure you bow your head while you are doing the “wai”. This will earn you the respect of your friend’s parents.
The Hands Do not point your forefinger at others while enjoying the views, the culture and the hospitality of the Thais. This is considered impolite by Thai standards. When receiving something, it is a good idea to receive with the right hand or with both hands, especially when the one giving is older or of higher status (like your supervisor, principal or “boss”). Never snatch an article from the giver’s hand.
The Feet We Filipinos are especially fond of using our feet to move objects, to point at things or put our feet up after a long day of shopping and sightseeing. Beware! This could end up with you in a hospital at the worse, or earn you a dirty look from a local at the least.
In public transport, make sure your leg crossing does not find your feet facing towards a local. This, they find very offensive. Also, do not step over any part of the body of another person. Make a gesture that you wanted space to squeeze by, or if you feel confident enough, utter a polite, “kaw thang noi ka” (if you are female), “kaw thang noi krap” (if you are male). That roughly translates to “Can I get through, please.” In Pinoy language, that’s as good as our “Excuse po, makikiraan lang po".
VISITING RELIGIOUS PLACES OR ROYAL PALACES Footwear Slippers, strappy sandals or any kind of footwear that exposes the toes (absolutely no flip flops) are not allowed in temples, within temple grounds or royal palaces.
Top No ‘spaghetti straps' please (even under the smoldering heat of Bangkok at 35 degrees centigrade in the middle of the day). A proper top would be one that does not expose too much skin (especially in the shoulders and chest area for the ladies; and none of those hanging blouses either – no matter if you have a belly to die for, like Angelina Jolie’s). Males are also expected to wear shirts with sleeves. So if you plan to go to the beach right after your stint at Wat Pra Kaew (The Grand Palace), just change into your beach wear when you get to the beach itself, not earlier.
At Wat Pra Kaew, or The Grand Palace, they have clothes for rent at a small fee at the entrance gate. Do keep the receipt, especially since you will be most likely to be asked to exchange the clothes with your passport when you rent them.
Skirts, Pants, Shorts, etc. Absolutely no shorts (both for men and women) are allowed within temple grounds at the Grand Palace (or in other temple sites and palaces, for that matter). Acceptable clothing would be ones that cover a good part of the legs well below the knees.
Behavior in Temples and Palace Grounds Respect towards religious images and statues is a must. Do tuck your feet in when sitting across Buddha images. When inside the temple of the Emerald Buddha at the Grand Palace, you are not to turn your back towards the Buddha image, so walk backwards towards the door on your way out.
As mentioned earlier, utmost care should be given to where we point or lay our feet while in Thailand. Never enter temples (or even Thai homes) with your shoes on. This is simply impolite by Thai standards.
MONKS In the early mornings, it is still a familiar site to see a monk in those saffron robes walking along the streets, receiving food offerings from the locals.
Female visitors especially, should be aware of certain rules of conduct around these saffron robed religious individuals, whether they are 8 or 80 years old. The most important of which is, never touch a monk or his robe! In public places and public transport, a woman is never to sit next to the man in yellow robe. If you find yourself seated at the seat right next to the entrance on the bus or on the train and one of these gentlemen comes up, give your seat up to him. Those seats are reserved for them.
THE MONARCHY The present Monarch of Thailand, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, or Rama IX, is beloved and highly revered by the Thai people. He is the longest reigning monarch in the whole world. He has numerous projects to help the Thai people, and is perhaps best known for being a hard working monarch, who aims to better the lives of his people especially in the most remote areas of Thailand.
In movie theatres, do stand up when the royal anthem is played and pictures of the King of Thailand and the Royal family are shown. Never talk about the Monarchy with disrespect, even in jest. Thai locals won’t find it amusing.
Visiting Thailand would require one to have good knowledge of Thai culture, for apart from the similarities in our appearances and geography, the culture of the Thais and the Filipinos are as different as night and day.
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