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Dress codes Bangkok
14 Reviews In Thailand you will always be judged on appearances! all Thais put a great deal of effort into being well dressed and well groomed. If you want to fit in, you will need to do the same. To Thai eyes,...
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Religion & Beliefs Ko Samui
9 Reviews One of the things that I have never understood about travellers is their desire to break the rules, or guidelines of the local people. Out of respect to the people who look after this temple, and also...
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Correct behaviour Chiang Mai
21 Reviews To take off your shoes is extremely important when visiting temples. At the massage rooms, it was also necessary to do so. It was even requested at one of the restaurant I went to. So, it is helpful...
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Bullfighting Hat Yai
1 Review Apparantly Hat Yai is one of the main centre for Bullfighting in Thailand. Many local people seem to have no problem with a variety of 'sports' that enable humans to use dumb defenceless animals for...
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General Dos and Don'ts Bangkok
24 Reviews Thai and Western ideas about what constitutes acceptable physical contact in public are fundamentally different! While people of the same sex can often be seen holding hands on the street, you will...
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Language Ko Samui
3 Reviews As with any foreign country it is an advantage to learn some basic communication terms.In thai it is handy to know the following terms. Sa-wa-dee khap for males,Sa-wa-dee ka for females(hello or...
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Local people Chiang Mai
15 Reviews This flower market is located along the western bank of the Ping River, to the north of Nawarat Bridge. Here you can see stalls and shops selling the offering garlands that people take to temples plus...
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Religion Hat Yai
1 Review At various shops around the place you will see orange buckets loaded with food and toiletries. These are passed to monks as part of their daily 'alms-collecting'. Monks are supposed to have very few...
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The Wai - Traditional Thai Greeting Bangkok
16 Reviews Thais greet each other with the ‘wai’ (pronounced like the word ‘why’), placing the palms of their hands together as in prayer and raising them to the level of their face whilst bowing slightly....
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Song Kran Festival Chiang Mai
8 Reviews Songkran Day has been celebrated as New Year's Day in the Thai solar calendar since ancient times. The date coincides with the day the sun leaves Pisces and enters Aries, usually falling on April 13...
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Thai Language Bangkok
13 Reviews A good way to learn the Thai language is through listen .Listening to Thai music can improve your listening skill as well as to learn new words . One band that is easy to listen to with many...
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Excursions Chiang Mai
4 Reviews Interested in different kinds of Fruits and Plants not found in your country? Then there is a good chance of seeing something entirely different in an Akha & Lisu village. I saw a Longan Fruit tree,...
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Beer drinking Bangkok
9 Reviews Singha Beer is the number one domestic beer in thailand while Heineken Beer is the number one international brand beer than is brewed in thailand! It is brewed locally by the Asia Pacific Brewery, the...
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Feet (and Heads) Bangkok
14 Reviews In Buddhist culture, the feet are the lowest and most unclean part of the body, while the head is the highest part of the body. Touching someone on the head, or shaking your foot, or pointing with...
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Buddhism / Monks Bangkok
33 Reviews Thailand is officially a Buddhist country and some 95% of Thais are Buddhists. Always remember to remove your shoes and dress smartly when entering a temple (sleeveless shorts and short skirts are not...
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Respect for Royalty Bangkok
14 Reviews A person can notice coming to Bangkok that many people (men and women) are wearing light pink shirts. Dress shirts, polo shirts or tee shirts in light pink. Winston, my VT friend, explained how the...
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People Bangkok
20 Reviews On the banks of the Chao Phraya river, you will see rickety old wooden houses on stilts and covered boats. The people that live here are called the boat people. They do not have much money but seem...
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Bargaining Bangkok
7 Reviews Bargaining is meant to be fun so the first rule is that you should never get angry or rude with merchants. Sometimes merchants will be rude to you in an effort to make farangs lose face but don't...
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Songkran Festival Bangkok
8 Reviews For full write up & photos, please visit my blog: http://www.aspirantsg.com/travel-holidays/getting-wet-wild-songkran-bangkok-thailand/singapore or follow me on twitter for other travel reviews:...
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Shrines and Spirit Houses Bangkok
15 Reviews There are many Thais with Chinese ancestors ,so you will often see Chinese style shrines all over the country .On certain ocassions such as Chinese New Year you will see people paying respect to Gods...
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City Name Bangkok
2 Reviews An interesting fact that not many travelers know is that Bangkok is not called Bangkok in Thai. It's official name is Krungthep Maharnakorn...... it goes on and on and on, there is actually a song...
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Shoes - when to take them off Bangkok
7 Reviews Whenever you enter a religious building (Buddhist temple, Mosque, etc), you must first remove your shoes prior to entering. So, sandals with closed heals or other shoes easily removed and put on are a...
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Flowers Bangkok
4 Reviews Flower-power I always adored in the 60's with the lovely Hippie childeren. I guess it is the smell of nature, and you see in Thailand those special flower-shops of arranging flowers used in...
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Smile! Bangkok
5 Reviews Thais admire serenity and regard overt expressions of emotion as immature and unsightly. This is especially true in the case of anger or impatience. If you show anger, you will immediately lose the...
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Traditional Thai Dancing Bangkok
6 Reviews With all forms of dance drama in Thailand, music forms an important role which is greatly bound by tradition The performances you will see are mystical dances based on stories from classical Thai...
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Outside major cities most toilets will be squat toilets and a small bucket will be provided for cleaning yourself. Never throw toilet paper down the toilet or on the floor, use the trash can provided.
Thank goodness most Thais have nicknames as we probably would find it very difficult to pronounce their real name. My friend's son is nicknamed "moo" which means pig-- nothing abnormal about this. Nok means bird, or Lek means small, Noi means little. You will come across all kinds of nicknames when travelling around the country.
In Buddhist countries the people believe that the head is considered the most important part of your body so never touch a Thai on his head as this will be offensive. The feet are considered the lowest part of your body so never point them at anybody and don't point them towards religious artefacts in a temple as this is considered most rude. This is why shoes are removed before entering houses or temples. When entering temples try not to wear skimpy clothes such as miniskirts, sleeveless tops and flip-flops. A woman should never touch a monk or hand things directly to them.
Ladyboys, gays are tolerated here and are treated equally. You may even see prostitutes eating with a supermarket teller or banker, everyone is accepted here as the country has sexual tolerance and non confrontational.
Mai pen rai means "never mind" and is used a lot in Thailand. Should you find yourself in a particular difficult situation it is best to say never mind as why get stressed out on annoying situations, after all life is supposed to be fun, nothing is to be taken too seriously, have fun!
The Royal Family is treated with upmost respect and almost considered godlike and it is a crime to insult the family. You will often hear the National Anthem being played in the morning and early evening, where most Thais will stop what they are doing and stand still until the anthem is completed. If you have a business in Thailand you must display a Photo of the King in a prominent position.
When Thais greet each other they hold their hands clasped together as if in prayer and bow. The higher the hands are towards their face and the lower the bow means that you are showing more respect to the other person. Mainly the "wai" is used upon visiting someone else's house and again upon leaving.
Do's and Don't in ThailandReligion : Visitors should dress neatly in all religious shrines. They should never go topless, or in shorts, hot pants or other unsuitable attireIt is acceptable to wear shoes when walking around the compound of a Buddhist temple, but not inside the chapel where the principal Buddha image is kept. Each Buddha image, large or small, ruined or not, is regarded as a sacred object. Never climb onto one to take a photograph or do anything which might indicate a lack of respect. Buddhist monks are forbidden to touch or be touched by a woman, or to accept anything from the hand of one. If a woman has to give anything to a monk, she first hands it to a man, who then presents it. Social Norms : Thais don't normally shake hands when they greet one another, but instead press the palms together in a prayer-like gesture called a wai. Generally a younger person wais an...
When I first visited Thailand I noticed that a lot of people wore white powder on their faces and other parts of their bodies. I was curious but didn't think much more about it. On subsequent visits to Thailand I just accepted this as one of the local customs. It wasn't until fairly recently that I discovered this little secret for myself.St. Luke's Prickly Heat Powder contains menthol which has a cooling effect on the body. Applying it after a shower is a great way to stay cool. But gents, a word of warning. Unless you are used to the sensation, it can feel a little weird around the scrotal area. Apply with care!
There are two types of eating arrangments that prevail in Thailand - ordering and eating your own dish of food, like a khao pat (fried rice) or pad thai (fried noodles) or kwitio (noodles). These are quick meals that you would typically get at a roadside stall and if you are by yourself or in a hurry, you can order some of them at 'proper' restaurants too.The more common way of eating for Thais is the communal way - a group orders many different dishes and the rice comes separately. All is shared. You plop some rice on your plate and then 'graze' the variety of dishes that were ordered. Thais do not load their plate up first and then eat as in my culture - they take a little of one dish, say yam pla duk foo, and spoon it on their plate, eat it with their rice, and then go for the next dish they would like to try. Also, there is no passing of dishes around the table. Everyone reaches. If...
The Oriental, Bangkok Bangkok
25 Reviews and 1048 Opinions its an experience one must have...stay there at any cost. its totally worth it in every way u can...
Mom Tri's Villa Royale Phuket Phuket
4 Reviews and 391 Opinions Ocean Wing Suites (Villa Terracotta) Mom Tri’s Villa Royale now have a beautiful new area which is...
Rachamankha Chiang Mai
5 Reviews and 307 Opinions Stunning boutique hotel hotel with a Zen-Thai Temple charm. The hotel has open, frangipani scented...
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Comments (1)
So now I understand that I can go by local bus to Krabi (about 4 hrs as I recollect), where there are minibuses to Khao Lak (about 2 hrs). I will update this after my journey.