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Dress codes Bangkok
17 Reviews In most Asian countries it's common to understand the remains of British influence, in the students' dress code. In Bangkok we saw a parade with students using traditional costumes and some...
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Religion & Beliefs Ko Samui
10 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
29 Reviews The must Do: -dress properly when visiting a temple -treat monks with the highest respect -try to learn a few Thai phrases -smile -enjoy DON'T EVER TRY TO: Don't show disrespect towards the...
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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
17 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
17 Reviews Many people in the capital speak some English, sometimes too enthusiastically as they speak so fast. However you should try to learn the basic words, but no-one expects you to learn much more than...
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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
17 Reviews People who want to learn the Thai language should listen to some Thai music.Listening to Thai music is a good way to improve your listening skill as well as to learn new words . One band that is...
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Excursions Chiang Mai
7 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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Feet (and Heads) Bangkok
16 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
38 Reviews A few years ago, a Thai friend told me that it was forbidden and highly avoided that a female approach and give alms to monks. Females can do so via a male conduit. I am not sure if this is till...
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Beer drinking Bangkok
6 Reviews Singha beer is the leading beer product in Thailand and the Boon Rawd Brewery Co. Ltd. (located in Bangkok, Thailand) Brews this popular beer. Singha has for many years been Thailand’s most popular...
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People Bangkok
22 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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Shoes - when to take them off Bangkok
11 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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Traditional Thai Dancing Bangkok
9 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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Songkran Festival Bangkok
7 Reviews Songkran is the Thai New Year's festival. It is celebrated on the first after the first new moon of April. Everything shuts down for the Songkran festival and then a country wide water fight emerges....
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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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Respect for Royalty Bangkok
17 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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Money Bangkok
3 Reviews Paid 250Baht to get into the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaeo, upon entering the palace, looked up and was surprised to see a sign that says it's FREE for the Thais. Later, I found the same thing for...
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Statues Bangkok
9 Reviews Shiva's carriage was the bird of eagle. Shiva is the Hindo deity of Destroying, and Creating! That is why this deity is considered the supreme Hindu Deity, possibly the oldest one. That is to say the...
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Traditional Thai Massage Bangkok
2 Reviews Thai massage is believed to have been developed by Jivaka Kumar Bhaccha, physician to Buddha, more than 2,500 years ago in India. It made its way to Thailand, where the Ayurvedic techniques and...
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When u are entering someone else's home , u should remove the shoe that u are wearing and also try not to point your feet to the people or the any object cause thatsconsidered as rude... andone most important thing, the thai as the muslims regards the head as the ultimate part of the body therefore, dont simply touch someone else head...
If you are a woman wanting to give something to the monks, make sure u hand it over to a man and let the man passes it to the monks this is because they are forbidden to be touched or touch by a woman.
If you are visiting the religous shrines... make sure u are dress appropriately and neatly... u need to take off your shoes to talk inside the buddhist temple... All the large or small Buddha in the temple is regards as sacred and please do show ur respect.
The Thai people have high respect to their royal family so whenever you are around these folk make sure dont say anything bad about the king if you are not sure about it... or any of the royal family members
In Bangkok me and a friend went to a temple to pray. My friend was fairly ignorant of Buddhist culture. We sat down and i crossed my legs but he was tired therefore she stretched her legs out accidently pointing her feet towards the statue of Buddha. Right next to us was a local tour guide giving a talk to a group of tourists. Suddenly she stopped her talk and began to yell at my friend for pointing her feet at the statue. My friend was shocked and i became quite angry at the tour guide. I said that my friend was ignorant of the culture and had come there to learn. I also said that i doubted the lord Buddha would have rebuked one of his disciples in such a way. I figured it was simply an example of religious fundamentalism, placing an importance on the exterior and forgetting the interior.my opinion anyway
In towns and areas away from the beach a little more clothing is normally wanted from people or a tendency for them to think you're a prostitute will come about. Its rude to them and they believe you're being rude to them by doing so, however, this will not be said directly to you, more likely to be muttered to one of their friends so to be easy respect that they cover up more. Take hints from the local thai women (not the ones who hang about in bars at night but those who are acting normally)
Although the Thai culture has adopted the concept of the Western New Year. Still, the popular holiday remains Songkran, which is in April. In the Thai calendar, this year is 2548. The reference point being Buddha's birth, which is 543 years before Jesus Christ was born.
In a daily morning ceremony called takbat (I believe that's what it's called), at dawn, monks leave the confines of their temples to receive food from Buddhist devotees. Thai people fill "monk bowls" with rice, beverages, fruits, cakes, etc. In return, the monk will bless the devotee who has offered him the free food.
Preparations were taking place while we were walking near the river Chao Praya in Bangkok. This Thai new year celebration occurs at the end of the rainy season to honour the goddess of water. Small model boats (krathongs) containing incense, flowers, a coin and a candle, are set adrift on any body of water in the Kingdom. Those giving thanks to the goddess light the candle, make a wish and launch their krathongs believing it will carry away sins and bad luck.
Khon is the performing art of the royal court and originated from an open air performance during a royal ceremony. Khon consists of dance to music,songs and texts. There are 4 main groups of the characters : human male,human female,demons and monkeys. Demons and monkey wear masks which cover all head and face. And khon performers are mostly men. To see khon,the best place with original style is National theatre where always have a performance on weekend.
The Oriental, Bangkok Bangkok
25 Reviews and 922 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 312 Opinions Ocean Wing Suites (Villa Terracotta) Mom Tri’s Villa Royale now have a beautiful new area which is...
Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi Chiang Mai
2 Reviews and 320 Opinions Everything you would expect from a Mandarin Oriental plus the really spectacular design. Two...
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Q: I am from Canada and going to Thailand, what kind of plug adapter do I need to charge my camera?
A: You will find all the information you need about voltages and plug adaptors (and photos of plug types) here: http://www.kropla.com/electric2.htm
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