In this post, I share a few insights into Thai culture for travelers getting ready for a trip to Thailand. After all, the more you know about Thai people and their culture, the more you’ll enjoy your trip.
I write about the realities you’ll face in Thailand. Cultural realities. Buddhist realities. Drug realities. Police realities. Medical realities. Driving Realities, etc. You can’t visit Thailand, whether alone or with a group without coming face to face with these realities.
I’ve been coming to Thailand for 25 years. More about me at “My Thai Life“.
Thai History in 2 Minutes
Shouldn’t you know just a tiny bit of history about the country before a visit?
Thai identity came into being with the founding of Sukothai in the 13th Century as the first Kingdom where people thought of themselves as Thai. It was here that the current Thai alphabet was committed to writing.
When Sukothai faded in power, another Thai Kingdom arose in Central Thailand called Ayutthaya during the 15th Century. It was this Kingdom that European emissaries began calling Siam, a name that will stick for 400+ years.
In the late 18th Century, Ayutthaya was defeated by the Burmese and the Capitol of Siam moved south to what is today Bangkok. Soon thereafter, an Ayutthaya general, Chao Phraya Chakri, became King, thereby founding the Chakri Dynasty which rules today.
In 1932, the absolute monarchy was ended and Siam began a Constitutional Monarchy. In 1939, the name of the country was changed from Siam to Thailand-Thailand meaning ‘Land of the Free People’.
Modern Thailand has a parliamentary form of government with a House and Senate. Members of the House and Senate elect a prime minister with a simple majority vote.
Since 1932, there have been 20 military coup attempts of which 11 have been successful. The last coup was in 2014 and led by Prayuth Chan Ochoa. Prayuth (Political/military figures are referred to by their first name.) is the current prime minister, and has a very good chance of winning again in the upcoming elections.
Thailand is a juggernaut of Southeast Asian economies. It has a gross domestic product (GDP) of over $500 billion (US). It has a modern transportation system, excellent health care, very little rural poverty and bustling cities. Prior to Covid, Thailand was drawing about 40 million tourists a year.
My two minutes is up.
Buddhism
Sukothai
Theravada Buddhism is the official religion of Thailand. It arrived in Southeast Asia from Sri Lanka in the 4th Century B.C., and eventually flowed into Thailand. If you wonder why Thai temple art looks so Indian, it’s because it’s roots are Indian.
You may enter any Thai temple (wat). You don’t have to be Buddhist. There’s really only one simple rule to follow besides taking off your shoes outside:
Rule One: Do not act disrespectful inside. Example: Mugging a silly face with a Buddha icon and taking a selfie. Another example: A woman wearing a bikini top or short-shorts will often be seen as disrespectful by Thais. Cover up.
Insulting or defaming Buddhism is a crime with a one-year maximum penalty. It’s very doubtful you’d ever be charged as a tourist, but understand that Thais take their Buddhism seriously. Want an example of tourists committing the crime of defaming Buddhism? Click here: “In the News: The Tourists Dumb and Dumber“. Don’t be that tourist.
Inside a wat, you are free to take photos of anything-the statuary, monks, wall paintings, anything. Don’t be loud and don’t distract any worshippers who may be inside praying. But do nose around and feel tree to talk to each other.
If Thai culture interests you, then you’ll never even begin to fathom it without going into a Thai wat. And don’t forget to marvel at the Naga who guard the entrances to the wats. See: “Nagas: Buddhist Temple Guardians“
Thai Food
You’d think eating Thai food would be on everyone’s “no brainer” list of things to do. Well, it’s a little more complicated….
I’ve noticed that tourists often eat where other tourist eat. Maybe it’s convenience, maybe they’re playing it safe. But rest assured, eating where tourists eat is not a good way to get your Thai food.
The food that Thais eat is often found in small restaurants or stalls that have stools and old tables. The food is served on old plates with old utensils. They’re found everywhere, and most Thais eat at these traditional places.
The menus (if any) are in Thai, often on a chalkboard, and there’s no or very few non-Thai customers.
That’s an intimidating place for a tourist to wander in and get the same Thai food that Thais eat. Their dingy appearance and unclean vibes frightens away most tourists. I’ve written about this phenomenon in detail in “Fat Rice and Chicken-Kao Mun Gai: A Cultural Chasm Between East and West“.
But this style restaurant serves very good, traditional, non-westernized Thai food at Thai prices-40 baht for lunch.
These restaurants usually have open kitchens in the front so you can see what’s cookin’. Many offer a few dishes, not a smorgasbord of Thai food that you find in Thai restaurants outside of Thailand. Nose around. Look at what others are eating. (A busy restaurant is a sign the food is considered good.) Point at what you want. Try out a little Thai. Maybe somebody at the restaurant speaks a little English. Be adventurous. I’ve never gotten sick.
Westernized Thai food is when the cook cuts back on the fish sauce (a Thai staple) and spiciness. While you don’t want Thai food that burns your mouth, eating pad krapao (a spicy dish of ground pork and rice with holy basil) or pad kee mao (shit drunk noodles) with no kick or fish sauce is just not eating real Thai food.
Food rule #1: Be adventurous
Eating Thai Food
Thais don’t eat Thai food with chopsticks. They generally eat with a fork and spoon. The food is loaded onto the spoon and brought to your mouth. I wrote a whole blog post about Thai table manners: “Thai Table Manners: Put Down The Chopsticks!“
You will find chopsticks on many restaurant tables. They’re generally used when eating all the different types of noodle soups.
The Royal Family
King Maha Vajiralongkorn. Photo attribution: The Financial Times
The Thai Monarchy (the Chakri Dynasty) is generally revered by Thais. Regardless of your opinions about monarchism in general, treat the Thai Monarchy the same as Buddhism-with deferential respect. Consider yourself warned.
Thailand actively prosecutes Royal Defamation, lesé magistè (saying anything bad about the Royal Family), as a serious crime. In fact, Thailand is considered to have the strictest lesé magistè laws in the world. There are many Thais currently in prison for this crime and more awaiting trial. Punishment can result in years of prison for a single act of royal defamation.
If by chance you’re in a conversation that turns negative about the Thai Royal Family, end the conversation. It’s doubtful that a tourist would be charged with lesè majestré, still take no chances.
The current King is Rama 10. (The tenth in succession of the Chakri throne) His father, Rama 9, ruled from the 1950’s to just a few years ago and was considered by all Thais to be benevolent and wise.
Here’s a personal example how Thais relate to their monarchy: At the family dinner table, a story came over the TV news about the latest government corruption scandal. My brother-in-law, an average working guy, shook his head and angrily announced “Without our King, Thailand would be nothing”. He was stating a common feeling that the government may be corrupt, but our King never will be. If you criticize the Royalty, Thais take it as an attack on their culture.
For most Thais, the Royalty and Buddhism are the keepers of their history and culture. Criticism of either threatens both.
The Cops
The National Police. Photo by Tarik Abdel-Monen
It’s doubtful you’ll have any contact with Thai police, but if you do, here’s the basics.
Thailand, like any other country is a mishmash of police agencies and jurisdictions. There’s the Tourist Police, Immigration, Traffic Police, Border Police, and National Police.
The National Police (aka the Royal Thai Police) is the heavy weight. They have the ultimate responsibility of enforcing Thai law. If you go to jail, they run the jail. They have great discretion about who gets arrested. They have complete control over criminal investigations.
The National Police usually wear grey tight-fitting uniforms. Don’t mistake them for a security guard.
The National Police is a para-military force and view the military as a political rival. Corruption has always been a problem, but in the last decade, they have made real gains in cleaning themselves up. Unless you’re involved with yaba (meth) or gambling, or you’re the victim of a serious crime, you shouldn’t have any encounters with them.
If you drive a motorcycle without a helmet, the traffic police may well give you a ticket, payable immediately. It’s not a shake-down, it’s how traffic tickets are processed. My nephew-in-law is a traffic cop and stops by our house frequently in uniform. He’s just a regular guy.
If you overstay your visa by more than a couple weeks, the immigration police might physically arrest you if they find you lounging about a Thai beach. They hate visa overstays. Don’t do it. Tourist Visa extentions are easy to get.
The Military
The military does conduct operations in the country, especially in the North and South. They wear a variety of uniforms, but commonly are seen in fatigues wearing a beret. They often have slung over their shoulder small machine guns or assault rifles.
It’s very doubtful you’d have any contact with the military, but you never know. I have. Please read a short piece I wrote “Surrounded by Machine Guns” about such an encounter. “The Golden Triangle Part 1: Opium Dreams and Yaba Screams“. Go to the table of contents and at the top you’ll see it.
Drugs
Puff Puff Dispensary in Bangkok, 66 Tong Lo Road. Photo attribution: Coconuts
Thailand’s drug laws are changing rapidly. So the law today may not be the law tomorrow. Let me discuss two drugs you may encounter: marijuana (ganjá) and yaba (methamphetamine)
Ganjá
Ganjà is common slang for marijuana in Thailand. Remember the accent goes on the last syllable.
As of this writing, Thailand has decriminalized marijuana. Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Patong, Pattaya, Pai, Phuket, all over, have retail pot shops openly selling high quality buds. Read my post: “Thailand, Marijuana and You” for details. I’ll update if the situation changes. (Yes, I’m a lawyer and feel competent giving advice in this area.)
It is illegal to smoke ganjá in public. You can be fined and get 30 days in jail.
Don’t buy marijuana from someone who approaches you. There’s no need for that since pot shops have sprouted up. Go to a retail shop that’s selling publicly, peruse their selection and make your choice.
The Thai government to encourage the cannabis industry (that’s why they decriminalized ganjá) was giving away free marijuana plants. I got two and grew them openly and harvested the buds to make tea. Thank you Thai government! If you go to garden nurseries in Chiang Mai you’ll see many places selling ganjá plants.
Yaba (Methamphetamine)
Yaba pills can come in different colors with different brand markings. The pill is usually ground up and snorted or smoked.
Yaba is the pill form of meth. It usually contains 20-30% meth and so is not as strong as ice (crystal meth) which is nearly 100% pure. Thailand is flooded with Yaba and ice, which is produced in Myanmar and Laos and smuggled across the border. I’ve written extensively about meth in my long-form post: “The Golden Triangle Part 1: Opium Dreams and Yaba Screams“. Click on the chapter about Yaba for more info.
Yaba will get you into serious trouble. Possession of a single pill can put you in jail. Thailand recently amended their Narcotics Code and now possession of two or more pills constitutes possession for sale. That’s real trouble and you’re staring down a multi-year prison sentence. Even being under the influence of meth is a crime.
If you’re heading to Thailand for clubbing around at night, you will run into yaba or ice. People may offer it to you at the club or if you chum around with locals they might have some. If the police suspect the patrons of a club are using drugs, especially meth, they’ll raid the club. They surround the club and will search you, then often force you to take a drug test right then and there. A positive result and it’s off to jail. If they find two or more yaba pills in your purse, you could be charged with possession with intent to sell.
Don’t do it. Besides, meth fries your brain. Yaba literally translates to “crazy medicine”.
My fatherly advice about drugs:
Smoke all the ganjá you want. Get drunk. But stay clear of the meth.
“Mai Ben Rai” (Thai People)
You will hear this phrase in Thailand. It can be translated as “that’s ok”, “no problem”, “don’t worry”. If someone unintentionally bumps into you, you can say to them “mai ben rai“.
The problem comes when White people try to describe Thai people as having a “mai ben rai” lifestyle or attitude. That is, Thai people are happy-go-lucky or carefree. (White people like to describe Filipinos and Mexicans in a similar vain.)
Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact such a description of Thais is borderline racist.
I’ve sat around the Thai kitchen table discussing nursing home care for an elderly family member. No “mai ben rai” in that depressing conversation. I’ve talked to a nephew-in-law about his daughter’s new boyfriend that he hates. No “mai ben rai” attitude there either. Get into a traffic accident that’s your fault and see if you’re greeted with a “mai ben rai“.
My point is that Thai people are pretty much like you and me. They have the same wants, desires and dreams. Don’t fall for the BS that Thai people have a “mai ben rai” attitude. They don’t.
I’ve written two posts about this: “Mai Ben Rai, NOT!: A Lesson in Thai Culture” and “Thai People: A Deep Psychological Profile“.
The Thai Smile
While were on the subject of Thai people, let’s talk about the “Thai smile”.
In truth, Thais don’t smile any more or less than anyone else. But the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) came up with a marketing campaign a few decades ago which advertised Thailand as the “Land of Smiles”. It was a brilliant marketing strategy.
As a tourist, you will see a lot of smiling Thais. The hotel receptionist will smile. So will the tour operator. The attendant handing out towels at the pool will smile. So will the bartender. Store clerks will be overjoyed you walked into their shop. Smiles will abound.
But I’m from Los Angeles which is not the “Land of Smiles”, and you know, these very same people will smile at me.
Don’t get me wrong-the Thai smile is sincere. Thais are genuinely happy to see you. You’re a tourist and they know the importance of tourism. Thais are experts in the hospitality industry. If you’re happy, they’re happy. Smile back at them.
Thai Price/Farang Price
Farang means White person in Thai.
Get mad. Get frustrated. Shake your head and scream “it ain’t right!”, but Thais sometimes charge a White customer more than a Thai.
Example: You stop by a roadside coconut stand to get some fresh, cool coconut water. If there’s no signage about price, the Thai vendor may charge a Thai person 35 baht, but he’ll charge the White tourist 40 baht. This is a common occurrence. So much so I wrote a post about it: “Farang Price & Thai Price: A Dirty Secret“.
Why? Because they can. They figure you can pay the higher price. At National Parks you will pay more for entrance than a Thai.
Driving
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Thailand ranks 9th in the world in traffic deaths, and it’s the most dangerous country in the world to drive a motorcycle.
My advice-let a Thai chauffeur do the driving. They at least understand the confusing subtleties about the maniac driving here. You can hire a van all day for about $100 (US) and the cost of gas (about $4/gallon). Besides being safer, you can look out the window and enjoy the sights.
More tourists are killed in motorcycle accidents than any other cause of death.
But still many of you will not be able to resist the temptation of hopping on a scooter in Phuket or Samui. In that case, I urge you to read my post “Driving a Motor Scooter in Thailand: A Warning“. I go into detail about the rules of the road and why tourists who drive scooters often end up as road kill.
I should also mention that in Thailand pedestrians don’t have the right-of-way over a vehicle. Drivers won’t intentionally run you over, but don’t expect them to yield if you’re trying to cross a road. And never stare at your cell phone as you cross a street using a crosswalk. Thai drivers usually ignore crosswalks.
Speaking Thai-Huh?
Photo Attribution: Banana Thai Language School
You really should learn a few Thai words. “Bathroom”. “I want….” “Where is….” “How much”. “Good”. “I like….” “Please”. “More fishsauce!” Thais love it when you try to speak their language.
But you’re going to have a really hard time being understood at first. And no, it’s not your accent. It’s your tone. A huge difference.
Thai is a tonal language with five tones-high, low, rising, falling and mid-tone. The tone dictates the meaning of the word. Example: The sound “kao” has many meanings. It can mean rice, white (white rice is “kao kao”), knee, news, and entering. Its meaning is determined by its tone. Use the wrong tone and you either use the wrong word, or as is more likely, have uttered incomprehensible gibberish.
In English, take the word “car” for example. You can pronounce the word with a falling or rising tone and you still have a car. Not so with the Thai language. You gotta get the tone right. Listen carefully to how Thai people pronounce the word. Mimic them.
Some of you will take it a step further and learn the Thai alphabet. There is no greater feeling of accomplishment than reading a simple sign in Thai. Suddenly this country doesn’t feel so foreign. But not so fast. Reading Thai, just like speaking Thai, is not straightforward. Literally!
Consonants can come before, after, under and over the vowel they modify. Sometimes verbs are left out of words. Sometimes there are letters present that are silent. Sometimes the sound of a trailing consonant will change. And if that wasn’t enough, written Thai uses no spaces between words or sentences. You have to figure out where one word ends and another begins.
But Thais will love you when you try to speak their language, even if you butcher it. And they will be truly impressed if you can read even simple Thai. So definitely learn a little Thai.
For learning Thai I suggest: Learning Thai with Mod
For reading and writing Thai: Thai Alphabet Made Easy
The Sex Trade
Ladyboys at Nana Plaza, Bangkok.
Just a tidbit of perspective on Thailand’s fleshy entrépots.
Patong Beach, Pattaya, Bangkok’s red light districts of Soi Cowboy or Nana Plaza District-If you’re lookin’ for them, you’ll know where to find them. And I hear the bar girls aren’t shy.
Don’t confuse Thailand’s sex enclaves with Thailand. The two have little to do with each other except geography. Thai women are not ubiquitous whores and what goes on publicly in these venues does not go on elsewhere. Sorry to burst your bubble, Mr. Drunk White Guy, but getting into a water fight with a Thai bar girl is not celebrating Songkran. (The Buddhist New Year celebrated in April.)
The Red Light Districts have been tamed in recent years. Ten years ago, articles began appearing in Thai newspapers complaining that these places had become a moral embarrassment to the country. The government began issuing warnings that public debauchery must be reigned in, especially during Songkran-Theraveda Buddhism’s holiest day. Then came Covid which put the kabash on the party.
But the sex enclaves are revving up again. The sex tourists are returning.
Be aware that a majority of Thai prostitutes (bar girls) unsurprisingly come from Esaan (Northeast Thailand), the poorest region of the Kingdom. They can make ten times what they’d make on the family farm. The money lures them, and the meth destroys them.
The Patpong in Bangkok is the original Red Light District. The sex-pats don’t come here anymore to get their kink on, and the bar girls are well behaved. It’s a tourist attraction now with a huge swap meet style market on the streets outside. It has a fascinating history and is defininatley worth a night out when in Bangkok.
Boobs, Buddha & You
Women sunbathing or swimming topless is frowned upon in Thailand. In fact, in many places, it’s illegal. Don’t slay the messenger.
You probably won’t be fined for going topless, but don’t be surprised if someone asks you to cover up.
I can’t emphasize enough that Thailand is a socially conservative country. It’s not San Tropez on the French Riviera.
I wrote an entire post about boobs and Buddha here: “Boobs, Buddha & You“. You can also read my history of topless dress in Siam: “Topless in Thailand: A History of Boobs and Buddha“.
Getting Sick
Photo Attribution: Bangkok Post
The bad news: you’re sick far from home. The good news: you’re in Thailand
In urban areas, Thailand has very good doctors, nurses, pharmacists, hospitals and clinics. Care is often minutes away. Urban hospitals will have staff that speak English. In rural Thailand, seeing a doctor or getting to a hospital will not be immediate.
Emergency services in Thailand dial 191.
General advice: If you can, choose a private hospital over a public one.
Medical care in Thailand is cheap. How cheap? Let me tell you a personal story: One evening, my wife had heart palpitations. I was freaking out. We put her in a car (no time for an ambulance) and sped to the nearest private hospital in Chiang Mai. She was immediately given an EKG with a full team of nurses and a cardiologist present. She was then given an MRI. The hospital decided to keep her overnight for observation. The hospital room was like a hotel room with a private shower, a bed for me and a fully stocked fridge. The next morning another cardiologist came and discussed my wife’s condition and released her. Total Bill: $385 (US)! I was expecting a bill for about $5k.
In Thailand, people see a doctor for non-emergencies at a hospital without appointment. You go to a hospital, check in, wait (no more than an hour), see a doctor, get a prescription if needed, and have the prescription filled. Then you pay.
Clinics are another popular way to get medical treatment. No appointment needed. Just show up, fill out a questionnaire and see a nurse or doctor.
A pharmacist in Thailand has more authority than in the U.S. A Thai pharmacist can diagnose a condition and provide whatever drug is needed. No need for a doctor’s prescription. Example: You’ve broken out with a bad rash of some sort. You can go to a pharmacist and show her the rash. She’ll diagnose it and provide you with the proper medication.
Getting Into Trouble…real trouble
As a retired prosecutor, I feel competent to give this advice this.
If you find yourself handcuffed at the police station surrounded by National Police officers, you’re in real trouble. Whether they suspect you of murder or they found yaba or meth on you, the advice is basically the same-get an English speaking lawyer, and contact your home embassy or consulate, whichever is nearest.
You have a right to remain silent, and I highly stress you do so. The last thing you want to do is lie to the police. Just politely insist on getting a lawyer before making a statement. The police will not provide you a lawyer, but they must allow you to contact one.
The police can hold you for 48 hours without charges. After that, they need an arrest warrant issued by a court to hold you.
Thailand does not have jury trials. If you go to trial, the verdict is determined by a judge(s), and you’ll probably be found guilty. The Thai judicial system puts a premium on defendands admitting guilt early on. So if you go to trial claiming innocence, you’ll probably be found guilty and slammed hard.
The Thai system doesn’t have plea bargains. The time for making a deal is early on before formal charges are filed. The police have wide latitude to settle cases before a court becomes involved (after 48 hours).
Extortion?
As I mentioned before, the Thai police have a long history of shakedowns. Shakedowns are more apt to happen in the field than at the station. But, as I also mentioned, the police are really trying to clean up their officers, especially with the small shakedowns. So if you feel a police officer shook you down for some cash on the sidewalk, feel free to report him to his superiors at the station.
So what do you do if the police at the station offer that if you pay a reasonable fine, the forthcoming charges will be taken care of? (Tip: If the offer comes from a cop in the field, it’s probably a shakedown. If it’s at the station, probably not.) Example: In a drunken rage at your new Thai girlfriend, you threw a chair through a bar’s window. The police offer that you pay a two thousand baht fine and pay for the broken window. Deal? Hell yes it’s a deal especially if you did it! Hell yes it’s a deal even if you didn’t. A Thai police station is no place to stand on principle. Get out of there.
Before you admit any guilt, make sure you understand all the repercussions. Will you be deported or can you go back to your hotel room and resume your vacation.
Off the Tourist Trail
The standard tourist trail is well worn in Thailand-Bangkok, the beaches, Chiangmai. Those are great places to visit to be sure. As I mentioned before, Thailand before Covid was getting 40+ million tourists a year.
But consider: Chiang Rai or Mai Hong Son in Northern Thailand. Or Udon Thani, Phimai or Yasolton in Esaan, which is northeastern Thailand. (I wrote a post about my love for Esaan: “A Vagabond to Esaan“. Or Sukothai-Siam’s 13th Century capitol and a United Nations World Heritage Site in central Thailand.
In Sukothai, you’ll find peace and quiet among the ruins and very good Pad Thai in town. Chiang Rai has 1/100th the tourists of Chiang Mai. In Yasolton, you can see the Thai Pillow Making Village and very few tourists. In Phimai, an easy drive from Korat, you can see some great Angkor Empire Ruins without having to go to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The list is endless.
With Thai beaches, you cannot escape Thailand’s mass tourist market. But that’s fine. The azure waters of the Andaman Sea will bedazzle you anyway.
Phuket, Ko Chang, Hua Hin, Samui, Krabi and more are all on the tourist trail. It’s an international destination, has been for decades, and everybody wants to do the same things you want to do. See my post “The Golden Era of Thailand Tourism:1947-1979” where I have a few old photos of the southern beaches before mass tourism arrived.
Getting off the main tourist trail is easy. All Thai cities, big and small, have airports. You can also rent out a van and driver for about $100/day plus gas. It just takes a little preplanning.
About Me
Thai silk has taken me deep into Thai culture. Above photo: Weaver in Kalasin Province weaves Praewa silk.
I have been coming to Thailand for 25 years. I live part of the year in rural Thailand-Lamphun Province in Northern Thailand to be more specific.
My wife is Thai and for years we ran a company selling Thai pillows and making fisherman pants. (See my post “Confessions of an International Thai Pillow Dealer“. My Thailand life started a love affair with Thai fabrics. Many of you will know me as the author of the “Thai Fabric Chronicles.”
My wife and her large family, along with our old teak house in rural Thailand, were my passport into everyday Thai life, which is Thai culture.
Thai culture is not easy to infiltrate or fathom. It’s often an enigma I call the Siamese Puzzle Box. It took me decades to figure out. So come along with me on my blog (www.mythailand.blog) and I’ll point out some basics of Thai society and culture. Info that will make you trip much more enjoyable.
Have a great trip.
*****