The People of Thailand
For us, Thais are very comfortable people: no one bothers you, no one stares at you. Everyone minds their own business and doesn’t meddle in other people’s business, observing personal space of own and others.
At the same time, it is possible — especially when living in the neighborhood for long enough — to develop friendship relationships with Thai people. Though, be prepared to utilize your entire nonverbal vocabulary 🙏, since a language barrier is not uncommon.
The people of Thailand 🇹🇭 typically have a delicate sense of grace and beauty, which flourishes during festivals. Furthermore, appealingly playing and singing people can be found even in quite ordinary towns and villages.
Here, one can find peaceful, well-kept gardens and courtyards. Well, not the whole of the country is a fragrant paradise, but there are numerous such places. Elegance and tastefulness can become the environment of your stay in the country, in particular if one settles in a stylish resort or comfy hotel.
The people of Thailand 🇹🇭 can be distinguished not only by their sense of aesthetics but also by their love for their country and the monarchs. Imagine the staff of a supermarket gathering in front of the TV — standing, holding candles in their hands — in order to listen to the anthem together and congratulate the queen on her birthday. Right from their hearts, expressing pure joy with pleasure.
By the way, we participated once in listening to the anthem, standing together with Thais — before watching a movie in a cinema.
We could explain to ourselves such a positive attitude toward the monarch dynasty only by two factors: thoughtful sovereigns and respectful traditional culture. To illustrate the former, see "The Working Principles of His Majesty" that we photographed in one of the museums. But there's more to it: just dive into the life story of King Rama IX if you're interested in extending your horizons.
As for the cultural aspect, the king's public image is strongly connected to Buddhism, which is greatly esteemed by the majority in Thailand 🇹🇭.
Another advantage of the Thais is their accuracy in fulfilling agreements. For example, (unlike in India 🇮🇳), one can expect a taxi driver to actually arrive at the appointed 4 o’clock in the morning. And the driver won't ask to triple the cost of the trip or for the tips later.
While we're talking about drivers, let me mention that traffic in Thailand 🇹🇭 was a nice contrast to the typically chaotic Hindustani roads.
"But what are the shortcomings of the Thais?" you may ask. At times, some people still lack tact (specifically in highly touristic areas). But staying calm and peaceful, instead of escalating into a confrontation, would be a beneficial tactic in a tense situation.
Note that in Thailand 🇹🇭 expressing anger or exposing too many emotions may be frowned upon!
In our experience, the prices and discounts are mainly non-negotiable in Thailand 🇹🇭. The touristy places may be an exception, of course.
Take the following peculiar trading case. We were in a store, choosing shoes 👠 there. A seller sneaked up on us and pronounced loudly, all of a sudden: "There’s a 10% discount on this pair!"
Indeed, there was a discount of 10%. And it was very definite and non-discussible. If you'd try to buy a pair at a 9% or 11% discount — or even at a full price — in such a situation, no one would sell it to you. After all, it's an official (!) discount 👀.
For a contrast, be sure to visit Kuala Lumpur, where the concept of price is extremely flexible 💰.
Much more can be described — a distinct Thai gentleness, acceptance of more than two genders by society, Thai massage, etc. — but we stop for now.
Better travel to Thailand 🇹🇭 in person! Immerse yourself in this delightful and unusual culture, falling in love 💕 with it, as we did.
