Thailand and Its People

There are many reasons why people decide to move to Thailand - the tropical weather, the exotic and paradise-like islands and beaches, the availability and affordability of sex (yep, sad but true - this is a major reason why more than a few people move to Thailand), the delicious food and the fact that one can have a decent quality of lifestyle for a relatively modest amount of money.

But in addition to all of these reasons so often given, but the Thai people themselves are a huge attraction. The majority of Thai people are warm and friendly and seldom will you smile at a real Thai person and not receive a pleasant smile back. Certainly of all of the places that I have been lucky to visit around the world, I have never met a nation of people as genuinely warm and friendly as the Thais. There is a real community spirit amongst the Thais.

Thai people simply seem to get along with each other a whole lot better than us lot from Western countries. Where in the West there always seems to be some sort of conflict, in Thailand these petty problems do not seem so prevalent. A classic example is in schools. In the West, bullying is a problem with the bigger, tougher kids often picking on the younger, weaker ones. This sort of nonsense bullshit does not occur in Thailand (though they do have some really fierce inter school battles with knives and guns as reported in the press from time to time).

You also see it in everyday regular folks' lives. Many Thai people will go well out of their way to help their neighbours, far more so than in the West. When cooking food, one person may cook extra and walk around the community, be it an apartment building, a village or wherever, and deliver bowls / plates of food to their neighbours. This all contributes towards creating a very warm spirit amongst the Thai people, a warmth that I have not seen in the West where the aforementioned infighting seems to prevail.

The Thai smile itself needs some description. Thais will frequently smile at all manner of situations, but the smile should not be interpreted the same way you would interpret a smile in the West. In the West if someone smiles it usually means they are happy or pleased about something. That may be the meaning in Thailand, but it is just as likely something different. Thais may smile as a form of apology. They might smile if they are asked a question to which they do not know the answer. The might smile in an attempt to diffuse a situation.

Most importantly, a smile in Thailand does not necessarily mean the same as a smile on the West. Thais do however look favourably upon people who smile frequently and often. So do smile as much as you can! The Thai people are incredibly patriotic and love their country. Ask the average Thai where they would like to go for a holiday and they will usually say somewhere in Thailand - even if you state that money is not an issue.

Thai people playing Sepak Takraw

Hypothetically, give a Thai the option to emigrate to another country and they would usually turn it down. As one of my Thai teachers once said to me, "I feel very lucky to have been born in Thailand" and she then looked at me as if being born in the West was based on some sort of bad karma, a sin that I had committed in a previous life! The Thais really are happy in their own country and this contributes to making Thailand a really nice place to live.

How many other countries have you ever been to where the people genuinely love their country and are simply disinterested in going elsewhere? Thais are very proud people and their love of their country is very strong and although you may hear Thais complaining about the Bangkok traffic and pollution, the economy, politicians, the corrupt police and various other facets of life, you should be very careful about making such criticisms of Thailand or Thai people yourself.

To do so could be taken as a huge insult to the Thai and would not endear you with that person at all. As nice as they are, Thais are not very good at dealing with criticism, even if it is light-hearted, or even meant as a joke or ice breaker. This is something that one needs to be aware of. Thailand is still a developing country, and there are a few things that happen that we Westerners often wonder about.

While these issues may occur, often it is best NOT to talk about them, or at least not highlight them in conversation with Thai people. They know that such things exist but would prefer not to be reminded of them. Intelligent conversation and discussion about some of the problems and issues that exist in Thailand is not always easy to find, especially amongst those people with a modest education - which really is a good percentage of the population. Thai culture is extremely complex and even the most conscientious and diligent foreigners who have lived in-country for a long time and have made an effort to understand as much as they can will inadvertently make cultural mistakes, yet Thai people are generally very tolerant of foreigners.

Foreigners continually make cultural mistakes in Thailand, yet the Thais will more often than not waive these cultural errors, choosing to overlook them and continue to smile and be happy. This happy go lucky attitude and the level of tolerance in Thailand makes it a very easy and pleasant place to live. To a certain extent, Thailand has isolated itself culturally, setting up a sort of way of distinguishing itself from so many other places, though they seem to realise that if they want to get on with things, they do need to be tolerant of those who do not understand Mother Thailand's ways.

I often feel that I discover something new every day about Thai culture but while I am learning more, it can at time feel like it all just seems to become more and more confusing! But have no fear for so long as you are polite and make an effort - as you should in any new country that you visit, you needn't be aware of all of the complexities and peculiarities of this unique and rich culture.

A colleague once described the situation as being similar to peeling an onion. You peel away at the onion and feel that you are getting closer and closer to the centre. But really, you are not making a lot of progress and there are literally 100's of layers to go until you reach the centre. Live in Thailand as long as you wish, but unless you move to Thailand from a very young age, you will NEVER reach the centre of the onion.

Submitted by : Lascells
30-Jan-07

Have something to share with other readers about Pattaya?

Join Pattaya Forum and talk about it.