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12 Things Not to Do in Thailand
Thailand is often called the “land of smiles”, however, that does not mean that you shouldn’t be versed in some of the local customs before visiting. Here are 12 things NOT to do in Thailand.
1. Don’t Hug Monks
You'll find the monks are super friendly, but hands off, please. Monks are not allowed to touch women. Even on buses monks are not allowed to sit directly next to a woman. It is also forbidden to stand over or be positioned higher than a monk.
2. Never Use Your Feet
Feet are considered the lowest, dirtiest part of the body in many Asian cultures and the head is the highest. So do not hold doors open with your feet, point your feet towards the Buddha images or angle your feet towards people. Be especially mindful of your feet position when you're sitting or eating on the floor.
3. Don’t Disrespect the Royal Family
You will see many pictures commemorating them throughout the country and it is disrespectful to say anything negative about them. Don't stomp on a Thai coin as it rolls away as you're not only disrespecting the Crown, but also breaking rule 2.
4. Don’t Take Your Clothes Off
Walking around town in beach attire is considered impolite. Be extra-conscious of your attire when visiting temples. Dress preferably in white and women should wear long skirts or pants and have their shoulders covered.
5. Avoid Pointing with Your Fingers
When hailing for a tuk-tuk or beckoning a waiter, do not point
your fingers up. Never clap, snap your fingers, or whistle to get someone’s attention, as Thais regard it akin to calling a dog.
6. Don't Touch a Thai’s Head
Thais see the head as the highest part of the body so refrain from ruffling people's hair. If you happen to by accident, apologize immediately. Thai people will sometimes pat a child on the head, but as a Westerner it’s best not to. Now if you stomp on a coin you'll be breaking 3 rules!
7. Can’t Take Buddha Pictures Out of Thailand
It is technically illegal to take or send any pictures of Buddha out of the country! Nonetheless, many shop owners will still try to sell you pictures, and many tourists snap selfies in front of sacred Buddha statues. Just be discreet and respectful about it.
8. Don’t Lose Your Temper
Thais have a philosophy of keeping their cool;"jai yen" (cool heart). Thais see raising one’s voice as bad form. Don’t get frustrated, “mai pen rai” as the locals say.
9. Don’t Eat with a Fork
There are no specific dining times so visitors can enjoy cheap yet delicious food all day and night but watch your utensils. You may be given a fork and spoon, but it is only the spoon that touches one’s mouth. Also, chopsticks are only to be used when eating Chinese dishes.
10. Never Whistle at Night
Thais will become very uneasy if they hear a whistle after dark as they believe that whistling at night is bad luck because you’re calling the evil spirits.
11. Don’t Let a Tuk-Tuk Driver Take You To a Gem Shop
This is one of the biggest scams in the tourist areas of Thailand. Drivers will try to persuade you to visit a special gem shop, often a dodgy kick-back shop where tourists are harassed. In extreme cases, they are sometimes drugged and are cheated out of money in exchange for fake jewelry.
12. Don’t Shake Hands
Thais do not like to have personal contact when greeting strangers. Rather, they place both their open palms together at chest height and bow slightly. Do not bow to children or a person of lower status however, as you would be embarrassing them. If you are greeting a person of high importance, bow slightly deeper.
Now that you know how to properly respect the Thai culture, you can enjoy some of the most welcoming and hospitable people in the world.
It is permissible to point with an open hand. The ‘eat with a fork’ thing is way out of date. Many restaurants now only bring a fork and knife. It is illegal to remove Buddha statues and replicas (technically). I never heard of the photo thing. It certainly is not enforced (unless you are doing something stupid in front of it). In business, shaking hands is sometimes performed as the Thai may wish to appear more western. The rest are fairly accurate although due to the massive number of tourists many of these mistakes are overlooked (except regarding monks and temples). I have lived in Thailand since 2002.
I’m thai and totally agree with you.
Very well proof read
I can confirm this.
Recently i transported a Thai patient to Thailand, after endorsing it to the medical team i shook their hand, i got a smile rather than awkward look so i guess handshaking is fine.
i just came back from thailand such a beautiful country. Absolutely loves it!
?
Alaina Watson said
that’s what some girl said to me, I went for Phuket fucking… I was like “nah, you got me all wrong”
I actually went specifically to train muay thai but didn’t feel the need to explain myself any further
Agreed. its a beautiful country, a bit third world and trashy nightlife in places
Well, thanks to the US during the Vietnam war, they make Thailand a place for fucking
As a Thai person I found these pretty accurate but the fork thing is either outdated/untrue or I’ve been braking a Thai rule for years on end
+R3D3 Not every Thais are serious about their head, but touching someone’s head you aren’t close is rude anyway tho
Sorry for bad English ; ;
I’m Thai and I didn’t know that too LOL I think we accept different cultures because the westerners almost use fork with everything except soup but most of thai people use fork and spoon when they’re eating anything with rice and use chopsticks with noodles ?
+R3D3 touch your friends head is fine, if you’re close them and you can touch kid’s head too.
+R3D3 for them its rude it’s like going on a priest and giving him a pat on the back its rude
Whatever I’m proud to be Thai, and I really love my country.
Κοινός Θνητός
Sorry for that, This video is full of disgusting so you. I did not say that I agreed with this that they make my country look like that if you really educate about my country or use to come here and study about our culture you might realize why, b’ cus it wont be that hard to understand OK?
panda792
I’m sure that you never come to Thailand and you uneducated about my country .
My country makes me happy and I hope to go back after so far 12 years to be able to see my brother for the first time
Too Little Too Late me too
me too
13. DONT do thai drugs.
14. DONT fall asleep on the beach at a party.
16 do not look at stranger
17 do not fight with techno student.
Are you Thai
DONT dress sexy at night, you may get raped
DONT walk around at night, you may get mugged
15. Never eat marshmallows given by your friend
I from Thailand I don’t know why
2:45 number 09 is not right. I am Thai and I am here to say that no one really cares about how you eat.
KiLLkInGLiOn ei จริงๆมันเว้อจริง
Yeah!! because Thai people don’t care about how you eat that food. everyone thinks it’s “up to you” never mind!!
noodles = chopsticks and spoon
fried rice = spoon and fork
steak = knife and fork
(I know this because I’m Thai people) กูพิมพ์ไปได้ไงเนี้ย!!
KiLLkInGLiOn ei ถูกกกก!!!
KiLLkInGLiOn ei ไงงเราก็ไทย
Exactly,i use hands and fork while eating sticky rice and roast chickem
Have you ever been to Thailand? I have lived here for 4 years, and 80% of this, it total bull…
Depends on where you live and what you like
Andrew H yeah cause youre touching a KIDS head. if you were touching someone’s head thats older than you then thats a problem, especially if theyre a man
Girish Patel They have a very long culture. May longer before your country is established.
I’m Thai ???
I’m Thai and this video is ridiculous. You can’t take photos of the buddha image only if you are in the area that they don’t allow taking photos. We don’t care if you eat with a fork or chopsticks. Just do it the way you’re comfortable with. It is okay to point with your finger unless you are pointing directly to someone impolitely.
Nattasit W. I’m Thai too! And if you’re Thai, สวัดดีจ้า
me too งั้นสวัสดีครับ
DirtyDirtsGT สวัดดีคะ
Nattasit W. I agree.
555
13: Don’t believe all girls are actually girls..
Oh just give it a try. You won’t know what you’re missing until you spread your legs and take it from behind. Don’t worry if she’s bigger than you. It only hurts for the first 15 seconds.
Probably the most important one haha
MV N yea absolutely
Oshit true
“do not bow to children or a person of a lower status”
How do I know who are “of lower status”? I think people are equal. Even a king and a waiter are of the same status.
that’s your culture, and unfortunately it won’t lead you far in life, anywhere
Stone Cai Hey I’m A Thai Person And I Say That It’s True But The King Is Our Father So……. Yeah He Is Higher Than All Of Thai People
thai person here, the “do not bow” really only applies to people that are much younger than you, and even then it’s alright to bow anyways. usually a short and curt bow/head nod to everyone that greets you (711 clerk, server, etc) is fine for daily life
I guess you are not refering to the British Royalty!!!!! LOL
In the case of hippie trash, it’s safe to bow to everyone. So I think you’re fine if you bow to anyone you see.
13 dont bring home a ladyboy
1. Can’t touch head
2. Can’t take Selfies of things
3. Can’t point
Alright I’m going to New York
El Jay lol that got me and its so true btw im thai people
Vanhh FM omg people just don’t care what you do. Theres a law that u cant drive shirtless but u can play songran festival with shorts on the back of pick up trucks. People just dont care if ur foreigner. I think these rules r for thais
Vanhh FM oh oh and theres only few things u must not do in Thailand. Dont talk about politics kings kweeeen andd the prime minister and his crew. Its not illegal but dangerous
So what?
Now it’s illegal to disrespect the king of Thailand cause he died
a recent court rule just made it illegal to said bad things about pass king too so yeah it getting worse.
unfortunately yes but dont use “freedom of speech ” as an excuse to say really horrible things about the king,who was a great person
Christopher Jones Thais still respect him
Thai here. You can pointing. You can take a picture of any statue with respect. You can use chopstick with any food you want. We also shake hand.
9th TEARDROP GameTeller I’m Thai too
True
No, we generally don’t shake hands when we meet people unless they’re our friends. Pointing can be used with anything but people (unless they’re your friends too). Some restaurants might not offer you chopsticks and some food might not be edible with chopsticks.
9th TEARDROP GameTeller yup true
Women dont need to cover themselves its only at some buddhist temples
Bunch of sensitive little pricks arent they
Billy Gilhooley lmao classic ฝรั่ง
ฝรั่งขี้นก
funny axr ควยไรมึงไอสัส
Billy Gilhooley I’m Thai and I gotta say that most of these are total bull.
and do not sleep with ladyboy
lol rofl a transgender
GlobalWatch it isn’t
It’s OK if you like boy
you wrong! Is the best experience
your dad already broke that rule
ผมคือคนไทย…
The Big Boss chanel I’m Spanish/Thai, I understand you, Thailand… Is a great country and you can do more things there, se understand other religions and cultures
ครับ
As a thai person myself, I hugged a monk once. About the feet thing it depends where you are. Everyone here knows that ‘farangs’ (foreigners) use their feet so sometimes it’s okay.
The rule about the king is maybe the most important because in Thailand people respect the king and if you offend him people will hate you and you can even end up in prison for violating the ‘lese majeste’ law.
About wearing clothes, it depends where you are. If you’re at the beach just wear anything. It’s not illegal to go topless (men) and walk around Bangkok. Just have some respect to the temple. When you get in there.
You are fine if you want to point at something with your fingers or even to someone (if you’re not calling them). Like in the video don’t clap snap or whistle to get someone’s attention. It’s like calling a dog.
Touching the head is okay if you’re close to the person. The children’s head is fine if you want to kind of pat them. But I don’t really see why you would go and touch someone’s head if you didn’t know them.
If YouTube allowed photo comments i’ll post a buddha photo from a temple near my house for you. I think what the video meant was about the temples that don’t allow you to take photos inside. But when you take photos of him just be respectful don’t sit on hime of pose sexy poses and snap a selfie with him it is maybe not illegal but people around will beat you up. Lol
I agree with the do not loose your temper thing because some foreigners got angry and when they ask someone the seemed to be calm and easygoing that can make foreigners get even more pissed. We Thais believe problems can’t be solved if our mind is not calm and we can make stupid decisions if we’re not mindful enough.
If you want to eat with chopsticks or a fork it’s just fine. Do it as you like. We don’t care.
You can whistle at night but some ‘locals’ might freak out but mostly old people and people with strong believes in local ghosts in the north and northeastern part of Thailand.
You can shake hands with a Thai person. They’ll probably shake your hand too. But It’s always nice if you learn the ‘wai’ and you greet thai people with it. Saying ‘Sawatdee’ is already okay.
Enjoy your visit to Thailand. Don’t do Thai drugs. Stay safe and have fun.
Best explanation of everything! Can’t wait to go to Thailand!
1.1 Don’t believe Thai Girls except Lady Boys.
Hello, I’m Thai and I’m sorry if my grammar isn’t right. So this video somethings ARE NOT right! We don’t care what do you wear and eating! We’re comfortable with it and it’s a normal thing! Eat however you’re comfortable with! And we are able to shake your hands too, we understand your culture pretty much, we don’t exactly mind that.
Here’s the truth, you can’t shake hand or touch with the monk if you’re a girl. About the whistle, it’s true but some of us don’t belive it.
About touching head, you are able to touch their head but make sure that the person that you’re gonna touch is a close person to you!
You are able to snap, and pointing too! But I suggest that don’t point at the monk or buddha, because those are high faith and stuff!
We can speak English, well the central and south region are 100% surely could speak English! But I’m not saying that the other region can’t. The others can too, especially kids. They learn it from school.
About them bikinis you’re wearing, we might get uncomfortable with it but we understand you so, please feel free to!
why don’t you search it up for yourself and btw they are not scared of monks, monks are just not surpose to touch a woman
It is a rule for a monk to not touch a woman because thats what the king and queen told the monks not to do and if they do it they will have consequences.
if you wanna get killed than go for it dude
Jamees Channel MSP It’s not the king’s rules? It’s a Buddhism Thervada rules!
wow that’s alot for a Thai!