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5 Things I've Learnt About Thai People While In Thailand

Sofia January 16, 2011 Travel Advice 68 Comments

After having traveled through Thailand for over a month now, I’ve seen and learnt quite a few things – not just about the country, but also about the Thai people.

Here are five things that’ I’ve learned about the Thai people that never seems to fail:

1. They always give you the warmest, friendliest smile – if you smile first.

Thai people are often incredibly friendly, and many do smile at you on the street. But most of the times, they look at you, and if your eyes meet and you smile, THEN they smile back right away.

If you don’t smile, however, neither do they. My experience has often been that they smile bigger and brighter than you, when you smile first.

2. The street hustlers are not scamming you, they just try to make a living.

Scammer, hustler or just working? … There are whole websites and forums out there that only talk about this topic, the scammers in Thailand.

Sure, there are some big scammers around here, but I wouldn’t call the guys trying to sell you crappy suits, tuk tuk rides or ping pong shows scammers, they’re just trying to get by and make a living.

And frankly, a truth that some people prefer to ignore, is that they can only live off of our greed. We want the cheap stuff, we want free – free – free, although we should know that nothing in this world is really free.

When you sit down and watch them work the street, see them working for hours on end getting rejected, ignored and yelled at, they deserve some respect.

How many people can handle getting turned down or treated as though they don’t exist?

If you just make sure to them that you’re not interested in what they are offering, you can often have a nice conversation with them about other things.

3. They serve the man first, but give the woman the larger portion.

First we thought this was just a random thing, but nearly every time we eat at a restaurant, they always serve me a huge portion, and Nathan a much smaller one – and he always gets his food first.

It’s the same all over the country – if anyone knows why this is, please let us know!

4. No matter how early you get up in the morning, most of them will already be awake and working.

It’s true, I’m an early bird, but no matter when I get up, it feels like the city has been awake for just slightly longer than me.

People are already in their shops, at the market or on a moped. The young girls have their hair curled and the middle aged ladies have already put that same bright pink color lipstick on.

It’s not that the city never sleeps, they just don’t sleep in like we do in the West.

4. When it comes to transport, there is no such thing as full.

They can always fit one more person in – always. Even if some kids have to hang off the end of the bus, there is still space for more people. We had about 33 people in a mini-bus which in Europe would legally fit maybe 8 people – CRAZY!

5. They have the most innocent sense of humor.

I’ve found Thai people to be very innocent and gentle people. The men are often very feminine, something which is not just accepted but also incouraged.

The teens dress in a pop rock punk style, but walk around with a teddy bear under their arm, or a furry baby hat on their heads.

When they laugh it’s a sweet giggle rather than the manly macho laugh.

What they laugh at is even more innocent. I’ve never seen a whole bus full of people in all ages laugh so much at a filmed live show where a woman pulls a guy’s skirt off and he stands in his knee long underwear.

And every time Nathan bumps his head into the umbrellas put up at the vegetable markets everyone around him breaks into a big laugh and tell all their friends who missed it about what just happened.

It’s all really cute, but I wonder what they would think about our Western humor… ??

If you have been to Thailand, what did you learn about the people?

(photo credits: Hanumann – inrime_nasrul – tanvach)

http://www.yTravelBlog.com/ yTravelBlog

We lived in Thailand so we learned a lot about them and I must say that you are pretty spot on. We loved how warm, friendly and accepting they were. It was wonderful to see the male students at school embracing the lady boys as friends, when you knew in other countries they would be beaten.
Thai’s will always laugh when something embarrassing happens to you, this is their way of saving face, and helping you to feel better and not be embarrassed.
We never noticed that the food portion thing was deliberate, but Craig would often complain when we received our meals. He would look at mine and then at the size of his and say “I ordered the wrong thing again.” How funny to find out this was intentional.
We had many Thai friends, and we found they could not do enough for you. Our one friend would invite us around for dinner and absolutely cook a feast. We could not believe the amount of food she would cook, and it was all for us. We always felt so bad because we could never eat it. They love to give, but they hate receiving. When we would buy them gifts they would quickly put it away and pay it no attention. It was really strange at first for us to understand this, but we learned that they just don’t feel comfortable about it.

http://108.167.164.229/~wwwaswet Sofia

I agree, it was so nice to see how they accepted people for who they really were!

Thanks for clearing up the laughing, that they do it to save your face, good to know hehe

It’s interesting how different cultures treat giving and receiving, thanks for sharing your experience, really cool to hear.

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Jase

what wonderful observations those are Sofia thailand sounds amazing.

Anonymous

Thanks Jase, yes Thailand really is wonderful, it’s easy to understand why it’s known as “the land of smiles”.

http://www.adventurouskate.com Adventurous Kate

You sure hit the nail on the head! I had never noticed the portion thing, though!

I’ve been thinking about a “Top 10 Thailand Quirks” post for awhile now…one is definitely the affection for reggae, and another is how they give you straws and plastic bags with absolutely everything!

I love the innocent sense of humor…whenever I have no idea what to say (major example: when they ask me “Why you have no boyfriend?”), I just giggle and they accept that as a response.
http://www.baconismagic.ca Ayngelina

Great lessons, they made me smile because I think they apply to most places.
http://wherespoople.com Jack and Jill Travel The World

Oh, they sound like wonderful people. I’d appreciate the larger portion too. Hmm, maybe we’ll go to Thailand after all on our RTW trip…
http://twitter.com/OneGiantStep OneGiantStep

I found the humor thing applies to Vietnam also. The sense of humor there was childlike and sometimes I thought they were pulling my leg by laughing at something so silly. It’s kind of refreshing, isn’t it? Cheers!

Anonymous

Oh yes, very refreshing! It’s nice to see that things don’t always have to be provocative to be funny.

http://www.stretchd.com Nick Laborde

I haven’t been there yet, but this makes it all that more appealing.
http://www.adventurebimbling.com/ Andrew Murray

What a lovely post, I can’t wait unil April arrives and we finally get out to Thailand. All this talk of Sanook, Smiles and laughter is really getting us excited about our trip. Thanks Sofia
http://www.destination-world.net Magda

Great observations, I especially like number 3. I haven’t noticed this one myself during my stay in Thailand, but will surely have my eyes wide opened next time I go there.
http://www.chaloklumbayphangan.com ts

I like the hustler observation, and while a little naive, i has a kernel of truth to it. MANY of these guys are just trying to make an honest living and should be treated with respect for how hard they work.
http://www.rebeccaandtheworld.com Rebecca

I like your observation in #2 – a lot of people do need to remember that in these countries $1 or $2 (which you’d be happy to pay in your own country) can mean a lot to a local.

I’ve never experienced the food portion thing, but I’m going back there in April so I’ll keep an eyey out!!
Anonymous

I always loved seeing a mid-twenties, Thai male on a motorbike with a stuffed teddy bear hanging off the front!
http://www.artofbackpacking.com Michael

Awesome list! The feminineness is true for most Asian countries. Got me thinking to create one of these for China.
Dee

We might of been on that 8 person mini bus with you when it was filled with 33 people! lol So gruelling at the time as it was becoming one of those days but quite funny now to look back on. lol

But yes, Thai people were some of the most friendly people we have met on this planet and this still continues in our day to day lives back home. We get this exceptional friendly service or random encounter and find out they are Thai later in the conversation and can’t help but have a huge smile in it as it hit a soft spot in our heart from our travels.

Definitely one of the reasons why we love(d) Thailand so much was the people!
http://budgettravelintentions.com/ Jeremy B

Fascinating insights on Thai culture. Our differences are quite interesting between western culture and Thai culture. However, the one thing that seems to be a theme in these lessons is that the people are genuine and respectful in whatever they do.
http://twitter.com/chelenorrie Chelé Norrie

I love this post, absolutely love it.
http://kaypachatravels.com Mica

Great post. This is good for me since I swear I eat enough for two sometimes! Can’t wait to get to Thailand in July. This is obviously the reason most people go there-for the friendliness. Sometimes a bad vibe can really ruin a place for me. It really does sound so refreshing. Thanks for sharing.

http://www.micahlevispangler.com Micah

Always nice to meet another Micah – even if you’ve slimmed down the name by dropping the H. : )

http://www.micahlevispangler.com Micah

Great little post. I’ll be in Thailand later this year – good prep material. Looking forward to adding to the conversation when I’m on the ground!

http://108.167.164.229/~wwwaswet Sofia – As We Travel

Awesome, looking forward to hearing about your experiences!

luna

How cute! I love hearing about laughing people! A lot of Asian countries I’ve visited are very reserved, I love to see that people of Thailand love to laugh!

http://108.167.164.229/~wwwaswet Sofia – As We Travel

Hey Luna, they laugh a lot, and they’re not reserved, although they are sometimes a little shy

http://twitter.com/swgraphic Sarah Wu

Interesting… base on your # 4. They sounds like super hard working people. Making living as if the city never sleep.
Veeree

For no.3 As I know. We do not have the rule to serve for man first and different portion. It may depend what kind of food you order. In the restaurant will keep the same portion for both male and female.
For your experience , I think because they like you. ( and serve woman much no trouble to serve man.)

Thai people when they know and like you. They like to give.

http://108.167.164.229/~wwwaswet Sofia

Hi Veeree!
Thank you so much for explaining it to me. I guess that after all it was just random, or they just liked me better than Nathan (hehe).
http://108.167.164.229/~wwwaswet Sofia

Hi Veeree!
Thank you so much for explaining it to me. I guess that after all it was just random, or they just liked me better than Nathan (hehe).

http://fastforwardacademy.com/index-page-continuing-professional-education-enrolled-agent.htm enrolled agent cpe

I have to agree that the Thai has the warmest smile that can just melt your heart. I share the views as you when it comes to people who are just trying to make a living. They’re really not different as anyone else and while there might be some who are scammers, this is not always the case. I feel bad myself if I see them get yelled at our receive such unsolicited comments from tourists.
http://priyank.com/travel/ Priyank

Hi Sofia, very curious observations! I find this gift exchange and hospitality thing quite “eastern” – its quite common in India as well.
Priyank
Rob

I know of many western men who have had dealings with thai people plus I have heard so many stories of these people they all tell me that they are all cunning and deceiving. Who wants to be around people like that. Most of the thai women have been in the sex industry at some stage yet on the other hand they call themselves buddhist. Even one of the pre cepts of buddhism says to refrain from sexual mis conduct. I prefer to be around honest, sincere people not cunning people who try to cheat and deceive you.Thailand is the most f…uked up buddhist country that I have ever been to but never again. My advice stay clear and that goes for the westerners.
http://budgettravelerssandbox.com Nancie (Ladyexpat)

I’ve never really thought about who gets their meal first. I’m thinking about some people I ate with a few weeks ago. There was one male in the group, and he did receive has first. Maybe it wasn’t a coincidence!

Thais do work long hours. Over the years I have found that the tuk tuks and songthaw drivers who are out on the roads hustling for business will give you a fair price, versus those who never move an inch until they find a “mark”. Thankfully, there is always an honest one close by.

Love the Thai smiles!

antonio

thai people smile at you if you look into their eyes, ok I totally agree….but try meet the eyes of a rich thai person or of an important person who is rich or enough wealthy and i bet one milion dollars that he will not smile at you. I had to experience that. I met many people in small villages, mostly farmers and they really always smile so sweetly. But I happened to meet professor and people on that level in the thai society and I also played tennis with a governor of a big city , with his wife, with vice governor and other men and women around the governor….well, they were friendly not more and not less that european people and they never never smile. In Thailand only poor people smile and their smile has brought many advantage to the thai reputation especially regarding the publicity about ‘Thailand the Country of smile”, but they never mention that the poor people smile and made the country famous for it in the world and the rich people who never smile, they get all the advantages, being them mostly owner of hotels resorts restaurant and so on…so poor people smile and the rich never smile but get all the advantages…

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Rob lee

Thai people are the most cunning and deceiving people I have ever come accross yet on the other hand they call themselves buddhists. The thai women have all been in the sex industry but I guess if your really desperate for a women you can pick one up cheap for a few baht . I prefer people who are honest and straight with you and one who is sincere . My advice to anyone is stay away from these people as they are not good buddhists.
http://www.revheal.com/en/destinations/asia/thailand/ Sandy

You are right about the street hustlers. They are only trying to make a living and it’s got to hard sitting under the sun hustling day in day out. I don’t think anyone would actually pick this profession. Great 5, thanks for the reminder.

http://108.167.164.229/~wwwaswet Sofia – As We Travel

Yeah I agree, the people who work on the street don’t really have a choice. Thanks for sharing your thought Sandy!

Robino

The land of cunning and deceiving people . The land of currupt buddhists.
Robin

Thai women are all cunning and deceiving so why try to hide the truth.
Who really wants to be around these type of people who are cunning and like to deceive people. I was brought up to be honest and sincere unlike these fake people who will do anything to cheat and deceive you then they say they are buddhist . Read the bible it tells you what god says about cunning and deceiving people.
Fdsfssdfsfs

Thai people are very immoral, illogical, shallow, and materialistic. Kindness only comes if you paying a big amount of money here. I heard the word ” Nothing is Free” but this is only true in Thailand. Their smile is not real and even if you are a customer, they do not smile unless you are a rich farang. Thai people are racist to Asian people as well; they look down and Asian and overrate the farang. It is the media and the cooperate that controlling the people mind and because of the people not being critical and logical, they don’t know what is right or wrong. They are so shallow that they simply think white is good, black is bad. The service level is very bad. They always look like they just want to get rid of you even if you are in an emergency situation, for example when you need medical help and so on. Most travel agency will rip you off. They are not looking for a long term customer, but some quick cash. There is no moral nor ethic in this country. Sure you have some tourist saying good thing about Thailand, but they don’t know the reality. Live here for few years, and you will know for yourself.
Nicha

Thank you for all opinion of our country, yes you really spot on.
Thaicunt

i don’t know who you are, but clearly you have not spent adequate time in thailand, them cuntrats deserve to be strangled in front of their children, you are a cunt for writing this and your mother should gullet her own womb just so she can’t have another one of your calibre, you are a cunt spreading these lies, the thais are rats, i hope they bomb that shithole and i hope you’re there when they do, cancer for your family and for them rats, praise the boxing day tsunami, one every year would be justice, 100,000, not enough, cancerous cunts
Ann

I’m Thai and really like your observations. They’re very interesting. You judge people individually and are also optimistic. As far as I google about Thai people’s traits, I think all of them are generalized. Not all Thai people are so and so. Really appreciate it ^_^
chalene

thai people are very nice and friendly always smiles…
people that say something bad about thai people,i just wanna know how much they know about….so what about their own countries? are they thatt nicee?…geezzz! ..i’m not thai and i’d never say some stupid thing to them even i know some bad facts about it…cause’ i’m pretty enjoy staying in CNX.
…the cultures there are very interesting…f people who thinks thai’s sucks. lol

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GVE5D4CYRC4LBD4V6JSU34UZ6I SW

Actually, the way you write sounds exactly like a Thai writing in English. For example, “I never say some stupid thing to them even I know…” A native English speaker would’ve written, “I never say anything stupid to them, even though I know…” Subtle difference but different nonetheless.

Thaicunt

i am different from thai cunts, I’m not a cunt like them cunts, if i was the same, i wouldn’t be here to type this very message to assure u i am not the same, as i would have taken matters into my own hands and killed my rat self to ease my conscience for being a thai cunt, also, i am not ‘robin’ our styles of writing are very different, that much should be obvious, but then it has become transparent that things that are in plain sight you find difficulty in seeing, hence your shameful opinion that them rats aernt rats, plus (and i understand that you couldn’t have known this as you don’t know me personally) but i would never spew any bible related comments, anytime, ever. annual tsunamis, 100,000 Thais wasn’t enough, peace
Rk

I have been to Thailand and believe me its such as s*** a** nation controlled by a wussy king. The people are such scammers and literally want to rip every baht from you. Thai people are racist pigs and most wouldn’t respect anyone other than their own race. The women are especially bitches and the ones working in hotels don’t know how to treat customers. One of the worst customer service is in Thailand.

By the way about scamming, its a true fact most of these Thai ppl are con men and I wouldn’t agree with the author’s comment. My mom had purchased couple of jewels at a reputed Bangkok jewel shop(run by the govt.) while we had been there. My mom had paid the amt. thru a debit card and finally we came back to our room. A couple of days after returning to India, mom got a call stating that someone at the jewel shop was trying to misuse her card(which was seemingly duplicated by the clever conmen) and the transaction declined because my mom had added a high level of security before leaving for Thailand. Just imagining how could such a thing happen in a govt. controlled jewel shop. This incident has left bad impression about Thailand.

Thai people smile —–only if you a rich farang. Only if you have enough money to spend so that they can rip your a** off every baht.

Thai people are (not) friendly ——the most racist pigs. They think they are superior over all others since their country was not colonized.

Thai people are conmen——ripping every baht from you.

Yuko081

I’m Thai and I just wanna tell you that not all of us wanna rip your A** off every baht. Maybe you’ve been in the big city like Bankok in Thailand, I mean it’s a big city but not many people respect and friendly like you said. Why don’t you go to the country side of Thailand, there, you’ll see a truly friendly people and you might not want to insulting us or comment on us like you just did.

Thai

I don’t mind how you see Thai people, cause that is just anyone’s opinion. But NEVER call our king like that. period.

IgnoranceIsAppalling

Jeez! I have Thai step mom and I wanted to share about how spot-on your observations were about the culture’s innocence and polite sweetness and hospitality of the people. Then I scrolled down to see what others had to say… My mistake!
LLTKjimmy

Dear Author,

Some of your points are accurate, some are not. I will not hide behind some internet-based guise in order to convince you of my opinion, but suffice to say that I know what I am talking about. Your opinions of Thailand seems to be so frought with misconceptions that I am almost skeptical of why you posted them. Nevertheless, I am glad that you are positive and optimistic about Thailand.

Thais are usually honest and certainly not scammers, but allow me to say one thing: don’t be so culturally relativistic that you actually condone the behavior of scammers. Thailand has scammers, period. There are plenty of ways to make a living that does not involve lying. Unless of course, you believe that it’s OK for thieves in Europe to hold up banks, right? Or is that just too big to really lump in the same group? Lying and cheating is about principle. Most Thais in Thailand do not cheat, but there are some who do and it should be pointed out.

The smile that you are referring to is most likely misinterpreted. Thai
culture is inherently non-confrontational and therefore, smiling is
simply a way of diffusing social tension. Thais are generally friendly
and more so to farang. However, if you are in the inside of Thai
culture (meaning you are Thai), you will realize that Thais can also be
very judgmental, unforgiving and critical. Yes, they are sanook and
easy-going, but again this is simply a social coping mechanism.
Thailand is a highly stratified society with each class/caste having
deep misgivings and distrust regarding the other(s).

Moving forward, a poster made a comment about the rich “Thais.” There are rich Thais of some mongrel Thai-Chinese descent and yes they are quite arrogant. Chinese people have been going to Thailand in droves for the past two centuries (but also before then) and have quickly assumed the top of the economic hierarchy. Mind you, they have not been responsible for innovating, creating or doing anything of cultural significance. To be specific, they form the bourgeoisie of Thai society and maintain a level of arrogance that is absurd. Naturally, some of them are good people, but some have unfortunately decided to look down upon the native Thais. Mind you, it was the famous Thai hospitality that welcomed them into Siam when they arrived starving on filthy boats from China. Of course, educated westerners will see right through this arrogance and realize that these people are considered second-tier Asians by most East Asians. Try having a conversation with these “upper-class” Thais about anything outside of their field of expertise. You will be left stunned by their culturally and intellectually shallow the conversation will become. Again, this is not an intellectual or cultural elite, but a economic one and they are thriving in a consumeristic, materialistic Thailand.

Also, the innocent sense of humor point is absurd. If so you spoke Thai, you would realize that Thai humor is highly sexual (albeit playful) and can match western humor toe-to-toe!

OK, I could go on for a quite a while, but I’ll leave it at that. Best of luck on your travels!
Robin

The truth is that thai women are cunning and deceiving and manipulative . I warn any western men to stay away and look closer to home .
Craig

Im so happy I’ve been to Thailand. I spent 2 weeks traveling through Phuket, Krabi, Koh Lanta, Koh Phi Phi, Kao Lak – I loved it.

The Thai people never gave us any hassle, they were always friendly. The food was stunning, the prices were just as amazing.

We spent the whole time trying to avoid the tourists and eat locally – I think generally the tourist regions are where the scammers are worse and prices are higher.

I didnt notice the portion size difference but we were definitely used to Western Style sizes, they didnt really ever give us enough. But we were humbled by this because it made us realise how much food we consume compared to how much we actually should.

My finace and I are getting married next year in phuket and can’t wait to go back.. I loved Thailand so much.

birdherrillll

I hope Thai women wont be nasty to your fiance. I really dont think good idea to bring your finance. Thai women pretends to be nice to men (just to marry and get money or if you are American, to get a greencard). But to women, they are nasty as hell. My best friend was deceived by a Thai bitch who wanted to marry him. He felt so sorry for the poor girl, he rent his car to stupid thai bitch who was planning so much to break him and his-ex fiance up. She told his fiance in front of him “because you are ugly fat American caXX, your fiance cheated on you” and laughed like a witch. He never cheated on his ex. Thai bitch thought she could be a replacement if she could break them up somehow, even by saying lies. Dumb ass bitch

Jonoweets

haha the last point is funny! i banged my head on an umberella next to a massage parlour with about 10 women outside. everysingle one of them was in stitches! it was very embarrasing!
Jadekayak

I lived and worked in Bangkok for 1 year(foundry work-not teaching english)and it is really nice to see you taking a positive look at life there.The sad reality is that the scammers are not just trying to make a living but rip off tourists but this is not the only place in the world that this happens.Most of the rest of what you said is very close to the truth and I felt welcomed everywhere I went.I guess speaking the language to a good level also helped
Kcgallery

I think i can speak for the so-called middle class Thai. I’m half Chinese, not rich not poor, graduated. The thing about “rich thai don’t smile” is that there’s a reason. You see, deep down inside most of the Thais mind is the sense that “farang” are some what more “civilzied” than us. If you look at our history, we had many major cultural reforms in order to made us more westernized and there for more civilzied.

I can say that every Thai people shares a positive attitude toward “foreigner” since in our history we had never face any horrible consequences of war and colonialism, hence the smile.
Kcgallery

Continue:

But, no human being, no matter what races or countries they are, want to be considered childish and naive by other, right? So when some Thais are now having a better education and way of life, they want Farangs to considered them “equal” as a friend, not “children” that you want to say “awwww…that’s cute!” there fore, no more stupid smile from them. It’s not that they are arrogant, they just don’t want to be casted like what the poster did; innocent children.

watchouttothai

Thai are not educated. Most stupidest Asian. Their education levels are far behind from China, Japan, south Korean and Vietnam.

Massmodels

Is there such a word like stupidest ?

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GVE5D4CYRC4LBD4V6JSU34UZ6I SW

Well, there is, but it usually isn’t preceded by the word ‘most.’

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Embarrassed

Learnt? How embarrassing! Please tell me you are not from the USA!
Dls981

Embarassed: Learnt is correct spelling in many English speaking countries, just not the USA

Male smaller dinner portions: (old restaurant trick) if Papa is still hungry he will order more food.
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Latest Inspiration

5 Things I've Learnt About Thai People While In Thailand

1. They always give you the warmest, friendliest smile – if you smile first.

2. The street hustlers are not scamming you, they just try to make a living.

3. They serve the man first, but give the woman the larger portion.

4. No matter how early you get up in the morning, most of them will already be awake and working.

4. When it comes to transport, there is no such thing as full.

5. They have the most innocent sense of humor.

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