The Culture Ministry has come out with this publication called Thai Social Etiquette, which Ron Morris at 2bangkok.com calls “actually quite charming.” Sort of reminds me of those 1950s-era pamphlets for schoolchildren in the US.
What is the ‘wai’ referred to at the end of the article?
Diomedes
The “wai” is when the Thais put their hands together in front of their chests/faces and bow. This is usually accompanied by some kind of greeting. The wai is more subtle than it first appears in that the hands can be held at different heights depending on the relative status of the two people. Foreigners rarely get this quite right but the effort is usually appreciated.
Regards
Testy
Right: Refrain from holding hands in public as it may have undesirable implication.
Judging from the fashion statements, I don’t think it’s that much of an implication.
Also, don’t name your restaurant No Thai!
Thanks, Testy.
"You should not speak about something dirty or draw up a vision that is not pretty, such as talk about worms in a garbage, someone being sick and throwing up, the condition of someone down with diarrhea or constipation. You should also train yourself and your children not to have to visit the rest room directly before or after eating. "
But it’s apparently OK to have sex with children. Jeez…
Is there a culture where it’s totally cool and hip to talk about worms in a garbage or someone throwing up? you’d think that piece of advice would go without saying, no?
Yes, what he said.
WTF are you talking about? Jeez, you moron.
This keeps popping up on the board, and I’ll say again that Thailand has made great strides in preventing pedophilia. These days, the pedophiles generally go to Cambodia.
That said, there are still some high-profile cases in the news from time to time, usually in the town of Pattaya, which is Sin City, and almost always involving farangs (Westerners). Thai men find it relatively easy to get away with pedophilia. The focus is on farangs, because farangs coming here for pedophilia makes for bad press. The home-grown variety tends to be ignored, much to the public’s frustration. Still, the problem is no longer anywhere near the level seen next door in Cambodia.
Especially when one first arrives, the state of one’s bowel movements is quite a common topic. Really.
I think he’s talking about the well known child sex tourism trade in Thailand.
Again, the problem has greatly improved, but I’m not going to pretend it does not exist. For instance, your link mentions Burmese girls smuggled over for brothels, and that sort of situation is definitely a Thai scene. Foreigners would rarely be found in those brothels. Brothels featuring Burmese of any age are found mainly very close to the border, where it’s easier to pay off the local officials. I would be surprised to find many, if any, Burmese prostitutes in Bangkok or elsewhere far from the border. The police really are working on this from what I can tell.
WhyNot
Maybe the child sex trade is “well known” by some but speaking personally, I’ve never seen or heard of any kind of child sex going on in Thailand. I wouldn’t claim that it never happens or hasn’t happened but I see them making some serious efforts to curb this and I personally wouldn’t care to be caught doing something like that. I believe the penalties are severe. Mind you, I believe the age of consent is about 14, in common with a lot of other places. As Siam Sam said, I believe the Thais have managed to push most of this out of their country and into Cambodia.
Regards
Testy
As I said, any that remains is largely a Thai scene. I know of NO bars that would hire an underaged girl these days, but it was not difficult to find 16-year-olds working them, say, 20 years ago. The police come around and check IDs these days, and they are very serious about it.
Pattaya remains the most serious problem as far as farangs go. Pattaya is a hole, and I never go there. Any farangs who get popped for underage sex are almost always in Pattaya, but even then it’s with children on the street and not in an establishment.
Siam Sam
I loathe Pattaya, and I don’t care much for Phuket either. 20+ years ago they were OK but since the tourism boom they have become like any other medium-sized city with a nice beach and a lot of schemers and scammers.
Testy
Hua Hin is our favorite beach spot. Easy access from Bangkok – only about 2 1/2 hours by bus, and they’ve reopened the airport there for one-hour flights from the Big Mango. The beach is nice at Hua Hin, and there’s a small bar scene to keep me happy. We thought about buying a place there at one time, but we really need to be in Bangkok for a number of reasons. Would not have worked out very well. The town has grown, too, maybe a little too big now.
"Do not wrestle with a tough piece of food trying to cut it into two smaller pieces till it shoots across the room or the table. " Man, the number of times I’ve done that, and everybody around me rolls their eyes and talks about how they can’t take me anywhere.
And no, you should not scratch here and scratch there.
When I saw that scene in Pretty Woman where Julia Roberts flings the escargot across the room, I rolled my eyes and said, “That would never fly in Thailand!”