Cultural hints
Tourist literature has so successfully marketed Thailand as the
"Land of Smiles" that a lot of tourists arrive in the country
expecting to be forgiven any outrageous behaviour. This is just not
the case: there are some things so universally sacred in Thailand
that even a hint of disrespect will cause deep offence. The worst
thing you can possibly do is to bad-mouth the universally revered
royal family.
Thais very rarely shake hands , using the wai, a
prayer-like gesture made with raised hands, to greet and say
goodbye and to acknowledge respect, gratitude or apology. The
wai changes according to the relative status of the two
people involved: as a farang (foreigner) your safest bet is to go
for the "stranger's" wai, raising your hands close to your
chest and placing your fingertips just below your chin.
Thailand shares the same attitudes to dress and social taboos
as other Southeast Asian cultures.
Copyright Rough Guides Ltd as trustee for its authors. Published by Rough Guides. All rights reserved.
The Rough Guides name is a trademark of Rough Guides Ltd.