The top ten things that no one tells you about Thailand.
Well after a month of living in Thailand, or Bangkok really, here’s a list of things that I wish I had known about before coming here so I could have prepared for my trip better.
1. Thai people do not believe in hot water. You will probably find hot and cold taps in a high star hotel geared towards foreigners and tourists, and that’s it. If you are going to live in a dorm style place or cheaper housing, then get used to cold showers in a bathroom that has no barrier from toilet to shower to sink.
2. Many people speak English, just about as much as you do Thai. So study some Thai real well. Most locals know a few words or phrases and the people in the service sector are a bit better, but not by much. So what it comes down to is that Thai is the language that you need to communicate. Start with numbers as Thai numbers are easy to learn. Also body language is a great skill, and a smile and a nod will get you pretty far. Do not point or wave with your hand up. Just keep your palm down and motion for help if you want something.
3. Tell the taxi drivers to use their meter. Just say “bert meter” and if they refuse get out. Otherwise you might get charged hell knows what for the trip. This only happened to us once and the guy charged us what we usually need to pay plus our usual tip so it wasn’t that bad. But still, meter is good.
4. Speaking of taxis, be careful which taxi you flag down and enter. If the car sounds like it is about to fall apart, then it probably is. For their credit most drivers keep their cars pretty well tuned, but the lower end drivers might break down and you could be stuck flagging another taxi halfway to your destination on a busy highway. This actually happened to us tonight.
5. Another thing about taxis. Carry a card of the place that you are staying at that has the address in Thai. If all else fails in asking where to go pull out the business card and show it to the driver. It is also helpful to remember any hotspots close to your destination such as nightclubs, shopping centers, and the like, and you can just tell them to take you there and walk the rest of the way.
6. Sometimes there are two prices. If you learn to read Thai numerals this will be apparent to you as one price is in Thai numerals and is different than the price in Arabic (regular) numerals. Most modernized places don’t have this but many tourist destinations do. So don’t be surprised. Also when bargaining you can’t go down to what you just saw a Thai person buy something for, usually you have to pay much more. Other people and I call this the farang tax.
7. A smile is always a smile in the west but here it can mean different things. I still haven’t figured this entire one out but it definitely comes in awkward moments where we would not smile sometimes. Still you should smile more often in Thailand as Thai people seem to like it. Body language people, use it, it’s a tourist’s best friend.
8. There are no dryers. I’ve seen washing machines on sale but never a dryer. You are going to hang your clothes out to dry. So buy a lint roller and what not as the lint that a dryer usually catches will still be there when you air dry something. Sports tape works pretty well and I used half a roll on my split knuckles and the other half on my clothes. I suggest a lint roller though.
9. Everything that you do will be noticed by Thai people. As a foreigner you stick out like a sore thumb, and you will be noticed even more. The way you smell, dress, walk, look around, and act. It may seem shallow to a western point of view but over here class distinctions rule the day. So dress nice, smell nice, act nice, and whatever you do if something is wrong keep your cool. As I said body language goes pretty far, so use it to your advantage, not disadvantage, and keep your self awareness high.
10. Respect H.M. the King. The Thai people love him, they stand up in movie theaters for the national anthem, and so should you. Basically follow the lead of the Thai people around you on how to act and what to do for etiquette about the King. The King is also on every single piece of money that is floating around right now. So if your drop some coins, then you should pick them up and dust them off as if they were important to you, even if it is less than 1 baht.
7 comments:
I suppose I should have told you more about some of the places I've been, cause the: body language, taxi's, bartering, two prices, and cold showers; are all very similar or the same. At least you only have one language you really need to communicate. In Guatemala there were 15 different dyalects of the Mayan language used. A couple of people spoke spanish, but you pretty much needed a translator.Sorry I failed in warning you about these differences :)
Not your problem, I have had plenty of chances to get out of the states before and I passed them all up. Now I am learning, and I think four months in a place will be long enough for me to be prepared for any future travel.
There are different dialects here too, but from what I know most people in the education system learn the central dialect nationwide so that's the one that gets used the most. I just won't be able to understand some slang in Chaing Mai or something.
Hey, good things to know. In Italy they have hot water but some really weird ideas about bathrooms ^.^
Good to know things are still going ok though. Glad Daniel is feeling better.
Charles,
I like reading your blog because it gives the point of view a newbie to Thailand. It really depends on what you are doing here that determines your point of view. Actually a lot of people here speak English and speak very well, it just depends on where you are and what you are doing. I've been to Korea and a lot less people there spoke English. A lot of Thai people can speak, they are just shy to speak with a foreigner.
Hot water is more common than you might think, its not just found in 5 star hotels. All my friends both Thai and foreigners have hot water and they are not living in mansions by any means.
You are right on with the 2 tier pricing and the smiles. Smiles are used to not just to show happiness but also to diffuse any confrontation. Where an American might yell or make a scene, a Thai will just smile and act sabai sabai:)
Thanks, Jeff.
One thing I have been made aware of since this post is that I am living in not the best part of Bangkok by far. In fact the Aussie here for instructor training calls Rangsit the asshole of Bangkok. So the hot water issue among other things may be affected by this.
Ah yes, Rangsit is quite far outside the city and explains your point of view. Only been in that area to go to the old airport so don't know too much about it.
BTW: I linked you up on my blog as I saw you did the same.
Cheers!
Hello
Awesome blog, great write up, thank you!
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