Thai Lifestyle

Thai lifestyle -


                     All you ever want to know..   
                         
 Thailand is a very fascinating country. That’s not just because of the nice climate and all the
  activities tourist can do, but it’s also because of the different lifestyle people have
  and last but not least the “mai pen rai” feeling, or doesn’t matter.             
                                             

  To make sure that you feel at home real quickly and to provode any behaviour that might
  bring you in problems or make you angry, we have some do and don'ts for you.

  Do's and dont's

 
      -    You should never assult the King, Thai people are very fond of there King and you
         can end up in jail for a long time. And please try not to step on a bank note because
         it has the Kings picture on it, and this can also been seen as an assult.

-         As a woman never touch a monk and never try to sit next to a monk.
  In buses it’s common for monks to si ton the back seat.

-         The head is sacred to Thai people, so never touch someones head.

-         Don’t point with your feet to a Thai person, they will see it as an assult.

-         When you invite somebody, he or she will be your guest, and you have to pay fort hem,
  it goes the other way around also.

-         If you want someones attention, please stretch your arm forward so that you can see
  your fingernails and wave with your fingers. It is not done to shout, you will loose your face.

-         When you get lost and ask a Thai person were to go, don’t be surprised if you end up
  somewhere else. Thai people offen think that other people will find them stupid when
  they say that they don’t know.

-         When you enter someones house or a temple you should always pull out your shoes or
  flip flops.

-         Please dress properly when dining in an expensive restaurant or visiting a temple.

-         Always try to stay calm when you get upset or angry,
  you will loose your face if you don’t.

-         Kissing in public is also not done.  

  
   About Thailand and the local people
   Thailand belongs to the colourfull south-east region of the world. When you look at a map
   you can see that the shape of the land looks like an elephant with a trunk.
   Before 1939 the land was called Siam. Thailand’s neighbor countries are,
   Birma also called Myamar, Cambodia, Laos and Maleisie.

   It’s been said that 80% of the people is from Thai origin, but many former Chinees people have
   become Thai. Thailand has 72 provinces. In the big cities you can notice the Western influances,
   but in the smaller villages Thai people still hold on to the way they use to live for decades and
   they are really proud of their traditional way of life.

     

   When you are travelling around you will see in the villagers a lot of houses on stillts.
   That’s to protect the people from floodings and things like snakes and rats.
   The furnishing inside the houses is most of the time real basic. On the walls you can
   offen see some racks to put things on, on the floors there will be some mats for sitting
   and sleeping, some things to cook and eat meals, a table and baskets to put their
   belongings in. Now a day almost everybody has a tv or a mobile phone.
  
   Every village has a village chief also called kamnan. Beside the kamnan the opper monk
   and the teacher have also a great influence in the village. A lot of foreign teacher are not
   awear of this. Teachers in Thailand are highly respected by everyone and are seen as a
   rolemodel. It’s easy for a foreign teacher to find work in Thailand. If you are not a teacher
   but want to teach in Thailand it’s neccecary that you have some kind of bachelor degree and
   has a TEFL certificate. Teachers are expected to dress properly and schooldays are offen very
   long. The education level in Thailand is comparing to European standards rather low.
   Children are used in obaying the teacher and are offen shy to speak in front of a class.
   Since a few years children can follow free education for a number of years if their parents
   can’t efford to send them to another school, but for a lot of parents it’s difficult to buy
   schooluniforms and shoes for their children. Offen these children stay at home to work
   at the field or at another place. As in most countries in the world Thailand has quite some
   rich famelies, but most of the people in Thailand have to work realy hard for a very small
   amount of money. To compare, when you order a steak in a cheap restaurant and you want
   to pay your bill, you’ll have to pay the same kind of money of even more that a Thai person
   can earn with one whole day of working.
                                   
  
   Most of the Thai people, 94% are boeddhists. Early in the morning when daylight appears
   everywhere in Thailand you can see monks on the streets collecting alms from the people.
   For the people from Thailand it’s an honor and duty to give alms to the monks. Monks bless
   new born babies, buildings, houses etc. etc., they are also invided on special occasions.
   Monks live in the temples (called wats) and they offen only posses their orange dress, an
   almbasket, an umbrella, sandals, a razor, a sciccor, a needle and thread and a sleepingmat.
   It’s commen that every boy becomes a monk in his lifetime at least for several months.
   Many Wat’s in Thailand have also space for sick people and to educate people.
   In every Thai house or business you will find a plateau high to the wall with a boeddha figure.
   The figure of boeddha should always look down at the people.
   Many Thai people also believe in Phi’s, so called good and bad spirits.
                                               

 
   The common language in Thailand is Thai, but the way people speak in the North, the West,
   the East or South is very different from each other. Beside Thai you will hear many different
   languages because Thailand is also the home for a great number of different very colourfull
   hilltribe villagers, who all have their own language and customs. You can find these villagers
   esspecialy in the north and north east regions. The Thai language is a very difficult and tonal
   language, because one word can mean 5 totally different things because of the way you speak.
   A quarter of the Thai people still can not read or write at all.
     
   Did you know:

-         That the man with the longest hair in the world lives in a small mountain village neir
Chiang Rai? The 85 year old Yui washes his hair one a year with powder we use to
wash our clothes. He wears his hair around his head, this keeps him warm especially
during the cold seasons.

-         That in Thailand it’s quite common that all kind of family generations live together.
Grandparents offen take care of their grantchildren, while the parents are working.
Children take care of their parents when they are no longer able to provide themselves.

-         That officially foreign people can’t send their children to a Thai school?

                                       

  

-         An everage Thai person earns between 3 and 4 euro a day?

-         Most people who visit Thailand for the first time suffer some kind of culture shock?

-         That Thai people believe in reincarnation?

-         That Thai people believe that a pregnant woman puts the life from her unborn child at risk
when she goes to a funeral, visit sick people, goed fishing or when she lies?

    -         The lucky number for Thai people 3 is?

-         Thai people always unwrap a present when you have left.

-         Thai people hate any form of confrontation?