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1 ABSOLUTE BEGINNER

Culture Tips
C Culture

Thai Cuisine

What comes to your mind when you think of Thai food? Tom-yum-gung, perhaps? Green curry? Well, while there
might be lots of Tom-yum-gung and green curry for you to find in Thailand, they are merely the tip of the iceberg
when it comes to Thai cuisine—there is a whole lot more for you to discover!

Table Etiquette
Traditionally, Thais ate with their hands. This still occurs in the rural areas or in some specialty restaurants, especially
when eating sticky rice and northeastern food. Nowadays, Thai people use a spoon and a fork by holding the spoon
with their right hand and the fork with their left hand. Don't use your fork to put food in your mouth; instead, use it to
push your food onto your spoon. There's no need to use a knife with Thai cuisine since all the food is already cut.

Rice is a staple of the Thai diet. Therefore, Thais have a separate rice plate for each person. They share two to four
main dishes in the middle. Accordingly, having a middle spoon is necessary. When you want to get some food for
yourself, please use the middle spoon. The most important thing is not to shovel a mountain of your favorite curry
onto your plate! (Remember, we share food! Therefore, you need to leave it for others as well.) Please serve yourself,
but only what you can eat in two or three mouthfuls. Please take your time and try everything.

When eating and drinking in a big group, wait for the host. Thais eat slowly and enjoy the food, conversation,
laughter, and company. However, do not talk while chewing or having food in your mouth since Thais consider this
rude. Unlike the Chinese and Japanese, Thais do not make any sounds, including burping, while drinking hot soup.
It is also unacceptable to pick up your rice plate or soup bowl when eating.

Last but not least, the wealthiest or most important person always takes care of a bill. For friends, it is totally fine to
split the bill.

Food Stall

Open-air food stalls are very popular among Thai. These unlicensed food stalls provide cheap, local, everyday food.
Food at food stalls is often tasty, fast, and cheap. However, it is not very hygienic. Food stalls often provide one dish
or individual dishes, for example, of khâao-man-gài (steamed chicken rice), khâao-phàt (fried rice), all kinds of gǔuai-
dtǐiao-náam (noodles in hot soup), phàt-thai (fried rice noodles with tamarind paste), phàt-sii-íu (fried rice noodles
with a thick, sweet soy sauce), gǔuai-dtǐiao-râat-nâa (rice noodles in gravy with any kind of meat).
Major Cities and How they Work

Thailand is divided into seventy-seven provinces. Bangkok (grung-thêep) is the capital of Thailand and also one of
the provinces. There are also two special governed districts: Bangkok and Pattaya.

The city of Bangkok is made up of fifty khèet ("districts"). Some parts of the provinces bordering Bangkok are
also referred to as bpà-rí-mon-thon. These provinces include Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Samut Prakarn, Nokhon
Pathom, and Samut Sakorn. Thais call Bangkok and these five provinces grung-thêep-láe-bpà-rí-mon-thon.

The population in Metropolitan Bangkok has an approximate population of 11,971,000 (as of January 1, 2008).
Bangkok has expanded very quickly in terms of population due to the success of its education, work, infrastructure,
services, and tourism sectors. A large number of workers from other provinces, including illegal foreign workers,
have overflowed into Bangkok for the above reasons. During the New Year holiday, Songkran (the Thai traditional
New Year) and other long weekends, Bangkok seems to be empty since most of the workers from other areas return
to their hometowns. Due to the fast growth in the past twenty years, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has
sought to tackle the rising problems of commute times, pollution, deteriorating air quality, and inadequate public
transportation.

High-rises along Sathorn and Sukhumvit Roads are the core business center for the private sector, while many
government offices are located on Ratchadamnoen Road. Khao-san Road is very popular among foreign tourists
since there are many cheap guesthouses, shops, and restaurants along the street, and the location is just a few
steps from principal tourist attractions in Bangkok.

The public transport, mixed with serious congestion problems on the road, doesn't make traveling around the city
easy. The sky train and underground subway only cover a fraction of the city; however, work is underway to extend
both lines that the Thais expect to complete within a few years.

Family Life

Families in provinces are generally traditional, and the family is a focal point of life. It is very common for three
generations (children, parents, and grandparents) to live together in the same household. However, a trend toward
nuclear families can be seen in Bangkok. It is also very common for adult children to continue to live with their
parents well into their twenties or thirties until they get married.

Among Southeast Asian countries, Thailand is one of the best in terms of gender equality. Employers treat both
females and males equally in the workplace. Lately, more females have been pursuing more higher education than
males; therefore, many high-rank positions in companies are filled with female employees.

One of Thailand's biggest problems is social status. There is a very big gap between poor and rich people. Wages
for blue-collar employees are comparatively low. The lack of doctors, schools, infrastructure, and public works are
the principal problems in the provinces.
Work Culture

The most important things you need to understand in Thai daily life and work culture are that Thais are extremely
careful about losing face or making someone else lose face. Rates of pay are exceptionally low compared to the West.
However, the cost of living is comparatively low as well. The Thai work-life balance for white-collar employees is quite
good. Only some companies have long working hours and overtime requirements. Not so many Thais can speak fluent
English even though they graduate from universities or work for foreign companies. In addition, kisses, hugs, and
familiar touches are uncommon in Thai work culture.

There is a hierarchy system based on seniority in most of the companies, but it is very flexible. Subordinates
address and treat their seniors with respect, but good and close relationships among subordinates and seniors are
very common. In many companies, subordinates address their seniors as phîi, which means "brother" or "sister."
Additionally, Thais consider the head to be very sacred. Even if you have a very close relationship with that person, you
shouldn't touch anyone on the head.

Generational Trends

Generally speaking, the older generation and younger generation tend to do things differently and hold different ideas
about things. The older generation is still very conservative about sex. This generation hardly talks about sex in public,
and living together or getting pregnant before marriage is such an embarrassing thing to them.

The younger generation, however, is more open about sex. Transvestite groups are acceptable in society. Some say
Thailand is a paradise for gay or lesbian people because they can live their lives normally and equally to straight males
and females. As attitudes continue to change, it will be interesting to see in what ways Thai culture and society change
along with them.
Five Thai Dos And Don’ts

While Thailand is becoming more and more Western, Thai culture and habits are still practiced widely by its people.
Foreigners, especially Westerners, may find it difficult to navigate the many cultural norms of Thai culture. But please
don't worry! Here are lists of Dos and Don'ts for you which will not only help you to survive in Thailand but also allow
you to show respect for Thai religion and culture.

DOs
1. Do smile. In fact, smile as much as you can. Thais smile in any kind of situation: to say "hello" or "thank you," to
make a request, to apologize, to smooth over bad feelings, or to show embarrassment. For Thais, only fools and people
of poor upbringing lose their temper in public. Loud voices and angry talk can be extremely counterproductive in
Thailand. Thais value keeping "face" for both themselves and each other. Smiling will get you much further than a raised
voice.

2. Do show respect for the King and royal family. Thais show great respect for their king and royal family members and
expect visitors to do the same. When you hear the national anthem (typically, it plays twice a day at eight o'clock a.m.
and six o'clock p.m.), you should show respect by standing still. In addition, when the royal anthem is played before
every film at the cinema, everyone is expected to stand. You should never insult or joke about the king or royal family.

3. Do dress properly when visiting a temple. Do not wear shorts or tank tops in the temple. Pay respect to all Buddha
images. Each Buddha image, large or small, ruined or not, is regarded as a sacred object. Never climb onto one to
take a photograph or do anything that might indicate a lack of respect. Treat monks with the highest respect. Females
shouldn't touch or directly hand anything to monks.

4. Do wâai instead of shaking hands. Wâai is the way that Thais greet people by holding their fingertips together close
to the chest or face and bowing.

5. Do take your shoes off before entering Thais' houses and temples.

DON'Ts
1. Don't touch Thai women without permission. Thai females are quite conservative; therefore, it is impolite and
improper to touch, hug, or kiss Thai females.

2. Don't show affection in public. Similar to the first point, Thais are still conservative. Holding hands is okay, but try to
avoid doing so in the temple area.

3. Don't place your feet on the table or point at anything with your feet. Don't step over anyone or touch anyone's feet.
Thais believe that feet are low and dirty.

4. Don't touch anyone on the head or ruffle their hair since Thais consider the head very sacred. Do apologize if you
accidentally touch somebody's head. However, it's okay for lovers to touch each other's heads as well as for adults to
pat children's heads.

5. Don't be offended by questions about age, salary, or marital status. It's common for Thais to ask those questions in
first meeting someone. If you are uncomfortable answering, you can simply smile and say that it's a secret.