Responsible Travel - Thailand - page 1516

Cultural Etiquette
The monarchy and the religion (which are interconnected) are treated with extreme defer-
ence in Thailand. Thais avoid criticising or disparaging the royal family for fear of offend-
ing someone or, worse, being charged with lèse majesté, which carries a jail sentence.
Buddha images are sacred objects. Thais consider it bad form to pose in front of one for
a photo or to clamber upon them (in the case of temple ruins), instead they would show re-
spect by performing a wâi (a prayer-like gesture) to the figure no matter how humble it is.
As part of their ascetic vows, monks are not supposed to touch or be touched by women. If
a woman wants to hand something to a monk, the object is placed within reach of the monk
or on the monk's 'receiving cloth'.
From a spiritual viewpoint, Thais regard the head as the highest and most sacred part of
the body and the feet as the dirtiest and lowest. Many of the taboos associated with the feet
have a practical derivation as well. Traditionally Thais ate, slept and entertained on the
floor of their homes with little in the way of furniture. To keep their homes and eating sur-
faces clean, the feet (and shoes) contracted a variety of rules.
Shoes aren't worn inside private homes and temple buildings, as a sign of respect and for
sanitary reasons. Thais can kick off their shoes in one fluid step and many lace-up shoes are
modified by the wearer to become slip-ons. Thais also step over - not on - the threshold,
which is where the spirit of the house is believed to reside. On some buses and 3rd-class
trains, you'll see Thais prop up their feet on the adjacent bench; while this isn't the height
of propriety, do notice that they always remove their shoes before doing so. Thais also take
off their shoes if they need to climb up onto a chair or seat.
Thais don't touch each other's head or ruffle their hair as a sign of affection. Occasion-
ally you'll see young people touching each other's head, which is a teasing gesture, maybe
even a slight insult, between friends.
Social Conventions & Gestures
The traditional Thai greeting is made with a prayerlike palms-together gesture known as
wâi . The depth of the bow and the placement of the fingers in relation to the face is de-
pendent on the status of the person receiving the wâi . Adults don't wâi children and in
most cases service people (when they are doing their jobs) aren't wâi-ed , though this is a
matter of personal discretion.