1. I don’t care that you made me wet, it doesn’t
mean that I like you touching me.
During the water
play of Songkran celebrations, if a man touches another man’s wife in a manner
that she deemed to be offensive, the aggrieved lady can report that man to the Police. The offender will then be instructed by the Police
to pay financial compensation to the lady for her embarrassment.
I would
suggest that this is more applicable for village (rural) life where everyone knows
everyone. In this instance, it’s
probably much the same as what could happen at an office Christmas party in a
Western country. All year you’ve been
secretly admiring (lusting after) a girl in your office and once you’ve had a
couple of drinks at the Christmas party, well you make your move.
But
seriously, unwelcome sexual advances in Thailand are highly inappropriate and
viewed very humorlessly. The Tourist and
Bar areas of Thailand are NOT the real Thailand. So I’m happy that the poor drunk fool who paws
at another man’s wife gets fined for his stupidity.
2. I just want to use the toilet.
When I go to
a public toilet, I just want to stand there, do my business and then
leave. Oh sorry, wash my hands and then
leave.
But in the
Pubs in Thailand, if you standing at the urinal and well, urinating. A Thai man, the bathroom attendant, will come
up behind you and start massaging your shoulders. What the……
Yes, it’s true.
I was so
shocked the first time it happened to me.
I raised my hand, turned my head and said NO. He must have understood because he stopped
straight away. Hahaha
For the rest
of the night I made sure that I headed for the safety of the cubicle each time
I needed to wee.
But Thais
can take it very seriously, once you finish, the bathroom attendant assists you
in washing / drying your hands and he then waits for a tip. Normally 20 baht. But could be more depending on how rich or
how drunk you are.
There was even
an occasion when two Thai men had been standing alongside each other at the
urinals and had received the same service from the attendant. One guy paid 40 baht, while the other only
paid 20 baht. The guy that only paid 20
baht, in his police report, stated that the man who paid more had embarrassed
him and made him feel cheap and that’s why he stabbed him in the neck with a
broken bottle. Truth is stranger than
fiction.
3. You haven’t been to University and you have a
tan, so you’re not as good as me
Thailand is
an amazingly beautiful country and the people are perceived as being kind and
gentle. But it’s not perfect. The way in which many Thais view each other
based on skin colour or their role in society is neither kind nor gentle.
You can’t
walk into a 711, chemist/pharmacy or a supermarket without seeing multiple
products for sale that proclaim to “whiten” your skin. Thais determine a person’s attractiveness by
how white their skin is. Before I
married Ta and I was chatting to other Thai girls and I was shocked at the
number of girls that actually apologized for not being “white skin”. Many Thai men actually prefer Japanese or
Korean girls because their skin is lighter.
In
Australia, I was embarrassed to remove my shirt in public because I’m so
white. It’s seen as not being healthy if
your skin doesn’t have some colour. So I
guess Thailand is the country for me.
There is also
a vast chasm between the rich and the poor in Thailand. This applies to the perceived difference
between working class and university educated Thais as well.
There was a
call at one stage for university educated Thais to have 3 votes during
government elections, while everyone else could only place one vote. There were claims being made that the huge
number of uneducated people had very little understanding of what would be good
for the country and therefore couldn’t be trusted to vote intelligently. OMG!!!
4. Where are the Knives?
Thais never
use a knife once they have sat down to eat their meal. Of course they use knives in the preparation
of meals, but that’s where it ends. In
an average Thai restaurant you will generally only be offered a spoon and fork
or chopsticks, which they only use when eating noodles.
I actually
brought a set of cutlery with me when I moved from Australia. Strange, but I wanted some things to feel
normal for me in case I got home sick.
When I opened the box, my wife said WOW I’ve never owned knives like
that.
If a Thai
needs to spread something like jam, they will use the back of a spoon.
5. Are you sure that guy is Thai?
You may
think that Thailand is a poor country and yes, when compared to many Western
countries it is. But the countries
bordering Thailand are even poorer.
Don’t be
surprised to see many of the “labour” jobs being performed by workers from
Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. These
workers are paid minimum wages, however many of them are provided group housing
by their employers and are also transported to and from their place of
work. You can often see five to ten or sometimes
more people in the back of a truck our minibus at the beginning and end of the
day around Bangkok.
I hope that
you found this information interesting.
I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section.
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPT43WW03XSalWXyWY3iuEg
Take care
Brad &
Ta
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