DO’s & Dont’s
In order to keep your visit free from delay, hassle or worst case jail, adhere to the following tips.
Respect the Monarchy. Thailand is rightfully proud of their King Maha Vajiralongkorn. With strictly enforced lese majeste laws, you could spend up to 15 years incarcerated in a Thai jail if disrespectful.
Don’t touch anyone on the head. Even patting a child on the head is disrespectful. The head is the most important part of the body. You’ll see Thais bow there heads when greeting (wai) each other, the less important partner lowers his head further as a sign of respect.
Don’t expose yourself. Ladies topless even on a beach is impolite. Gents bare chested in the street, ladies with revealing clothes (or lack of) is severely frowned upon. Being overly affectionate in public is frowned upon.
Temple dress code. Ladies should cover their shoulders and above the knee on entering any religious site. Some temples supply shawls to cover up, or you will simply be refused entry or told to leave. Always remove your shoes at the entrance. If you know you have a temple visit planned on a certain day, wear appropriate footwear to accommodate this. Just because you may be wearing expensive hiking boots, you must remove these.
Pay respect to all Buddhist images. Do not sit on any statues, be careful when photographing someone posing in front of an image if the subject has their back towards Buddha. If you have tattoos of Buddha images, best keep them covered always. Never ask for a Bhuddha tattoo below the waste, you will be able to get it done, you will also be able to go to jail. I know of a Brit refused entry to Sri Lanka for having exposed Bhudda tattoos on his arms. 3 nights in jail before he was flown back to UK. Buddhism is part of every day life here and respected by Thais greatly. Join in with this philosophy while here, it will open so many new doors and adventures for you.
Feet. Never raise your feet. While sitting on a chair, keep both feet on the floor. If sitting on the floor, keep your feet tucked under if possible. Never point with your feet. Never stand on Thai currency. The Thai bank notes display an image of the monarchy, this falls under ‘respect the monarchy’. Feet are the least important part of the body, dirty. It might be cool to walk around barefoot in hippy fashion, but not in Thailand, people have been refused entry to restaurants and temples arriving barefoot.
Keep cool. Not about the weather, rather keeping your cool at all times. Thai culture sees gestures of anger as extremely impolite. You may be frustrated at times, even at someone else’s clear fault, but showing control is the correct way of venting anger and will win any argument here.
Do your homework. Learn about Thailand before you get here. Which is why you are visiting our website of course! Pass into your friends, refer to us while here in Chiang Rai. We will assist you if all other avenues lead you to nowhere.