Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [25]
Don’t prop your feet on chairs or tables while sitting, especially at a restaurant or in a guesthouse. This is an obvious one as you wouldn’t treat a public place back home like your living room, so why start now in a culture that is foot-phobic? On some buses and 3rd-class trains, you’ll see Thais prop up their feet; 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.
Never step over someone or their personal belongings, even on a crowded 3rd-class train; instead squeeze around them or ask them to move. The same holds for food that might be served on a mat or on the floor, as is commonly seen in rural areas or at temple fairs. When sitting with a group of Thais, remember to use the mermaid pose, with your feet tucked behind you to one side so that the bottoms of your feet aren’t pointed at sacred images or people of high status.
Also avoid tying your shoes to the outside of your backpack where they might accidentally brush against someone (like, totally gross) or worse touch someone’s head (shame on you).
Westerners often use their feet informally as secondary hands: we might close the refrigerator door with our feet, stop something from blowing away with our feet or point at something with our feet. These are all no-nos in Thailand and will cause gasps from onlookers. If you need to move, motion or touch something, do it with your hands. With enough consideration, all of this will become second nature and you’ll soon feel embarrassed when you see these conventions broken.
Now for the head taboos: don’t touch Thais on the head or ruffle their hair. This is perceived as an insult, not a sign of affection. Occasionally you’ll see young people touching each other’s head, which is a teasing gesture between friends. Don’t sit on pillows meant as headrests, as this represents a variant of the taboo against head touching.
LOCAL COMMUNITIES
Hair-raising adventures and postcard snapshots make great souvenirs from a trip, but the travel experiences that become lifelong companions are the moments when you stop being an invading alien and connect with someone who may not speak your language or share your culture. A conversation at a bus stop or an invitation to join a family picnic – these are all open doors for ‘snapshot’ friendships, a temporary connection between strangers that teaches appreciation and commonality. These unscripted interactions aren’t available in the midst of a tourist ghetto. You must first place yourself in local communities where people have the time and the curiosity to befriend a stranger.
* * *
Chiang Mai (Click here) is Thailand’s ‘classroom’, where you can study language, culture and cooking.
* * *
Community immersion can range from a solo foray into a town or an area of town off the tourist circuit, or better yet you can temporarily adopt a Thai address while giving something back through a volunteer program.
Return to beginning of chapter
Volunteering
When you travel to another country it is easier to see the divide between the rich and poor and to feel compassion for those trapped at the bottom. A myriad of organisations exist in Thailand to address both the needs of the locals and visitors’ desire to help.
Education is the primary source for volunteer opportunities. In Thailand, the public schools offer tuition-free education for 12 years to anyone living legally in the country. The definition of a legal resident excludes some hill-tribe villagers in the northern mountains and undocumented Burmese refugees and immigrants, mainly concentrated in the north or in urban centres like Bangkok. Even for members of these groups who do have the proper documentation, the associated fees for attending school (uniforms, supplies, books etc) are often too expensive for families to afford. The