Dr. Robert Cooper - CultureShock! Thailand: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette

2019 Robert Cooper and Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Pte Ltd

First published in 1982 by Times Editions Pte Ltd

This edition published in 2019 by Marshall Cavendish Editions

An imprint of Marshall Cavendish International

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National Library Board, Singapore Cataloguing in Publication Data

Name(s): Cooper, Robert George, author.
Title: CultureShock! Thailand : a survival guide to customs and etiquette / Robert Cooper. Other title(s): Thailand : a survival guide to customs and etiquette. | Culture shock Thailand. | Series: Culture shock!

Description: Singapore : Marshall Cavendish Editions, 2019.

Identifier(s): OCN 1082967041 | e-ISBN: 978 981 4841 39 9

Subject(s): LCSH: EtiquetteThailand. | Thailand --Social life and customs. | Thailand Description and travel.

Classification: DDC 959.3 --dc23

Printed in Singapore

All photos by the author

All illustrations by TRIGG

Culture shock is a state of disorientation that can come over anyone who has been thrust into unknown surroundings, away from ones comfort zone. CultureShock! is a series of trusted and reputed guides which has, for decades, been helping expatriates and long-term visitors to cushion the impact of culture shock whenever they move to a new country.

Written by people who have lived in the country and experienced culture shock themselves, these books provide all the information necessary for anyone to cope with these feelings of disorientation more effectively. The guides are written in a style that is easy to read and cover a range of topics that will give readers enough advice, hints and tips to make their lives as normal as possible again.

Each book is structured in the same manner. It begins with the first impressions that visitors will have of that city or country. To understand a culture, one must first understand the people where they came from, who they are, the values and traditions they live by, as well as their customs and etiquette. This is covered in the first half of the book.

Then on with the practical aspects how to settle in with the greatest of ease. Authors walk readers through topics such as how to find accommodation, get the utilities and telecommunications up and running, enrol the children in school and keep in the pink of health. But thats not all. Once the essentials are out of the way, venture out and try the food, enjoy more of the culture and travel to other areas. Then be immersed in the language of the country before discovering more about the business side of things.

To round off, snippets of basic information are offered before readers are tested on customs and etiquette of the country. Useful words and phrases, a comprehensive resource guide and list of books for further research are also included for easy reference.

To my Thai daughters, Tintin (Tinagorn) and Tessy (Tessini), who contributed a younger generations zing to this book.
And to my Lao son, Toby, the generation rising, who gave me life as I gave him his.

The path towards understanding is a million lives long and so narrow in places that each must pass alone.

The foot is not the proper appendage with which to point.

Thai officials advice to foreigners

I quoted the gem of wisdom above in the first edition of Culture Shock! Thailand back in 1982. It comes from a Thai civil servant advising foreigners visiting the kingdom on how to behave. Dozens of revisions later, I still cant tell you what is the proper appendage with which to point, but I now know it is not for me (and my first words of advice it is also not for you) to contradict a Thai official. The Thai official is right; never mind that since first coming to live in Thailand in 1973 the only people I have seen pointing with a foot are Thais and only those practising muay thai (Thai boxing).

Do try to keep your appendages under control. But remember: the key ingredient of Thai culture is tolerance (just dont put your foot in it).

Tolerance has its limits but these are changing all the time from situation to situation (and from official to official), and most Thais will tolerate foreigners who dont know how to behave they are, after all, foreign appendages to Thailand. You will probably never be Thai. Thats okay. But ask yourself if you want to be a proper appendage. If so, this book should give you some short cuts.

Youll be glad to know you are tolerated by a real Thai to exactly the same level he or she tolerates the younger generation of Thais so theres no discrimination involved (although you still have to pay double++ to enter tourist attractions unless you happen to look just like a Thai and keep your mouth shut and your American passport out of sight). Exceptions are now made for younger Thais (who used to be under 20 and are now under 38) who really should know how to behave, since they are all obliged to read Sunthorn Phu at school (see Famous Thais at the back of this book), but dont always behave the way they know they should. They are exceptions and the tolerance of exceptions is exceptional.

Globalisation has brought us all much closer together: foreigners and Thais, young and old, behave much the same in a more or less orderly queue for a Big Mac and Coke. Only if you occasionally step outside McDonalds do you need this book.

Can you imagine a country without McDonalds? That was Thailand before 1985, when the first McDonalds burger unwrapped in Bangkok (Culture Shock! Thailand