Culture & Tradition

The culture of Thailand has been influenced to a great extent by India, China, Cambodia and rest of South East Asia. People here mostly follow Buddhism especially the Theravada Buddhism and animism to some extent. The government also supports the followers of Theravada Buddhism by giving them facilities like free use of transportation and infrastructure. They have strong belief in spirits. They build a small miniature houses outside their houses where they believe the spirits of their ancestors live. They offer food and drinks there to with the belief that the spirits will be happy and in turn will bless them. They believe that if they don’t build a house for them and keep them happy then those spirits will dwell in their houses and cause chaos. The customs and traditions of Thailand changed with the modernization. Wai is one of the most distinct customs of Thailand. This is sort of an etiquette used while greeting, taking leave or in case of acknowledging, keeping the status and seniority in mind. The notable norm here is that touching someone on the head by hand is considered rude and so is displaying anger. The disputes should be handled with a smile on the faces and no party should be blamed. The day to day life of Thailand has a strong emphasis on the concept of sanuk, which portrays an idea that "Life should be Fun". This motivates and spreads positivity everywhere so work also becomes playful and every activity inside and outside will be fun filled. One way the Thais maintain this is by the use on one powerful phrase mai pen rai which means "it doesn't matter". Then there is a custom called bun khun which lays emphasis on the belief that he young becomes indebted towards all our elderlies starting with the parents, teachers and caretakers. There are number of other customs relating to the monks, like they cannot be touched by the women so the ladies have to be extra careful that they do not make physical contact by mistake also. And another thing is that the feet are supposed to be pointing away from the images of Buddha and the foot wears are to be removed before entering the temples. The clothings of Thais also differ. They are called Chut Thai. It’s different for women and diriment for men. The Thais strictly stick to etiquettes when it comes to Cuisine. Rice is their staple food. It is accompanied by other dishes. Well there is more to the culture of Thai. It’s best you go out there and get the exquisite taste yourself.