Inspire

Why are Thais always late? Gerry Carter It is a perennial question often asked by Western expats used to keeping appointments and arriving on time. The simple answer is probably that the westerners arrive too early – that is to say “on time” according to their perspective. Because Thais are much more general in their perception of time and you only need to look at their language to get some angle on that. Notions of time are dealt with by many rather vague notions such as “naan” (long time) that could mean anything from hours to centuries to “torn yen” (evening or ‘time of cool’) that could be anything from about four to seven pm. “Duk” is late at night but could be anything according to the speaker’s preference while “saay” kind of means late in the morning or just plain late depending on when the appointment was. There is even debate about when something has actually happened – for example the Thais will say the bus is “here” when it is but a speck on the horizon for it can be seen. Ok, there might me some difference between “maa laew” (come) and “theung laew” (arrived) but that is really semantics. It all leads some cheeky westerners used to propping up bar stools perhaps to joke that the only reasonably accurate analysis of time is available in the expressions “chua khaaw” or “khang kheun” (short time or all night)…..even then it can be debatable! So even for Thai speakers and, frankly, the Thais themselves it can be tricky to pin down what is meant by being on time. I tried Steven Hawking’s “Brief History” thereof but found it even more complex than I thought. Though it is fair to say that westerners probably get more concerned about the issue of lateness as most Thais in most situations will have little concept of why such a fuss is being made! For me, with a few examples of being made to wait in the kingdom after 35 years residence, and even possessing a fair ability at the Thai language, it can still be very hard to predict when people are likely to turn up. Experience is a good thing – if you know the person who you are planning to meet you can usually gauge when they are likely to show give or take the influence of imponderables like the traffic or how long it takes for a woman to wash her hair or do her nails…. But it really gets tricky when meeting someone new. I would say in most cases arrive thirty minutes after the stated time. If the Thai person has, unusually, been actually waiting for thirty minutes you can show your admirable knowledge of the culture by offering no apology whatsoever. Who on earth comes on time, duh!! Full story: http://www.inspirepattaya.com/lifestyle/thais-always-late/