Removing shoes going into a shop- selective hygiene?

[Woof999]

Their place, their rules is fine by me. What does annoy me is that I rarely wear slip-on anything on my feet. It becomes a real pain in the butt tying laces-ups 50 times per day, depending on what I'm doing.

[Korat Kiwi]

So what's the go with the hippee types that don't wear footware?  (And a lot of kiwis also go barefeet too) 

 

They walk over and through all sorts of dirt/Garbage.  What are they thereby traipsing through stores/homes etc? 

 

Should there be a footbath outside the entranceway for them to clean their feet?  When do we say enough is enough? 

 

Personally I have no problem with removing footware when entering someone's residence.  Going into a shop is another matter. 

 

Either comply with any signage or shop elsewhere. 

[GarryP]

1 hour ago, ChipButty said:

Obviously meet the wrong people

Nah, probably because I left the UK when I was 19. 

[pub2022]

Given that it is part of their culture so take it or leave it, without any pretense of superiority on your part, I simply do not enter places where it is required to remove shoes, unless it is a private home of friends.

[NoDisplayName]

I get confused in the restaurants.

 

Customers wear their shoes inside, but take them off to eat, often putting their dirty feet on the seats or benches and cushions.

 

And then there's uncle, who puts his feet on the table to pick his toenails.

 

Amazing.

[khunPer]

It's the shop owners rules, just like a house owner's rules; simple as that.

 

If you don't like their rules, shop somewhere else, where you don't need to remove your shoes; like convenient stores and shopping malls, there you also can find pharmacies and a lot of other shops that let you keep your shoes on.

[Captain Monday]

For get about "hygiene" part of visiting other countries  is experiencing and adaptation to culture.

I don't hear Asian people making a big deal about it.

 

People who visit Thailand then show hostility about removing shows before entering certain dentists, pharmacies or shops are boorish clods barging around with an air of superiority, or worse.

Example whilst I go to the US I shake hands if proffered even if I don't particularly like it.  

 

I'm particularly disgusted by people who kiss animals on the mouth and sleep with them. Creatures that seem to spend  a lot of time sniffing around for others discharges and licking their own genitals. I do not know if that is really that unhygienic. I read somewhere that a dog is cleaner than the long beard of a  hipster.

 

https://www.livescience.com/65293-beards-are-super-germy.html

Edited March 20 by Captain Monday

[richard_smith237]

17 hours ago, Scouse123 said:

They claim it's a hygiene thing.

 

Its not.. and I don't think it ever has been... 

 

Its a cultural thing,.. something thats always been done in houses and in smaller shops that are more personal the same social norms are followed... 

 

... And, just as a lot of idiosyncrasies in our own cultures that seem normal to us, but strange to foreigners, this is just one of those things... 

In places, 'its done' for no other reason than this is the way its always been done....

 

... Sometimes when we think too much beyond this simplicity it gets a little silly - somethings don't need a detailed explanation or a deep rooted cultural understanding...  somethings are just the way they are for no other reason than they're just the way they are. 

 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

21 minutes ago, Captain Monday said:

I do not know if that is really that unhygienic. I read somewhere that a dog is cleaner than the long beard of a  hipster.

 

I think the risk of bacterial or parasitic infection from pet licks are a far greater risk than the 'gunk' in a hipsters beard... 

 

 

 

[Captain Monday]

13 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

I think the risk of bacterial or parasitic infection from pet licks are a far greater risk than the 'gunk' in a hipsters beard... 

 

 

 

You won't catch me kissing a dog.

There is a large designer lamp/lighting  shop in Chiang Mai with slippers available no shoes allowed.

As I remember it is carpeted. So,  "This is your living room, look around and imagine the possibilities", more than "hygiene"

[richard_smith237]

3 minutes ago, Captain Monday said:

18 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

I think the risk of bacterial or parasitic infection from pet licks are a far greater risk than the 'gunk' in a hipsters beard... 

 

You won't catch me kissing a dog.

 

I'd like to argue the same, but there are one or two 'drunk nights' back in Uni that I'd rather forget where my friends may comment otherwise....  

 

3 minutes ago, Captain Monday said:

There is a large designer lamp/lighting  shop in Chiang Mai with slippers available no shoes allowed.

As I remember it is carpeted. So,  "This is your living room, look around and imagine the possibilities", more than "hygiene"

 

Regarding the shoes off thing... I get the discussion, I get the objection when its public areas and shops etc..

 

... but is it really a big deal ??

 

 

I've been here a number of years and its never something that even crossed my mind as an issue until it was reported that a Russian woman kicked a Thai woman this week. 

 

 

 

[steven100]

19 hours ago, mfd101 said:

The problem at temples is that there can be so many pairs of shoes or sandals and the occasional problem of theft ... My b/f once told me his shoes were stolen outside a temple. I asked him what he did. He said he looked around for another pair that fitted him, put them on and walked away ...

 

I hope he got a pair that were of similar quality & value 

[Lemsta69]

19 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Removing shoes signifies a gesture of politeness, cultural awareness, and respect for the local community. It's not so much about the cleanliness.

You sound like a Thai going to the UK and refusing to shake hands.

 

<deleted>, it's so they (rightly) don't have to mop the floor a hundred times a day. Ekspecially if they've got a shiny white tiled floor, that shows up the dirt like nobody's business.

[Olmate]

21 hours ago, 2baht said:

Antiquated culture/tradition!

Bit like colonisation you mean? 

[ifmu]

this is what my wife tells me 

rats run loose everywhere  all over the products 

high floodwaters spread the wastewater everywhere 

poor waste disposal  

 

all if this crud ends up on your shoes / feet     

take shoes off when requested 

 

It is their house and their rules. That is OK.  quote 

[Olmate]

Used to visit Fiji often, meeting villiagers, including those of Indian origin (who were often business owners)  Same deal, pig <deleted> outside, immaculate inside,eat and drink on the floor of course.... but "man" was boss of the home in that country! 

[Woof999]

5 hours ago, Captain Monday said:

I'm particularly disgusted by people who kiss animals on the mouth and sleep with them. Creatures that seem to spend  a lot of time sniffing around for others discharges and licking their own genitals.

 

I'll thank you for not calling me an animal.

[2baht]

1 hour ago, Olmate said:

Bit like colonisation you mean? 

Nothing like colonization! Thailand stumbles along in the dark! Very little direction!

[Peterphuket]

Because I am easily susceptible to infections, i always use socks.

Luckily i never have to take off, when i have to go into a house or shop.

And of course clean socks every day,

problem solved.

I visit the toilet at home as much as possible.

 

Edited March 21 by Peterphuket

[Olmate]

1 hour ago, 2baht said:

Nothing like colonization! Thailand stumbles along in the dark! Very little direction!

I was suggesting  colonisation was/is an antiquated tradition, but you knew what I meant, didnt you! Invader! 🤪

[Scouse123]

6 hours ago, Captain Monday said:

For get about "hygiene" part of visiting other countries  is experiencing and adaptation to culture.

I don't hear Asian people making a big deal about it.

 

People who visit Thailand then show hostility about removing shows before entering certain dentists, pharmacies or shops are boorish clods barging around with an air of superiority, or worse.

Example whilst I go to the US I shake hands if proffered even if I don't particularly like it.  

 

 

 

 

 

No, you won't hear Asian people complaining about it because the majority are sheep and would drive off a cliff if everybody else was doing it, and it's called not thinking for themselves.

 

I have pointed out the dirty habits displayed by the locals regarding food and hygiene, and that part of the post has been ignored.

 

Nobody is being a boorish clod walking around with an air of superiority, that is a dull and thoughtless way of trying to explain something that you are unable to explain, so you resort to name-calling.

 

Your response is ill-thought-out and childish.

[brewsterbudgen]

21 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Removing shoes signifies a gesture of politeness, cultural awareness, and respect for the local community. It's not so much about the cleanliness.

You sound like a Thai going to the UK and refusing to shake hands.

In someone's home, yes.  The thread is about shops.

[Scouse123]

7 hours ago, Captain Monday said:

For get about "hygiene" part of visiting other countries  is experiencing and adaptation to culture.

I don't hear Asian people making a big deal about it.

 

People who visit Thailand then show hostility about removing shows before entering certain dentists, pharmacies or shops are boorish clods barging around with an air of superiority, or worse.

Example whilst I go to the US I shake hands if proffered even if I don't particularly like it.  

 

I'm particularly disgusted by people who kiss animals on the mouth and sleep with them. Creatures that seem to spend  a lot of time sniffing around for others discharges and licking their own genitals. I do not know if that is really that unhygienic. I read somewhere that a dog is cleaner than the long beard of a  hipster.

 

https://www.livescience.com/65293-beards-are-super-germy.html

 

 

 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/nov/17/how-wearing-shoes-tropical-diseases-podoconiosis-acc

 

[Scouse123]

2 hours ago, ifmu said:

this is what my wife tells me 

rats run loose everywhere  all over the products 

high floodwaters spread the wastewater everywhere 

poor waste disposal  

 

all if this crud ends up on your shoes / feet     

take shoes off when requested 

 

It is their house and their rules. That is OK.  quote 

 

 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/nov/17/how-wearing-shoes-tropical-diseases-podoconiosis-acc

[ignis]

If I am going to a shop near where I live which has shoes off then will go with slip on shoes

 

Normally when I go out will wear my Diabetic shoes = need a chair to sit to take them off/on, not possible to take them off standing with my sticks, so will stand at the door and get staff to come to me and run around getting what I want..

 

Dentist always come to me at the door and take my shoes off for me when I arrive + put them back on when done...  

 

So not a real problem

[Captain Monday]

51 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

 

No, you won't hear Asian people complaining about it because the majority are sheep and would drive off a cliff if everybody else was doing it, and it's called not thinking for themselves.

 

I have pointed out the dirty habits displayed by the locals regarding food and hygiene, and that part of the post has been ignored.

 

Nobody is being a boorish clod walking around with an air of superiority, that is a dull and thoughtless way of trying to explain something that you are unable to explain, so you resort to name-calling.

 

Your response is ill-thought-out and childish.

The reason your central critique of your OP post regarding shoe removal  is being ignored is the half-baked concentration on the actual "hygiene" of ingrained cultural practice. Then in your vainglorious attack to deny the sense of entitled self-superiority whilst  simultaneously stating "the majority" of Asian people are "sheep" who don't think for themselves is beyond hypocrisy.

 

Surely you cannot not be that gormless and are just having a pull of one of my legs. Nice one.

 

[rwill]

A lot of places, like dental offices, that want you to remove your street shoes also provide sandals you can wear inside.

 

A lot of places that have the old style Thai bathrooms also leave sandals by the door to wear inside the bathroom.

 

But I also agree it is kind of silly in some small stores and barbers that want you to remove your shoes.  Most if you ask though will tell you it's ok to leave your shoes on though.

[radiochaser]

I was in Udon Thani area back in 1972 - 1973.   The main road through town and the highways traveling in Thailand were paved then.   Almost no other road/street was.  All the bungalows had chairs or benches for those that wore laced up shoes or boots.  

Removing laced up shoes or boots was a pain during the dry season, but was a necessity during the rainy season.   Otherwise, you tracked mud inside.  

We never removed boots when entering communication vans or trucks.  It was a pain having to mop them out nearly every day during the rainy season.   At least in the trucks we could hose the mud out without concern for water sensitive electronic equipment damage.   Sometimes there was so much mud tracked into the comm vans  on our boots, we used a shovel to scoop some of it out.   

I remember this as the reason, both in Vietnam and Thailand, as the reason for removing shoes when entering places.   Not for hygienic reasons, for muddy reasons. 

Even here in the U.S. of A., there were houses built with "mud rooms" for the same reason, to remove footwear so as not to walk mud into the house.   I live in a 71 year old house and it has a storm door, mud room, and then the entry door.   

[brianthainess]

On 3/20/2024 at 7:50 AM, Scouse123 said:

I don't get it when it is a shop selling products, services and goods, why do they want me to take my shoes off entering a doctor's/dentist surgery or similar?

Do you kick them when asked?

[roo860]

3 minutes ago, rwill said:

A lot of places, like dental offices, that want you to remove your street shoes also provide sandals you can wear inside.

 

A lot of places that have the old style Thai bathrooms also leave sandals by the door to wear inside the bathroom.

 

But I also agree it is kind of silly in some small stores and barbers that want you to remove your shoes.  Most if you ask though will tell you it's ok to leave your shoes on though.

Only problem is with those places that supply slippers is what the previous user had, Verrucas maybe?