On 3/20/2024 at 9:49 AM, 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 ...

 

What's the tradition when you exit a temple and can't find your wife?

3 hours ago, Captain Monday said:

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.

 

 

 

Fairly clear by your responses who is acting superior here and definitely up their own ass!

 

Slap yourself on the back!

 

Have a nice day.

1 hour ago, NoDisplayName said:

 

What's the tradition when you exit a temple and can't find your wife?

 

 

Then you have to go look and find your own flip flops.

1 hour ago, radiochaser said:

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.   

 

There are definitely practical/historical reasons for removing your footwear here and elsewhere.  Good examples. 😀

 

I don't have a strong opinion about the custom.  I fully expect to be asked to remove my shoes when visiting a temple or a private home.

In other places like a restaurant or shop, I just view it as a variation of a dress code which people accept without much thought but may find inconvenient or annoying on occasion.

I find it almost funny when I see in hospitals that people should remove their shoes when they go to the scale to check their weight.

I refuse to do that. I don't want to put my unprotected feet on the exact spot where many sick people (remember, this is a hospital) had their feet on the same day.

It's not about hygiene, they just cant be arsed sweeping

 

 

1 hour ago, Scouse123 said:

 

 

Then you have to go look and find your own flip flops.

 

What a shame.

 

I was hoping the tradition for wifes was the same as for flippy-flops.

 

Quote

He said he looked around for another pair that fitted him, put them on and walked away ...

 

On 3/19/2024 at 8:34 PM, freeworld said:

A dentist near us wanted shoes off to enter. They also wanted to do a covid test.

 

We declined and told them we would find another dentist.

A Covid test? After  some resistance realizing the loss of your valued custom the dentist eliminated their primitive local customs  and unnecessary testing. Thank goodness there are foreigners here to help  Thais to start thinking for themselves! 

On 3/20/2024 at 10:34 AM, freeworld said:

A dentist near us wanted shoes off to enter. They also wanted to do a covid test.

 

We declined and told them we would find another dentist.

An everything 20 baht shop owner who was very friendly towards me before the covidiocy barked at me to remove my shoes before entering her shop whilst behind a plastic screen and wearing her mask I turned right round and exited the shop without a word  this was long after the mask mandate was lifted...shortly after that the shop closed and is to this day up for sale..the local grapevine says she had some kind of breakdown due to family/husband problems.

7 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I find it almost funny when I see in hospitals that people should remove their shoes when they go to the scale to check their weight.

I refuse to do that. I don't want to put my unprotected feet on the exact spot where many sick people (remember, this is a hospital) had their feet on the same day.

 

That 'machine' that takes your weight more commonly than not also measures your height - thats why the shoes come off.

 

Why a hospital wants to measure your height whenever we go is another matter.

 

On 3/20/2024 at 8:22 AM, 2baht said:

Antiquated culture/tradition!

Always assumed it is a leftover habit from when the Sois were likely to contain plenty of animal and human excrement.

On 3/20/2024 at 4:20 AM, 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.

I remove shoes in my home in France and elsewhere. Sometimes I’ll ask friends to remove them too, although my friends know in advance.  I have hand woven Iranian carpets, I don’t want muck on them. Fussy I am, like I keep my car clean , in and out.

3 hours ago, saintdomingo said:

Always assumed it is a leftover habit from when the Sois were likely to contain plenty of animal and human excrement.

They still do !

..and or they supply rubber sandals for you to wear ,,    that have been worn by hundreds of people who's feet are right out of their own dirty fungus filled sandals..   even better watch how many people take a seat then remove the sandals and put their feet up on the chair.