An Indian travel influencer's video describing four aspects of life in Thailand that surprised her has drawn mixed reactions online, after being highlighted by the Hindustan Times.

Shreya Mahendru, a content creator, shared her impressions after recently travelling around Thailand, focusing on women's roles at work, dress standards at temples, the visibility of nightlife districts and freedom of clothing.

Women's role in Thai working life

Mahendru said the prominent presence of women in business and workplaces was the first thing that stood out to her.

"First of all, women here have the freedom to do or manage everything, whether it is small businesses, food stalls, tech companies and much more. The female workforce is more than 60%," she said in the Instagram video.

One social-media user agreed, writing: "Absolutely true. I was surprised to see not many men working, and women working everywhere. It seems women are the earning pillars of families."

Temple rules can change at the door

The influencer said she was particularly confused by the difference between dress expectations outside temples and inside religious buildings.

"You can walk to an outdoor religious site wearing shorts or slippers and nobody says anything to you. There is no preaching or moral judgement," she said.

But indoors, she said, the rules were applied consistently: no sleeveless tops, no shorts and no shoes, regardless of whether the visitor was male or female.

That is a useful practical reminder for tourists and newcomers. While casual clothing may be accepted in temple grounds, visitors should expect stricter requirements before entering certain buildings and should be ready to cover up or remove footwear.

Open nightlife and clothing freedom

Mahendru also remarked on Thailand's entertainment districts, saying they were more visible than she had expected.

"I know it sounds unbelievable, but the nightlife districts here are not hidden or scary at all. The pubs and bars are just out in the open. It is more visible than we are used to, in a strange and different way from what I have normally seen," she said.

Her fourth observation was what she described as Thailand's freedom of dress without unwanted attention. "You can wear whatever you want: crop tops, short skirts, tank tops. There is no harassment, no staring, no need to worry about safety. There is only freedom," she said.

The comments included both agreement and praise for Thailand. One user wrote: "This is why Thailand is my favourite country." Another said: "I agree with you. I did not feel like an outsider and felt very free in Bangkok."

A third commenter described Thailand as "pure love, whether in the city or on the islands", while another said they had never felt unsafe, even riding alone after 1am in Bangkok, adding that the food and people were "love".

Join the discussion?

1 August 2026

View full article

'... I was surprised to see not many men working, and women working everywhere...'

I would think that is an observation many foreigners visiting Thailand make!

Deport and lifetime ban. How rude !

Her main point is that freedom, safety, and options for women are far greater in Thailand than India. A sad indictment of her native homeland.

35 minutes ago, Gsxrnz said:

Her main point is that freedom, safety, and options for women are far greater in Thailand than India. A sad indictment of her native homeland.

Life for women is very dangerous for most women in India (outside a few cities) . The article paints a bad image of India.

Furthermore when are visa restrictions coming for India ?

Someone who has travelled to Northern India told me you seldom seen women walking on the street, especially alone.

Men, men, men.

Because it's too dangerous for women. 😲

It's refreshing to watch a positive vibe video about Thailand.

Very fair observations by this Indian influencer. They reflect the awful situation in India with regards to women and should serve as a warning before expanding the number of Indian tourists to Thailand. These guys are just not mature enough to handle the level of freedom in Thailand.

3 hours ago, Thaddee said:

Very fair observations by this Indian influencer. They reflect the awful situation in India with regards to women and should serve as a warning before expanding the number of Indian tourists to Thailand. These guys are just not mature enough to handle the level of freedom in Thailand.

I understand that some young girls in India are illegally forced into arranged child marriages at or around age 12, driven by severe poverty, rural traditions, and social pressures. As well, according to the Google box, organized criminal syndicates and human traffickers in parts of India have been documented kidnapping or exploiting children and intentionally maiming, injuring, or drugging them to increase public sympathy and financial returns from begging.

That so many women are working is not only in Thailand. I visited Indonesia in the 1996 and it wa sthe same. Everywhere we saw women working and men were sitting and doing nothing. However the guide pointed out that the men had to take care of the safety of the village and the women had to go working. Everybody was a bit upset that the men were doing nothing in fact as there were no threats. In Thailand it is probably the same, but I never heard that men are protecting the villages...Wondering why they don't work.

The freedom of clothing is of course a big plus, but to be honest I would recommend that people should wear things that are appropriately to place they go. There is a big difference between sexy and h**kerish. I believe in shoppingpmalls, to short skirts and top just a bit bigger than a bra looks more like beachwear than shopping. I don't care and people won't say anything but often you see people looking and thinking

Post breaking forum rules removed.

@DonniePeverley rule 17.News articles are collected from recognised sources and may be consolidated or rewritten with AI assistance. Respectful discussion of the article content is welcome. Disrespectful comments about the articles, the use of AI, or the news team (e.g. “clickbait,” “slow news day,” mocking grammar, or AI taunts) are not permitted. Posts breaching this rule will be removed, and posting suspension or account closure may result.

On 8/1/2026 at 12:40 PM, HappyExpat57 said:

I understand that some young girls in India are illegally forced into arranged child marriages at or around age 12, driven by severe poverty, rural traditions, and social pressures. As well, according to the Google box, organized criminal syndicates and human traffickers in parts of India have been documented kidnapping or exploiting children and intentionally maiming, injuring, or drugging them to increase public sympathy and financial returns from begging.

The begging business, run by syndicates, is also very active here, esp with drugged babies. I don't like the addicted birds you pay to 'release', either.

When I go to Canada or America, I notice the changes. We who live here take our changes for granted. It's Amazing Thailand where a scantily-clad teenager can walk around without fear of rape, no matter the time of day or night. Kidnappings of children in malls, unheard of. Mass shootings, nearly unheard of. Reasonable, normal prices. Methanol, rape, murder of tourists? Almost nihil. We are so fortunate to be here. Thank you, Thailand.

(Now approve my 90-day!)

The Indian "influencer" forgets that she comes from a socially oppressive society that cares not for your freedom to do things (especially as a woman), only compliance with pre-ordained nonsense and caste systems that are so outdated it's a joke that belongs in the stone age. So many people are so brainwashed by their oppressive societies... usually the extremely religious or downright authoritarian ones.

Comments above about the Thai division of labour vs non-labour may have some point re Thai cities, but are certainly not the case here in Surin amongst the Thai-ified Khmer peasants (and I suspect generally in rural parts).

The division of labour here is quite clear though somewhat in favour of the men on a daily basis:

• men own & work the land and women are expected to join in during peak periods (which mostly means rice planting & harvesting)

• women may or may not legally own the houses but in any case are in charge of the houses both inside & out. So rearing children, cooking, cleaning and any other 'domestic' chores are all women's jobs and men will not normally ever touch any of them.

• In my experience here women are highly influential in decision-making and will often do important jobs (shopping and dealing with bureaucracy) that men have no capability to handle. In my extended peasant family the women & girls are much more likely to be semi-literate than the men and are not afraid to speak up on any subject.

• Until quite recently if we took one of the males in the pickup we bought for him long ago and stopped at some shops or the local police station etc etc, he would sit outside waiting for us to finish business. Venturing in was much too threatening.