Culture Ministry To Teach Politeness To Foreign Tourists

[baboon]

It doesn't sound as anything but the Don't and Do's, one finds in about each and every tourist handbook --- what a waste of money for the culture ministry.

I could not have put it better. I am sure the vast majority have done some reading before visiting Thailand. Even if not, behave as you would at home and there is not much that can go wrong, unless you are a complete moron.

[mijan24]

Well I guess your both useless then.

bkkmadness it would appear you may need to obtain an early copy to see if it covers politeness to thai and hopefully farang too.

Edited December 7, 2006 by mijan24

[younghusband]

Maybe a handbook for Thais: 'How to treat visitors to your country' would be more appropiate.

When I was involved in the tourism sector in Indonesia the government did precisely that, with a focus on Immigration officials in Jakarta and Denpasar.Actually although sometimes a little brusque most Indonesian immigration officials are quite friendly.Unfortunately the situation is different in Thailand.

[robsamui]

Knowing how to be polite in a foreign country when traveling as a tourist is a good thing. Giving the books to embassies is a ridiculous thing if you actually want to get the information to actual tourists. As a tourist I NEVER went to an American embassy. I guess this will help to keep the cost down since one small distribution to each embassy will last forever.

Chownah

Why would a tourist in Thailand want to go to an AMERICAN embassy?

I can't think ...

Rob

[OlRedEyes]

Knowing how to be polite in a foreign country when traveling as a tourist is a good thing. Giving the books to embassies is a ridiculous thing if you actually want to get the information to actual tourists. As a tourist I NEVER went to an American embassy. I guess this will help to keep the cost down since one small distribution to each embassy will last forever.

Chownah

Why would a tourist in Thailand want to go to an AMERICAN embassy?

I can't think ...

Rob

To protest?

Anyways, those booklets should be distributed amongst you ragtag bunch of lowlifes. Teach you some politeness

OK i better ad a smiley.

Edited December 7, 2006 by OlRedEyes

[Martin]

In #25, 'Kilgore Trout' posted a modern, world-wide truth:

"Cultural sensitivity is something we can all benefit from, and it doesn't mean we have to be PC automatons either! "

Decent people want to do no harm to others, but it is so easy to do harm by upsetting others who have had a different upbringing in a different culture.

Anything that helps to mitigate this is a good thing, and shouldn't be criticised for being tried (though it is reasonable to criticise inefficient methodology, such as trying to get the message across via embassies!).

One thing that lulls tourist into inattention is that what may offend 'off the beaten track' is tolerated in the tourist areas as "farangs are different".

What is tolerable in Pattaya can be awfully bad manners in Nakhon Nowhere.

In Udon, we often lunch in one of the top hotels. There will sometimes be a seminar going on and educated, middle-class-occupation Thais come in to lunch. They are immaculately dressed, and on their best behaviour.

Then I wince when a farang comes in dressed as if he has just wandered off the beach where he was yesterday, 300 miles away.

Re this leaflet from the Culture Ministry: Anything that gets it across that temples are not provided as tourist attractions (although the tourist industry tries to cash in on them) is most welcome.

I was in a temple in Phitsanulok and a group of British tourists were going up where only monks should go and having their photos taken beside the Buddha image.

Thai people were scandalised.

When I gently explained to one of the older men in the group that their behaviour was the equivalent of sitting for their photo on the altar in a Minster in England, he saw the point, had a quick word with the others, and asked me how they could make amends.

I suggested that they just 'wai' apologetically, but pass the message on in their travels.

It is a fact of life that we get our ideas of right and wrong manners in childhood, but then go trampling in other peoples' ideas of what are right and wrong manners in other countries. The more we can keep watch on ourselves the better.

[brahmburgers]

When in Rome..... I wonder if they mention some driving rules:

Don't slow down for yellow lights or for zebra crossings - you might get back-ended by the Thai driver behind. Similarly, don't stop when you see pedestrians or elderly or monks waiting to cross the street (or stuck in the middle of a busy street) ....as you will likely get honked at, back-ended or shouted at.

If you're driving in to a bottleneck (an alley, etc) , don't slow to allow other drivers to pass - unless you absolutely must to avoid a scrape. If by chance a driver does politely wave you on through a bottleneck, don't acknowledge his/her kindness with a smile or wave.

Does the handbook describe the Thai style of phone etiquette? If you dial a wrong number, hang up. Don't bother saying 'pardon me, or the equivelent.

There are hundreds of rules governing Thai etiquette as it applies to old traditional things like entering a home or temple, or which parts of body are good and which are bad - but Thai etiquette doesn't have parameters for 'modern' things like phones and vehicles.

[skorchio]

Why is it that the first 8 pr 10 comments on this topic are cynical reports on why this is such a stupid idea - actually, I think it is fine idea. It might well be the case that these 10 or so "dos" and "dont's" are the same as available in most tourist guides, but plenty off ppl turn up in Th on holidays without a single word read.

So instead of staging a competition "who can make the most cynical remark about Thailand", why don't you ppl (the competitors), consider whether or not you can predict what those 10 items are going to be. If your comments are anything to go by, I suggest that your ignorance will probably say something also.

Peace

[h90]

double post--deleted

Edited December 10, 2006 by h90

[h90]

Maybe a handbook for Thais: 'How to treat visitors to your country' would be more appropiate.

For example on business diner with the wifes, not ask the foreigner how it is to <deleted>*ck white women.

Had that several times and not from bar owners, all were big engineering companies with owner studied in USA or UK and speaking a perfect english.....

Another point for the handbook for thais might be "Thai culture is not supreme over all other cultures worldwide" and not all foreigners are barbariens dressed in fur coats hunting animals in the forest at home.

[teddy_bare]

I can't understand why ppl come to live or stay in a country that makes their blood pressure rise and particular view of this, that and the other is so radically different from the LOS. Remember you are guests and remember how guests (immigrates) are treated in your country (i don't mean their rights, i mean how they are seen and treated by Joe public).

Yes, your country is probably more advanced in many ways. But one of the beauties of the LOS is the simplicity of life and the ppl. WHAT do you expect!? If you want equalivant service, manners, work ethics, respect etc to your homeland, stay in your own country and stuck it up.

As educated individuals we should be able to rise above the rabble of moaners. We should be able to educate those around us. Beside as some of you have noted, some tourists do get it blatantly wrong, as do some thais. Take away their nationality and they are humans. Humans come in all shapes and sizes as well as with and without common sense and manners.

I expect ignorance from simple ppl, but i also see so much from supposely educated, sophicated, travellers and long term visitors to this country.

Yes i get annoyed at thais, but i have the decenancy and understanding to release it in an acceptable manner.

Although not a Buddist i can see the attraction if it makes ppl chill out a bit more.

""""(@

[yamaharr1]

O now thats funny.

This reminds me of a situation I had with a Thai co worker.

The Thai saw me standing up eating food during our lunch break and said to me:

"it is rude to stand up and eat"

I said

"huh what do you mean"

he said

"it is Thai culture to sit down while you are eating otherwise it is considered rude"

I said

" I would sit down and eat once you take your finger out of your nose and wash your hands"

he said

"huh what do you mean"

Thai's on the cutting edge of Politeness

[DrFisher]

I can’t understand all the complaints about Thailand people make on here but yet everyone wants to stay. Why is that? What is so hard to understand that this is a different culture, different country and we are guests here being asked to respectful. Unless you are a Thai citizen you have no right to complain about any of the customs, culture or what any ministry spends on anything. If you don’t like it why do you live here? If you think the culture and custom is strict here try Japan.

Please explain this attitude to me because I can not understand for the life of me why any one who feels this way would want to stay.

[Martin]

The human tendency to like something because it is different, and then moan because it is not the same, is quite illogical, on the surface.

But maybe the two things 'kick in' at different times, according to mood.

Is it that, if we are feeling confident, we relish the good things we see; but, if we are feeling 'down', we feel threatened by being confronted by what we weren't brought up to handle?

It would be interesting to know how humans develop their confidence, when young, in how to handle life's challenges; then, maybe, we could apply the same methods as adults in what is a new culture to us.

[kmart]

Some of the people posting here ask: "If you're finding things to complain about, why do you stay?" Good point, but the people who do actually stay here will eventually feel some culture shock; double standards applied; and inevitable frustration. This is the whole point of a forum like this, so these issues can be addressed, and one can know that other people might be having the same annoyances.

Working here as an expat, and paying taxes here, I feel that I should have some recourse to air any grievances here that are not petty or "cynical."

Sometimes, living here long-term, I think that one cannot be cynical enough!

[Francis Maube]

Aren't all these comments and opinions a perfect example of culture clashes?

[Martin]

Well, at least we do nowadays recognise that cultures do clash!

That is progress. Only a generation ago, there was far less recognition of it.

Any expatriate westerner who showed the slightest inclination to try to understand what made the local culture tick was derided as having "gone native".

I am a left-over from the Silent Generation (born 1920 to 1945) and we were brought up and schooled to be racist.

The 'great' British private schools, and the public 'grammar' schools (which aped the private schools to some extent) could have had a Mission Statement of: "Excellence of training to bully natives".

They could have described their service to parents as: "We have your sons bullied, then let them bully, and so you are assured that they will be well-prepared to go out into the Empire, and have excellent careers, bullying for Britain".

But it wasn't totally one-sided. In our readings of Kipling, we may well have come across "You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din", and reflected on it.

I don't think that I became aware of the words 'racist' and 'racism' till the Baby-Boom generation (born 1945 to 1965) were adults, started going abroad, and experienced culture shock.

But the kids of today are aware of multiculturalism in their formative years, and so won't have to 'unlearn' implanted racism. Hopefully.

[Scott]

What is truly sad about the Ministry putting out this booklet is that almost everyone I know who visits, checks these things out and tries very hard to follow the rules of etiquette. Most people don't want to look/act like a <deleted> in the country their visiting.

Most countries try to inform people arriving in their country ABOUT THE LAWS of the country--not etiquette. I've been in a lot of countries and I've been informed upon arrival about laws but not this stuff.

It's assumptive and arrogant.

The people who routinely violate these rules are the long-term stayers who decide it's a bunch of crap, or are so tired of watching the Thai people violate the rule and criticize the foreigner.

[PeaceBlondie]

Maybe we farang really do think too much. Just because a tourism ministry chooses to publish a pamphlet to tell foreigners how to behave in a country, is no reason to turn around and ask their own people to be culturally sensitive to tourists and immigrants. That's Western, logical thinking that may not make any sense in your host country.

If Thais come to my country, they'll learn that they can point with their feet, but they shouldn't pick their nose in public. That's irrelevant to what farang do in Thailand. However, a Thai employer should make some reasonable allowances for the way they treat farang staff, if they wish to retain their staff. And tourist venues should expect foreigners to have habits that are not easily broken.

[rak sa_ngop]

Its a pity that TAT Tourism staff cannot be taught some basics in the English language such as "Excuse me sir/ madam, can I help you?"

They should realise that saying "What are you looking for mister?" is the language of the rip-off tuk-tuk driver or sex tout and generally (especially in my case) pisses English speaking farangs off no end.

This happens a lot at the Hualumpong railway station to the point where any farang even glancing at the big arrival/departure board gets mobbed by these TAT "helpful staff" who have not been trained in the basic English language niceties.

Politeness works both ways, if you want polite tourists you should learn a bit about other foreign cultures.

[ratcatcher]

Its a pity that TAT Tourism staff cannot be taught some basics in the English language such as "Excuse me sir/ madam, can I help you?"

They should realise that saying "What are you looking for mister?" is the language of the rip-off tuk-tuk driver or sex tout and generally (especially in my case) pisses English speaking farangs off no end.

This happens a lot at the Hualumpong railway station to the point where any farang even glancing at the big arrival/departure board gets mobbed by these TAT "helpful staff" who have not been trained in the basic English language niceties.

Politeness works both ways, if you want polite tourists you should learn a bit about other foreign cultures.

I had the dubious pleasure of passing through Hualampong Station today and lo and behold they have removed the arrival/departure boards that had been there for years and replaced them with smaller written boards only in the Thai language. Each side is flanked by lovely photos of their majesties.

Is this, I wonder, a permanent measure to keep the dirty farang trainriders in the dark. Was some deep thought put into this alteration (I dare not say improvement)?

As at Suwanapoom Airport, there is a dearth of seating at H.L.. Chairs are so expensive these days I guess? Anyway tourists look so much better spread all over the concourse.

Anybody that can understand this move, please attempt an explanation.

[rak sa_ngop]

I had the dubious pleasure of passing through Hualampong Station today and lo and behold they have removed the arrival/departure boards that had been there for years and replaced them with smaller written boards only in the Thai language.

The explanation is obvious: that farang travellers could get all the information they needed from these boards, so that when they were approached by suspicious people saying "what are you looking for Mister?" they would tell these people to 'fornicate off' thinking they were being hassled by tuk-tuk drivers.

Now the TAT staff can make themselves wanted.

[fxe1200]

I find it very comfortable to comply with Thai rules and behaving and new tourists to Thailand should be aware of those customs.

May be we should help to add customs to this manual and present them to the TAT. I.e.

1. Keep your engine running during your shopping to keep it cool inside the car, Thais don't mind 2000 Liters of exhaust gases per minute leaving your vehicle.

2. Forget the City Limit and go as fast as you can, the City limit applies only to cows and cyclists.

3. Dispose your personal trash right out of the window on your second class (fan) train trip to Krungthep. Thats commonplace.

4. Always show your "My pen rai - attitude" whatever happens around you, even when your bus driver from Ranong overtakes uphill without no sight of possible traffic which might come over the hill, it could be a tank lorry. That is considered polite.

You might keep on. Let us help the TAT a little.

[falux]

Don't get me wrong, I love Thais, but I'd also love to see a Thai in a western country, poking his nose, scratching his arse, lifting his T-shirt to cool down, using Flip-flops in an office, drinking out of a plastic bag and hanging it over a chair, playing with his neighbours feet during breaks, sleeping on tables.

We are simply different, and that is why many of us love to be here.

[chuchok]

Don't get me wrong, I love Thais, but I'd also love to see a Thai in a western country, poking his nose, scratching his arse, lifting his T-shirt to cool down, using Flip-flops in an office, drinking out of a plastic bag and hanging it over a chair, playing with his neighbours feet during breaks, sleeping on tables.

We are simply different, and that is why many of us love to be here.

can't see much wrong with the plastic bad thing..

[Jet Gorgon]

Don't get me wrong, I love Thais, but I'd also love to see a Thai in a western country, poking his nose, scratching his arse, lifting his T-shirt to cool down, using Flip-flops in an office, drinking out of a plastic bag and hanging it over a chair, playing with his neighbours feet during breaks, sleeping on tables.

We are simply different, and that is why many of us love to be here.

can't see much wrong with the plastic bad thing..

especially the baaaad.

I've seen westerners do all of the above in their home countries. But, it doesn't mean I have to drop to that level. Maintain your manners and be polite. And never get angry on the outside. Works for me. I keep the soft smile going until I get home and then I do a grrrr! and shadow box with the guppies.

[Martin]

Isn't it a sign that we are brain-washed western-centrics that we don't even regard the phrase "polite tourist" as an oxymoron?

Leaving one's own group and tramping into the cultural space of another quite-different group is fundamentally rude. Being politely rude is a tall order!

But groups are practical, and if there is money to be made out of putting up with such rudeness, from the well-heeled members of an alien group, such a business opportunity won't go unnoticed.

There are probably a lot of Thais in positions of power who would accept the cultural cost of letting some of their compatriots pursue that business opportunity, provided they keep it to a 'written-off' zone such as Pattaya or Koh Samui.

But they would be very adverse to having their own cultural-space disturbed.

Hence it should be no surprise if we find that NIMBYism rules in Isaan, and the TAT organisation there has secretly been designated to be a set of 'inactive posts'!

[Jaxxeh]

I haven't stopped giggling whilst reading this thread.

I made certain I was very polite whilst in Thailand according to their manners, even going so far as learning basic thai for a short holiday. Yet still I encountered people who tried to touch my head, pointed at me, and said nasty things in thai at me.... but apparently it's a case of do as I say, not as I do.

Seems to be the lower caste of thai's that haven't heard of manners...

Perhaps they should hand them out to those people as well.

Having said that these occasions were the few bad apples I guess... won't stop me from returning.

[danmtl]

Culture Ministry distributes manners guidebook to foreign tourists

BANGKOK - Thailand's Ministry of Culture will distribute a handbook on Thai manners and 10 'Do's and Don'ts' in Thailand to foreign tourists to enable the visitors to understand and avoid doing things considered taboo in the kingdom, according to Ministrer of Culture Khunying Khaisri Sri-arun.

Khunying Khaisri said the handbook is designed to create more understanding among foreign tourists regarding Thai etiquette and actions that may not appropriate among the Thai public.

The Fine Arts Department and the Culture Monitoring Centre frequently receives complaints of inappropriate behaviour by foreigners such as placing Buddha image heads at inproper places.

"Some foreigners use the Buddha images as hatracks, some put them at the foot of their beds and some use them as a decoration in the product sales display cases," she said.

Many foreign tourists were found dressing inappropriately when visiting temples in Thailand, she added.

The minister said the handbook would be issued in eight languages including English, Chinese, Japanese and Arabic, and would be given to foreign embassies in Thailand for distribution.

The manual would also available at hotels, Suvarnabhumi Airport and on board Thai Airways International aircraft.

- MCOT 2006-12-04

Maybe you Thai peoples wnat to clean your own laws before telling Tourist what to after spending milion of dollars in your country Very Childish and uncall for read this maybe you will change your attitude what kind of bull is this.

Sonthi has two concurent wives. He registered to marry his first wife, Sukanya, when he was a lieutenant and registered to a second wife, Piyada, when he was a captain. He currently lives with both women. Bigamy is illegal in Thailand, and is punishable with a jail term. However, Interior Minister Aree Wongsaraya defended Sonthi, claiming that it was a personal manner. He claimed that he himself had six wives.[31][32]

[edit] Quotes

• "There is nobody who wants to stage a coup. I can assure that the military will not." 28 February 2006[33]

• "The army will not get involved in the political conflict. Political troubles should be resolved by politicians. Military coups are a thing of the past.", 6 March 2006, [34]

• "Nobody was behind us. We decided on our own, and we took care of it on our own ... because the people have called for it and also because of the mismanagement of the government.", 20 September 2006[35]

• "Thaksin is a Thai and a fellow countryman and there will be no problem should he decide to return. We are like brothers.", 20 September 2006[36]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonthi_Boonyaratglin

Wake up Thailand your country is going down the drain

[LaoPo]

Culture Ministry To Teach Thai To Clean Up Their Own Garbage.

1. Fellow Thai citizens: "Let's clean up the country..."

Let's do that first and after we've done that we'll teach you more rules...

LaoPo