Thailand Culture

Thailand’s culture is about more than music and paintings. It arises from a complex system of mutual respect and politeness that binds the country’s people together.

Respectfully Yours
Thai culture evolves largely around Buddhism and respect for seniority, whether in terms of age, status or wealth. However, monks receive absolute deference and it is common to see healthy young monks sitting on buses while elderly passengers stand. Seniority has different forms: younger people respect elders, the poor look up to the rich, and common citizens defer to politicians and high ranking military personnel. Seniority in years is sometimes unclear, so Thais often ask a person’s age. With seniority established, the older person may address the younger as nong, and the younger person may address the older as pii.

Paying Your Way
Seniority is complex and involves unwritten obligations. For example, a manager dining with her staff will automatically pay the bill, regardless of the ages of those present. Some visitors find this unfair. A common assumption in Thailand is that foreigners are rich and should therefore pay higher prices than locals; hence the two-tiered pricing system seen at many tourist attractions.

A Wai Goes a Long Way!
A traditional greeting is the wai, made by pressing the fingers and palms together at chest level while slightly bowing the head. The wai serves several functions: saying hello, showing respect to a senior and asking forgiveness. A wai is always returned, unless it is from a child.

Keeping it Inside
Keeping calm is important, and outward displays of anger are unwelcome. People generally overlook minor misdeeds, and even major offences are dealt with as discreetly as possible. Patience is a virtue.

One of the oldest find places is Ban Chiang in the northeast province Udon Thani. Here and already flourished around 3000 before Christ a mysterioese culture, which went down regarding the first centuries of Christian time calculation, developed. With excavations under the line of the Fine kind departments traces were found by agriculture, which antedate to 4000 before Christ, as well as magnificently painted ceramic(s), and - which many experts believed - the first bronze of mankind. A pit in Ban Chiang was left open for the visitors, the articles lies in such a way, as one found it.

In the northeast there are also some ruins of Khmer temples, which are archaeologically most interesting. To Prasat Phanom Rung, a historical park in Buri RAM and Prasat Phimai in NAK-HONE Ratchasima (Khorat) are the most well-known. These ruins were outguards of the Angkor realm in the 11ten and 12ten century.

A excursion after Sukhothai is worthwhile itself: here, in the northern center of the country, lie the ruins of the first independent capital of Thailand, which was created in the early 13ten century. Both Sukhothai and the satellite city SI Satchanalai, approximately 38 km far away, are historical parks. By the impressing ruins of temples one recognizes oneself the Thai style in art and architecture, developing at that time.

Ayutthaya, the seat of the government of the kingdom of more than 400 years, is a further historical park and is in the central region at the Chao Phraya river. From Bangkok it is a short travel on the road or the river. Far scattered ruins of temples and palaces are also here on large area. It some days to last, in order everything in the detail to have seen. Not far of it Lop Buri, formerly a Khmerstadt, lies but later the summer residence of the rulers of Ayutthaya, where some ruins show already early European influences.

North Thailand was governed for a long time by a whole set of principalities, and there are also here interesting historical places, particularly in Chiang Saen at the Mekong river, where a set of buildings still before the Sukhothai time developed. In Lampang are several old temples in different style directions and in Nan give it some religious buildings, which were built around the 15te century.

South of Bangkok, far away, the city Phetchaburi is appropriate for approximately two autohours. Here are Thai and also Khmer ruins, as well as different spectacular caves, which some the oldest receive-remained Thai wall paintings to exhibit. Wade to Kamphaeng long is also a well received Khmer temple.

Ban Chiang, Ayutthaya and Sukhothai were defined of the UNESCO to places of the historical world inheritance.