Do in Thailand
- Do respect Buddhism, all Buddha images, and monks.
- Do dress properly when visiting temples and sacred places. For women, do dress to cover your shoulders and your knees.
- Do remove your shoes before entering a temple, somebody’s house and even some shops.
- Do respect Thai Royal Family
- Do lower your body slightly when passing between or in front of people, especially while you are with people with higher social status.
- Do eat well-cooked hot dishes. Please pay more concern about eating and drinking of street food from street food stalls.
- Be more cautious while walking on the street because most cars and motorcycles don’t stop for pedestrian crossings and Thai people tend to be more relaxed with the traffic rules.
- Do take the Thai national anthem very seriously. It is broadcast over television and radio twice a day – every day at 8am and 6pm. It is also shown before movies in the cinema. When the anthem is being played, everyone must stop what they are doing and stand to attention out of respect.
Don’t in Thailand
- Don’t take a selfie with the Buddha image.
- When you are inside the ordination hall, don’t point your feet to the principal buddha image. Don’t stand up, especially when taking photos.
- Don’t cross the door jam when you go into the ordinal hall in the temple.
- Don’t sunbathe naked.
- Don’t touch a Thai woman without consent. Most Thai women are conservative. Men should be careful when interacting with a woman in public,
- Don’t show strong affection in public, especially inside temple grounds.
- Do dress properly when visiting temples and sacred places. For women, do dress to cover your shoulders and your knees.
- Don’t touch a Thai person’s head or pass any objects over someone’s head because the head is the highest part of the body and is considered sacred.
- Don’t point your feet to anyone or anything. Don’t put your feet up on anything. Feet is the lowest part of the body and it is impolite to put them up.
- Don’t be offended by some personal questions about age, marital status or what you do for a living. These are subjects that will often come up in small-talk. You can choose not to
- Don’t drink tap water.
- Don’t take Buddha images out of the country because it is against the law.
- Don’t smoke in public areas. You can only smoke in the provided area.
- Don’t be offended by some personal questions about age, marital status or what you do for a living. These are subjects that will often come up in small-talk. You can choose not to answer if you don’t want to.
- Don’t touch a Thai person’s head or pass any objects over someone’s head because the head is the highest part of the body and is considered sacred.
- Don’t point your feet to anyone or anything. Don’t put your feet up on anything. Feet is the lowest part of the body and it is impolite to put them up.
