Same same but different

Sometimes it's the little things that make the biggest difference

Thai people enjoy:

Driving like somebody is chasing you
Negotiating traffic in Chiang Mai or any other city for that matter, like any other major city is, ah... exciting. It is a perpetual state of aggressive and defensive driving. It does not matter if anything is in the road- tuk tuks, scooters, or cars will drive around, into oncoming traffic or into other lanes of traffic to avoid slowing down. The Thais' appreciation of small spaces is also to be considered whilst engaging in the enthusiastic sport- it is a wonder that rear view mirrors are still intact on any vehicle. While in the states, a vehicle can't fit between two lanes, a few good Thai drivers will be able to fit 3.

7-11

I know I have said this once before but 7-11's are the place to go. We have gone to 7-11 almost every day, for water, yoghurt, popsicles, breaking large bills, buying minutes for our cell phones, illegal forms of redbull, etc.

Scooters

I'm pretty sure I read a statistic that stated: if stacked all the mini-bikes on top of each other they would go to the moon and back 2.3 times. I never thought I'd say this but, I can see the appeal, 140 km on 4 liters- about 90 MPG (100 baht to rent and another 70 to fill up comes to about $6). Cheap and ugly, amazing how those go hand in hand.

Being happy and smiling
Have to give them credit for this one, when in doubt Thai people smile, when angry Thai people smile, when you don't want to buy their plastic squirt guns Thai people smile. Makes me wonder if road rage in Thailand is really something like road ecstasy.

Markets


Like the farmers market but better, food is cheap and delicious, and as long as you don't mind a little arguing, nearly all prices are negotiable. You could survive indefinitely by shopping in nothing but markets. Food, clothes, electronics and power tools are all available. We have even seen some crazier things: guns, passports, and bugs (for eating) in everyday local markets.


Price fixing
Nothing puts the fire of competition out quite like a good price fix. Contrary to your business 101 prof., this can be a good thing. Some communities are so small and tightly knit that any competition would cause hostile climates and prevent the cooperation that happens between would-be competitors.

Street food
Street food is amazing! (sorry Natasha) Some of the best, and worst, food I have had came from a little cart with a hitch for their motorbike- and some times the motorbike is already attached! At the night markets, nearly every food vendor is a little stall that can collapse and be towed or pushed home. But the vendors are not limited to markets, on the contrary food carts are found everywhere, neighborhoods, 3 lane divided highways, floating down rivers, etc.

Taking off their shoes
Although I don't fully understand this rule, it is common place to remove one's shoes before entering a home, temple and the occasional store. Feet the lowest (furthest from head and ascension?) and therefore most dirty and wretched part of the body.

The King

I should have made a section that said 'Thai people LOVE!:' for this one. The king is a highly revered and just all around swell guy, and his subjects agree. They have pictures of him in their homes, businesses, cars, billboards, and clothes. The king has an advertising campaign major corporations would kill for. Monday's color is yellow, and because the king was born on a Monday people are encouraged to wear yellow every Monday to celebrate. And in the cinema, before the feature presentation, everyone must stand and sing the king's song.

Thai people do not like:

PDA
Not to be confused with a Personal Digital Assistant, Public Displays of Affection are vehemently shunned. No kissing, no hugging, no holding hands, walk on opposite sides of the street, sort of disdain for public affection. I have seen 2 Thai couples holding hands, that's it. I would be hard pressed to even point out a Thai couple. Contrary to popular belief, Thai's are a very conservative people, they cover shoulders, wear long baggy pants and shirts, and swim with their clothes on.

Touching each others heads
If feet are what step in the scum of the earth, then one's head is the opposite of that. So touching anothers head with something that of equal or greater value (your hand), is just downright disrespectful.

Seeing the bottoms of feet
Again with the feet, its a serious fixation thing over here. So pointing the bottoms of your feet toward someone (like crossing your legs) is a no-no. So is stepping over someone, or their food.

Confrontation
Thai's liken confrontation to inhaling water. It's not particularly beneficial to either party and in the end you lose face. I am sure there are conflicts and confrontation all the time but it is always masked by smiling faces, yes they smile when they are angry. Making any sort of commotion; yelling, waving around, too long of eye contact, is seen as majorly loosing face. So sometimes smiling is not a good thing, sometimes it's akin to yelling.


Insulting their king
A Swiss guy gets 75 years for defacing the king portrait. Do not insult the king, and certainly don't tag the kings picture, don't even step on coins or money, because the king's face is on currency and we all know how much Thai's love feet.