Table of Contents
- The Sa-bai Sa-bai (สบายๆ – comfortable/relaxing) attitude
- Respecting others and not wanting to cause them harm
- Team Work in Makes the Dream Work
- They always ask you if “you’ve eaten yet”
- Conclusion
When asking around, you’ll usually get answers such as “Amazing Food”, “Bangkok’s amazing night life”, “The beach! The weather!”. While those are all good answers there’s something that’s even more important in making the trip fun. We think that the best thing about holidaying in Thailand is the hospitality of the Thai locals.
Here are some examples of how Thai Culture is so refreshing.
The Sa-bai Sa-bai (สบายๆ – comfortable/relaxing) attitude
In some translations the word Thai mean “Free Man”, and therefore the name Thailand means “Land of the Free Men”. Thai people, for the most do not believe in being tied down, trapped, or stressed out by things. This relaxed attitude from the individual can be seen and felt by visitors coming to Thailand. It’s that nice, relaxing, comforting, “it doesn’t matter” feeling that you get from dealing with Thai people. Which can be a refreshing when compared to other industrious countries.
The nice thing about this is that in Thailand you are more likely to be accepted for the way you are or what you do, as long as it is bringing you comfort and doesn’t harm anyone. That’s why you can often feel like you can let lose more in Thailand than in other countries.
Respecting others and not wanting to cause them harm
This is very much, either taken from Buddhism philosophy, or at least partly driven by it. 95% of Thai’s are Buddhist, and the religion touches all aspects of Thai life. From giving Monks Food in the early hours of the morning, to having Monks perform a ceremony when you buy a new house, Buddhism is a huge part of Thai life style.
Respecting one another and not wanting harm to come to one another is a big part of Thai culture. Most Thais will help you if they can, they won’t try to make you feel bad if they can help it. And they will usually expect you to do the same to them, because it’s the norm.
The nice thing about this is that you’re treated nicely as long as you are also respectful to them.
Team Work in Makes the Dream Work
If you’ve ever been in trouble when holidaying in Thailand, and the Thai that you’re seeking help from cannot fix it for you, more than likely they will ask their friends to try and help you.
Working together and working as if they are a family, keeping ties well maintained, is a big part of Thai culture.
The nice thing about this is that you get sense of community, and your problems are usually solved using team work. It’s a kind of instinctual camaraderie that is part of the make up of the local ways of doing things.
They always ask you if “you’ve eaten yet”
“Gin Khao Rer Young” (กิน ข้าว หรือ ยัง – Have you Eaten Yet?) “Have you Eaten Yet?” is usually the greeting that you will get from most Thais that you’ve met before. It’s a very common Thai greeting, and it is a sign of affection, making sure that you’ve had something to eat, that you’re taken care of. If your answer is “no” you can bet that they will try to make sure you’re feed, or at least not hungry, even if it means they give you their own food, which also often happens.
The nice thing about this is that you know that you’ll be taken care of and the people who know you will always look out for if they need to, as it’s such a basic part of the culture.
Conclusion
When holidaying in Thailand, luckily the Thai people are loverly people to get to know.
They will look out for you if they’ve met you before.
There’s a real sense of community, which is such a big part of the culture.
It’s such a big part of what makes visiting Thailand so nice, relaxing, and warm place to be.
For more on Thai culture, why not read our blog on Business Culture in Thailand.
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