Understanding Some Thai Customs Is Essential
If you’ve stuck with me through few articles, you now know more about our culture than 90% of the Westerners who visit Thailand. You understand:
• We are more of a “we” society than a “me” society
• We pay attention to status and power and understand that “some people are more equal than others”
• We have a high tolerance for uncertainty and are tolerant of what to you might seem like “chaos”
• We are more “nurturance” oriented than “achievement” oriented
• We pay more attention to the setting (or the context) of communication than we do to the words (or the content) of communication
• We operate “in time” rather than “on time” – taking a more fluid and flexible approach to life over a rigid, linear approach
• We are devoted to “being” in life rather than “doing” life
And these 7 “dimensions of culture” influence our everyday life in Thailand. They are revealed in the way we treat each other, and they combine to create the common customs you’ll observe if you spend any time here.
Although Thailand is called “the Land of Smiles,” and we emphasize tolerance and hospitality, we are a very old culture. And we are actually more formal than most of the other Asian cultures, as Thailand has never been colonized. Our customs and manners are more “pure.” We tend to be quite conservative – and the more middle-class or upper-class we are, the more attention we pay to formal manners and behavior. We’ll cut you some slack because you are a Westerner, and we’ll forgive your social clumsiness or occasional “lack of manners” – but if you’re dating a Thai woman, you need to be aware that your behavior will affect her.
Where you go, who you hang out with, how you act in public, and even what you wear are all important to women of good families here. (And that’s who you’re interested in meeting, right?) So you’ll want to respect the fact that Thai society is not as open as you might be used to, and make sure you don’t put your Thai lady friend in the awkward position of possibly losing the respect of her peers.
I’d like to share some of the most common – yet most important – customs with you. That way, when you come for a visit or to meet and date the lovely Thai women, you can avoid embarrassing yourself and make the best possible first impression.
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