Thais love their country, their monarchy, their religion and their families, all of which can be seen every day. Due to this passion, it is crucial you understand questioning these 4 things can land you in a heap of trouble, with a prison sentence awaiting those that push things too far. This shouldn't instil fear in you, but you are a guest in another country and as long as you remember this, life here can be the best you have ever experienced.

One thing to be aware of is Thailand has a clear and defined hierarchical system the majority of which is based on age but also on social standing. When addressing someone older than themselves, Thais will say “pee” for example an uncle/aunt or friend in a higher year at school would be “pee Mark, pee Jane or pee Sarah”. When addressing someone younger they say “nong” so a cousin, a baby brother/sister or a colleague younger than you would be “nong Steve, nong Clare or nong Paul” This is important to know as questioning someone older than you or showing too much respect to someone younger can lead them to be embarrassed or “lose face”. A Thai “losing face” is probably the major obstacle you will face at school or day to day, this will be covered more during your orientation course but is something you should be prepared for.

Thais don't greet people with a handshake, they use a “wai” which seems so simple when you see it on TV or witness it in a restaurant at home. Returning to the previous point, “waiing” someone younger than you first could lead them to “lose face” as they didn’t wai you first, or make you look a fool as you don't understand the culture. There are also different “wais” depending on who you are addressing, place your hands too low and you’ve insulted them, place them too high and you look out of place. Again this will be addressed on your orientation course but until you have experience we recommend a simple wave, a big smile, a nod and a hello when meeting someone for the first time.

One final point not to forget is that Thailand is a very Buddhist country and like all religions Buddhism has its own set of core values. The most important day to day core value to remember is a person’s head holds all knowledge and belief; you should never touch a Thai on the head! Following this logic, one’s feet are always on the ground and the furthest part of the body away from the head and so are deemed to be very unclean and dirty. Showing the soles of you feet, touching or pointing at an object on the floor or even holding a door open with your feet is socially unacceptable and if avoided will lead you to a much simpler life.