Day 7 – Getting Outdoorsy in Thailand

Content from Mike

Saturday - 17 November

The weekend brought on the first part of our trip’s official “R & R” section, but Rest & Relaxation took a back seat to Ridin’ & Roamin’.

The vans took us about an hour south to the foothills where more than a few action/adventure events were in a concentrated area.

First up was elephant riding.  We paired off on the backs of the elephants in little two-person saddles, led by a mahout (elephant-wrangler) who either rode on the neck or walked along.  The elephants ran on a banana-meter: at several way-stations along the route we bought sacks of overripe bananas with a bit of sugar cane, and as we rode, the elephants would stretch back their trunks over their heads to reach our saddle and that was the signal for “I walk for snacks”.

Feed Me!

We were OK on the flats but going uphill was a treat, and when we descended into the stream, that’s when the fun started.  It was a traffic jam of side-by-side elephants – some spraying us with water (& snot) from their trunks and some sneaking snouts in sideways to pilfer our reserve banana supply.  A great way to start the day.

Attack From the Rear!

The Passing Lane

 

Don't Leave Without Me Mom!

Hang On - We're Headed for the River!

After leaving the elephant area, we took a short drive to the river where we boarded bamboo rafts (“You might get a little wet”).  Imagine ten bamboo poles, each about six inches wide & twelve feet long, lashed together and ready to transport us down the meandering river, in one case poled by a twelve-year-old lad, Huck Finn-like, who has this as a summer job instead of picking corn.  All went well until the first minor rapids which taught us that bamboo rafts are floaty but not too flexible.  But really, it was a lazy, peaceful ride and we enjoyed slipping under rickety foot bridges suspended over the water and admiring the butterflies, dragonflies, bird songs, and smiles of the locals along the banks as we tootled by.  At the end, Raft Four was expertly brought home to port by guest Cap’n Monica who earned the respect of the boatmaster and poled like she was born to it.  Monica got here Boat-Poling Badge for sure!

So Peaceful and 'Just a Little Wet'

Master Mariner

Mai and Sarah

We vanned up the road aways to a roadside café that was all set up for our gang to lunch upon stirfrys, some tasty sweet and sour vegetables, and some spicy boiled potatoes, along with cold drinks and fresh fruit.  Fueled up, we headed to the afternoon’s event.

Stopping amidst a small village engaged in rice harvesting, our guide gave us a short explanation of village life, highlighting how we could tell married from single women by their dress color, and how we could tell the number of eligible lasses in a family by the number of pigs kept for dowry.  We watched an elderly woman weaving a scarf on a hand loom. 

From the village we were led on a ramble through the rice fields and got an idea of how the mature rice is cut, then left to dry, then bundled and stacked awaiting hand-threshing for collection off to market.

Fifteen minutes later, and skirting the monk’s cave retreat (“Shhhh.”), a flight of stairs led down to a waterfall, which supplied the rafting river.  We frolicked – some were content to sit on the rocks and enjoy the scenery, but there was a gaggle who couldn’t pass up the opportunity to splash around in a Thai waterfall, jumping in, letting the current take you downstream a bit and then coasting to the side to make your way back up to the fall.  An afternoon surrounded by the sounds of rushing water, hurrahs for the bathers, the sun glinting through the trees and yet another way to enjoy Thailand.

Gregg Taking the Plunge

After a bit we minded out tour guide’s gentle persuasion to ‘get out of the pool’ and trekked back to the vans waiting for us with cool drinks & Oreos.  It was a contented (and contentedly exhausted) crew that napped for the late afternoon ride home.

Acting on a good tip from Erin and Rob’s pal who knew town from a previous stay, we sought out the Whole Earth Restaurant for supper and sat out on an open air deck and feasted upon both Thai and Indian cuisine – pass me more garlic naan!  Everyone seemed to get just what they wanted and there was food enough for plenty of sharing.

After supper, why of course there was a little shopping - Christmas is coming, you know!

A full day, a lot of fun, and everyone still rarin’ to go at about the halfway point of the build.

Day 6 – A Free Day

Content from joanne

Friday - 16 November

The Thailand affiliate is adjusting the build schedule over the two-week period, so this first Friday is now a ‘free-day’ as opposed to a build day. The paid professionals will still be working, though, perhaps to set the windows and doors, so it will be interesting to see what our two houses look like on Monday morning.

As a ‘free-day’, everyone chose from the multitude of activities offered at the Tour Desk in the resort. People in our group chose mountain-biking, zip-lining (with or without gibbons), walking around the old city, visits to tailors for fittings (suits and dresses here are very easy to get, excellent quality, and very inexpensive), walks around the Old City, and (of course) a number of visits to the spa.

One of the more interesting things in the Old City was the ‘Monk Chat Club’ at one of the many wats (temples). At this wat they had a number of tables under the trees, with one monk at each table there to answer your questions about Buddhism, what it is like to be a monk, and even where the nearest toilets are. Very interesting!

Here are a couple of sample pictures from our day:

Mike, Diana, and Stephanie with their new friend Christina 

 

Lunch-Hut by the Lake for Some Tired Bikers

Janice and Laura Ready to Zip

The New 'Charlies Angels' Negotiating the Spray

 

Monk Chat Room

Day 5 – Grasping Multiple Realities

Content from Stephanie

Thursday - 15 November

I was bricking a wall today.

Huh.

I was bricking a wall today. Wow, even saying it a second time doesn’t make it sound real to me.

When we started this morning I was nervous that I was not going to be able to accomplish the task to the standards of the masons and that I would have another job assigned to me like more cement mixing - oh, so much cement mixing. I didn’t get moved to another task though, instead I found myself taking a moment to understand a very different outcome.

After lunch, we all went back to the walls we started on and I found myself working alone. As I turned to grab a brick, one of the locals took a position so that he could pass them to me as I continued. We exchanged smiles and over enthusiastic ‘Yays’ every time I finished a row. This continued for quite a while when I suddenly froze as I was handed another brick – the local man was actually the mason. A man who constructs homes for a living was assisting ME. I have never laid a brick in my life. Come to think about it, have I ever even held a brick before? 

Mixing cement the first day was a challenge. Moving sand the second day was tiring. Filling the floor on the third day was exhilarating. But bricking walls has been emotional.

I caught myself holding back tears multiple times as the day progressed. First, because the task reminded me of a reality I will be returning home to. My uncle, whom I have never know as anything other than strong, loveable, humorous man who always seemed to have a beer near his side, has fallen ill. As an entrepreneur, he built his own prosperous masonry company that he can proudly say that most of his immediate family now works for and I have always admired him for that. As I placed my first brick today, all I could think to myself was, I wonder what Uncle Puddy would think of my work? Since the wall seems to be level and straight, but more importantly still standing, I hope he would be proud of me. As Mai says, I have “super awesome fantastic” bricking skills. I wonder if my uncle will offer me a place on his masonry team when I return…

This one is for you Uncle Puddy

Another emotional element to my day was watching us truly work as a well trained team. We have bonded as a group that not only is determined to finish the homes on time, but have found joy in joking with the masons, the locals and the affiliates. We have seen each other grow to learn new skills and take care of each other when we see someone in need of a break or they have been in the heat for too long without a Gatorade at their side. We have a great team and I am proud to be apart of this project.

The last emotional part of the day was taking a step back and realizing that I have become proud of myself throughout this journey and I know that will only continue as the build progresses. To see such tangible results of our labour has been so much more rewarding that I could ever communicate in words. The walls and floor of these homes signify safety, privacy and a sense of ownership to a family that they deserve. I feel privileged to be able to provide these basis necessities to two very deserving families. 

I was bricking a wall today.

I think that has finally sunk in.  

Day 5 - Forming Friendships - Meet Kam

Content from Gregg

Thursday - 15 November

Occasionally team members develop a close bond with the local workers, and we seem to have a budding friendship between Gregg and Kam.

Gregg's Buddy Kam

Kam is one of our more colorful masons at the village site. On day one he started showing off his tattoos. Chop mai? You like? Chop, chop. I like I like. I've been working on my own tats trying to compete with this character. Yesterday he showed up with a new tat - a picture of my partner Louise. Cheeky devil.

Gregg Starts the Tattoo Challenge...

...and Kam responds

At the end of the day yesterday we sat down to smoke one of his homemade cigars. He looked down and noticed that his wellies had been on the wrong feet all day. Oops! 

Every so often he'll sing a little Thai song and expect me to dance for him. Of course I oblige.

Watch this space for more Kam craziness.

Day 5 - Bricks!

Content from joanne

Thursday - 15 November

Bricks! We have Bricks!

Exciting moment on the work sites today - we are working with bricks. The first task was to move the bricks from the large stack by the road to smaller piles at various locations inside the house. Obtaining our ‘brick moving badge’ was relatively easy since it included pretty much the same processes as the ‘concrete moving badge’ (see previous blog entry) and we fell into rhythm on this task very quickly. Site two also had an opening for Joanne to get her ‘Re-Bar Bending’ badge, which was actually quite enjoyable – underneath a tree for shade and standing up – still sweating buckets, but not quite as hot as being in the sun.

Mortar! We Have Mortar!

The next step for the teams was to learn the difference between concrete and mortar. The new recipe is one bag of cement, 8 buckets of sand and 2-3 buckets of water, although it is a bit if an art to determine if adjustments to the water content are needed.  Different sites add the ingredients in different orders, but the results are the same – a smooth paste with no pockets of unmixed cement or sand – not too runny and not too crumbly.

Training! Almost There!

Trained by the Pros

Both groups had their training sessions from the professionals. First you place mortar on the ‘brick placement area’ in a triangle shape (think large Toblerone bar) and make sure that the Toblerone bar extends beyond where your brick will end up.

Then, making sure that you have the big holes down, you place another Toblerone bar on one end of the brick (the end that will be abutting another brick already in place). Place the brick (big holes down, remember) so that there is about 1 CM space (although this is flexible), and smoosh (technical term) into place. The outer edge of the brick is supposed to line up with the string that has been pre-installed, the bottom has to line up with the brick (or line of the floor), and the edge has to line up with the previous brick to the side.

Scrape off the excess mortar, and plop (another technical term) it back into the bucket or into the space between the new brick and the previous brick. Each row has to be offset from the previous row, which is handled by starting off every second row with a half-brick. Easy, right?  Not at first – but by the end of the day we were all very proud of our ‘Brick Laying’ badges.

 

Barbie Demonstrating Superior Technique

 

Walls! We Have Walls!

See for yourself, this is starting to look like a house!

View of the walls from our rest area

Rob and Marc Makin' it Straight

Doors! We Have Doors!

Some of the doors were also installed today. Although for the most part this was done by the professionals, Erin did get her ‘Holding the door in place’ badge.

Every Job is Important

Supper tonight was at a Karaoke restaurant - private room no less! We did not get our Karaoke badge, however - most times we got a higher score when we did not sing than when we did sing - funny how that works...
 
Friday is a non-work-day for us, so we are all choosing from the multitude of offerings at the Tour Desk - zip-lining, mountain biking, shopping, spa experiences, and at least one fitting at a tailor!

Day 4 - Floors Complete

Content from joanne

Wednesday – 14 November

Christina Gets her Float Badge

Today we finished the floors by pouring concrete over the dirt and rock fill. When we arrived in the morning, there was re-bar already placed in a criss-cross pattern on the floor area and we made many tubs of cement to cover the re-bar with concrete to an acceptable height. The last step was to run a float (levelling bar) over the top to make the surface nice and smooth, and Christina got her ‘Float Badge’ – Congratulations Christina!

Site two also had a small ceremony to place a toonie in the cement where the entry door is going to be – for good luck. (This used to be a loonie –but we upgraded to a toonie for inflation.) Apparently it was a good choice because the gold and silver mix holds particular significance for Thai people. Site one had their ceremony yesterday.

Toonie Placement for Good Luck

Site one also wrote their names in the cement to keep their connection to the house documented forever.

For Ever

It was also interesting to see the neighbours coming around the site and interacting with both team members and the family. During the first couple of days people were pretty shy, but today we had a slow but fairly constant stream of people just on the outskirts of the build site watching and saying ‘sawadee ka’ (from females) or sawadee krap (from males) in greeting. The wife of one of our builders also came by to check on him, and the group of three people harvesting rice just across the street were watching for a while, but the most interesting interaction was when a lady brought her pet hedgehog over to meet these ‘crazy canucks’ – it was really cute!

Diana Has a New Friend

With the floor all poured and smoothed, we returned to the city for a swim to cool down, followed by (in true North American fashion) a supper of pizza, salad, and refreshments by the pool. In the evening Stephanie spoke to us about her work with Ten Thousand Villages complete with some Fair Trade chocolate. One of the artisan groups they work with have a shop just up the street, and we saw one of the dragon-fly fridge magnets made of recycled phone books – gotta get one of those!

Keep those wishes for cool weather coming – it’s still steamy here!

 

Day 3 - Working with Purpose in a Peaceful Place

content from Laura

Tuesday - 13 November

So day 3 complete. Today we filled all the rooms in with dirt, the cement frame for the rooms is complete and dry, and the room is levelled out with the dirt.  Tomorrow, we will once again be mixing cement with our secret formula to pour the cement floors.

Team One Hard at Work

Tomorrow will be hard work, that hand mixing of the cement and carrying those buckets of rock in this heat and humidity is quite the task.  With that being said though I wouldn't change a thing.  To see the smiles on the faces of the soon to be home owners is priceless and even though we can't always communicate verbally the non verbal communication is amazing.  

Team One Work Site

The area that I mainly work at, is so serene and peaceful, and in one word perfect.  I can look over and see whom I believe is a husband and wife cutting and bundling rice, in the adjacent field.  When we go over to the other build site, there are neighbours that walk along ways to just come and see us and watch the home progress.

Rice Harvesting in the Nearby Field

When you put a group of people together with a common goal, remove negativity with a desire to help, so much can be created and accomplished.

A Peaceful Place

Day 3 - An Exercise in Fluidity

content from joanne

Tuesday - 12 November

Today we took a course in ‘dirt-moving’ and I am very pleased to announce that we all obtained our 'Dirt Movement' badges with flying colors! Like most things in life, this is both straightforward (yes, we essentially moved dirt from Point A to Point B) and also very involved. Moving dirt by bucket is actually more a study in fluid dynamics, as follows:

May not look like it, but there is a plan here.

• You have to determine how many people are needed based on the distance between point A and B, and ensure that proper adjustments are made for challenges in terrain (feet on both sides of footings) and proper body placement around obstacles (like concrete poles).
• From a timing perspective, care has to be taken to limit the amount of time that any one person spends in high-energy roles (like shovelling, or lifting), and making sure that one person is not stuck in the sun all the time. Role rotation is the most commonly used method for these topics.
• There has to be a bit of slack on the resourcing front – to cover for people that need to take a break, get a good picture, or venture forth and use the facilities. Group breaks and TV-timeouts are also required.
• Education and training components are also crucial. Although most time is spent in the classic ‘single-loop’ or the ‘double-loop’ style (when there are enough buckets and people), there are times when the more involved ‘double-loop-with-combined-return’ is used. This method requires both an intersecting-full-bucket-pickup and an empty-bucket-splitter role that can get confusing. Of course there is also the well-known ‘two-shoveller-bucket-placement’ role which in my mind is the most challenging.
• Last but not least, there is the human component. There are people who like to be ‘dumpers’ and people who constantly gravitate to the shovelling roles. Not that there is anything wrong with that…..

Bucket Placement - the most challenging role

 So yes, we moved dirt from Point A to Point B, but we also are now graduates of the Chiang Mai ‘fluid dynamics explained by dirt’ program and now we have our Dirt Badge for that. Oh, and we also learned how to dance courtesy of Marc (so that is dancing!…).

Continuing with the theme of fluidity and flexibility, we had changes to our supper plans this evening. Original plans for supper on-site with some ‘general merriment’ around the pool had to be shelved because the cook was not available. That’s OK – we hung out in the restaurant area and our fearless team leaders planned to go out to supper (try to figure out where you would take 17 people on short notice). When it was determined that the restaurant just up the street was closed, Aommy and Mai were called and in short order we were seated at a local Thai place just between the 7-Eleven and the hospital.

The food was excellent! Aommy and Mai ordered for everyone, and we added a couple of extra dishes. Rob, who seems to be the most adventurous eater, ordered the ‘entrails soup’ that sounded and looked ‘interesting?’ but based on the reviews of people that tried, it was very tasty. Here’s the kicker, though – once the dishes were counted and the bill was tallied – it came to around 50 dollars. Imagine – dinner for 17 for 50 dollars. Try that at home! Since we were under budget, we then made a quick stop on the way home for Bud’s of San Francisco Ice-Cream – a perfect cap to our day.

Not your Momma's chicken noodle soup....

Kudos to our team leads on this one – Erin and Christina did an excellent job!

Still happy and healthy – looking forward to Wednesday which will either be floor-day or possibly (don’t get too excited, though) bricks!

Day 2 - Let the Games Begin

content from joanne

Monday - 12 November

At supper this evening, Aommy told us that there were three seasons in Thailand – hot, hotter, and crazy hot. Although November is the start of winter, we got a taste of this today.

We were a lovely sight today taking off after breakfast ‘all dressed up’ in our red Global Village t-shirts and our clean clothes. Everyone was very excited to get working.

All dressed up and ready to go!

With our large group of 17 people, we are actually building two separate houses – one for the Chaicana family, and the other for the Intasuk family. On this first day, both busses met up at the first location to be officially greeted by the family representatives and some local officials. Aommy referred to one man as the Governor but I am not completely sure – he did have a lot of medals…

The work site and start of the bucket-chain

The two work sites look roughly the same, There are concrete poles set into the ground for the main corners of the building, and the roof is already installed. The wood forms for the foundations are already in place and levelled and the re-bar has already been tied and put into place. Our job for today will be to make concrete to fill the footings. There are two ‘bathtubs’ at each site, large mounds of sand and rocks, a pile of concrete bags, and some bricks in a pile. Fully prepped for us.

For the workers, there are long tables with plastic chairs set up under an awning (one even has fans installed!), a large drinks cooler (with ice!), and toilet facilities. The first site is out on the edge of a field with no other houses nearby – so the toilet area is a more ‘traditional’ Asian style. The second site is actually in a small collection of houses, with the new house being built right beside the old house, so there is a western-style toilet area for our use.  

Mix Master

Our recipe

We had a quick stretch, and got to work mixing cement. The ‘recipe’ was conveniently marked on one of the concrete poles for our use, but the basic process is to take half-a-bag of cement mix, and 3.5 (later adjusted to 4) buckets of water, and mix thoroughly. Add 8 buckets of sand, then 9 buckets of rocks, and start up a bucket chain to scoop the concrete out of the tub and transport to the footings area. Easy, right? It is, except for the 30+ degree weather and the humidity (“it’s not the heat – it’s the humidity”). We were ‘moist’ after the stretches, and had sweat dripping from our noses within half-an-hour. The morning was not too bad because we had some cloud cover, and everyone was chipper at lunch-time, but the sun came out in full force in the afternoon and it was downright steamy. Nevertheless, site 1 finished all their footings in the morning (except for a small area that still needed wood forms), and site 1 came to site 2 in the afternoon to help finish off their footings in the afternoon. One bus left early to get people out of the sun and into the shower and the pool.

Not so clean now - but still smiling!

Supper was at a very nice restaurant down by the river, and we all had fun spending our 400 baht from the rather extensive menus, but by the time supper was over, most of the group were ready for bed. One quick trip to the 7-11 to pick up supplies and some street-vendor sweets and we were toast.

Tomorrow – filling in the floors (assuming we make it past the stretching session)! Wish for clouds, please. Some breeze would be nice as well if you can manage it…

Day 1 - Team Maple Sugar Ready and Raring to Go

content from joanne

Sunday - 11 November

Today was our first day as a team and we are all happy, healthy, and (as far as I know) all with our luggage intact. Interestingly enough, some people travelled east to get here, some travelled west, and I personally went north then south - so I guess we have covered the four corners of the earth so far.

Our hotel is really very nice. It is in an enclosed garden area that is quite separated from the surrounding traffic and it seems quite peaceful except for the occasional buzzing mosquito, and the calls to prayer from the nearby mosque. Our group of 17 has taken over one of the buildings beside the pool which I expect we will make good use of, and we are just a short ways from the resaurant / breakfast area as well as the open-air room where we will be holding our team get-togethers.

View of the pool through the plumeria trees outside our rooms

Our first official activity was a welcome session from the local Habitat affiliate staff. We met Aommy, Mai, Mint, and Wii (perhaps an incorrect spelling - I will check tomorrow on his name-tag to be sure). They described how Habitat works in Thailand, the two families that we will be helping, and our general workday. This was followed by a welcome supper at the restaurant - with chicken, rice, spicy mushroom salad (although it was generally not spicy unless you hit that one little bit that burned your throat out), some curry, cabbage soup, a couple of items that we were not quite sure what they were, and fresh fruit for dessert (love that fresh pineapple). One final team meeting and some getting-to-know-you activities, and we were off to bed.

Apparently Thailand Global Village builds all have names - ours is team Maple Sugar. Perhaps that is because we are all so sweet, or maybe because we are avoiding hockey references due to the lockout - I'm not sure....

That's it for this short day - Bus leaves tomorrow at 8:00 AM sharp.....

Introduction

This blog was set up for members, family, and friends of the Canadian Habitat for Humanity - Global Village team traveling to Chiang Mai, Thailand from November 11 - 24, 2012. It will be used to document the challenges, successes, and impressions they have while providing affordable and decent housing to two families in Chiang Mai.

The first group of posts include background information on the trip and our destination. For updates as the trip progresses - check back here in November! Although we are not sure about internet access yet, we will try to provide periodic updates, and at the very least we will post our updates upon our return to Canada.

See you soon!

Trip Overview

Content from HfH Website

"I arise in the morning torn between a desire to save the world and a desire to savour the world. This makes it hard to plan the day." E. B. White

Are you interested in making a difference for a deserving family, as well as having the opportunity to explore, learn, grow, and have fun? Our team will work with local people to provide simple, decent housing for families in Thailand. We will also have opportunities to build relationships and make friends in another culture, and experience life in Thailand. This late fall build will enable team members to provide a gift of housing and a better life to a deserving family.

We need posiitve attitudes, open minds, flexibility, adventurous spirits, and a sense of humour! No building experience is necessary.

About Thailand

Thailand, "the land of smiles", has achieved remarkable progress in economic and human development over recent decades. The economy continues to perform well in spite of political disturbances and street disturbances over past years. Yet the fruits of prosperity are spread unevenly in this tropical Southeast Asian nation. Many people can afford to access the formal private or government housing sectors. However, for many low-income families, having a good, regular income is not enough. Rising demand for land, and the growing pressure on land prices, make access to the formal housing sector difficult for them.

The government's National Housing Authority estimates some 300,000 families or nearly 8.2 million people live in sub-standard housing. Problems are particularly acture in Bangkok as the city has grown in to a major metropolis of an estimated 11-12 million people, dwarfing other cities in the country.

Poverty is still widespread in the rural northeast, far north and far south of the country. Migration from rural areas has placed a strain upon the supply of affordable land. Migrants face high rents and small rooms and often live in overcrowded areas plagued by a lack of proper sanitation facilities. Squatter settlements are commonly seen along the railway lines or near port and industrial areas.

No previous construction skills are required - just a desire to learn, be flexible, share tasks and enjoy making friends from different cultures as well as your own. This two-week build will be an excellent and life-changing experience. If you are committed, flexible and enthusiastic, and you are interested in making a difference in the lives of others, you will want to join this team!

Where Are We??

Content from Worldatlas.com

Thailand is located in both the eastern and northern hemispheres, and is positioned in Southeast Asia.

Thailand (shown in yellow in the map below) is bordered by the Andaman Sea, Gulf of Thailand, Indian Ocean and the countries of Burma (Myanmar), Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia. 

Latitude and Longitude:

Bangkok (in central Thailand close to the Gulf of Siam) : 13.75° N, 100.48° E
Chiang Mai: (in northern Thailand) :  18.78° N, 98.98° E

Thailand Basics

content from GV Thailand Information handbook


National Flag
The red,white, and blue bands signify the nation, Buddhism, and the monarchy respectively

Population:
The population of Thailand is approximately 65,000,000.

Politics
A constitutional monarchy headed by King Bhumibol Adulyadej, with 76 provinces each sub-divided into Amphur (district), Tambon (sub- district) and Mubaan (village).

Religion
90% of the population in Thailand is Theravada Buddhist. Other religious minorities are Muslims, Christians, Hindus, and Sikhs.

Language
Although Thai is the language spoken in Thailand, English is widely known in major tourist destinations. Thai-English road signs exist nation-wide.

Thailand is the World's Largest Exporter of Rice.

Cultural Hints

 content from GV documentation

Ronald Greets Customers in Bangkok

It is not by accident that Thailand is often referred to as “the land of smile”. The Thais are exceptionally friendly and helpful people, and getting along with them is easy-simply smile wide and laughs a lot. Being Buddhists, they are an amazingly tolerant people. Avoiding offensive behavior can generally be achieved through simple courtesy and common sense. A few taboos do exist, though, mostly with regard to the monarchy and Buddhism.  

Greeting People: The Thai greeting is known as the wai and consists of the palms being pressed together and lifted towards the chin. If someone wais you, you should wai back (except wai-ed by child).  

Body Language: The head is considered a sacred part of the body by Thais. The feet are seen as the lowliest part of the body. 

Royalty: The royal family is the most revered institution in Thailand. Criticizing or defaming it
in any way can be considered lèse-majesté. Not only could this mean a jail sentence but Thai people will nearly always be deeply offended.  

Monk: The monkshood is a respected institution that comes just below royalty in the social hierarchy. 

Etiquette at Wats (Temple): As in churches and other houses of worship, a certain decorum should be observed when entering the grounds of any Wat. 

Suitable Dress: Because the Thais are modest people, clothing should be kept respectable whether you are in the city or in the country. Dress properly; wear clothing that covers ones arms and knees. Miniskirts, shorts and sleeveless shirts are not allowed when visiting a temple. 

Cultural Do’s and Don’ts: Polite behavior is welcomed everywhere, and what is considered polite in other countries is probably considered polite in Thailand, too. Below you will find a list of cultural do’s and don’ts:

Cultural Do’s

• Be respectful of each other “waiing” when greeting each other.
• Be respectful of elders by serving or addressing them first in social situations.
• Be respectful of the monarchy by standing when the royal anthem is played – this occurs before a movie is show in the theatres and at special occasions. 
• Be respectful of the Thai Government by standing when the national anthem is played – this occurs at 8:00am and at 6:00pm daily. 
• Be respectful of the Buddhist religion by observing their guidelines. 
• Always take your shoes off when entering Buddhist Temple, private Thai homes; chapels where Buddhist images are kept; and any of the Islamic community’s mosques.
• Monks are not to touch or be touched by women.
• Visitors should dress neatly in all religious shrines. They should never go shirtless, or in shorts, hot pants or other unsuitable attire.
• Do not sit on or put your arms around Buddhist images. Each Buddha image, large or small, ruined or not, is regarded as being a sacred object. Never climb onto one to take a photograph or do anything that might show lack of respect.
• Never sit with your feet pointing toward all Buddha images. Some areas of a temple may be off limits for women-there is usually a sign indicating so.
• The intimacies between man and woman should not be shown in public.
• Sunbathing in the nude is prohibited.

Cultural Don’ts:

However, there are a few cultural pitfalls, mainly social and religious taboos, the breaking of which can cause offence:

• Be boisterous in public places, unless it is during a festival or holiday.
• Point at things or people with your feet or rest them on a table is considered rude.
• Touch a Thai person’s head, especially an elderly. A sincere apology should be offered  immediately if you touch someone’s head unintentionally.
• Touch Thai women without their consent. Generally, they are conservative.
• Step over people sitting around you.
• Step on a coin or paper money intentionally, as this is disrespectful of the King (his picture is on all Thai currency).
• Outward expressions of anger are regarded as crude and boorish. The visitor who remains calm and smiles appreciatively will find all sorts of doors open to him.