Thailand: Facts & Stats

CULTURE

Traditions:

One of the most distinctive Thai customs is the wai, which is similar to the Indian namaste gesture. Showing greeting, farewell, or acknowledgment, it comes in several forms reflecting the relative status of those involved, but generally it involves a prayer-like gesture with the hands and a bow of the head.

Physical demonstrations of affection in public are common between friends, but less so between lovers. It is thus common to see friends walking together holding hands, but couples rarely do so except in westernized areas.

A notable social norm holds that touching someone on the head may be considered rude. It is also considered rude to place one's feet at a level above someone else's head, especially if that person is of higher social standing. This is because the Thai people consider the foot to be the dirtiest and fattest part of the body, and the head the most respected and highest part of the body. This also influences how Thais sit when on the ground—their feet always pointing away from others, tucked to the side or behind them. Pointing at or touching something with the feet is also considered rude.

It is also considered extremely rude to step on a Thai coin, because the king's head appears on the coin. When sitting in a temple, one is expected to point one's feet away from images of the Buddha. Shrines inside Thai residences are arranged so as to ensure that the feet are not pointed towards the religious icons, such as placing the shrine on the same wall as the head of a bed, if a house is too small to remove the shrine from the bedroom entirely.

It is also customary to remove one's footwear before entering a home or a temple, and not to step on the threshold.

Celebrations:

Important holidays in Thai culture include Thai New Year, or Songkran, which officially observed from April 13 to 15 each year. Falling at the end of the dry season and during the hot season in Thailand, the celebrations notoriously feature boisterous water throwing.

The water throwing stemmed from washing Buddha images and lightly sprinkling scented water on the hands of elderly people. Small amounts of scented talcum powder were also used in the annual cleansing rite. But in recent decades the use of water has intensified with the use of hoses, barrels, squirt guns, high-pressure tubes and copious amounts of powder.

Another holiday is Loy Krathong, which is held on the 12 full moon of the Thai lunar calendar. While not a government-observed holiday, it is nonetheless an auspicious day in Thai culture, in which Thai people "loi", meaning "to float" a "krathong", a small raft traditionally made from a section of banana tree, decorated with elaborately-folded banana leaves, flowers, candles, incense sticks etc. The act of floating away the candle raft is symbolic of letting go of all one's grudges, anger and defilements, so that one can start life afresh on a better foot.

Alcohol:

The legal age to purchase alcohol in Thailand is 18. The legal age to enter and consume alcohol in a bar or club is 20.

Sports and Hobbies:

The most popular team sport in Thailand is football (also know as association football or soccer). However, the professional leagues Thai League and Pro League in Thailand are in their infancy. Muay Thai (Thai boxing) is probably the most popular spectator sport in Thailand. The other main indigenous sport is takraw, which is similar to volleyball, but played with the feet and a light rattan ball. There are several versions of the game with differing rules.

There is a Swan Boat circuit where the villages field teams compete. The international invitational race is usually in November.

Egg rolling once enjoyed national-pastime status, but famine and egg shortages around the middle of the last century caused it to retreat to rural villages, where it is still practised with traditional vigour.

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