By LizGoodwin04
Thailand is certainly very different from the United States and having been here three weeks now I’m picking up more and more on all of the little nuances and differences that make Thailand so unique. Below are three small, but significant observations about Thai culture.
- They ride motorcycles, or as the Thais call them “morcyes,” everywhere. Walking anywhere in Thailand is extremely difficult. There are no sidewalks and when there are sidewalks they are completely uneven with huge drop offs. Also, there are giant holes on the side of the road that I’ve heard people do occasionally fall into. So it’s no surprise that Thais prefer to ride their motorcycles everywhere, even if it’s just down the street less than a quarter of a mile away to the local 7-11 or around the corner to the closest breakfast place which is only a two minute walk (something my Thai roommate does quite often).
- The Thais love to take selfies and it seems there is never an inappropriate time to take a selfie. There is no such thing as “selfie-shame” in this country. In Thailand if you are at a coffee shop, the first thing you do is take a selfie with the coffee. If you go out with friends to the bar, the first thing you do is take a selfie. If you’re at the mall, you take a selfie. There isn’t really anywhere you wouldn’t take a selfie in Thailand.
- Bagged drinks. If you order any type of drink in Thailand, you will receive the drink in a plastic bag with a straw. At first, I thought drinking out of a bag was extremely weird. It was hard to balance and I never knew how to set the drink on the table. However, once I figured out how to hold the bag properly and set it down, I realized that plastic bags make way more sense and are more convenient than to go cups. With bagged drinks, you can carry them on your wrists, thus freeing up your hands to carry other things. In addition, nothing spills out the top of a plastic bag and sloshes all over your hands the way overly filled cups do. Finally, the handles of the bag keep your hands from getting all wet and cold from the condensation that cold drinks produce. In my opinion, this is definitely a practice the United States should consider adopting.