Filipino Expats Blog in Thailand

Filipinos Living, Working and Travelling in Thailand Blog

Apr 17 2010

Visiting Thailand from a Filipino’s Perspective

Posted by Jose Tan in Living in Thailand, Travel

Written By: Hedda (http://www.heddatan.com)

Visiting Thailand would require one to have good knowledge of Thai culture, for apart from the similarities in our appearances and geography, the culture of the Thais and the Filipinos are as different as night and day.

The following bits of information are a combination of years of experiences living in Thailand of Siam Pinoy administrators, contributions in the forum discussions by Siam Pinoy members, and brochures from numerous sites visited by Siam Pinoy admins over the years of enjoying Thai hospitality.

Ours is an attempt to simply make any visitor to Thailand, Filipino or otherwise, be aware of certain important aspects of Thai culture so he/she may fully enjoy his/her stay in the Kingdom of Smiles. The Thais are a very hospitable people, ready to befriend a foreigner, but could also be offended if we don’t follow certain ways of conduct while we are enjoying such hospitality and friendliness.

Enjoy your stay in the Kingdom of Thailand! And to the Filipino visitor or expat, learn as much as you can from this article, and hopefully, as you discover more about this amazing country, you will also be generous towards others and contribute your knowledge in our forum. Please find the link to our forum threads here.

Apart from knowing how and when to do the “wai” (the standard Thai greeting) the next 2 most important cultural tidbit anyone wishing to visit and/or live in Thailand ought to know of are “chai yen yen” and “mai pen rai”.

“Chai Yen Yen”

Simply, it translates to “calm down” or “control yourself”. Usually, this is most helpful and would readily be offered by a native local to any foreigner just about ready to go into a verbal outburst, lose his/her temper or is showing signs of emotional upset or anxiety.

“Mai Pen Rai”

In English, it is equivalent to “never mind” or “no problem”. To a Filipino, hearing this phrase when someone is in an emotionally charged predicament can be exasperating.

A native Thai would naturally say these phrases not out of insensitivity or because they do not care about you. The Thais are simply easygoing and showing strong emotions in public (may it be joy, anger or sadness) is taboo in Thai culture. Perhaps, it stems from influences in the major religion practiced in Thailand – Buddhism. That being so, Thais live in accordance with its teaching, The Middle Path. Therefore, extremes of any kind are best avoided.

On a positive note, such characteristics teach one to be more patient, calm and tolerant – traits that could come in handy if you are in Thailand especially to do business or to work with the locals.

On a less positive note, these character traits could prove a deterrent to maintaining friendships with the locals. We Filipinos, for instance, are a passionate bunch (blame it on our being under Hispanic rule for more than 300 years). And so, we expect our good friends to be expressive when we see them after a long while. However, that would not be the case when you’re meeting your Thai friend after a long time. The most you should expect is a smile (not even a hug, let alone a kiss). This is not to say that your friend is not happy to see you; he/she is just being his/her calm, composed self, especially when in public. That’s how he/she was raised. This is how he/she was taught to behave. When one is in a restaurant, for example, or when ordering your first dose of “cha yen” (cold tea) from your local street vendor, expect him/her to forget that you don’t like too much condensed milk in your tea (even after you have told him/her for the third consecutive time). Do expect to remind him/her several more times before he/she finally makes it right. Being relaxed and calm lend itself to forgetfulness most times. Meanwhile, smile and say to yourself, “mai pen rai”. Your local vendor will think of you as having very good manners when you do.

More