THAI CULTURE

Thai people are one of the very soft spoken people of the world. Most of them are Buddhist by religion and adopt Karma theory in their lives. Karma theory can be loosely defined as “ as you sow so you reap”. That is what one has done in his previous birth he is destined to enjoy its fruits in the present birth. Therefore nothing can be changed and one cannot escape anything from it.

By and large Thai people take “ JAI YEN YEN “ as their lives approach which means “ Take it easy” policy. Therefore when people like Indians who are by nature emotionally charged and mostly type “A” personality approach their lives seriously there is always a conflict when dealing with Thai people. As most of the Thai people have agriculture backing their approach is “ There is rice in the field and fish in the sea” why should one become unnecessarily charged up !

Thai people by nature are not good at adhering to time schedules, be it a meeting, party, social gathering etc. it is always stretchable time and not “sharp……. AM/ PM” as nothing is sharp there! Though they are educated from Ivy league universities from US when they come and settle in Thailand the educated elite also stick to stretchable time! This is not only about punctuality but also about adhering to committed schedules to complete tasks and projects. Follow up and tactful follow up is vital.

Thai culture gives utmost reverence to head. Therefore one should not even by mistake touch anyone’s head.  Indian culture encourages elders to touch and bless the head of anyone who is younger. It is not so in Thai culture. This has to borne in mind whenever you interact with anyone from Thailand.

Thai people follow strict Patriarchal  form of life.  There is lot of respect to elders. Men command higher respect. This does not mean women have no say in day to day life. Though women are found to be more hard working, enterprising and intelligent they are considered to be subordinate to men at home and in society as far as their social standing is concerned.

Thai people are known for their cleanliness. Brushing teeth after lunch break in office is a common sight. Have you found anywhere in the world where people use gallon packs of shampoo. It is a very common pack for household. Not meant for any beauty parlor or anything but for exclusive use of household. As men and women sport long hair may be the usage is very high.

Toilets, whether at homes, hotels, malls and other public places are always found to be kept extremely clean and tidy. There used to be aroma wicks burning slowly to keep the ambiance smelling nice !

Another notable feature of Thai culture is if you leave / forget anything even in a public place probability of finding the same there is very high. Mostly people do not covet other’s belongings be it a cell phone or watch things are normally not taken away!

Thai people have a unique culture called as KRENG JAI. By this as someone below you in social / official hierarchy they respect you. Therefore they do not challenge you neither in person nor in public. On account of this higher ups get away. As they are shown KRENG JAI they are supposed to show NAAM JAI, that is they have an obligation to protect subordinates. This may sound funny but it can go to any extent.

To give an example we had a General Manager. He had two offices one in side the factory which he used to visit on a few fixed days of a week, other one, in the Head Office from where he used to operate most of the time. In the Head Office he had Purchase, Accounts, Taxation, Sales and Marketing offices and the respective departmental heads sitting there.  One day he had called a meeting and in that instead of showing the Power Point Presentation pertaining to H.O he was showing details about factory over heads, Warehouse, Production Planning department’s details etc. None of the Manager’s sitting in HO reacted to him and on account of Kreng Jai they just kept quiet and listened to the irrelevant slides for an hour. When the GM realized his mistake and asked them why they did not interrupt him they all smiled and said Kreng Jai as the reason.

In one of the weekly review meeting I was chairing there was a presentation very poorly made. No proper explanation and reasoning for such a poor show.  I took out my anger and told the presenter to stop the crap and meet me next day in my office private. Next day there was a delegation and prompt came the advice from HR that this was Thai Way show Naam Jai.

Food and vehicles form major part of discussion when you meet a Thai. Though fond of food cooking at home is not the order of the way. Virtually anything and everything is packed in polythene bags and sent be it coffee, tea, rice etc. If you want cold coffee hot coffee is made and chunks of ice thrown into the ploy bay before pouring the hot coffee.

If someone comes home for lunch or dinner as invited by you, you may expect additional one or two uninvited guests brought in by the invited guest, as the same is normal with Thai people. After enjoying the food not to look mean they shall leave small chunks of food on the plate and pretend that they are leaving the same as they are full!!