5 Local Thai Customs You Should Know Before Travelling

Sreekar Harinatha's avatarThe Backpack Footprint

This is a guest post by Hazel Lee. Hazel Lee is an avid traveler, with a penchant for countries with a deep history and unique cultures. She has a strict no bus tour rule whenever she travels to a new destination, as she would much rather experience everything on her own two feet.

Travelling isn’t just about having a good time. Wherever you go, you have to be a responsible tourist, and this includes respecting the local customs—especially in Asian countries where the culture is a lot more reserved compared to the West.

In Thailand, you’ll immediately notice many differences, like how locals greet each other, and how people usually dress. By being aware of these, you’ll have a much more meaningful experience when you visit.

Here are five local customs, traditions, and cultural quirks you should take note of.

To greet is to “wai”

Before you travel to…

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The Dating Hierarchy

An Education

noitsmoroccansunset's avatarA Variety of Frogs

Welcome to the incredibly frank yet light hearted explanation of the dating hierarchy here in Bangkok.
I could pussy foot around what is socially and politically correct to say when it comes to discussing different cultures, skin colours and ethnic backgrounds. But let’s be honest, I’d be here forever trying to spare people’s feelings, when I know I’ll still end up offending someone. #forevertiptoeingoneggshells

I should also point out that I am in no way racist because every time I tell my parents that I’m going on a date, the first question is never “oh where?!” its, “what colour is he?” my dating background is becoming quite the colourful spectrum these days.

Before I begin I feel I should give you a little insight into Thai culture to explain why skin colour is a big deal out here.
Thailand as a culture are pretty racist and “beauty” (their warped version…

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Hacker Culture Becoming Mainstream?

hacker culture , mainstream , subculture , tech workers

Nga Than's avatarSociological Reasoning

While writing review of two books: The Mastermind and Bad Blood, I noticed that organizations described in them consciously employed hacking as main ways to solve problems. In the case of the Mastermind, the entire enterprise where Paul le Roux built was centered around hack culture. He figured out various loopholes in the American health care system, and exploited those loopholes to sell painkillers on the Internet. In Evan Ratliff’s words, le Roux often hacks his way out of a situation:

Typical of Le Roux, the plan was kind of hack. Just as he had exploited a hole in the American healthcare system to sell painkillers, he planned to take advantage of a dysfunctional government to exploit the resources it couldn’t harvest.

Sitting in his headquarters in the Philippines, he could mobilize more than 1,000 employees across the world to work for his many companies. He hacked his way…

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