In Thailand, as is the case everywhere, you're bound to observe differences in culture. These differences stem from a mix of cultural norms, and in many cases in the east, a history of being occupied. Thailand, however, was never occupied by a foreign power, but instead would change its laws depending on who they are using with at the time. Of course, that is hardly the car with many of examples, but it's good to keep in mind.
That said, here are a few things I'm still adjusting to, or still appreciating:
- when buying a bottle of water from a convenience store, they usually give you a straw. This is true of many other establishments. My symptom here is the act of drinking from the bottle looks crude by comparison
- despite every Thai restaurant in the US and the eating cultures of surrounding countries, I rarely see chopsticks here. I've had very few meals using them. Even locals seem to use forks. This probably stems back to the changing of laws
- street food takeout places have sometimes give me utensils, but not the locals. They probably carry their own or bring the food home/to work
- fresh fruit blended with some ice and water, everywhere, is amazing
- this is more obvious, but food (ie fruit) is usually sold fresh and ripe each day. No green bananas here.
- you hear stories about scanners everywhere, and that combined with my experiences with Indian beggars, I expected a similar experience here. This is not the case. Scammers here are pretty obvious, and everyone else is extremely helpful
- Most people here speak English, but the average person not as well as I expected. Still, they're usually better than most people in India
- Sometimes an r is randomly inserted into words. One famous street in Bangkok is called khao san, but I've seen it written khao sarn. Similarly, an island in going to is called koh sukon or koh sukorn
- food and drink usually arrive at the same time, though this might be because I'm ordering shakes
- side streets are usually assigned numbers and names, with numbering for that district. Sometimes a side street off of another street is the same number
That said, here are a few things I'm still adjusting to, or still appreciating:
- when buying a bottle of water from a convenience store, they usually give you a straw. This is true of many other establishments. My symptom here is the act of drinking from the bottle looks crude by comparison
- despite every Thai restaurant in the US and the eating cultures of surrounding countries, I rarely see chopsticks here. I've had very few meals using them. Even locals seem to use forks. This probably stems back to the changing of laws
- street food takeout places have sometimes give me utensils, but not the locals. They probably carry their own or bring the food home/to work
- fresh fruit blended with some ice and water, everywhere, is amazing
- this is more obvious, but food (ie fruit) is usually sold fresh and ripe each day. No green bananas here.
- you hear stories about scanners everywhere, and that combined with my experiences with Indian beggars, I expected a similar experience here. This is not the case. Scammers here are pretty obvious, and everyone else is extremely helpful
- Most people here speak English, but the average person not as well as I expected. Still, they're usually better than most people in India
- Sometimes an r is randomly inserted into words. One famous street in Bangkok is called khao san, but I've seen it written khao sarn. Similarly, an island in going to is called koh sukon or koh sukorn
- food and drink usually arrive at the same time, though this might be because I'm ordering shakes
- side streets are usually assigned numbers and names, with numbering for that district. Sometimes a side street off of another street is the same number
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