So you’re thinking of going to Thailand and want the low down?  You are in for a rare treat to be able to experience the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of this exotic culture first hand.  Whether for business or pleasure, long stay or short visit, you will not want to leave Thailand when the time comes.  You will have memories for a lifetime and will always have a longing to return.

The most prevalent language spoken in Thailand is Thai.  This is another of the tonal languages from which many other languages of adjoining areas have been derived.  Just as the English language has many variations (dialects), so has the Thai language.

Written Thai is based on an alphabet adopted from the Cambodian Khmers and is thought to have been standardized during the Sukhothai period.  The Thai alphabet consists of 44 consonants, 18 vowels, and 4 diphthong (tonal) notations.

The differences often are word usages, pronunciation, intonation and/or enunciation.  The Lao, Isan, Cambodian and Khmer languages have much in common so when you learn Thai, you will be able to easily adapt to other dialects and many other Asiatic languages. Because of the differences in the alphabet, Thai will be a different learning experience, but definitely worth the time and effort.

Though many Thai natives speak English and many visitors manage well without speaking Thai, it is so much more enjoyable if you learn (at a minimum) some basic Thai before going.  For one thing, you can understand what the natives are saying (about you?) and that can be very helpful sometimes, especially in an uncomfortable situation.  You will be able to explore and shop on your own without the cost and bother of a guide.  And besides, you will be the visitor – it is only reasonable that you try to speak their language as a courtesy to them.  Even if you don’t do it well, they will appreciate your efforts and show you respect in return.

You might be apprehensive about trying to learn a new language, or think it is too expensive, or too time consuming.  But surprisingly enough, learning a language has become much easier over the past few years. This is due mainly to the internet and interactive learning. As speed learning has increased, cost has decreased so now you can go online an hour or so a night (at minimal cost) and before you know it you will be speaking like a native. If you’re unsure if this is the right way for you to learn a new language, not to worry. Transparent language offers free language software for you to download! Give it a whirl, and see if it’s right for you.

There are other reasons for learning a new language as well.  Think about the following points:

Brain Stimulation and Life Skills Improvement:

The brain is stimulated by learning a new language and cognitive/life skills are increased as well.  The old phrase “Use It or Lose It” is actually true when it comes to brain power.  As we age we must constantly challenge our brain with new thoughts and activities.  And this challenge has to begin early in life and continue as we age.

Simplify Your Life:

Learning the language of your host country makes your day to day life much easier.  You will not need a guide everywhere you go, you will be able to avoid the hassles of shopping for the best buys, you will be able to merge into the ebb and flow of native life without feeling like a stand-out, and you will become a part of the local landscape.  Imagine yourself in the crowd at an impromptu performance of native theater or dancing – you won’t have to wonder what the narrator is saying or when to applaud/cry/cheer, etc.  You will have an enhanced appreciation of everything Thai.

Communicate Directly With The Locals:

You will be able to learn first hand the Thai culture, habits, values and religion if you speak with them in their own language.  You will be able to better appreciate their attitudes and attributes.  You will be able to explain your own position on issues; remember what the people think of you is what they will think of all people of your country.

Improve Business Possibilities:

If you can speak the language, business can be transacted faster and without all the bother of translators. Business will increase and be more profitable when you are able to negotiate on your own, face to face.

Be Appreciated By The Locals:

Native people will appreciate the fact that you have made the effort to learn their language.  Whether you have mastered it or not, the effort you made to try will be noticed as it means you have a respect for the Thai people. Respect is very important to the Thai, both in public and in private life. If you respect them, they will respect you.

In conclusion, you are going to have a wonderful visit to Thailand.  Their relatively conservative values, their love of family, their exotic music and colors, their tolerance of religions, their industrious nature and their partiality to the tourism industry will all impress you. You will want to return again and again.  Your knowledge of their language will indeed serve you well and will have been worth the time it took to learn it.

Here are 5 things to remember about feet when hiking around the Land of Smiles.

1. Take Off Your Shoes

You’d have to be pretty dense to miss this one. When you enter most Thai homes, and even many restaurants and shops, you will see a collection of shoes outside the front door. No, that’s not a new spin on Southeast Asian décor—you’re expected to take your shoes off. Even if a Thai insists you don’t have to do this, I still do, unless every one else is truly stomping around the house with their shoes on.

When in doubt, go with taking them off.

2. Don’t Point With Your Feet

Pointing with your feet can also get you in a bit of trouble, and most Westerners don’t realize how often we actually do just that. When our hands are full we will often use our feet to move an object, gesture at something, and possibly even pick something up if we are barefooted.

All not cool here in Thailand. If you can, avoid even pointing at people with your feet accidently, which can happen if you often cross your legs when seated.

3. Keep Your Feet Off the Furniture

It always kind of blows my mind when I see a foreigner throw their feet up on a table or anything, really, while relaxing in a restaurant, train, or hotel. In my own opinion, this is pretty rude no matter where you are—unless you’re in your own home, of course. In Thailand, it is a horrifying blunder—don’t do it.

4. Don’t Touch Anyone’s Shoes

People don’t want you touching their feet any more than they will ever want to touch yours, and this extends to shoes. So try to avoid picking up someone else’s shoes and handing them over or any nonsense like that. In a similar fashion, keep your shoes away from others—sounds easy enough, but a lot of backpackers do make a habit of stringing their extra shoes off of their backpacks when trekking around, and these can easily bump into people in crowded situations.

5. Never Point Your Feet at Religious Effigies

The whole foot thing carries on into the Buddhist temples, where you will definitely be expected to remove your shoes. When sitting cross-legged or kneeling, be conscious of where you point your stubby digits—definitely away from the statues of Buddha.

6. Don’t Touch Someone’s Head with Your Feet—Okay, Are You TRYING to Get Killed?

Okay, I’m giving you a hard time…kind of. Tying back into the last Thai taboo we talked about, keep your feet far, far, far away from other people’s heads. I don’t know why they would end up there anyways, but hey, it bears mentioning.

The worst thing you can do is touch the most sacred part of someone’s body with the dirtiest, most unholy part of yours. It’s the ultimate disrespect, and if you cross that line, you just might end up becoming the one taking a couple Muay Thai feet to the dome.

Just sayin’.

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Only, you’re big enough to really get under people’s skin with your mistakes. So I’d like to write a series of articles about Thailand taboos to give you some ideas of things you should watch out for.
The one I want to talk about today is the head as a sacred part of the body. In cultural Thai history, the head is believed to hold the kwan, or the force of life, and for many people this still holds true today. Even in cases where it doesn’t, the social conditioning is such that Thai people are very defensive about touching on the head.

This can be a bit of a challenge to remember as a foreigner. In some Western countries, when someone is teasing us, we inadvertently slap them upside their head—usually softly, but I suppose it depends on your social circle. Do this to a Thai who you don’t know extremely well, and prepare for a look of extreme shock to surface on their face.

In fact, you’ll notice young children do this to annoy each other, but only when they are the best of friends. I’ve heard it likened to how some Western children will flick each other in the back of the ear.

You’ll also see couples do it to each other, and in my experience it typically happens when the male is the obviously dominant half of the relationship, and he does it to his girlfriend or “gik” in a teasing manner—almost like picking on your younger sister. I can only conclude it’s a part of reinforcing emotional dominance (by the way, if that sounds strange to you, a lot of that goes on in the earlier stages of men and women dating in America as well, although the one with emotional control is more likely to go either way gender-wise, generalization or not).

At any rate, this is definitely something you should be aware of. I have friends who I’ve done this to in Thailand, but I don’t advocate that at all unless you’ve been here a LONG time and really understand the culture and where your relationship stands. When I do it with my friends, it’s really a big joke and meant to somewhat annoy them—as it is when they do it to me.

Don’t immediately assume your Thai/Western friendships are on the same level as I literally spend every single day with these people and have a great emotional understanding of the nuances. And NEVER do this to someone who is significantly older than you are.
If you do make a blunder in this department, an apology is usually enough to clear it up.

On one last note, standing tall, with your head above other people when walking by, whether they are sitting or standing, is also considered bad form. It generally feels to Thais as if you are displaying dominant status, and unless you are rich enough and/or old enough to actually have that status, it is rude to do that.
Instead, make it a point to drop your head a little when passing by groups of people, and if you are walking through a crowd of people who are sitting, crouch down a little to at least show some sign that you understand the dynamic and are trying to account for it.

In a situation where people are sitting on the floor and eating, you may want to go as far as to walk in a squat until you are off the eating mats and out of the group.

Watch what everyone else is doing and follow the majority—then you should be fine. In these situations, it’s usually the best bet, but sometimes it helps to know what you’re looking for.

More taboos to come.

1. I Have Forgotten About Time

Somehow I manage to run an online business, but half of the time (okay, maybe 75% or more), I have no clue what day it is or what time it is. My personal assistant, who lives in the Philippines, is constantly reminding me what day it is and what needs to be done. Time is just a dimension that isn’t quite as substantial here, and for me that works (albeit, it doesn’t exactly work for everyone I do business with).

I eat when I’m hungry. I eat when I’m tired. I go when I want to go. And that’s oh so Thai.

2. My Need for Solitude Nearly Vanished

I’ve always been an extreme independent. I always had lots of friends, but I was the kind of person who really needed to get my alone time, where I would read books, write, or just reflect on life. That part of me still exists a little bit, and I’d like to cultivate it more again, but in many ways I’ve finally become used to always having people at my side.

Like many of the Thais, everywhere I go I am with my friends until I make my way to my room at night, and I imagine it will take some getting used to the silence again.

3. You’d Have to Try to Run Me Over With a Car to Upset Me

Actually, come to think of it, I’ve been hit by a car twice on my motorbike and neither time did I get angry, so I suppose you’d have to intend to run me over with a car to upset me.

It’s really hard for me to get irritated or mad now. Minor inconveniences, like my internet going down for a day or the shop being a few days late on the promised date for a fixed motorbike, would be HIGHLY unlikely to shake me. I’ve really taken to the “mai bpen rai” attitude of the Thais, and although this cultural trait has at times been accused of being the reason many social injustices are allowed to go on, I feel it is an improvement in my case.

I still stand up for my beliefs when the time is right, but the things I cannot change are unlikely to upset my day.

4. I’m No Longer as Ambitious About Travel

Interestingly enough, my wanderlust has largely faded. This has been the biggest shock of all. I’ve always been the type who wanted to see as many countries and beautiful places on this planet as possible. Now, I have to scrape up the ambition to even leave town. It’s an odd feeling for someone who always felt they needed to leave when they were back home—always restless—but I can’t help feel it’s just out of sheer comfort.

I still plan to see many other places, and I’m hoping getting some miles under my feet will reawaken my thirst for travel—because there are certainly many places in this world well worth seeing. But here in Thailand it’s as if I’m in my own little bubble.

Time still ticks out there in the rest of the world. History continues to unfold and my family and friends go on living life without me. It’s not necessarily a good thing, but I’ve reached a point in my life where that’s out there and this is here…this is my life.

Such is Thailand, I suppose.

But there will be a few things that disagree with you when you first make it in country—just realize that it’s all part of the acclimation, and if you stay here long enough they just become part of the scenery.

Here’s a few to help brace you for your stay.

1. The Noise

Ah, the noise. I can’t help but feel a little affection for the Thailand clatter after all this time. The relentless honking horns, the heavy traffic, the shouts of those determined to make a sale with their competitors right at their shoulders, and the blaring of anthems and boxing match announcements at volumes that can’t be described as anything but cruel.

Your eardrums are in for a shock, but the clamor that is Thailand has a life of its own, and over time it will be quite endearing.

2. The Smells

Take a whiff. If you just stepped on Thai soil, or concrete, you’re likely standing in Bangkok right now, and the stench of it in certain spots can really turn your stomach. Hard to put a finger on what it is exactly—a mixture of smog, trash, sewage, polluted water, and exotic foods I would suppose.

Yes, it’s as tasty as it sounds.

It overwhelms you, makes you nauseous, and sometimes all you want to do is get off the street just to get away from it alone. If you’ve got a bad case of Bangkok gut or a particularly heavy hangover, it can be agonizing, but over time, you don’t even notice it anymore.

3. The Stomach-Ache

Yep—the good old Bangkok gut itself. I would say unless you have a cast iron stomach (and everyone always said I did), there’s a 99% chance your first three days will be spent nursing your stomach, wishing you could try more of the food even while spending unusual amounts of time on the toilet. You may even find yourself spending a few days not leaving your room at all.
It happens to everyone, and it’s part of the acclimation process.

Don’t get alarmed—they say that it happens because your stomach is not used to the spices and the bacteria here, so it’s not due to bad food, as many assume. It goes away over time, though it may pop up its head once in a blue moon even once you’re a Thailand vet.

4. The Perversions

The sex trade, which is said to be a part of Thailand itself rather than something the Western tourist brought here, is not to be avoided in Land of Smiles. It’s right there for everyone to see and there’s no denying it. You can get away from it if you beeline out of the tourist centers and head the other direction, but the truth is that it’s still there under the surface. You may not recognize it, but learn some Thai language and get to know the culture, and you’ll find out that it is everywhere.

It’s comes with the territory. I don’t condone it, but over time it just becomes part of the character of this place.

5. The Smile

The Thai smile can be a bit alarming at first—though I’m sure you’ve never heard it described that way. Coming from a Western country, where people are a bit cold, you can go weeks sometimes without a smile from a random stranger. So, when you land here and suddenly everyone is grinning and smiling at you at every chance, or striking up a conversation just to practice their English, it can really throw you for a loop.

Sometimes you feel like you can’t escape it. A moment of privacy when you’re a foreign face in Thailand—good luck. The smiles follow you everywhere. You’re going to love it once it grows on you, and believe me, it will.

Here’s a few to get your taste buds working.

Fried Bugs

Everyone knows about the fried bugs when they come to Thailand, and for many more adventurous tourists, this is one of those—“gotta do it once” experiences. Indeed, if you fly into Bangkok, and most people do, and find your way over to the main tourist area of Khao San Road, many street vendors will be selling them on the road, which implies to me that there’s enough of the market among tourists to do so.

I personally found fried bugs rather tasty—a little bit of a toasted popcorn flavor going on. Most of them carry big grasshoppers about 3-4 inches long, small worms, grubs, and little beetles. Give it a go—they’re really not that bad.

Ant Larvae

Another strange dish from the insect side of the fence is the ant larvae. This will be more difficult to find as it isn’t eaten much in the cities anymore, but if you find your way out of town you may find it being sold by villagers. The ant larvae is typically made into a soup or an omelet of sorts and has a sweet flavor to it—but in most dishes it is too mild to really stand out from the food they cook it with.

I tried this only once, and what I did was bring the larvae into a restaurant I frequented and asked the chef to get creative. They made a couple different dishes for me and we had a good laugh. I have heard that it is sometimes served uncooked, and apparently, that’s a more bitter taste and not so pleasant.

1000 Year Eggs

I believe this food originally comes from Chinese culture. My first experience with this food was in an intercultural communication class when I was studying in Switzerland, and the teacher gave each group a black egg without telling us what it is. None of us had seen anything like it before and no one had a clue, but after a bit of messing around I realize it was an egg and cracked it open—at which point the whole room was filled with this sulfur smell.

I tried a nibble but everyone was freaking out so much about it that it was hard to keep my stomach primed, but the taste stayed in my mouth for hours.

I felt the teacher’s lesson was misguided. I got her point—yeah, cultures are different, okay—but a better lesson in intercultural communication would have been to teach us how to enjoy it and show us that if you try to figure out what another culture might like about something, you can see it better through their eyes. I was convinced that put into a setting where people were actively eating the egg and enjoying it, I could do just that, but the professor didn’t even mention it as a possibility.

It turned out I was right. 1000 year eggs, also known as century eggs, are not bad at all in the right dish—and I’ve never seen them eaten on their own. I still find them a bit strong and I need strong herbs and vegetables to balance that, but I don’t notice a smell anymore and in small amounts they offer a nice touch.

Oh, and I should mention the eggs are not 1000 years old.  They are normal eggs from ducks, quails, or chickens that are buried in a mix of clay, ash salt, lime, and rice hulls. The process can go anywhere for a number of weeks to months, and the end result is an egg that is black with a dark green yoke and a strong sulfur smell. The white of the egg when peeled looks like a dark brown gelatin.

Doesn’t sound very appetizing, but give it a go.

Blood

Yes, I’m serious. And I’ve tried it. I have to admit, my stomach was a bit squeamish and I wondered how safe it was, but as always, I dove in against my better judgment. This was served like a soup and if I remember correctly, it was cold when served (but I’m hoping it was cooked first).

Even my Thai buddies girlfriend seemed grossed out by the whole thing, so don’t think everyone’s eating this stuff over here. That said, you’ll find a few Thai dishes that are cooked with a healthy dose of blood for flavor. Some are pretty tasty.

Dancing Shrimp

By far the biggest challenge for me was the dancing shrimp. They are called dancing shrimp because, well, they’re dancing. These little suckers are still alive, covered in a spicy lime sauce that has them jumping all over the place, and the dish is served with a lid on the top because they literally get out and jump across the table. The idea is to take a whole spoonful of them and put them in your mouth, at which point they’re jumping all over the place—I imagine trying to escape your gnashing teeth.

Freaky, huh?

1. Black Sticky Rice Pudding

While a bit more bland as compared to most Thai desserts, the black sticky rice pudding is a refreshing, unique treat. Most people immediately assume that it gets its black color from food coloring or some other additive, but the rice it is made from is naturally black.

It’s a must to spoon some coconut milk or cream over the top to balance the more bland nature of this dish—makes all the difference and really brings out the flavor.

2. Tub Tim Grub (Water Chestnuts With Coconut Milk)

This is unlike any dessert you’ve seen at home. First, water chestnuts are soaked in different food colorings and then rolled in tapioca flour before being dropped in boiling water. The end result is vibrantly-colored gelatin, like “stones,” which are put on ice and served with coconut milk.

You’ll typically find these served with all kinds of differently shaped gelatin foods and sometimes green-noodle looking things—I have no idea what any of them are, by the way (hence the confusing language). But they are all very good, and the ice tops it all off for making both a unique and delicious dish.

The Thais seem to love them.

3. Avocado Shake

I’m not sure where you’re from, but back in California, we never thought of avocado as a component of sweet dishes. I knew that it was a fruit, but we always served it on savory dishes—Mexican foods, sandwiches, salads, etc.

Well, it turns out that in certain parts of Southeast Asia, avocado is thought of as sweet, and it is used in many desserts—especially in the Philippines but also here in Thailand when in season. A must-try is the avocado shake.

4. Sticky Rice with Mango

This is possibly one of my favorite dishes in the world…and I’m quite the foodie—as evidenced by my growing stomach. It’s simple to make and even more simple to fall in love with.
The sticky rice is cooked in coconut cream and then topped with fresh, sliced mango and sprinkled with sesame seeds. Coconut milk is drizzled over the top. This is one you really have to try to understand, and you will be amazed that something so basic could be so good.

The list by no means stops here. You’ll find different Thai desserts everywhere you go—try them out. It’s all part of the Thai eating experience.

First off, the police in Thailand are known for being extremely corrupt. This does not mean, however, that they will treat you badly, and in all cases where I have encountered the police—even when doing something I probably shouldn’t have—they were extremely nice and cordial. I’m not going to use my own experiences to paint them with a pretty brush because many are little more than thugs, but as a visitor in this country, you will get some special treatment.

This may be just because Thais are naturally a hospitable people and view you as a guest in their country, so they want you to have a good experience. It may be because the police know the economy needs our tourist dollars and will get some real flak from the upper management if they are found to be mistreating foreigners. Or it may even be just because they are afraid of the repercussions should the tourist police or the embassy be called to get involved.

Whatever the reason, be grateful for it, and smile back—regardless of how you feel about their corrupt ways. Be polite with them at all times.

Sometimes when bothered by policemen, you will be expected or asked to give small amount of cash. A frequent situation is when driving your motorbike when you don’t have a license or a helmet. The police will sometimes set up road blocks in the middle of the daytime and stop people who aren’t wearing helmets (I’ve never once seen something like this after 3 pm, by the way—not for foreigners).

Don’t overreact and get scared. Even though you have no helmet and no license, they are not going to throw you in jail and they are not even going to take your motorbike. What typically happens is they will ask for a small sum of money—maybe a few hundred baht—give you a stern, smiling reminder to wear a helmet, and then let you on your way.

Try to be somewhat discreet about giving them the bribe, as that’s what it is. I typically pretend that I don’t speak Thai in these situations, and just ask something like, “So what—do I just pay here, or how does it work?” They will understand the word “pay.” But when giving them money, try not to do it in plain view. And don’t forget that everything is negotiable.

Alright—for some of you, bribing the police may not sit right with you because you feel it perpetuates a bad system. I completely understand where you’re coming from. But in my own opinion, change in Thailand is not going to come from traffic offenders refusing to bribe their way out of traffic offenses—it’s going to need to come from the top down even if it is the result of a grassroots movement.

Also, change is not going to come from a few temporary visitors taking a stand. The system is what it is—I just adapt.

But maybe that’s not you. Well, still no worries. You’re not going to jail for no helmet or even no license. The policeman will make you put your motorbike on the side of the road and will likely chain it up. He will then give you directions to the nearest police station and send you on your way.

Depending on the offense, the fine may be twice the cost of the bribe or the price may be the same. It’s nothing more than going into the office, sitting in a reception area, and paying your dues.

In other, more serious cases, just remember to never argue with the police or give them a hard time. This is not some first world country where you can make a stand against them and hope for anything good to come out of it. The more brief, more polite the exchange the better.

If you find you need to go out of your way to contact the police because you have been the victim of something, don’t expect a lot of help unless it is very serious, and in most cases I would advise contacting the Tourist Police first. They can mediate, translate, and offer advice—and some types of cases are completely their responsibility.

Just call 1155 from any phone—they are available ALL hours. You may want to get online and get the direct number from your local area. The number for the regular police is 191.

If you get in really serious trouble with the law, contact your embassy. While they can’t actually intervene with the legal processes in Thailand, they can advise you on your best course of action.

I’m not here to inspire big social changes—sure, I try to have a direct influence on my Thai friends and influence their lives with my experiences as much as they influence mine. And they like that chance to see another perspective. But I’m not so sure they’d like me coming to their country and taking on the role of political activist.

Okay, so my point is that I didn’t comment so much about the situation and what’s going on behind the scenes as I did about concerns people might have about coming here, and I’d like to do the same again.

A few months back things got pretty hairy down in Bangkok, but for much of the upheaval I didn’t notice anything up here where I live in Chiang Mai. I had friends in Bangkok who said they barely even saw anything going on at all, but I personally would have ducked out when the big riots started and people were getting hurt.

At the very end, when it reached its peak, the rioting finally reached my home. For me, waking up and looking off my balcony to see at least three burning buildings across the city in different locations was enough to inspire me that it was time to go. Being the foolish man that I am, I decided to go out that night at my Thai friend’s insistence—he wanted to show me the city and of course go drink some beer—never mind that the whole city was subjected to an 8pm curfew and I didn’t even have my passport on me.

It was a bit unnerving. There were soldiers and police all over the place manning the streets. We passed a bus and two cars sitting in the middle of an intersection, completely burned out, and we saw a few buildings that were burnt pretty bad. Being the diplomatic gentleman that I am, I gave the soldiers with their machine guns a nice little wave and we skirted around the roadblock by driving our motorbike across a one-lane bridge they weren’t guarding.

At the bar, things continued to get interesting. We had to drive a little ways out of the city to get there, and according to my friend, it was the only place that was open—definite change of pace for all-night Chiang Mai. A fight broke out after a while, at which point two guys brought out pistols and someone got hit in the head with a bar stool.

At this point, I’m getting ready to run for the hills, and to top off the fun, a couple trucks pulled in full of soldiers with machine guns and they all jumped out to regulated the situation. I felt a little out of my element, but it died down, the soldiers let the bar stay open, and eventually we went home.

Okay, so before you start thinking Thailand has become a war zone, keep in mind this was quite a few months ago. After that night, even I was ready to pack my bags and head to the Philippines, but after about three more days the situation had gone back to normal and now you can’t even tell anything ever happened—at least here. Bangkok certainly suffered some more damage, and there is still a lot of talk in the news about troubles to come or the occasional bomb scare.

If you are interested in coming here and you can be realistic about the risk involved, I’d say no time is better than now. The reason is that most of the foreigners have left, and while some have returned, it’s definitely slow season all year round these days. That’s very sad for many Thais who depend on tourism for their income, but for those looking for an authentic experience, it may be easier to find.

Not to mention, they need people like you to come travel here in order for those tourist dollars to come back.

So just use your head when you’re here. In other words, do as I say, not as I do.  Even if things get rocky again, as long as you’re not in Bangkok, things will usually be pretty mellow, and most places on the coast never left beach mode as far as I know. Chiang Mai did get a little hairy there for about a week, but in the big scheme of things it was a blip.

Your own judgment will probably serve you better than mind, as you can tell, but as far as I can see there’s no reason not to travel here at the moment.

It’s hard not to feel sympathy for these people and you want to help them, but as always in Thailand, there may be more going on behind the scenes than you realize. Many of these beggars are actually controlled by gangsters who drive them from place to place and make them beg. They give them a place to stay and enough to eat, but all the money they get from begging goes into the gang’s pockets.

I’m no expert on Thailand’s social problems, but apparently it goes even further than that. While some of the people who are missing limbs are the victim’s of unexploded ordinance from Vietnam and Laos, others are the victims of something more sinister. Again, don’t quote me on this, but I’ve heard it said more than once that some gangs will actually take people’s limbs and put them to work doing this because they know that people who are visibly crippled will get more money.

And it seems common knowledge that many of the children you see going alone are kids smuggled from Cambodia or even sold by their families and put to work begging.

This is all pretty shocking for someone from the first world—and on second thought, I imagine it’s petty shocking to anyone in this world with half a heart.

So what do you do about it?

It’s hard not to want to help when someone with rags comes to you while you’re sitting in a bar, living your cush, easy life in a country where your money is exponentially more valuable. But there’s a lot of sense in the argument that any money given to these people, even if they’re being victimized, only perpetuates the system that victimizes them. And most of us don’t want to do that in any way, shape, or form.

To be completely honest, sometimes I give them money and sometimes I don’t. I try to get a feel for what angle their working, but obviously since I’m not from this culture, there’s no way for me to have much of an educated guess about what’s going on behind the scenes. I refuse more often than not, but sometimes I just go with my gut.

Usually, even if I don’t give money to the kids, I play and joke with them a little bit, and I often see the same faces coming through. Just like any kids, they like to play around, get picked up, and maybe some thumb wars. I hope some of them have an actual family taken care of them and aren’t being held captive, but there’s no way for me, an outsider to know. I’d recommend if you are in a situation where you know for a fact a child is being held against their will, contact the authorities, but whatever you do, don’t confront these people as they can be very dangerous and this is not America or England here.

All that said, I have met and know some people who live here in my apartment building who are deaf and go to the college, and I’ve seen them out selling stuff in the bars, so I’m pretty sure there are many of them who are honest in their intentions, but which ones? There’s really no way to know.

The only piece of advice I can give you is explaining that in my own case, I am much more likely to give money to someone if they come with something to sell, like small snacks, roses (for the ladies in the bars and restaurants), or cool little light-up toys you might see in a rave setting. I’d much rather encourage a little entrepreneurial spirit than someone playing on my sympathy for a couple baht anyways (although I cannot really judge someone’s actions if I’ve never been in their shoes).

Even better, do some research on charities that are actively working to alleviate these problems in Thai society. Chances are your money will be better spent if given to them and maybe we’ll see this problem diminish a bit. It’s more than anything the sign of a nation in transition from subsistence living to a more modern existence, and these growing pains are ugly in any culture—especially at the pace they occur these days.

How you choose to deal with it is up to you—and I’d be glad to hear your thoughts and opinions in the comments below.

What would say or what do you do when in this situation?