“We have a lot to learn from the Thais.” Russian woman - about her life in Pattaya

Unusual beliefs, rituals and customs of Siam in our selection today. 25 facts about the traditions of Thailand that make this country unique.

1. The historical name of Bangkok consists of thirty-seven words and is included in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest name settlement in the world. Thais learn the full name of the capital of their state in school, but immediately after finishing school they conveniently forget it.

2 . It is almost impossible for a foreigner to learn Thai. At one time, in order to avoid colonization, the country's authorities carried out a language reform, making it as difficult as possible. Modern Thai is a coded language; if you don’t know the topic of the conversation, it’s almost impossible to understand its meaning. For example, the word “klay” means both “far” and “close”, the word “k’ap”, depending on the situation, “yes” or “no”. In this case, nouns, adjectives and verbs can appear in the same row of homonyms.

3. Residents of Thailand practice Southern Theravada Buddhism, albeit in a somewhat simplified version. The main commandments of the land of smiles are: “don’t envy”, “don’t judge”, “don’t be ashamed” and “don’t be greedy”.

4. Thais still believe in good and evil spirits; miniature houses for spirits can be found on any street in Bangkok, in the most remote village or on the beach. Every morning, food offerings are made to the spirits, in the evening the houses are cleaned out, and the food is mercilessly thrown into the trash. It is strictly forbidden to finish eating after spirits; local residents believe that the spirit could come for a meal in bad mood, which will inevitably affect the well-being of a person who decides to “finish the spirit.”

5. In addition to spirits, Thais also believe in angels; it is believed that an angel of a certain color protects one of the days of the week. Color palette the following: Monday is patronized by a yellow angel, Tuesday - green, Wednesday - blue, Thursday - pink, Friday - brown, Saturday - lilac, Sunday - red. Locals It is recommended to wear colored things in accordance with this schedule, then the angel will notice you in the crowd and send you good luck.

6. For the reason described above, on Monday the streets of Bangkok are flooded with people yellow t-shirts. Yellow and the yellow angel is especially revered here, as it is the color of the king.

7. Thais are very superstitious lucky number in Thailand - 9, unlucky, like everywhere else in the world, 13.

In the photo: Thailand, Monday, people on the streets in yellow T-shirts.

8. Thais believe that Buddha loved chicken eggs, and therefore 99 eggs are the best offering for Buddha. They are carried to the temple on the eve of an important business transaction or exam. By the way, if you can’t finish the offerings after the spirits, then you can finish the offerings after the Buddha. According to local beliefs, the Buddha is never in a bad mood, so some time after the Buddha is “fed,” the offering can be collected and eaten.

9. The white elephant is the symbol and sacred animal of Siam. After birth, the baby elephant becomes the property of the king. An animal cannot be forced to work, it cannot be shown to anyone, and maintaining an elephant, as hard as it may be to guess, costs the treasury a pretty penny. It’s not very clear what to do with them, so previous centuries the king preferred to re-gift elephants. It is because of this custom that the idiom “white elephant” arose, which means an expensive but useless gift.

10. Thailand is one of the few countries where the birth of a daughter is more celebrated than the birth of a son. Thai men are generally lazy, while girls are as hardworking as bees. Parents know that their daughters will never allow them to go hungry in their old age; unfortunately, the same cannot be said about their sons.

11. Upon marriage, the groom must pay the bride's parents a dowry. The amount is negotiated individually each time, but the most expensive in Siam are: beautiful girls who managed to get a good education, according to the logic of their parents, such girls have nothing to do with a poor husband.

12. Fat men have a funny name in Thailand "pumpy". Men's bellies are valued here more than abs, because the presence of an abdomen indicates office work and above-average income, which is why men with a belly in Thailand automatically fall into the category of eligible bachelors.

13. August is considered the most successful month for marriage. Sometimes, to save money, newlyweds celebrate their engagement and wedding on the same day.

14. Buddhist chants are an essential element of a traditional Thai wedding. It is customary to feed the monks during breaks between chants; it is believed that this improves the karma of the future family.

15. Thais do not like to cook at home and prefer to eat on the streets. By the way, the freshest food is sold on street stalls.

16. Polygamy is still common in Thai villages. Often, after a husband earns a dowry “to acquire” three wives, he stops working. Maintaining the home and children, as well as raising money, falls entirely on the shoulders of women.

17. If a wife (or wives) has caught her husband cheating, she will not stand on ceremony with him. IN worst case, wives can castrate their husbands using a simple kitchen knife, which is why male genital reconstruction surgeries are widespread in Thailand and are included in the list of standard operations.

18. The Thais believe that a spirit lives on the top of a person's head, so you should never hit a person on the head, otherwise you may kill the spirit.

20. Many Thai girls working in the sex industry are married with children. Husbands are certainly aware of what their spouse does for a living.

Sometimes it happens that a client becomes attached to his Thai girlfriend and decides to pull his beloved out of the “quagmire of vice.” He invites the girl to become his permanent girlfriend, after which an attraction called “Thai divorce” begins.

The girl introduces her client to her husband, whom she introduces as a brother, then the European buys the secret woman a house and a car (usually from friends and at exorbitant prices). Everything goes well until the European decides to visit his friends in his historical homeland. Returning to Thailand, he discovers that the house he bought has been sold, and his “faithful girlfriend,” along with his “brother” and money, has disappeared in an unknown direction. This is a very popular scenario, although, of course, there are happy exceptions.

21. As a rule, any Thai has two names: one is a long official name (it is written in documents), the second is a short home name - for friends and family.

22. Thais can change their names several times during their lives. From a bureaucratic point of view, this is a very simple procedure. As a rule, the name is changed if a person is dissatisfied with his life and wants to start all over again. clean slate. If life fails again, the procedure can be repeated. Also, recently it has become mandatory to indicate a person’s gender in Thai passports, due to the fact that local plastic surgeons have finally learned how to remove the Adam’s apple, and now it has become even more difficult to distinguish lady boys from women.

23. Thais love to give small children nicknames, but, unlike residents of other countries, Thai nicknames do not characterize a person’s personality, but rather play the role of shapeshifters, so, for example, a thin girl can be nicknamed fatty, and a dark girl can be called Snow White. This is done on purpose so that evil spirits cannot find an innocent soul and take possession of it.

24. Thais use the same principle to name caves, waterfalls and other natural objects. For example, the waterfall bearing the name Baiyok Bolshoi is only a few meters high, while the Baiyok Small waterfall, on the contrary, is distinguished by its impressive size.

25. The Thais call caves a tunnel between the world of the living and the world of spirits, so in almost every cave there is a statue of Buddha and incense smokes. Local residents quite clearly delimit the caves into places with evil spirits and kind people, visiting evil people is strongly discouraged.

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Yulia Malkova- Yulia Malkova - founder of the website project. In past Chief Editor Internet project elle.ru and editor-in-chief of the website cosmo.ru. I talk about travel for my own pleasure and the pleasure of my readers. If you are a representative of hotels or a tourism office, but we do not know each other, you can contact me by email: [email protected]

We all know Thailand as a beautiful and sunny country inhabited by friendly people - Thais who practice Buddhism, as they say

the "kindest" religion in the world. Thailand is a multinational country consisting of different nations and tribes having general history and united by the borders of a modern state. In addition to Buddhists, there are also Muslims in the country, and in significant numbers, and Christians, and Jews, and many other teachings, religions and denominations. A huge number of Chinese and Vietnamese, Laotians, representatives of island states.

In general, like most modern states, a huge pile of small things, led by the government and the King (let's not forget that Thailand is a kingdom). Are there among the peoples that the indigenous inhabitants of the country like more, or does no one here single out their neighbor and everyone is equal to each other? It’s a strange question, and if we look at it from the perspective of “which tourists do Thais like best,” then here research was carried out and certain facts were collected.

The Japanese are the ones the Thais, and indeed the rest of the world, like as tourists, because they meet the basic requirements of an ideal tourist: they speak English, have enough money, are friendly, and also have Buddhist neighbors.

But if you don’t take tourists, then who would the Thais be happy to invite into their home and show off their magical country?

Thais are practical people. Therefore, having deep economic ties and very developed trade relations, the Thais would be glad to see the Americans, as well as any person with a wallet. The dollar equalizes everyone, and the Thais are no exception. In general, Thai policy is largely dictated by the US government, and Americans feel at home in this country; hundreds of thousands of American citizens live and work in Thailand.

Besides money, Thais love historical roots, and from this side the Chinese are revered here. According to various estimates, there are about 10 million Chinese in Thailand; they moved to the country in ancient times and settled here (mainly in central region), disappeared among the local population and have since been actively involved in the economy and politics of the country. On modern stage Thailand, like the United States, has huge business and economic ties with China. The two largest economies in the world are directly involved in the Thai economy, and in the case of China, historical roots are also added.

Cambodia - what does it have to do with it? However, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos are intertwined into such a strong knot that representatives of these countries feel at home with their neighbors, despite the fact that the Thais and Laotians also understand each other well, speaking similar languages. When traveling through these three countries, it is sometimes difficult to understand where you are and how similar the cultures, peoples and customs of these countries are. Thailand is the richest neighbor, Laos the poorest, but, nevertheless, they are almost relatives, loved, respected and completely mixed with each other (try to distinguish the Thais from the Khmers, from the Laos, at least you can). So among Thailand's closest neighbors, the Laotians and Khmer-Cambodians are the most beloved.

These are probably the four nations that are most suitable for Thais. Of course, let’s not forget about the Japanese, our World War II partners, and the Koreans, whom the Thais love for their fair skin, and European countries, which supply grooms to Thailand - these are already places from the fourth place and further.

Who's at the bottom of the table? It has its own leaders, and among them stands out Burma - Myanmar, historically the most serious and invincible enemy of the Thais, the Malays - well, they really want to chop off part of the country back under their control, the Vietnamese are a proud and wayward people, with whom the Thais have almost never fought , but, nevertheless, this is a serious and advanced force, which, unlike Thailand, has chosen the opposite socialist camp, along the way, defeating the eternal allies of the Thai Americans and seriously battering the Khmers. There are plenty of Vietnamese in Thailand, but hardly anyone would call them beloved neighbors.

Finally, about Russia - we are somewhere in the middle. We bring money - good, yelling and fighting at resorts - bad, but, in general, the attitude is neutral, and especially with weak trade and economic ties.

Maybe the future will show something, but for now we are one of many, more or less pleasant comrades for the Thais.

Having once visited Thailand, a native Irkutsk woman Nelya I decided that I definitely wanted to live in warmer climes. It was not easy to implement our plans - we had to retrain from a journalist to a guide and first hone our professional skills in Turkey. Only a year later the girl arrived in Pattaya. She has been living here for almost seven years. IN new country Nelya got married, gave birth to a son and feels at home. She told AiF.ru how Thailand captivated her.

Tourist, not worker

In Thailand, there are about fifty professions that are legally prohibited for foreigners to occupy. For example, only locals have the right to work in the tourism and beauty industries. These restrictions came about thanks to former king countries Rama IX. Even 40-50 years ago, he understood that foreigners could seriously compete with native residents in these sectors of the economy. For this reason, I couldn’t just come to Thailand to work as a guide, but I started researching the issue and got a job with a large tour operator. I worked my first season as a transfer guide in Turkey and only then came to Thailand. Naturally, my work permit did not say that I was a guide; it said “translator.”

Personally, all my papers were completed legally, although there are illegal immigrants here great amount. They say that problems with documents can be easily resolved; supposedly the police in Thailand are willing to negotiate with violators. But, in my opinion, these are all fairy tales. There are constantly a lot of demonstrative arrests taking place in the country. And if there is no money to pay the fine and hire a lawyer, you will simply be deported.

"On a pencil"

In Thailand, the migration service works very well: those who constantly travel back and forth on a tourist visa are immediately taken on board. Some 5 years ago you could simply cross the border with neighboring Cambodia, return back and the visa issue was resolved, now such things are stopped. Since my husband came here at the invitation of a foreign company and works under a contract, my son and I were given a “family” visa based on his work visa. The company pays for my spouse, which is about $1,500-2,000 a year; for me and my child it costs about $600 ($300 each). In general, children under 14 years of age do not need to get a visa; authorities often turn a blind eye to this. But, since questions may still arise at the border, I prefer not to skimp on such things.

Quick wedding

In June it was exactly 4 years since my husband and I officially got married in Thailand. Why in this country, and not in the spouse’s homeland or in Russia? The fact is that from a legal point of view it was easiest for us to draw up the documents here.

My Thai friends warned that registering a marriage in the local municipality is almost the same as going to pay utility bills: no one would think of coming there in a white dress in full regalia. The Thais have the most main part- religious, so it is celebrated on a large scale, together with the whole family. Indeed, when we came to submit documents to book a beautiful date - July 7, I realized that even in an ordinary sheath dress and with a bouquet of flowers I would look strange in this setting. What happened next was even more interesting: we gave all the necessary papers, they brought us some forms where we had to sign, as soon as we did it, it dawned on us that this was a marriage certificate! One could forget about the beautiful date. The woman who processed us simply said with a smile: “Your documents are all in order, why come a second time?” So we became husband and wife, but now we have something to remember.

Wedding religious ceremony in Thailand. Photo: Shutterstock.com

Expensive pleasure

Childbirth in Thailand for foreign women is paid, no matter which clinic you go to - public or private. Regular medical insurance will not save you in such situations; you will have to buy a more expensive policy on quite interesting conditions - it must be taken out even before pregnancy occurs. Usually Insurance Company gives a year, if you meet this deadline (get pregnant), then she will bear all the expenses. I have not taken out such insurance and I must say that having a child in Thailand is a expensive pleasure. Because of this, some Russian women go home to give birth. But I didn’t consider this option for myself.

Of course, in another country it is difficult to raise a child without grandparents, sometimes we resort to outside help: there are many Russian nannies here who secretly come to work for the season. The cost of such services depends on the qualifications of the person. average price— 300-400 rubles per hour. A Thai nanny will cost about 2 times less. By the way, the locals themselves also use the services of nannies for the simple reason that maternity leave here lasts only 3 months.

Bribes? No, I have not heard

There is nothing to do here without health insurance, since everything is very expensive. To understand the price range, I’ll just say that when my son and I were in the hospital for 5 days with pneumonia, it cost us 150 thousand rubles. Naturally, each member of my family has insurance; for me and the child it costs approximately 200 thousand rubles.

I have heard more than once that Thailand has terrible medicine, but I fundamentally disagree with this. Firstly, I have something to compare with, and secondly, I often resort to the help of local doctors - I gave birth to my son here and now that he is growing up, we also sometimes visit the doctor. It is naive to think that if the sea is nearby and you live in a warm climate, then the child will get sick less than in Russia. In fact, I face exactly the same problems as any other average mother.

Even in an ordinary public hospital, where the poorest segments of the population go, very decent conditions have been created: normal food, clean toilets, and a shower is required. Some private wards in Russian hospitals look much worse compared to them. In addition, unlike our medical staff, no one here would think of taking any money from you under the counter or just a tip. If you try to thank a Thai person in this way, no matter a nurse or a doctor, the person will look at you with blank eyes. Of course, I cannot say that there is no corruption in this country at all, I just, fortunately, have not encountered it.

Thai baht. Photo: Flickr.com / Karn Bulsuk

The dark side of Pattaya

We settled in Pattaya not only because of my husband’s work, but also because I personally consider this city one of the best for permanent residence. It is located close to Bangkok, it has its own airport, life is in full swing, plus fairly mild climatic conditions - there are no tsunamis or earthquakes, the rainy season is not as pronounced as, for example, on the islands.

As for the not very good reputation of this city, I can say that it is greatly exaggerated. For example, when I was still working as a guide, I often heard stories about how Thais supposedly rejoice at the birth of a girl, because she can be sent to the panel. This is complete nonsense! Yes, there is a lot of prostitution and establishments with a dubious reputation, but this does not mean that the whole of Thailand is like this. By the way, if you look closely, you can understand that among the priestesses of love there are not many secret ones, they are just women from other countries South-East Asia. The locals are not alien to generally accepted moral standards; it would never even occur to them to walk along Walking Street! This is bad manners. I myself live in a very quiet area - Pratamnaki, where there are no hot spots, and no one walks half naked under my windows.

Walking Street in Pattaya. Photo: Shutterstock.com

Transvestites are common here. I worked with some of them while still a guide. Out of curiosity, I even asked our drivers several times, who, by the way, were mostly older people, how they feel about such things? And no one ever said a single harsh word; at most they could grin. It's just that Thais don't like to pry into other people's personal lives. If you behave decently, no one will care about you. The second point is related to religion. In the Thai interpretation of Buddhism, it is believed that if in past life you did a lot of bad things, perhaps in the next one - thanks to reincarnation you will have the body of one person and the soul of another. Roughly speaking, you will be born a man in a woman's body or vice versa.

This is Buddhism, baby

“Work is not a wolf, it won’t run away into the forest” - this is about the Thais. Don’t think that they are lazy and don’t know how to work, they just have a different attitude to life due to climate and religion. Visitors are often offended by locals because they may promise something and not deliver. In fact, it needs to be accepted, understood and forgiven. Everything is explained simply: for example, a Thai plumber cannot tell you that he is unable to do something or does not know how. It is very important for him not to lose face, because this is what special treatment. Most likely, you will hear an encouraging phrase: “Madam, I will come to you in an hour.” But an hour will pass, and maybe even a day or two, and he still won’t be there. In this situation, you just need to remind him with a smile that you are waiting for him. Without aggression, although it is difficult to react calmly in such a situation. However, living here, I learned. This is Buddhism, baby.

It seems to me that we should learn from the Thais how to behave in in public places. For example, locals know how to stand in line; they won’t get in front of you under the pretext of “should I just ask or will I be there for a minute.” Thais in this sense are much more patient than Russians. The second one is very important point- sensitive attitude towards people with disabilities. There are ramps everywhere here, unlike my native Irkutsk and other Russian cities. Even if they are not there somewhere, not a single Thai will pass by when someone needs help. And one more thing: there is a law in the country that obliges large companies allocate a certain number of places for people with disabilities. In my opinion, this should be the case in any country in the world.

Photo: Shutterstock.com

No cheating

It is often said that life in Thailand is cheap. But do not confuse the concepts of “tourism” and “emigration”. When you come for 3 months with a child to spend the winter by the sea, rent inexpensive housing and eat only fruit all day long - this is one thing. But when you are in the country permanently, you need a comfortable standard of living, plus legal support - get ready to pay!

Our tourists are often advised to bargain with the Thais. They don't really like it. Yes, get a discount if you make any large purchase in mall It’s possible, but buying a watermelon and trying to pay half as much for it is very strange. Even the locals themselves don’t ask for discounts.

Traditional floating market in Thailand. Photo: Shutterstock.com

Don’t think that everyone here dreams of deceiving a white tourist. Perhaps someone can indeed cheat you, but such things happen everywhere. I live near the popular tourist center of Pattaya Park, where there are many fruit stalls and they are much more expensive there than in other places due to the high rent. I assure you: for both Thais and tourists the prices in such a tent will be the same. Want cheaper? Go to the regular collective farm market, which is open from 5 to 10 am.

The average salary in the country is approximately 20-30 thousand rubles, given that there is no winter, of course, you can live on this money, but it is not easy. Prices for food that Europeans are used to eating are the same as in Moscow. Local kitchen much more accessible, but not every visitor will like it. It seems to me that for more or less a decent life in Thailand, a couple without children will need 2-2.5 thousand dollars, including rent, of course. The times when people rented out apartments in Moscow and lived here without denying themselves anything with this money are long gone.

Pattaya. Photo: Shutterstock.com

Country of comfort

Of course, I have repeatedly asked myself the question: “Can I continue to live here?” In principle, why not? Inflation in the country is very high at a slow pace. For example, in Thailand only civil servants have pensions, everyone else does not. But every Thai knows that if he put 400 thousand baht in the bank 10 years ago, then this money will not depreciate. Many can only dream of such stability.

There are decent universities in the country, in addition, Singapore is nearby, where many people go to study higher education and China. So I’m also calm about my son in this regard. Thailand cannot be called a “third world country”; it is developing quite quickly. In general, I have already adapted to its rhythm and traditions, I feel comfortable and don’t want to leave here.

1. We went to watch TV. Do not wait.
Thais can be so captivated by what is happening on the screen that they forget about everything in the world. Moreover, they can show complete garbage. Don't be surprised if you stop getting a foot massage and freeze in horror for 5 minutes because on TV a swarm of killer puppet bees from an ancient American TV series is approaching a new victim.

And don’t be angry if you can’t find a waiter in a Thai cafe because the entire staff is watching the ending of the next episode of a drama series. However, no one will notice this except you - the rest of the visitors are also immersed in the screen. In general, Thai television deserves a separate post, there are so many strange oddities hidden in it...

2. The man eats, the woman pays
On the very first evening in Thailand, all the plates of food were brought to Serezha. Seryozha rubbed his hands like a child: “You see, you see how it should be!” I wasn’t offended, but when Seryozha asked for the bill, and the bill was brought to me, it was too much)) At first we thought it was just an accident, but this was repeated over and over again. This is not always the case, especially if the place is aimed at foreign tourists or they already know you there, but still quite often. We decided that, probably, in a Thai family the woman is in complete charge of finances. Then they asked their Thai friends - it was true.

3. Ode to clean clothes
Thais are very careful in their clothing. Wearing the same thing two days in a row is considered indecent. After the item has been worn for one day, it is immediately sent to the wash. In all my time in Thailand, I have never smelled an unpleasant odor from any Thai person. It would not hurt to adopt this glorious tradition in Russia. And some of our comrades still in the 21st century think that not washing T-shirts and pants for weeks is normal. Well, it’s true, one summer, even in St. Petersburg, I had to get off the minibus halfway, such smells were floating around the cabin.

4. No, not the sun!
Unlike foreigners, Thais avoid sun rays: putting on hats, hiding in the shadows, smearing sunscreens, wear closed clothes or simply don’t stand under open sun. And they generally don’t understand why foreigners love to sunbathe so much. When they see a farang walking around without a shirt, they say: “Crazy!” - crazy. In Thailand, white skin is considered very beautiful, and a cult of whitening it with special means is developed. And they will never understand why farangs “disfigure” their “wonderful” skin with tanning.

5. Long nail? This is the same...
Sometimes you can see Thai men are very long nail on thumb or little finger. I was at a loss for a long time as to what this could mean, until I simply asked. It is believed to bring good luck. Some even grow a nail on both the thumb and the little finger at once, just to be sure)) By the way, this also happens in Indonesia, and maybe throughout all of Southeast Asia.

6. The world's healthiest breakfast
Russian guidebooks vying with each other to admire the healthiness of Thai food. In many respects, of course, I agree with this. You won't get fat on sticky rice alone, no matter how hard you try. Yes, and the spicy will burn out all the living bacilli. But the Thais themselves don’t seem to worry too much about usefulness. In the morning, there is a steady queue of barbecue vendors. The picture of mom, dad and their 7-year-old schoolboy eating chicken or pork skewers for breakfast is quite familiar.

7. Optimism in Thai
Thais have been seen picnicking in hospitals many times. They will come to visit the patient, all bandaged and broken on the bed, they will cover the mat on the floor and let’s eat...)) In my opinion, this is very optimistic)) Don’t feed the Thais bread at all, let them have a picnic. As a rule, they gather big family from several generations and are ready to use any opportunity for this. Usually they go out into nature, but in Chiang Mai, where the situation with parks, embankments and beaches is very poor, the Thais do not lose heart. They’ll just lie down right at the entrance to their store or computer club, set up a Thai barbecue and have a picnic with all their might.

8. Decent girls don't smoke or drink
In Thailand you can change your gender - no one will judge you, going to prostitutes happens, but for decent girls to drink and smoke - no, no, shame... Therefore, here it is almost impossible to meet a girl who drinks or smokes in public. Just once we saw two students shyly hiding with bottles of beer on the beach behind big stones. Once, a friend of ours was riding a moped in a very Thai area in Phuket, asked for directions in one of the houses, and the owner invited him to drink beer with him on the veranda. The wife was also sitting at the table. A friend asked why she didn’t drink with them, so the husband and wife waved their hands: it is indecent for women in Thailand to smoke and drink. But all this does not apply to bar girls - few Thais consider them decent anyway, so they have their own rules.

9. Swimming with your clothes on
At first it was very uncomfortable to strip down to a swimsuit among Thais swimming in only their clothes - in the lake, in the sea, in thermal spring, in a waterfall. Then I got used to it. Moreover, they do not always have spare things with them. They can plop into the water wearing whatever they have, get out, wait until it drains a little and go on about their business.

10. There are no pensions in Thailand
It sounds quite strange to us, but it is true. The responsibility of supporting their elderly parents when they become unable to work falls entirely on the children's shoulders. I just wonder what single people without a family should do in old age...

11. As he was “Mister”, he remained “Mister”
You probably know that gender reassignment surgery is very common among men in Thailand. Such people are called katoi or ladyboys. They can be found so often in Everyday life- at the cash register at McDonald's, in a pharmacy, in a beauty salon, etc., which has not surprised anyone for a long time. Some of them can be immediately recognized as ladyboys by their voice, Adam’s apple, large palms, etc. But some of them are not much different from ordinary girls, especially to the inexperienced eye. But the fact is that they cannot change the gender in their passport. There they will always be listed as “Mr.” In this regard, I once read a note from a Thai hotel employee. When a guest brings a girl with him for the night, she is required to present documents at the reception and register. That is, the receptionist always knows who is in front of him - a man or a woman. He writes not without gloating over the farangs, since they often don’t even realize that they are spending the night not exactly with a girl)) There is only one way to officially change the gender on your documents. This right goes to the winner of the annual beauty contest among ladyboys, Miss Tiffany Universe.

While I'm moving along the Samui-Pattaya-Bangkok-Samui route, I'll tell you about life in Thailand. Or rather, about the Thais.
Today - no cosmetics)


For those who are not in Krusa, I have been living in Tay for more than two years now. Koh Samui. And during this time I managed to delve a little into the culture. “A little” because “a lot” is not possible.
Asians are so different that a European can’t wrap his head around the Thai mentality. Their soul is still a mystery to me. I will tell you the little that I managed to learn and understand.

Briefly about the main thing under the cut

1. If a Thai man smiles at you, this does not mean that he is infinitely happy and glad to see you. It’s just customary - all emotions, except anger, are expressed by a smile. They have a lot different smiles for every occasion.

2. From the same opera: you can’t be sad or cry in public. Because for a Thai it is important not to lose face.

3. You cannot shout at Thais - raising your voice is generally not accepted. If you start arguing with a Thai and speak loudly and harshly, most likely the Thai will turn around and leave thinking that everything is not okay with you. In general, shouting in this country will not achieve anything.

4. Thais have two stages of intoxication: a sober Thai and a drunken Thai. There is no intermediate stage.

5. Most nice, kind Thais carry guns.

6. Thais do not have a pension. Children should provide for the elderly.

7. The first important thing for a Thai is parents. If a mother comes to her adult daughter and says that she needs money for something, then the daughter will scoop up all the money and give it back. Everything, including my husband's money. (It’s especially fun if the husband is a foreigner and doesn’t understand what’s going on at all)

The second is social status.

The Thais have a whole book about who should address whom how. Depending on gender, age, family relations, positions and other things. If a Thai asks who you are and what you do, he may be trying to figure out how to talk to you.

8. If a wedding is planned, future husband must give the bride's parents money. How much is at the discretion of the parents.

9. Pregnant women go to work until the last minute. I do not know why.

10. I see very few Thai children crying/acting. They are calmer. Or from childhood they learn to “save face”))

11. Thai children are kinder than Russians.
And they all take care of their little brothers and sisters.
And they make contact very easily even with European children.
To be honest, I have not seen any manifestation of cruelty in children here. The cruelty that I often saw in Russia.

13. Thais are very.. Very, very superstitious.

14. And they can simultaneously believe in Buddha, in spirits, and be Baptists.

15. "All Thais don't like the Chinese. Everyone except their grandmother." For example, more than 30% percent of Bangkok's population is ethnic Chinese. Everything is mixed up)

16. The basic principle of life is “sanuk sabai”, sometimes they say “sanuk, sabai, suai”. Unfortunately, in Russian there are no exact words to translate these concepts. The bottom line is this: you need to be happy, not overwork, relax and feel good.

17. It’s not customary to eat alone here. Thais prefer to eat in groups. If you eat alone, then something is wrong with you)

18. Previously, the Thais did not have the concept of “cuisine”. And a special place for this. The "kitchen" is where you cook.

19. Yes, they love to eat. For example, in the famous Siam Paragon shopping center, almost two out of five floors are occupied by restaurants.

And street food is always within walking distance.

20. Not a single Thai person to whom I left a deposit for something that he was supposed to bring/give/make to me in bulk has deceived me.

Of course, that's not all I can tell you. There are many other things that surprise me. But I still love Thailand very much. And Thais) And Bangkok. In which we have a small family gathering tomorrow)

Have you been to Tai? Liked? Who should we expect to visit?))