5 Simple Ways Th

During night hours, mahouts (trainers) with lumbering elephants approach tourists to feed the creatures bananas or take a photo with them for a fee. A depressingly common sight on the congested streets of Bangkok and other tourist centers is elephant begging. If somebody makes a wai to you, a slight bow alone is more than sufficient for ordinary occasions, and for business, most Thais will shake hands with foreigners instead of waiing anyway.

As a foreign visitor, you are not expected to know how to wai, nor Travel to Thailand reciprocate when wai'd to; while you're unlikely to cause offense if you do, you may well look slightly strange. You will also often see Thais doing a wai as they walk past temples and spirit houses. The higher your hands go, the more respectful you are.

You should not wai service people or street vendors. In brief, inferiors salute superiors first. Among Thais, there are strict rules of hierarchy that dictate how and when the wai should be given.

The traditional greeting known as the wai, where you press your hands together as is in prayer and bow slightly, is derived from the Hindu cultural influence from India , and still widely practised. However, the quality of healthcare and availability of English-speaking medical staff can fall sharply once you leave Bangkok and head into the smaller cities and rural areas. Public hospitals in Bangkok are usually of an acceptable standard and have English-speaking doctors available, though they tend to be understaffed and consequently, waiting times are long.

Healthcare standards and medical facilities at the best hospitals are on par with the West, with much lower treatment costs. Thailand is a popular destination for medical tourism, and is particularly well-known for gender reassignment surgery. However, while several protesters were killed or injured in scuffles, by and large the protests were peaceful and no tourists were harmed.

Long-simmering tension between pro- and anti-government groups came to head in 2008, with the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) first blockading several airports in the South for a few days in summer and in November taking over both of Bangkok's airports for a week, causing immense disruption to tourism and the Thai economy. They look like small jelly balls down in the bottle. Thais also like to have basil seeds in their iced fruit juice sold on the road.

Thais often add salt to their fruit juices- an acquired taste that you might just learn to like. - can be sold on the street for 15-30 baht. Most cafés and restaurants charge 20-40 baht, but a bottle of freshly squeezed Thai sweet orange juice (น้ำส้ม naam som) - which really is orange in colour!

Fruit juices, freezes and milkshakes of all kinds are very popular with Thais and visitors alike. You can buy a large package of ice in most 7-Elevens for 7 baht, too. Ice (น้ำแข็ง naam khaeng) in Thailand usually comes packaged straight from the factory and is safe; there is only reason to worry if you are served hand-cut ice.