If you are planning to visit Thailand, you should know this

Rant: After many years of living in Thailand I thought I should share my thoughts about my home country. I don't plan on persuading you to come and visit, but if you are planning to visit Thailand, this is the information you might be interested in. <br><br><br>Let's start with the good. Thailand is actually an amazing place. I'm not kidding. We have beautiful islands, mountains, national parks, ethnic groups, and a rich culture that I'm so proud of. We are a friendly people and love foreigners who are genuinely interested in visiting and living in our country. <br><br>Thailand is also a cheap country to visit. If you are from Germany, UK, USA, Australia, or any other developed countries, you will find that, in general, food, transportation, and accommodations are cheap in Thailand.<br><br>However, for a country with such a rich culture, stunning landscape, and friendly people, Thailand is not without flaws. While we are very open to other cultures and traditions (I don't think you can easily find a country that allows you to do just about anything like ours), we also place a great emphasis on respect. We don't like people who come to disrespect our country, culture, and people. <br><br>Please note that I'm not talking about cultural faux pas. I've lived abroad for years before and I know that things can be silly when we don't know the customs. I'm pointing out things that clearly indicate ill intention.<br><br>Here are some examples:<br><br>- Wearing Buddha tattoos. Oh man, this makes many of us mad. Buddha is our god. We connect him to our souls. And you think it's ok to have his tattoos ON YOUR ASS???? That's just rude.<br><br>- Disrespecting monks. Monks are also important figures in Thai society. Many Thais will become monks at one point in their lives. We place a great emphasis on monks as we believe they are doing a good deed to the society by giving up their worldly lives to help people. So when you see female tourists sitting next to monks on public transportation, putting their hands on them, it just makes many of us angry. Monks are not tourist attractions. They are human beings doing good things. <br><br>- Littering. We know that the west has been richer for longer than us. So many of you are more educated than us when it comes to climate change awareness. No excuses for you to litter.<br><br>- Treating Thailand as your playground. This is the worst. Just because Thailand is a cheap country to visit and live in, you think you can do anything you want here? Just because you can afford to pay for sex here, you think you have the right to buy people? Just because you can pay for drinks and drugs, you think you can cause harm to people here? Honestly, for people like that, I'm not going to ask you to leave my country. I want you to leave. We don't want to welcome people like you. You have no respect for our way of life.<br><br>- Not learning basic Thai words. If you are planning a 6-month trip to Thailand, please learn basic Thai words. Not only will it help you navigate around, it also shows that you respect us. Many of us don't speak English. We don't think we are required to. English is not Thailand's language. If you want to visit our country, you should be the ones adjusting. <br><br>- I'm not sure if this is a common thing in other countries or not, but please don't say things like 'Thai people' this or 'Thai people' that. Just because you met 5 Thais, you think all of us act the same way? I'm Thai and I don't act like other Thais, just like how a German from Berlin is a very different person from a German from Munich. We don't all speak and behave the same way. <br><br>- Please don't compare Thailand to other countries. I'm sick of people saying how much they love Thailand because it's so cheap. I want to ask you why you have to make such a comparison. I know Thailand is a cheap country and trust me when I say that we work very hard to make ends meet. There are rich Thais as well you know. I'm not poor. I'm middle class. I make good money. And I know many people who do too. So stop comparing us to other countries. If you like us, then just say so. We love to hear praise. But if you praise us for the wrong reasons, we hate it. <br><br>- Stop taking pictures of ordinary Thais just because you think they look different. This is a familiar incident in Chiang Mai. A lot of people, mostly the older generation, don't want their pictures taken by random strangers. Just imagine how you would feel if some stranger took pictures of you while you were walking down the street. Many of us find it rude. For us, there's a fine line between showing interest and invading people's privacy. <br><br>If you are planning to visit Thailand, please be genuine visitors. We welcome you with our arms wide open. But if you come to disrespect us, you can go home.