Thailand is one of the most popular tourist sites in all of Southeast Asia and rightly so. They have some of the most beautiful coastal resorts with Tropical beaches on all sides – as well as pristine National Parks, Historic Temples, and Palaces. Some Tourist cities like Bangkok, Phuket, and Chiang Mai have Urban Districts with Shopping Malls, exotic food vendors, bars and active nightlife. However, if you plan on staying longer than 2 weeks, there are a few things you should probably know…

Image source: Freepix 

You need two essential rules to guide your stay in Thailand: Be nice to the locals and do not get arrested. In Thailand, it’s not a matter of whether you’re guilty or not. Oftentimes, it’s a matter of how much money you’re worth and what the police think of you then. In most cases, especially in non-tourist zones, foreigners have no rights. So, saying things like “I demand to see my Lawyer!” or “I know my rights” won’t get you anywhere. Aside from the questionably corrupt police and Judicial system, most Tourists do not realize that not all of Thailand is like the Tourist areas. Also, the Tourist areas are only a small part of Thailand. The rest of Thailand is suburban condos, factories, farming towns, villages and retail stalls, where the people are not as liberal or party inclined as you might think.

Thailand invested heavily in its tourism sector. Hence, the need for an active Tourism Authority in Thailand arose. It is in this agency that you can sort Travel Arrangements, book Hotels, Travel Guides and so on. Heavy Investments went into making many of its tourist areas the exotic, beautiful and pleasurable paradise it is today. So in case, you were wondering; what does the rest of Thailand look like? and what it’s like being a local in Thailand? Well, here are some answers you might find interesting.

This post is divided into five sections namely

• Working in Thailand
• Getting in trouble in Thailand
• Thailand prices for foreigners
• Thailand’s opinion on their worst tourists

Working in Thailand

It is easy to be a Tourist in a tourist area, but a bit taxing to be a tourist in local Thailand. So, what does it mean to be a local in Thailand catering to tourists, in a tourist area?

Well, for starters, not so fun, The greater part of Thailand’s suburbs are filled with condos where locals have to get up very early in the morning to beat the city traffic, haul themselves to work or their stalls. Also drop by the market to get the fresh produce they need to start the day. Those not catering to Tourists are usually farmers. The rest of Thailand is mostly farming villages and towns on account of their tropical climate and red fertile soil.

 In fact, according to Research, about three-fifths of the entire Thai Labour force is involved in Agriculture – with many of the skilled labour force positions filled by professionals from abroad. Debts however seem to also be a recurring problem, though food isn’t quite expensive. Even though crops should fail for some, there are always Bananas, Coconut, and other edible fruits and herbs – if one knows where to find them. Still, loans to buy seeds, tools, home appliances, tuitions and so on, aren’t uncommon. In many cases, people who get married to Families with debts tend to acquire the debts as well. Even relatives with steady savings or cash flow may want to hide their earnings from the rest of the family because – the family may wish to stake claim to it as well.

The industrial districts attract a large workforce as well.  Factory workers are sometimes picked up with dozens of factory buses all on their way to work. Traffic in cities can be daunting during rush hour. As you can probably imagine, Thai drivers are not the most patient or orderly of drivers. This is likely because some drivers are not licensed or formally trained in driving schools. That probably explains the occasional road rage one might see at busy city Intersections. 

The farther you leave Tourist areas, the less serviceable you might find the roads. It appears, that roads don’t do well under Tropical suns and steady rainy seasons. Thailand’s cities and Towns are also continually expanding so stalls selling Building materials and Farming Tools are noticeable as you travel about.

The Thai are all about culture, the temples all around Thailand aren’t all just for show, the people respect monks and every monk  is given a bow. Even the King gives a monk a bow. Though the monks have no official political standing, their penitent and minimal lifestyle earns them honour. As you’ve probably also guessed, Buddhism is the most common religion in Thailand. The King is given a great deal of honour as well.

 Tourist areas are also known to be liberal, the deeper Thai communities are more or less conservative (at least by Western Standards) and laid back. For example, many don’t believe in sex until marriage. Many practice Buddhism and have a ‘Take life as it comes approach’. There are also many dialects of Thai. Although Thai is the official and common language, there’s more than one variation to the language gotten from the different mix of Southeast Asians that make up the kingdom of Thailand today.

Getting in Trouble in Thailand

You do not, under any circumstances want to get in trouble in Thailand. The country has never really seen eye to eye with Democracy as the last attempt was foiled by a military coup sometime back in 2014. They are currently operating under a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary system. Now, ‘what does this have to do with getting in trouble you may ask’. Well, for starters, The Police aren’t too keen on the rule of Law and neither is Immigration or any oversight Agency for that matter. The Country still has a somewhat loose government system and the order of the day is ‘Wealth equals Freedom.’ To put it in perspective, we shall discuss the true account of a man whom we shall call Mr A, who had a run-in, with Thailand’s finest.

Image source: freepix

Mr A was thrown in a cell thanks to a fake story created by a Friend who felt Mr A had offended him. The Police, too busy to bother with an Investigation left Mr A in an Immigration cell. Where according to him, they had to wear chains for long periods, even while in the cells. After a while, he noticed drugs were being sold by the police in prison – and should a policeman end up finding drugs in a cell, the inmates of that cell would be given a beatdown. To top it all off, the police had special places called Tiger cells, where criminals who were competing with the police in the drug trade were to be placed, without food, to suffer in the sun. Forced confessions were made by electrocuting people’s genitals. Judges could sometimes be pressured into giving verdicts and; Prosecutors could legally prosecute acquitted defendants once again. Needless to say, Mr A spent 2 years in prison before he was finally found Not Guilty.

Other cases such as Foreign workers who have complete papers, getting accusations sometimes flung their way aren’t uncommon either, but you can mostly sort those with payments.

So, does this mean Thailand is an insecure place? Well, the answer is No. Thailand is rated one of the safest places in Southeast Asia, asides from a little civil unrest in some of its outer regions, virtually all Tourist areas are quite safe. Just don’t get in any trouble and be nice to the locals.

Though, to be fair, Thailand’s 2017 Constitution drafted by its military regime at the time had a reform bill in place to correct its Police problems within a year. In August 2021, a police Colonel was accused of killing a drug dealer during an interrogation. According to reports, the Thai police Colonel was noted to have been living a lavish lifestyle, at least for someone who is to be on a monthly salary of $1300. He had a Luxury Villa and a private collection of sports cars all worth an estimate of $17 million. What drew the attention of the press was leaked security footage showing the Colonel and some other officers torturing the drug suspect by wrapping plastic bags over his head. The Police Colonel ‘Thitisant Utthanaphon’ claims it was a simple interrogation and he wasn’t trying to extort any money from the suspect. Then again, when your nickname as a Police Colonel is ‘Joe Ferrari’ one can’t help but think, that perhaps, there may have been more to it,  than a simple Interrogation.

As of January 2021, the Senate had been working on a Police reform bill, meant to kick into effect by early 2022. The bill, if enacted, will feature a Police complaints board and less Political interference in Investigations. Experts, however, argued that the Prime Minister was still in charge of selecting the National Chief of Police. The same Prime Minister who happened to be the Military General, who led a coup in 2014 against a newly elected Democratic Government – and then led an election 5 years later that made him Prime Minister of Thailand. Many in Thailand have said the issue is a cultural problem. The Police force has deep ties to the Palace and wealthy elites of the Country, The Military as well has ties to the corrupt as there have also been cases of Soldiers torturing suspects, especially Drug dealers, to give forced Confessions. Most Appointments into Police Leadership positions are also a matter of Politics which had led many legal experts to believe, that no matter how good a reform looks on paper; the elites and the Influential are so used to having their way with the Law in Thailand. It seems unlikely many would push for the actualization of reform. In the end, only time will tell, if reforms will have any effect.

Thailand Prices for Foreigners

If you plan on living in Thailand for an extended period, do not expect anything you buy to have the same prices for Foreigners as it will be for locals, one look at your face and your poor command of the Thai language will instantly assure every shop keeper within a 2-mile radius to increase their prices by 20%, especially if you’re staying somewhere local.

Everyone more or less assumes: that foreigners equal naive which means more money. You likely won’t realize it at first, except maybe in concentrated Tourist areas, where everyone more or less expects higher costs of living, seeing as everything is much nicer. It’s not just local stalls however, it’s everywhere, from Parks to Food and so on. Even if you go through all the hassle of getting a work permit and show them, it’s all the same. A good point to note is that you can bargain a more cheaper price in the local shops. Tourist attractions also give foreigners a higher bill ( but no bargaining)

 Thailand’s Opinions on their worst Tourists

Many people have formed opinions about Thailand over the years, and most of it is good and well earned. Thailand is quite big on welcome and hospitality (The Land of Smiles) but most people haven’t considered that Thailand might have opinions about its tourists, especially its worst ones. Russians are said to look for the cheapest food and drink and haggle over prices with weird gestures since they don’t speak English or Thai. Australians are quite loud, especially in bars. The British love complaining and the Chinese are the whole lot combined. Arabians keep to themselves, but leave their women wearing burkas in the sweltering tropical heat. The Japanese are nice but love taking pictures of meals they are about to eat – and it appears Europeans are mostly fat middle-aged Gentlemen in search of Prostitutes, they can prey upon! Of course, we’re very sure this isn’t the case for everybody, but then again, it’s always nice to know, what your host thinks of you.