What to Expect in Thailand

Have you ever been told something that makes sense but then you had to experience it to really appreciate what was said? That’s Thailand. Many people tell you their experiences when you say you’re going somewhere they’ve gone before, and it’s only once you’re there when you really know what they’re talking about. Well, the three expectations I have for you is only a couple of those things when it comes to Thailand. These are what I think to be the most frequent in our day to day lives.

Expectation ONE

The whole world has one thing in common when it comes to traveling, and it’s traffic. Some roads are as empty as can be (making your wonder if you’re going the correct way) while others have vehicles fender to fender and packed motorcycles and worry-free pedestrians filling in the gaps.

TIP - Research the traffic before taking your trip – especially if you fly. Once you land, do you want to rent a vehicle? If so, does that country drive on the same side you’re used to? Are traffic laws enforced, or is there controlled chaos on the roads? If you choose not to rent a vehicle, how is the public transportation? Is it easy to navigate the bus or train stops?

With all this in mind, Thailand is no exception. When we first arrived, we knew people in town, so we were able to hitch rides with them. We did ride the train in Bangkok once, so that’s blocked out of my memory, and I have no useful information there! Since we moved here, we were expected to own a car and drive – understandable. However, I drove a large 4-door F150 pickup truck in America and was a little sad to get a tiny car with no Bluetooth radio. However, the Lord provided that tiny car because it’s VERY necessary in Thai traffic. Other than main highways, roads that seem to be one way because of the size are in fact not. Parking spaces are few and far between and most of the time you’ll need to park on the side of the road (remember to push your mirrors in!)

While figuring out how to drive on the opposite side of the road AND opposite side of the car, there were a couple of other things we had to get used to. Motorcycles. We’ve seen motorcycles with 1-5 people on them, motorcycles with people carrying their basket of laundry, and even motorcycles with side cars selling food, drinks, or lotto/ lucky numbers. Along with the new sights of what people can fit on a motorcycle, they have their own unspoken road rules, and everyone adheres to them. They will lane split and drive basically where they can. However, the wildest thing to see is how they all clump together at red lights. While you’re there, sitting patiently, in the line of cars, there they are, a dozen of them, driving past you and all stop at the front of the line. It’s just the way they do it. Sometimes it’s helpful, because when I don’t know where to go (because the paint on the road is way too faded) I let them lead me across the road!

The motorcycles have definitely been something to get used to.

Expectation TWO

Depending on what part of Thailand you’re in, Thai can speak English. Will they? That’s the question. Now, it might be just as much as you know Spanish or French from taking High School classes, but it’s impressive to see how many Thai know English. If you’re in Bangkok or bigger/ more tourist cities, Thai will most likely know English. There are a few that will want to speak to you in English, while others are too shy and won’t because they don’t want to embarrass themselves. When we do come across someone who can and will speak English to us, we will always encourage them and let them know their English is good and they should keep practicing. There have been some cases where we will speak some Thai and a little English and the person acts like they don’t know what we are saying, but then their body language and responses will give them away. After a while, it’s pretty easy to distinguish between those who truly don’t know English and those who don’t want to speak it. On some occasions, when our struggle is very noticeable, the person we are talking to will just leave. At first, this shocked us and we didn’t know what to do, but a few moments later they came back with someone who could help talk to us.

Finding people in the store or vendors who speak a little bit of English is actually helpful to us in this stage of language learning. Between our broken Thai and their broken English, they know we are wanting to learn Thai and they are eager to teach us.

Figuring out how to get around while not knowing the language has been a struggle, but it’s mostly been such a great learning experience. Google Translate has also been a life saver!

Expectation THREE

Expectation three has to be, by far, the most relevant to Thai lifestyle. This phrase has been used while driving, road rules, laws in general, shopping, and even during our language learning. It is the Thai way, Thai culture, to go with the flow or take it easy – sabai sabai - สบายๆ. When you see or hear a Thai word twice, it means it’s important or many of that thing. In this case, take it easy – really!

Many times, we watch something occur and we’re not sure what or why, we just say “sabai sabai - สบายๆ”. When we mispronounce a word, our language teacher will point at our mouths and say “sabai sabai - สบายๆ” so we relax our mouth to say it the Thai way.

Once we accepted this way of living, everything kind of makes sense now.

More Expectations

So when it comes to short term trips or long term stays, check these things out in the next place you want to travel to. There are, of course, so much more that can be listed. Knowing the littlest amount of information will definitely decrease the amount of stress you’ll have once there. We all know vacations are supposed to be us getting away from stressors, but we all know the stress of mystery. Especially for us ladies!