Recording summary · August 2023
All Thailand's BIGGEST Culture Shocks (as a foreigner)
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Overview
Living in Thailand for nearly a year brings sharp contrasts with norms from the UK and Japan across driving, food, commuter habits, and customer service.
Driving, traffic, and parking customs in Thailand are perilous and confusing when contrasted with strict UK regulations and orderly Japanese driving.
Adapting to Thai cuisine presents difficulties, commuters regularly photograph crowded train platforms, and local customer service appears inattentive compared to Japan.
Themes
Differences between Thai driving practices and regulations or habits in the UK and Japan.
Multi-level parking lot conventions in Thailand where blocking cars are left in neutral with handbrakes off to permit manual pushing.
Reactions to Thai food, encompassing extreme sweetness, high spice levels, dipping fruit in salt, and edible insects displayed at markets.
Commuters taking photographs of crowded train stations and trains.
Customer service standards in Thailand compared to Japan, centering on employee phone use, socializing, and perceived lack of attention.
Uncertainties & gaps
Whether commuters taking train station photos send them to employers as proof of work delays.
Whether customers actually purchase and consume the insects displayed at market stalls.
Whether service staff ignore questions because of language barriers or because of distraction from conversations.