Thai Mentality – Strolling Nation

Dinner w/ Jeffrey and David delighted me in many ways. Free food and smooth wine! And, what else?

While Jeffrey is about to finish decorating his condo in Bangkok, David has been living here for 2 years. The two Americans, from Irvine, Califfonia, and Houston, Texas respectively, are in love w/ the city and plan to make it their permanent home.

They raved about their new home in many ways, but there's one thing so far that drives them nuts. The pace of Bangkok!

People are often in their way and neither of them are able to bring themselves to say "it's ok." Imagine Jeffrey racing against time furniture shopping for his place or David rushing to meet his bf knowing he is already half an hour late.

Two of the issues they mentioned are people not forming a single line when using an escalator or blocking the already crowded sidewalks by standing and talking on their cellphone, always, it seems, in the most inopportune spot!

Explanation: (but don't take it as the whole reason why Thailand is, and likely will remain, a strolling nation. I believe what I'm going to say is only part of the picture, but a very noteworthy one.)

Once upon the time, Thailand was an agricultural nation. The majority of people worked their rice paddies with a water buffalo.

Right now,Thailand has changed a lot but the mindset of the people remains from before.

We don't walk fast, not because we're not in a hurry or because we don't want to finish things and get over w/ them. But somewhere in our consciousness we are told to take it slowly, and in the eye of many westerners, it becomes strolling instead of walking. But we do walk, I contest.

However there is one matter we are programed to consider, and it's called 'manners." If you walk as fast as some westerners might want you to, people will ask you this question w/ their piercing eyes.

"Have you lost your buffalo? Why are you walking like that?"

Although the vast majority of Thai people, especially in Bangkok, have never owned a water buffalo, none of us would ever want to exhibit behavior that would cause others to wonder if we have, indeed, lost our buffalo.

P.S. Scroll down a bit to read "Thai Mentality - Introduction"