Ryan, our photographer guest from Denver, Colorado, has made an interesting comment on the general appearance of Thai people, something I had thought about but never said out loud.
Being from a cold climate as Ryan was, he found Bangkok a sweaty place. This year, we'd had a lot of rain and "winter" was creeping in. Apparently, our Thai 'winter' was a bit inadequate for our poor friend.
He was left wondering why Thai people were so "unadorned" when conditions of the weather could be so unbearable at times. From the way he saw it, Bangkokians could probably take good solace in sunglasses and/or hats. But
we don't. And do you wanna know why?
You could probably assume that cost is a reason. No, it's not the case.
Street vendors of Bangkok supply affordable odds and ends to the entire city. Reasonably-priced sunglasses of 150 Baht (USD 4.4 or Euro 3.3) or cheap, cheap hats of any factory design of 100 Baht (USD 3 or Euro 2.5) are just two items on this endless list.
Or you might try your guess that it's the being-used-to-it factor. Yes, but only to a certain degree. Just like how westerners will never be able to withstand the harshness of the cold weather w/ bare skin, Thai people will always find it intolerable to bear the glaring sun for too long. This is why air-conditioned malls are so popular in this culture. When it's not cool to don a pair of sunglasses or a hat when it is hot, people naturally turn to something else that other people disapprove of not.
Now, let me elaborate.
While Thai society is a free society in many respects (homosexuality for instance,) she is rather strict when it comes to how you should feel about the image you portray to other people. I'm talking about appearance and mannerism here. What this society always champions is the 'not-in-your-face, the quieter the better' attitude. Understatement is explicitly valued over ostentation. So, can a hat and a pair of sunglasses be too much?
Well, let's just put it this way. People here do not say it out loud but if the word is really squeezed out and put on paper so the whole world could read, it will either read Pretentious or Affected. "Where are you from? Your family has such a high standing? Or, you've graduated from abroad? Even so, is there really a need to go around advertising your social status w/ how you look?"
This thought alone of how other people might be viewing you keeps a lot of people away from those cool stands in the market. However, farangs are not subject to this "scrutiny." We Thai people have such an knack in discriminating against our own kind. So, don't worry. Wear a hat if you feel hot. Wear the flashiest pair of sunglasses if uncool you feel not.
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