Next-door Culture... yet so Different!
Culture is everywhere.
It doesn’t matter how near is the two countries. Or states. Even smaller would be town and within community. Culture differences is everywhere. How well do we even know the culture differences in our own homeland?
Some people would tell me that to make a traineeship worth it especially on cultural-wise, we ought to go somewhere out of SEA. For me, as long you know nuts about a country as far as the other side of the globe or just at the north (Thailand) or south (Singapore), there will be a difference.
I have a few Thai friends from other activities before going for my DT. That roughly gave me a bit of ideas about lifestyle, apart from reading the website. But there was more to what I know upon arrival.
Bangkok City
The roads (and elevated highway-expressway) are really straight. They must have such perfect planning that flying over the city at night leaves you in awe. You don’t really see anything like bending roads even if it’s one loooooooong stretch. And highest of a triple-level roads.
Tolls charges are expensive. The highway (at fixed rate) is 40baht for cars. And expressways (according to distance) reach up to 60baht. And to think we’re complaining of having to pay RM1.60 for NPE! Traveling on the elevated roads, you get to see the horizon of Bangkok. Small but tall (from the ground) billboards decorate the sides of the highway.
Transportation
There are subways (MRT), LRT (BTS Skytrain), buses according to distance or fare (5,7,8baht w/o AC), multi-colour taxis (Toyota Corolla or Altis), tuktuks, motorcycle and van service. With various public transportation, you can see why the traffic jams starts as early as 6.00am until 10.00pm… and of course, pretty high air pollution rate.
The MRT and BTS have really good service. They have security at every station entry/exit points and when they see a person with bulky stuff, they allow you to pass via side gate. And probably I don’t look much like a student, they always check for my ID to see if I meet the requirements of using the student card. The security at the platform is also very tight and you will hear shrills of whistle every time someone steps beyond the waiting line. But the fare isn’t really cheap if you buy the usual cards. BTS rates are about 12-30+baht while MRT 14-40 baht.
2 types of boat services are found at Chao Phraya river – across and along the river. Crossing the river is 3baht while along the river depends on your destination. Reckon wont cost more than 20baht for the furthest distance, I think. Never really traveled along the entire river!
Trains passing through the provinces are pretty ok. You can opt for 3rd Class, simpler seats w/o AC. 30baht to Ayutthya for 1.5 hours. Not sure about the first 2 classes though. Perhaps may be something like the KTM Intercity trains. Fare is pretty reasonable anyway.
Aircond buses that travel to provinces are pretty cheap also. It’s about 70baht to Ayutthya, 2 hours. By van would be 80baht. Nevertheless, the fares are still fine. The only flaw is that the province transportation does not go direct to its journey. Passengers are picked up and dropped off along the way… not the entire journey though.
People
Generally friendly and helpful… that is if they understand what you’re trying to tell them! I’ve been told that I look like a Thai everywhere I go. The majority are Thai-Chinese (which of course makes no difference with Malaysian-Chinese as the Chinese race in Malaysia-Thailand are originally from China), with minority of native Thai.
Thai people respect their King very much. And it’s really amazing to see that they know their King (and the history of the monarchy) quite well, unlike here. I admit I don’t know the name of the Sultan or which state is it! It was a very big celebration during the 60th year of the accessions of the throne in June. Everyone wears yellow with the words marking their respect and love for the King. And to know how much contribution the King has made and touched people’s lives at the commemoration exhibition of the King was truly amazing.
I daresay that the Thais are more civic-minded compared to Malaysians. They really line-up at MRT and BTS stations, especially at peak stations. Even inside the train, they head to the inner train and not hog the doorway. Oh, and most of them don’t ‘pole-dance’ with the holding bars. They leave their seats and head for the door one station before they exit the train.
Seeing gays and ladyboys are a norm in Thailand. It was a culture shock for me to find them anywhere and everywhere. That’s one thing you don’t see all the time here. To see them in one large group (like a 2-day camp during the National Planning Congress) was kinda scary. Eventually got used to it when you spot a really hot gorgeous guy/girl… chances are they’re gay/ladyboys.
Lifestyle
The university culture completely different. For one, they have to wear uniform of black skirt and white top for girls. Guys are to wear black pants and white top. And it differs between public and private university.
Public uni, girls have a limited skirt designs, unlike for private uni with any kind of skirt as long it’s black. For the guys in both institutions… somehow they wear any other kind of pants (especially jeans worn really low) but slacks! The shirt worn by both gender do not have a standard design. Girls are usually of tight-fitting (that shows off their curves… generally small-framed) with particular university buttons which we’d die trying to wear everyday – metal uni logo with rings to enclose it. guys are both fitting and loose kind. Freshie girls are to wear white shoes without lace (how boring!) for public uni only.
Closer to my own gender, 90% of the girls cannot leave the house to anywhere without makeup. Including to Uni. And they can wear high heels whole day (classes ends at 4.00-5.00pm), which sometimes they don’t go home but hang around at shopping malls, eating places etc until at night. Sakit kaki…..
Carrying bags to class is alien. 99% do not carry bagpacks. Only a few not-so-thick textbooks. Girls carry handbags with the books in their hands. Us in Malaysia carry some kind of bag to put everything inside… thick books, pencil case, wallet, handphone, notes, files, water bottle etc.
Shops and Malls generally close at 9.00pm on weekdays and 10.00pm on weekends. Shopping areas are crowded everyday. Most universities have some hotspot clubs nearby, which is frequented by students (exception for Chulalongkorn Uni where it’s in central of Siam and shopping area). So if you want supper… go to 7-11 (it’s everywhere and more things than the ones here) and get something to eat. Mamak-going Malaysians and night owls will have no where to go for clean healthy fun! And only 12-hour fastfood outlets.
F&B
Pretty reasonable. Out-of-central-and-tourist areas hawker food is about 25 or 30 baht, but will not be enough if you have a huge appetite. Busy areas up to 40baht. drinks like bottled water, gas drinks, coffee/tea is 10baht…and usually water is ordered. food courts in malls are in prepaid cards and food price are about 40-75baht.
You can be adventurous and just point-and-order what you eat. That’s what I did most of the time and learn the thai name when I get back to my host’s place. If you enjoy sour and spicy food, tomyam and various somtam (papaya salad) will whet your satisfaction. Too much for me isn’t my liking though. But the main thing as a foreigner, khao phat (fried rice) is be in the vocabulary. That’s just in case you don’t fancy eating something you don’t know!
There are a lot of simple 20baht snacks like assortments of grill food (chicken, fish, sotong) sugar string pohpiah, rolls and sorts of delicious goodies which you want to try every one of it! mostly ready-packed and if you get carried away, it will be a big purchase when you’re done!
Restaurants and fastfood outlets. They have my all-time favourite Sizzler, a grill restaurant which their Super Saver costs 139baht (everything sold in Thailand is with tax included). Main dish of grill chicken/pork/fish with potato of your choice (French fries/baked) with toast bread and a salad leaf. But inclusive of the menu is also endless rounds of the salad bar (fresh vege, fruits, pasta, soup, desserts… a-ma-zing!!!) and one carbonated drink. You’ll be stuffed from the salad bar itself. And it’s better than Nando’s and everything else in Malaysia!
Other top restaurants are Bar-B-Q Plaza (basically Korean bbq) and MK Restaurant (steamboat). The truth… I don’t see what’s so great with the two restaurants that made such a big name in Bangkok. Perhaps once we enjoyed the eat-all-you-can steamboat bbq in Malaysia… you wouldn’t want to pay for set menu which isn’t filling.
Thai people are heavily influenced with Japanese and Korean. From music to dramas and food, Japanese Restaurants are easily available… even sushi kiosks are found at BTS stations.
The menu in McD and KFC differ slightly. McD has the Spicy pork burger, more pies and flurry, extra large fries… and they still have the small-regular-large set meals. KFC have MORE desserts (pretty much like McD), the claypot chicken rice… didn’t eat at KFC while I was there. Neither did I have a try at Pizza Hut.
One thing to note. As Thailand is a Buddhist country, pork and beef is available everywhere. It’s a little hard to find halal eateries in Bangkok and I’ve only come across 2 shops.
Communication
Internet usage at cybercafes is relatively quite cheap. Especially at student area, you can get as low as 15baht per hour and for some, for one day. But it’s still cheap with 15baht.
True, GSM1800, AIS and DTAC are the main mobile service provider. True is truly the worst connection but the cheapest sim card of 99baht. I used True since it’s the cheapest. And generally, phone calls are much cheaper than SMS. Thais marvel at the finger speed when we SMS, as they call more than SMS. For True, they have like 6 call packages to suit users. I took the package with 1baht per hour from 11pm-5pm, 3baht per minute from 5-11pm. SMS
1 baht per hour… 10sen, 1 hour. We’ll be talking more on the phone rather than SMS if there are such cheap rates with our own service providers here also! Calling from local line to international line (ie Bangkok to Malaysia), is about 7-8baht and 9baht per SMS. Still cheaper compared to Hotlink roaming (RM3/minute and RM2/SMS)
Even for public phones goes a long way. 2baht to local hp gives you quite a long talking time.
Language. Even they are Thai-Chinese, most of them especially the present generation do not speak Chinese. Unlike Malaysia where each race still maintain their roots, basically in Thailand, they take on the Thai identity. Do you know that they Thai language and writing was actually created by one of the past Kings?
Thai language is similar to Chinese as the language has 6 different intonations. It’s a little hard for Chinese Asians to distinguish the sounds but at least we can get some correctly. For Westerners, it’s all the same to them. Most European languages do not distinguish by sound.
So that’s generally what it’s like being in Bangkok. There are more to know about it. and I cant possibly state everything here… too much actually. Anyhow, so you see, Thailand is still very different even it’s the northern of Malaysia. And what I experienced is only Bangkok. It’s completely different for other 71 provinces. And possibly more different cultures.
And I shall go khin khao… hiew maa! (literal translation: eat rice…hungry very!)
It doesn’t matter how near is the two countries. Or states. Even smaller would be town and within community. Culture differences is everywhere. How well do we even know the culture differences in our own homeland?
Some people would tell me that to make a traineeship worth it especially on cultural-wise, we ought to go somewhere out of SEA. For me, as long you know nuts about a country as far as the other side of the globe or just at the north (Thailand) or south (Singapore), there will be a difference.
I have a few Thai friends from other activities before going for my DT. That roughly gave me a bit of ideas about lifestyle, apart from reading the website. But there was more to what I know upon arrival.
Bangkok City
The roads (and elevated highway-expressway) are really straight. They must have such perfect planning that flying over the city at night leaves you in awe. You don’t really see anything like bending roads even if it’s one loooooooong stretch. And highest of a triple-level roads.
Tolls charges are expensive. The highway (at fixed rate) is 40baht for cars. And expressways (according to distance) reach up to 60baht. And to think we’re complaining of having to pay RM1.60 for NPE! Traveling on the elevated roads, you get to see the horizon of Bangkok. Small but tall (from the ground) billboards decorate the sides of the highway.
Transportation
There are subways (MRT), LRT (BTS Skytrain), buses according to distance or fare (5,7,8baht w/o AC), multi-colour taxis (Toyota Corolla or Altis), tuktuks, motorcycle and van service. With various public transportation, you can see why the traffic jams starts as early as 6.00am until 10.00pm… and of course, pretty high air pollution rate.
The MRT and BTS have really good service. They have security at every station entry/exit points and when they see a person with bulky stuff, they allow you to pass via side gate. And probably I don’t look much like a student, they always check for my ID to see if I meet the requirements of using the student card. The security at the platform is also very tight and you will hear shrills of whistle every time someone steps beyond the waiting line. But the fare isn’t really cheap if you buy the usual cards. BTS rates are about 12-30+baht while MRT 14-40 baht.
2 types of boat services are found at Chao Phraya river – across and along the river. Crossing the river is 3baht while along the river depends on your destination. Reckon wont cost more than 20baht for the furthest distance, I think. Never really traveled along the entire river!
Trains passing through the provinces are pretty ok. You can opt for 3rd Class, simpler seats w/o AC. 30baht to Ayutthya for 1.5 hours. Not sure about the first 2 classes though. Perhaps may be something like the KTM Intercity trains. Fare is pretty reasonable anyway.
Aircond buses that travel to provinces are pretty cheap also. It’s about 70baht to Ayutthya, 2 hours. By van would be 80baht. Nevertheless, the fares are still fine. The only flaw is that the province transportation does not go direct to its journey. Passengers are picked up and dropped off along the way… not the entire journey though.
People
Generally friendly and helpful… that is if they understand what you’re trying to tell them! I’ve been told that I look like a Thai everywhere I go. The majority are Thai-Chinese (which of course makes no difference with Malaysian-Chinese as the Chinese race in Malaysia-Thailand are originally from China), with minority of native Thai.
Thai people respect their King very much. And it’s really amazing to see that they know their King (and the history of the monarchy) quite well, unlike here. I admit I don’t know the name of the Sultan or which state is it! It was a very big celebration during the 60th year of the accessions of the throne in June. Everyone wears yellow with the words marking their respect and love for the King. And to know how much contribution the King has made and touched people’s lives at the commemoration exhibition of the King was truly amazing.
I daresay that the Thais are more civic-minded compared to Malaysians. They really line-up at MRT and BTS stations, especially at peak stations. Even inside the train, they head to the inner train and not hog the doorway. Oh, and most of them don’t ‘pole-dance’ with the holding bars. They leave their seats and head for the door one station before they exit the train.
Seeing gays and ladyboys are a norm in Thailand. It was a culture shock for me to find them anywhere and everywhere. That’s one thing you don’t see all the time here. To see them in one large group (like a 2-day camp during the National Planning Congress) was kinda scary. Eventually got used to it when you spot a really hot gorgeous guy/girl… chances are they’re gay/ladyboys.
Lifestyle
The university culture completely different. For one, they have to wear uniform of black skirt and white top for girls. Guys are to wear black pants and white top. And it differs between public and private university.
Public uni, girls have a limited skirt designs, unlike for private uni with any kind of skirt as long it’s black. For the guys in both institutions… somehow they wear any other kind of pants (especially jeans worn really low) but slacks! The shirt worn by both gender do not have a standard design. Girls are usually of tight-fitting (that shows off their curves… generally small-framed) with particular university buttons which we’d die trying to wear everyday – metal uni logo with rings to enclose it. guys are both fitting and loose kind. Freshie girls are to wear white shoes without lace (how boring!) for public uni only.
Closer to my own gender, 90% of the girls cannot leave the house to anywhere without makeup. Including to Uni. And they can wear high heels whole day (classes ends at 4.00-5.00pm), which sometimes they don’t go home but hang around at shopping malls, eating places etc until at night. Sakit kaki…..
Carrying bags to class is alien. 99% do not carry bagpacks. Only a few not-so-thick textbooks. Girls carry handbags with the books in their hands. Us in Malaysia carry some kind of bag to put everything inside… thick books, pencil case, wallet, handphone, notes, files, water bottle etc.
Shops and Malls generally close at 9.00pm on weekdays and 10.00pm on weekends. Shopping areas are crowded everyday. Most universities have some hotspot clubs nearby, which is frequented by students (exception for Chulalongkorn Uni where it’s in central of Siam and shopping area). So if you want supper… go to 7-11 (it’s everywhere and more things than the ones here) and get something to eat. Mamak-going Malaysians and night owls will have no where to go for clean healthy fun! And only 12-hour fastfood outlets.
F&B
Pretty reasonable. Out-of-central-and-tourist areas hawker food is about 25 or 30 baht, but will not be enough if you have a huge appetite. Busy areas up to 40baht. drinks like bottled water, gas drinks, coffee/tea is 10baht…and usually water is ordered. food courts in malls are in prepaid cards and food price are about 40-75baht.
You can be adventurous and just point-and-order what you eat. That’s what I did most of the time and learn the thai name when I get back to my host’s place. If you enjoy sour and spicy food, tomyam and various somtam (papaya salad) will whet your satisfaction. Too much for me isn’t my liking though. But the main thing as a foreigner, khao phat (fried rice) is be in the vocabulary. That’s just in case you don’t fancy eating something you don’t know!
There are a lot of simple 20baht snacks like assortments of grill food (chicken, fish, sotong) sugar string pohpiah, rolls and sorts of delicious goodies which you want to try every one of it! mostly ready-packed and if you get carried away, it will be a big purchase when you’re done!
Restaurants and fastfood outlets. They have my all-time favourite Sizzler, a grill restaurant which their Super Saver costs 139baht (everything sold in Thailand is with tax included). Main dish of grill chicken/pork/fish with potato of your choice (French fries/baked) with toast bread and a salad leaf. But inclusive of the menu is also endless rounds of the salad bar (fresh vege, fruits, pasta, soup, desserts… a-ma-zing!!!) and one carbonated drink. You’ll be stuffed from the salad bar itself. And it’s better than Nando’s and everything else in Malaysia!
Other top restaurants are Bar-B-Q Plaza (basically Korean bbq) and MK Restaurant (steamboat). The truth… I don’t see what’s so great with the two restaurants that made such a big name in Bangkok. Perhaps once we enjoyed the eat-all-you-can steamboat bbq in Malaysia… you wouldn’t want to pay for set menu which isn’t filling.
Thai people are heavily influenced with Japanese and Korean. From music to dramas and food, Japanese Restaurants are easily available… even sushi kiosks are found at BTS stations.
The menu in McD and KFC differ slightly. McD has the Spicy pork burger, more pies and flurry, extra large fries… and they still have the small-regular-large set meals. KFC have MORE desserts (pretty much like McD), the claypot chicken rice… didn’t eat at KFC while I was there. Neither did I have a try at Pizza Hut.
One thing to note. As Thailand is a Buddhist country, pork and beef is available everywhere. It’s a little hard to find halal eateries in Bangkok and I’ve only come across 2 shops.
Communication
Internet usage at cybercafes is relatively quite cheap. Especially at student area, you can get as low as 15baht per hour and for some, for one day. But it’s still cheap with 15baht.
True, GSM1800, AIS and DTAC are the main mobile service provider. True is truly the worst connection but the cheapest sim card of 99baht. I used True since it’s the cheapest. And generally, phone calls are much cheaper than SMS. Thais marvel at the finger speed when we SMS, as they call more than SMS. For True, they have like 6 call packages to suit users. I took the package with 1baht per hour from 11pm-5pm, 3baht per minute from 5-11pm. SMS
1 baht per hour… 10sen, 1 hour. We’ll be talking more on the phone rather than SMS if there are such cheap rates with our own service providers here also! Calling from local line to international line (ie Bangkok to Malaysia), is about 7-8baht and 9baht per SMS. Still cheaper compared to Hotlink roaming (RM3/minute and RM2/SMS)
Even for public phones goes a long way. 2baht to local hp gives you quite a long talking time.
Language. Even they are Thai-Chinese, most of them especially the present generation do not speak Chinese. Unlike Malaysia where each race still maintain their roots, basically in Thailand, they take on the Thai identity. Do you know that they Thai language and writing was actually created by one of the past Kings?
Thai language is similar to Chinese as the language has 6 different intonations. It’s a little hard for Chinese Asians to distinguish the sounds but at least we can get some correctly. For Westerners, it’s all the same to them. Most European languages do not distinguish by sound.
So that’s generally what it’s like being in Bangkok. There are more to know about it. and I cant possibly state everything here… too much actually. Anyhow, so you see, Thailand is still very different even it’s the northern of Malaysia. And what I experienced is only Bangkok. It’s completely different for other 71 provinces. And possibly more different cultures.
And I shall go khin khao… hiew maa! (literal translation: eat rice…hungry very!)
posted by ZJ at 7/19/2006 04:03:00 PM
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