CultureShock! Bangkok

Dan Waites

Description

CultureShock! Bangkok is your all-in-one guide to navigating and living in Thailand's vibrant capital. Learn how to get around the city quickly and safely by motorcycle taxi, how to order the tastiest street food, and how to behave with respect to Thai manners and beliefs. Join in the local celebrations such as Songkran and Loy Krathong and get a first-hand taste of the Thais' zest for life and love of sanuk ('fun'). Packed with practical information and frank advice, CultureShock! Bangkok shows you how to find your feet and enjoy your stay to its fullest in this ever-fascinating 'City of Angels'.

Sujets

• Tailandia
• Thailand
• Thaïlande

Informations

• Publié par: Marshall Cavendish International
• Date de parution: 10 février 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 4
• EAN13: 9789814516938
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

2014 James Daniel Waites Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Pte Ltd
Published by Marshall Cavendish Editions
An imprint of Marshall Cavendish International
1 New Industrial Road, Singapore 536196
All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Request for permission should be addressed to the Publisher, Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited, 1 New Industrial Road, Singapore 536196. Tel: [phone], fax: [phone]. E-mail: [e-mail]
The publisher makes no representation or warranties with respect to the contents of this book, and specifically disclaims any implied warranties or merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose, and shall in no events be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
Other Marshall Cavendish Offices:
Marshall Cavendish Corporation. 99 White Plains Road, Tarrytown NY 10591-9001, USA Marshall Cavendish International (Thailand) Co Ltd. 253 Asoke, 12th Flr, Sukhumvit 21 Road, Klongtoey Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand Marshall Cavendish (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Times Subang, Lot 46, Subang Hi-Tech Industrial Park, Batu Tiga, 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Marshall Cavendish is a trademark of Times Publishing Limited
National Library Board, Singapore Cataloguing-in-Publication Data:
Waites, James Daniel, 1980- author.
Culture shock! Bangkok : a survival guide to customs and etiquette / Dan Waites. - Singapore : Marshall Cavendish Editions, 2014 pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
eISBN : 978 981 4516 93 8
1. Bangkok (Thailand) - Social life and customs. 2. Etiquette - Thailand -Bangkok. I. Title. II. Series: Culture shock!
DS589.B2
959.3 -- dc23 OCN864372730
Cover photo: The Phra Sri Ratana Chedi in the Grand Palace
All photos by Francis Wade
Illustrations by TRIGG
Printed in Singapore
ABOUT THE SERIES
Culture shock is a state of disorientation that can come over anyone who has been thrust into unknown surroundings, away from one s comfort zone. CultureShock! is a series of trusted and reputed guides which has, for decades, been helping expatriates and long-term visitors to cushion the impact of culture shock whenever they move to a new country.
Written by people who have lived in the country and experienced culture shock themselves, the books provide all the information necessary for anyone to cope with these feelings of disorientation more effectively. The guides are written in a style that is easy to read and cover a range of topics that will arm readers with enough advice, hints and tips to make their lives as normal as possible again.
Each book is structured in the same manner. It begins with the first impressions that visitors will have of that city or country. To understand a culture, one must first understand the people-where they came from, who they are, the values and traditions they live by, as well as their customs and etiquette. This is covered in the first half of the book.
Then on with the practical aspects-how to settle in with the greatest of ease. Authors walk readers through topics such as how to find accommodation, get the utilities and telecommunications up and running, enrol the children in school and keep in the pink of health. But that s not all. Once the essentials are out of the way, venture out and try the food, enjoy more of the culture and travel to other areas. Then be immersed in the language of the country before discovering more about the business side of things.
To round off, snippets of basic information are offered before readers are tested on the customs and etiquette of the country. Useful words and phrases, a comprehensive resource guide and list of books for further research are also included for easy reference.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
Some Notes on Language
Map of Bangkok
Chapter 1
First Impressions
Culture Shock!
Changing Times
Chapter 2
Overview of the City and its History
BANGKOK: A SELECTED HISTORY
Timeline of Events
Taksin and Thonburi
The Founding of Bangkok
King Mongkut
King Chulalongkorn
The End of Absolute Monarchy
Phibun s Nation
The Death of Rama VIII
Sarit s Despotic Paternalism
King Bhumibol Adulyadej
1973 and 1976
Premocracy
Black May
The Asian Financial Crisis
Thaksin Shinawatra and the Thai Political Crisis
CITY OVERVIEW
Climate
Planning fail
Linear Development
Rattanakosin and Dusit
Banglamphu
Thonburi
Yaowarat and Pahurat
Charoen Krung
Silom and Sathorn
Pathum Wan
Ratchathewi
Sukhumvit
Khlong Toei
North Bangkok
Chapter 3
People
Minorities
Chinese
Indians
Other Foreigners
Values and Beliefs
Family
Hierarchy
Hi-so
What s In a Name
On the Surface
Don t Think Too Much
Hot Hearts and Cool Hearts
Martial Flavour
Fashion and Fads
Techno Joy
White is Beautiful
Sanuk
Money and Luck
Spiritual Beliefs
Buddhists and More
Buddhist Precepts
Making Merit
In Decline?
Spirits and Power
Evil Spirits
Amulets and Tattoos
Chapter 4
Fitting In
High and Low
Dress and Modesty
Why Wai
The F Word
Keeping Your Cool
Speaking and Listening
Visiting Someone s Home
Friendliness
Making Thai Friends
Class
Thai- Farang Relationships
Dating
The Sex Divide
Public Affection and Keeping Up Appearances
Staying Clean and the Sniff Kiss
Mia Noi and Mistresses
Just For Kiks
Prostitution
LGBT 161
Chapter 5
Practicalities
What to Bring
Visas
Work Permits
Accommodation
Money
Toilets
Getting Around
Buying a Vehicle
Health and Hospitals
Food Shopping
Staying Informed
Schools
Births, Marriages and Deaths
Chapter 6
Food
Eating with Thai People
Typical Dishes
Thai Service
Tipping
Finding Places to Eat
Splashing Out, Thai-Style
Street Food
A Guide to Bangkok Street Stalls
Food Courts
Foreign Cuisine
Vegan/Vegetarian 239
Chapter 7
Having Fun
Nightlife
Music
Cinema and Film
Green Spaces
Festivals
The Weekend Getaway
Literature and Illiterature
More Ideas
Chapter 8
Learning the Language
Characteristics of Thai
The Farang Speaks Thai!
To Write or Not to Write
How to Learn Thai
Chapter 9
Doing Business
Thai Working Culture
Managing Thai Staff
Finding and Working with a Thai Business Partner
Corruption
Chapter 10
Fast Facts
Local Politics and Government
Famous Bangkokians
Culture Quiz
Do s and Don ts
Words and Phrases
Resource Guide
Further Reading
About the Author
Index
DEDICATION

To Mum, Dad and Matt
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks go first to my agent Greg Lowe, without whom this would never have happened at all. Thanks also to Francis Wade for his excellent photography, feedback and friendship. And thanks to Justin Lau for his great editing job. Then, in no particular order, a big thank you to Naphalai Areesorn, Barnab R aud, Catherine Wentworth, Gaby Doman, Crystal Wilde, Charlie Campbell, Chamaiporn Siangyen, Jirawadee Sangrayab, Eric Haeg, Shane Danaher, Tim Footman, Lawrence Osborne, Benjamas Chantiwas and Kris, all of whom generously gave feedback or allowed me to pick their brains in the process of writing this thing. A final thanks go to Byron Perry, Nicholas Altstadt, Andrew Scott, Danielle Hannon-Burt, Jordan Katz, Leslie Gildea and Dominic Earnshaw for patiently listening to me going on about this project for months on end, and not completely derailing my motivation to finish it.
SOME NOTES ON LANGUAGE
The Thai word farang is used liberally in this book. Technically, it means a white or, to use the old-fashioned term, Caucasian person. The author realises the reader of this book could be of any race or nationality, and so may not identify with the term farang . But the word is so common in expat usage that to avoid it completely seemed excessively cautious. What s more, many non-white people from the West have told me that they relate to the term when used in the Thai context, and have not been offended when described as such themselves. I apologise in advance for any offence caused.
I ve also used the word ladyboy , which is what male-to-female transsexuals are referred to as in Bangkok. Some gender rights activists object to this term, saying its continued use serves as a constant reminder to transsexuals of the lives they ve tried so hard to leave behind. While this argument is motivated by admirable compassion, the reality is that in the main Thai transsexuals still use the term ladyboy themselves, and that Western-style political correctness has shown little sign of taking hold in Thailand in this area. Perhaps some Thai transsexuals do take offence at the term, but in the course of research for this book I ve been unable to find evidence of that. I ve therefore used the term ladyboy in these pages. If the term does come to be deemed offensive in coming years, I apologise to future readers.
As we ll see in Chapter 8 of this book, there s little agreement in Thai language studies on a standard system for romanising the Thai script. The Royal Thai General System of Transcription (RTGS) isn t up to the task, since it doesn t give the reader enough information about the words to know how to pronounce them properly. For example, it doesn t tell you what the tone of a word is, even though the tone is crucial to determining its meaning, and it doesn t distinguish between long and short vowels.
Having said that, this book isn t intended to teach you Thai. And systems that are better suited to the task tend to involve the use of symbols that intimidate the casual reader, with strange accents and extra letters to represent sounds that don t exist in Englis