Example of Culture /Daily Life in Thailand

If you are not used to Asian culture, you may be culture shocked when you visit Thailand. Below are some examples of culture and daily life in Bangkok, Thailand. Bear in mind that in the countryside, life is easier and daily life in the country side of Thailand would be different from the examples below.

Example 1 - Daily Life in Thailand

In Thailand, life is fast paced and you are always struggling to survive one way or another. Thai people wake up early. Thai streets are often never dark since there are always street shops that open 24-7. Unlike most places in the US or Europe, people in Thailand work and stay up late past midnight most days. Therefore, there is a need for street food vendors to stay open late into the night. Then most Thai people wake up early, as early as 4am to catch the bus to work or to school. So, street vendors never have a chance to close. Streets are not well lit because of lighting bills but there are always activities going on. But, why do people need to get up so early in Thailand, some might ask.

Example 2 - Getting up early and getting home late

Everyone in Thailand has to add about an hour or two to their journey anywhere. The traffic in Bangkok is horrendous. If you want to get to work by 7am for example, you may have to leave your home at 4am especially if you are catching a bus. If you own a car, you may be in traffic for a long time. Most people in Bangkok own a car or several cars which accounts for so many cars on the street. However, there is also a large population of people in Bangkok that are too poor to afford a car. All buses in Bangkok are almost always full and most of the time people are waiting at the bus stops to get on the bus at busy hours.

Busy street of Bangkok with lots of traffic jam

Overall, life in Thailand is a constant struggle unless you are rich. For the rich in Thailand, life is a paradise. They get chauffeured to wherever they want to go, never having to step foot on the streets of Bangkok. The streets of Bangkok are polluted and the heat is intense most of the time. For rich people though, there is enough buying power to hire live in maids, chauffeurs, cooks, gardeners 24-7. You never have to life a finger if you did not want to.