Perception of Thailand

The two things that come to my mind about Thailand are definitely the Buddhist temples and monks as well as its flea markets. All year round, this largest urban city in Thailand attracts people from all over the world seeking for breath-taking beaches and authentic Thai cuisines. In recent years, Bangkok has successfully established its position as a favourite shopping destination in Southeast Asia. Known as the Shopping Paradise, millions of people from neighbouring countries are attracted to Bangkok for a short getaway enjoying bargain shopping at local flea markets such as Chatuchak market or luxury shopping at its major shopping malls such as Siam Paragon, Peninsula and Oriental Plaza. Other than the shopaholics, many religious people are also attracted to the beautiful Buddhist temples in the country.

Amazing Thailand

Thailand Flag

What is Thai culture? Thailand is a country of diversity and ancient traditions with tranquil temples and chic urban excitement. With an rich history going back more than seven centuries, it has managed to absorb a variety of cultural influences and blend them to form today to form the Thai culture as we understand it today. (Thailand, 2002) Other than being reflected on the tangibles such as the architecture and artefacts in Thailand, these traditions can also be seen in the behaviour, customs and beliefs of the Thai people

While the official Thai language is widely spoken throughout Thailand, many Thais mostly in Bangkok and urbanised cities also speak and understand English. English is typically the common language for cross-cultural conversation as Thailand hosts visitors from around the world. (Language, 2010)

Religion plays a very important role in Thai life and considered an essential pillar of society. Theravada or Hinayana Buddhism is the national religion of Thailand. 94.6% of the population in Thailand is Buddhist whereas the remaining 5.4% consists of Muslims, Christians, Hindus and other religion. (Thailand Religion, 2011)

Many Buddhist temples can be found throughout Thailand. Wat Phra Kaew, also known as Temple of the Emerald Buddha, is regarded as the most important Buddhist temple in Thailand. This temple sanctifies The Emerald Buddha which is carved from a single block of jade. (Bangkok Wat Phra Kaew, 2011) 

Wat Pho is the largest temple in Bangkok and is known as the Reclining Buddha Temple. This temple features the highly impressive gold plated reclining Buddha, designed to illustrate the passing of the Buddha into nirvana. (Wat Pho, the Reclining Buddha Temple - Bangkok, 2011)

The Wai

The Wai is the common form of greeting for Thais where they would place the palms and fingers of both their hands together in a prayer position and at different levels depending upon the level of gesture showing a sign of respect. Other than being a form of greeting, the wai is also used to express apology or gratitude. (The Thai Wai Greeting, 2011)

King Chulalongkorn the Great

“Chulalongkorn Day” is celebrated on 23^rd October of every year in memory of King Chulalongkorn who was one of the most important king of Thailand in the past. He abolished slavery and did many other reforms which modernised the country such as the expansion of the communication system through construction of railways and establishment of post and telegraph services. (Chadchaidee, 2007)

Thai Cuisines

The spiciness of Thai cuisine is well known throughout the world. Thai food characterise on combination of several elements of Southeast Asian traditions to produce lightly prepared dishes with strong aromatic components.

Thailand Architecture

Thailand's architecture was heavily influenced by external influences like Indian and Khmer. Thai architecture has its own distinct style with towering spires and rooftops and symbolise the Thai soul and spirit.

Indigenous People In Thailand

Thailand has a population of approximately 62million people, and almost 926,000 of those are the officially recognised indigenous people or hill tribes who are also known as “Chao Khao”. The six major tribal groups in Thailand are the Karen, Hmong, Lahu, Akha, Yao, and Lisu. (Leming, 2000)

The social category of chao khao is defined as being “non-Thai ,” underdeveloped and environmentally destructive as they are believed to destroy forests and cultivate opium. Until today, the indigenous peoples of Thailand continue to suffer from the historical stereotyping and discrimination like other indigenous peoples in the world. (Indigenous People of Thailand, 2011)

Karen, being the largest indigenous group in Thailand has the same number of people as all other tribal groups combined The Karen is known for their weaving skills and is also the only minority group in Thailand who work with elephants thus famous for their relationships with these animals. (Karen, 2004)

There are two main subgroups of Karen which are Paganyaw Sgaw and Pwo. Paduang is the third Karen group and is also known as “long neck” Karen. It is very small consisting of less than 40, 000 people in total. They are very famous in tourism because of its women wearing brass rings around their necks. This distorts the growth of their collarbones and creates a visual illusion that they have long necks. A Padaung woman began her ring adornment at 5 or 6 years old and generally has about twenty or more rings around her neck. (Karen Long Neck Hilltribe - Padaung)

Although all Karen speak related languages, individual Karen sub-groups speak languages which are sometimes unintelligible to other groups. (Leming, 2000) Each group is distinguished not only by the language spoken but also by its women clothing design. (The Karen People In Thailand, 2011)

Before the introduction of Christianity in the 1800s, many Karen believed in animism whereby the key principle is to gain favour of the spirits that surround them. In traditional animism, the Karen believes that the body has 33 spirits called k’la. Wrist tying is a ritual performed in the home at least twice a year where the k’la are called back to the person and the family is unified. This ritual is only performed when all the members of the family are present. Since one has relationships with many households, one will attend many of these ceremonies thus developing strong village solidarity. 

A Family of White Karen

The second ritual, house rite of ‘au xae, is performed in the home in attempt to appease the spirit of the house and this is traditionally practiced when someone is ill. Sxacrifices of chicken and pigs have to be made so that the k’la can be reunited with the body of the sick person in order for the person to be well again. (Sgaw Karen, 2011)

Authenticity of Thai Culture and The Karen

Karen Hill Tribe

The authenticity of Thailand and the Karen is subjective and varies upon the motivation of the tourist visiting the country. However, due to the increasing popularity of tourism in Thailand, many traditions have been modified to suit the visitor’s needs. For instance, the tradition of Padaung women wearing the neck rings is fading but the practice is continued out of economic necessity as travel agencies realise that these strange-looking women are able to attract tourists to the villages and in turn generate revenue. The famous Water Festival in Thailand which is a tradition by the Thais is also used by Thailand tourism board as a strategy to attract people to the country to boost economic growth. Therefore, the authenticity of the culture in this country is questionable. (Hattaway, 2004)

Tourism Impacts on the Authentic Culture of Thailand and Karen

Tourism in Thailand has brought along several impacts to the country and its indigenous group. Tourism has not only contributed significantly in the country’s economic growth, but also created job opportunities for the locals. It is expected by 2019 that 3 in every 8 jobs in Thailand will be in tourism industry thus indicating the importance of tourism to Thailand’s economy and its people. (Tourism Impact On Thailand's Economy By The Numbers, 2009)

Due to tourism, the Karen’s lives are greatly improved. Many Karen are refugees who fled from Burma to Northern Thailand. As a result of tourism, the tribe is able to make a good living from curious visitors flocking into the villages for exotic sights of these “long neck” women. 

For example, a Padaung woman is paid a good salary to simply pose for photographs. In addition, the indigenous group can also sell handicrafts to generate further revenue from the tourists. The tradition of brass coiling had almost died off but due to tourist’s demand, the Karen women continued this practice. Therefore, in a way tourism has helped to preserve the culture. (Andrew Spooner, 2007)

However, tourism has affected the culture in Thailand and the Karen in negative ways. Due to the high demand for these Karen women, tourists now have to pay entrance fee to the “villages” which are developed for tourism purposes to look at these women which are treated like animals in the zoo. As discussed, although tradition of wearing the brass coils had almost died out but now young girls in this indigenous group are made to continue this tradition in order to extract revenue from tourism and this practice is seen as work to the Karen women. (Andrew Spooner, 2007)

Focus of Thailand’s Calendar of Events

The focus of Thailand’s calendar of events is mainly on the art and culture as well as the religious and spiritual events. Thailand is internationally famous for its silk and Khon Kaen Silk Festival is held over 10 days at the end of November and beginning of December mainly to promote the local silk industry. (Khon Kaen Silk Festival: 29 Nov - 10 Dec 2011) Songkran Festival is the most celebrated festival in Thailand where Thais celebrate their traditional New Year with water. Over the years, this festival has become a hallmark event of Thailand, attracting many curious visitors from all over the world to participate in the water festival. (Songkran Festival, 2010)

Khon Kaen Silk Festival

Thailand Water Festival

Disneyization of Thailand

Due to Globalisation, more people are encouraged to travel around the world and thus the influence of those travellers on the local culture is inevitable. Globalisation has taken place in Thailand. For instance, familiar international brands such as McDonald’s, and ZARA can now be found throughout Thailand. The result of Gobalisation has also greatly disneyfied Thailand. 

The 4 key principles of Disneyization are theming, hybrid consumption, merchandising and emotional labour. These 4 principles are evident in Thailand, especially its capital, Bangkok.

Some examples of theming in the city is Dreamworld theme park, Hard Rock Café and Imm Fusion Sukhumvit Hotel whereby these places are based on different themes to enhance their attractiveness and differentiate themselves from other homogenous brands.

The key principle of hybrid consumption is to satisfy as many needs of the tourist as possible to increase the length of stay and in turn generate more revenue. For instance, Bangkok provides a variety of activities and entertainment in the city itself such as nightclubs, dining, shopping malls, temples etc so that tourists are attracted to spend a long time in the city.

Merchandising can be seen in Thailand where T-shirts, mugs and keychains that have “I Love Bangkok” written on them are sold to the tourists. The tourists are also walking advertisements for the country when they wear the shirt in their home country.

Emotional labour is where Thai employees present themselves like actors on stage. For instance, the employees in Thailand’s Dreamworld theme park are required to dress up in various cartoon characters’ costumes and act like the characters they are depicting. (Fen, 2010)

Conclusion

Thailand is a country that is very rich in culture and diversity. However, over the years tourism has become a major source of income for the country thus the government might be more concerned with the immediate monetary benefits that the tourism can bring and neglect the importance of the Thai culture and society. Despite tourism preserved some of the traditions that were dying off, it has affected the culture of Thailand in many negative ways and commercialised this unique culture which is used as a tourism product.