Thai Culture
The traditional Thai wai
How and when?
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| Thai actress wai or make a respect in Cannes Film Festival 2013 |
The'' wai'' (pronounce like why) is the traditional gesture of greeting and thanking. It is done by joining hands in front of the chest and bending the head. Foreigners are not expected to wai, but it's nice to do it in appropriate situations. So who should you wai? If you're not sure, you can wai basically any person who wais you first, except if this person is working for you or this person is a child. This means you needn't wai a maid or a hotel staff, for instance. It's not that they are "inferior", but they provide a service, you are the guest, and you are not even expected to thank them. Of course many foreigners thank them and even wai back, and the Thais get used to it, but if you show too much respect to someone, he can also be embarrassed. If you want to be nice, just smile :-) and leave a tip!
You can also wai as a way to apologize, if you step on someone's foot or bump into someone.
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| Thai actress wai or make a respect in Cannes Film Festival 2013 |
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