How to make friends with Thai when visiting Thailand

 This may come as a surprise to you, but the Thais are very social people – in fact immensely social! Therefore, if you find yourself to be backpacking through Thailand one day, and the chance presents itself to you to make some new friends and spend a night out with a group of newfound Thai friends – take it! Take it like it’s the only thing that matters in the world! You will surely make some very fond memories! Here are some tips to help you along without any awkwardness!

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Eating is a social matter

Rarely, if ever, will you ever see a Thai person eating in a corner all by themselves. And if by some unfortunate coincidence they do happen to be alone dining, chances are, they are gulping down and washing clean their plates to rush out of this uncomfortable situation they are in right now. Similarly, never will you ever see a Thai walk into a bar or a club if he or she is not expecting to meet some friends. The Thais live up to the title of ‘social’. Their consensus of social and cultural ties equating to sharing food and drinks with their loved ones is so strong that standing alone inside a bar without a couple of other accompanying you is pretty much the catcall of friendless person!

Any weekday is as good as a Friday

The ever readiness of the Thai’s to step out and socialise puts the term Fri-yay to shame! No night of the week is bad for them to step out and douse themselves in some party vibes or perhaps a nice little get together with your closest friends. This is the reason that Thai bars and clubs are relatively busier throughout the entire week as opposed to it being simply Fridays and Saturdays in most other countries. We know what you’re thinking – what about work the next day? See, thanks to the busy roads of the Thais metropolitan cities, the excuse of ‘mad traffic’ never gets too old! In all fairness, the bars and clubs do close down at relatively earlier times than at most other places too. Many a hotel in Khon Kaen the likes of Avani Khon Kaen Hotel & Convention Centre have bars that remain open into the night some amusing entertainment on offer all week around.

Always Confirm

In Thailand, an appointment is most often not an actual appointment. It is often chosen as a conversation grease to secure a smooth and pleasant conversation between two parties. Even if the appointment is set in stone, there can be a million different things that could go wrong on the night of. The thing about not seeing through such appointments is that in the case of a cancellation, the consensus around the rest of the world is to inform other parties in advance to not inconvenience them. However, this is not necessarily the case in Thailand. They generally tend to ignore the responsibility of communicating the cancellation and expect the other parties to self-realise that’s what is happening. Therefore, if you have made an appointment with a group of Thai friends a couple of days earlier, on the day of, do make sure to double-check and confirm if you are still on for the night.

Last but not least, live in the moment

If there is one thing that the Thai’s love to do more than enjoying their nights out and social gatherings, it’s the spirit of living in the moment. They are a jolly clan of people who live today like it is their last day on earth and any party that reciprocates similar attitudes are always welcome into their circle! SO let loose and make new friends in Thailand so you can have a million different stories to relate when you come back home.