The Importance Of Politeness

The importance of politeness when speaking Thai cannot be underestimated. Many times I have found that if I say things in the politetest form I get a much more friendly reception, which is the way it should be! If I use the term Khune (Mr) before a mans name I get a very friendly response from that person, when I referred to one of the boxers as Khune Bon, I got a positive reaction later on from Khune Ti (Khune Poh) the man who runs the gym. Today I when I was at the restaurant I asked for some water and said "Koh Naum Khrup" and got a big smile from the waitress. Both the terms Koh and Khrup are used to ask for something in a polite way, its like "Please can I have some water, thanks."

For me being a farang politeness is a definite added bonus. First off its just the right thing to do but because so few Thai speaking farang actually speak Thai politely, when a farang like me does use the polite terms it sort of super sizes the politeness compared to what a Thai person might get in the same situation using the same language. People are surprised a farang can speak Thai and also like it very much that a farang is making an effort to be polite, to treat them with respect and to treat Thailand and the Thai language properly.

The key is to be respectful and polite in all situations, if you do your most likely going to be treated that way in kind. Today when I was walking through narrow dark pathways in the slum to Khune Rain's home today I was a bit worried, I was carrying maybe $6000 of camera equipment, more than people there might make in 5-10 years. There were men in front of me and behind me some of who smelled of alcohol. I had no problems thou, everyone was polite, everyone treated me well.

It has been another lucky trip to Thailand for me. I hope the photos turn out well, I want to return and give them to the people I photographed today when I return in November.