Calm In The Crowds
This one was taken on the Chinese New Years celebration at Wat Traimit in Chinatown, Bangkok. There were so many people. One of the nice things about Thailand is that even in the midst of large crowds, there’s still a relaxed and laid-back vibe to it. You have time and space to breath.
Maybe it has something to do with marayat (marayaat), which is a word that could be translated as “being well-behaved” or “having good manners” or simply “etiquette”. Most people are aware that the Japanese have very complex and detailed rules when it comes to social interaction, reigi saho. What most people are not so aware of, is that Thailand also has a highly defined and complex set of rules too. However, while the Japanese adhere to that code of conduct almost compulsively, Thai people in general are much more flexible, and for outsiders, it is often not easy to discover the subtle rules that influence social interactions in Thailand.
It might also be one of the reasons why so many Japanese businesses can be found in Thailand, and there are whole communities of Japanese businessmen. Because the highly defined rules of social interactions are something that the Japanese are used to, while the lack of these rules can be confusing for people accustomed to them.
But then, I’m starting to ramble here… let’s look at the picture.
Wat Traimit: Chinese New Year 2010
