The Wai!

Notice the younger "student" bows lower to the older "teacher."

This traditional Thai greeting and sign of respect is done by placing the palms of the hands together, with fingertips in front of the nose and elbows down.  Social class and position determine the height of your hands, how far to bow  your head, and the length of the wai.  You will not be expected to know all of these details, but it is proper and polite to greet people in this way.  Once you get to Thailand, ask a Thai person to show you how to do it.

Rules of the Wai & Culture:

1. Always wai people who are older than you.
2. Let children and workers wai you first and respond with a nod of the head.
3. Thai’s rarely shake hands or hug as a greeting.
4. Thai people expect Americans to know as much about Thailand as they know  about America.
5. They will expect to be flattered when they ask you what you think of Thailand.
6. Thais think most Americans are Christians and judge Christianity based on those they see on TV and in the movies.

For Thais, the wai is everything. It’s a beautiful way to greet people, to say thank you or goodbye. Most Thais expect and accept handshakes from Westerners, but you will probably feel more at home in Thailand if you do things the Thai way and learn to wai. When it comes to waiing there is no such thing as too much; the more the better. Thais use the wai as a polite gesture to say hi, goodbye, thank you or simply to show respect and gratitude towards people and things.