Before You Read
Just So You Know

First trip to Thailand? To make the most of your first trip, there are many tips and tricks that you can make yourself familiar with. In this guest blog Bangkok Seven covers some of top tips to know when visiting the redlight areas. In this blog we will cover Seven's first eight tips. The remaining two tips can be found on Seven's Substack which we will link to below.

Seven's Top Ten Thailand Newbie Tips
by Bangkok Seven

First things First
Hey internet, it's Seven. Below is my 10th and final list of top 10 tips on the topic of Thailand. The first in the series of my top ten tips was first posted in 2018, I think over on Bangkoknites or maybe the (now deleted) Patpongnightlife. Hopefully you'll find the newest top ten tips useful.

Smiling Connect Four Master
Bangla Road Bar - Phuket

#1 Public Affection
PDA (public displays of affection) are inappropriate. Do NOT make out with your partner, Farang or Thai, in public. It’s considered very rude and low-brow.

#2 Fun & Games
In the bars, games with the bar girls are foreplay. Connect Four, Jackpot, Jenga, even pool are methods of flirtation, so don’t play too long with a girl you’re not interested in, and don’t play with a man, unless you plan to take him home with you.

#3 Staring's Not Caring
Don’t stare at the massage girls and bar girls lingering in the doors of their businesses. Thailand isn’t a zoo, and just because it’s uncommon in your country doesn’t mean it’s appropriate to gawk at people as if they were animals on display. Show some level of decorum, or take a picture—it lasts longer.

#4 Courtesy Counts
Speaking of the massage girls and bar girls, you don’t have to ignore them when they (or anyone else for that matter) say hello to you. It’s not as if a response is an agreement to buy sex or take them home. Show some courtesy, for God’s sake, and say hello. Or smile, or wave. But don’t just ignore them. That’s rude.

#5 Welcome to the Jungle
Don’t piss off other tourists. It’s true that they will piss you off with regularity. Many are horrible, rude and thoughtless, and have infested Thailand like gigantic puffy sunburned cockroaches. But keep it to yourself. That’s just how they are; they don’t understand the meaning of courtesy, manners, or human decency. Many tourist to Thailand come from countries where culture is devoid of those things so there’s no point in getting worked up over it. Plus foreign mafias are prevalent in Thailand, and you don’t want to end up buried in the jungle.

#6 People Person
Ladyboys are people, too. More importantly, they can be a great friend to you, or a great danger, depending on how you treat them. Yes, they are forward, even aggressive. Yes, they have trouble taking ‘no’ for an answer but it’s very important that you not get on the bad side of a ladyboy. They have their own gang-ish network, and in an altercation, dozens will emerge from seemingly nowhere, armed to the teeth and wanting your blood. On the other hand, if one ladyboy considers you a friend, then they all will. They are not freaks, they are people just like you and me. If you treat them with respect, the reward is substantial (no one crosses the ladyboys, and as their friend you are subsequently under their protection), and if you don’t, you could wind up with a stiletto heel in your skull, or buried in the jungle.

#7 Break a Leg
Every step is a potential broken toe. (This is I think the 3rd time I’ve brought up the topic and it bears threepeating.) The Thais have an uncanny ability to create walking surfaces that are haphazardly uneven. Therefore if you’re not constantly watching where you put your next step, you’re begging for injury. Also, Thais have a talent for creating surfaces that, once wet, become the most slippery surfaces known to man. Concrete, tile, even dirt become slicker than ice. So if you’re in the shower, or out on a rainy day, be very VERY careful or risk being hospitalized.

#8 Hey Handsome Man
If you’re a man and you go walking down the girly-bar sois, bar girls will grab you and try to pull you into their bar. If you don’t want to be grabbed, don’t walk down the soi. If a girl grabs you that you don’t want to grab you, BE POLITE. Say “Mai ow, krab” (no thank you) and pull away GENTLY. Nothing looks as lowbrow as an ugly farang acting like he’s been accosted by a leper. Maybe instead of being a jerk, you should be grateful that a woman even made the effort to touch you. Because let’s be honest, outside of Thailand, most chicks wouldn’t even acknowledge you exist. So don’t be a jackass—be cool.

Busy Pattaya Scene
Soi Yodsak aka Soi 6, Pattaya

What's next..
To read the the full blog and Seven's other two top tips as well as more videos and pictures, head over to Seven's Substack bangkokseven.substack.com and in particular Seven's full blog "Seven's 10 Top 10 List 10: Random Tips"

Over on Seven's website, https://bangkokseven.com, there are also more blogs like this, so go check them out.

Last Word
Just So You Know

Wrap Up
The main point you should take from this list is, be polite and watch where you’re going." Several years on, I think this is all still good advice.

Update:
Coming Soon

Too lazy to read?

Seven's Top Ten Thailand Tips- Discussion with BKK7
Coming Soon!

Check out Seven's Substack @ https://bangkokseven.substack.com/