I’ve been to Phuket twice so far and some interactions were quite fascinating to me. These weren’t the only ones but they paint a picture.
Interaction 1
Hotel manager’s first interaction with me trying to banter/make conversation:
Him: “Why you have no hair?”
Me: “Ehm, what? What do you mean?”
Him: “People from your country (The Netherlands) all have hair, but you not. Why not?”
Me: “Well, not all people in my country have hair. Some are bald or balding.”
Him: “Haha ok. You look like famous footballer: Sneijder”
Interaction 2
Coming back to Phuket the 2nd time and meeting some Thai people I met earlier
They: “You are fat!”
Me: “Ehh, no I’m not?”
They: “Yes you are, last time you weren’t so fat. You are fatter.”
Me: “Eh, okay I guess?”
They: poking in my belly
I’ve had more of these conversations which questioned what I understood about the concept of face in Asian culture. I thought being direct could cause shame and damage to a reputation of a person and therefore losing face, but I found Thai people to be quite direct. Is this a Phuket thing where Thai people are adjusted to foreigners and therefore more direct? Is this anecdotal and other Thai people don’t do this? Or does the concept of face only count for Asian people and not the other way around? Would love to hear your opinions 🙏
