Why are some Thai people slightly socially distanced.

My wife and I bought a house in a village in Bangkok I have broke the ice with my neighbors and made friends with one guy in the gym who stops by our house often. Other neighbors say hello now and again however walking around most people just keep their head down and don’t interact. When I do say hello they seem pleasantly surprised like it’s not normal one time a person didn’t even respond.

I come from Ireland where it’s borderline rude to not even say hello to people walking by we usually stop and talk to everyone. I know for sure they don’t intend to be rude just not sure the reasoning behind it.

Side note: it is a high end village full of porches bmws etc if that makes a difference. A Thai woman who owns a restaurant nearby told me that everyone in my village thinks they are too good to talk to people because they are rich. Is that really the case ? Is been friendly seen as low class ? I’m confused. Doesn’t matter in Ireland if you’re rich or poor if you’re not friendly you’re not respected.

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