Thais have a much different time concept than we do. They can not understand our motto "time is money". Especially upcountry - from where almost all Thais come from with whom tourists come in contact – time is available in abundance, while money is more than scarce.

 

One should therefore not be surprised if the time measurement of Thais is not necessarily to understand literally. The assurance "in one to two hours "often means "sometime during the day," and "tomorrow" means not always the next day, but any one of the next few days.

 

Advance planning and thinking about something in the future are not as important as in the present. It does not matter whether a bus will arrive in five minutes or later. Patience is one of the most important virtues of the Thais. What happens here and now is much more important than an imaginary event in the future. Our impatience, if we have to wait beyond the time fixed can therefore not be understood by Thais.

 

Also they can not understand, and will be perhaps even offended when an impatient Farang begins to scold or to complain. Waiting Farang, who insist to comply with a specified date, can only be amusing for them. And when becoming angry and loud, they will lose her face. If you want to achieve something, you better negotiate patiently with a smile on your face and without regard to the time.

 

A notable exception of broad-minded dealing with the time however, is most public transportations in the country. The intercity buses from the various central bus stations in Bangkok and in major cities usually take off at the scheduled time, and trains as well as flights generally have no more delays than in our countries.