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About this tool
Build a prioritised Thailand etiquette briefing for the places on your itinerary, with the legal red lines flagged and a readiness score.
This guide turns Thai etiquette into a ranked briefing for the places on your itinerary, separating the rules that are merely good manners from the ones that carry a legal penalty. Tick the temples, restaurants, beaches, markets, transport, homes, offices and bars you will use, and it returns the rules that apply, weighted by severity and by the kind of trip you are taking. Two ideas explain most of it: respect flows upward to monks, elders and the monarchy, and nobody should be made to lose face in public.
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Lèse-majesté, the vaping ban and the rules on Buddha images are shown whatever you tick, because the penalty is not social.
Severity weighting and trip type decide the order, so the rules that would ruin a day come first.
Tick what you already know and the weighted percentage shows how much of the briefing is still ahead of you.
Never insult or joke about the monarchy, never touch anyone's head, and never point your feet at a person or a Buddha image. The first is a criminal matter: Section 112 of the Thai Criminal Code sets a penalty of three to fifteen years' imprisonment per count for defaming, insulting or threatening the King, Queen, heir-apparent or regent, and foreigners have been prosecuted under it.
Shoulders and knees covered for everyone, with shoes removed before entering the ordination hall or viharn. The Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew enforce it strictly and turn visitors away or sell them a cover-up at the gate. See-through fabric does not count as covered, and a light scarf in your bag solves the problem for the whole trip.
Yes. The import, sale and possession of e-cigarettes and vaping liquid has been banned since 2014, and the penalties include confiscation, large fines and the possibility of imprisonment. The fact that they are visibly sold in some tourist areas does not make them legal, and travellers are stopped for carrying them.
It is a courtesy rather than an expectation. Rounding up a taxi fare or leaving the coins from your change at a casual restaurant is normal, and around 10% is generous where you have had proper table service. Check the bill first — many tourist restaurants already add a 10% service charge on top of 7% VAT, in which case nothing further is needed.