Proper driving etiquette

The first type admires the beauty of the place they visit, as well as the culture and traditions of the locals. They want to see the “undiluted” lifestyles of the locals as they are without any outside influence or modern technology. Although the accommodation may not be that comfortable, this group of tourists doesn’t mind. 

Meanwhile, the second type of tourists is those who want the same level of comfort as their home, or even higher. They would like nice restaurants and bars with gourmet food, 24-hour entertainment, shopping centres and all modern gadgets. 

Neither group is wrong or right, since humans have different desires. I respect both types of tourists, although I like the first type more since I love to learn about new cultures and traditions of people in different areas. I’m an old chap who doesn’t want to see changes in the culture and lifestyle of people. I admit that this thinking could be a little selfish, in terms of today’s economic development. 

A lot of Thais are classified in the second type. They need high levels of comfort and all the amenities. They want genuine Thai food – like the fare they get at home – and they want shopping centres where they can bargain for low prices. Wherever they go they love to take pictures (with local landmarks, signs, etc) and shop for discount goods. They don’t listen to their guide and are often tardy when it comes to appointments. 

For example, some Thai tourists, when driving to a destination upcountry, usually think that the locals drive too slowly and are a nuisance. They think that since there is a lot empty space on the road ahead, the locals should increase their driving speed in order to minimise the duration of their trips. This is the kind of thinking that I usually refer to in my radio programme as “foreign cancer”. 

This means that locals in that area have a lifestyle that is not hasty, which is different to Bangkok’s, where everyone is in a hurry, even when they go on vacation. But what Bangkokians do is take their fast-paced lifestyles with them on vacation and even introduce such behaviour to the locals. In this case, the intruders and the nuisance for the locals are actually the tourists from Bangkok, who try to overtake whenever there’s an opening. The locals have always been living a slow-paced lifestyle, so isn’t that the reason why we escape our hectic lifestyles to visit such people and take a break? 

I always tell fellow travellers not to be quick to judge or stereotype what we see as strange or unsuitable. If you see people eating raw, spicy food, don’t think that they will get a tummy ache or worms like we do. Do not show disgust at the food they eat. 

Or when we see locals dressed in a fashion that is “not up to our standards”, do not ask them to “dress up properly”. 

This kind of thinking is prevalent, especially when I lead caravans on a visit to neighbouring countries. Learning in order to accept the lifestyles of other people is still not in the books of many Thais, who often think only about history lessons that tell us who are our enemies were in times of war, instead of learning their cultures. We do tend to dwell on who invaded and looted us and who took our people as slaves, forgetting that we too did the same thing in the past. 

Many people also think that countries without elections are countries that are politically backward. This kind of thinking has led to many conflicts that have often made the headlines. 

So if you have a chance to drive upcountry or to other Asean countries, do not think that people in those areas “do not know how to drive properly”. Actually, they are just driving differently compared to the hectic city in which you drive. 

For example, in Thailand when you arrive at a junction and are about to turn, oncoming vehicles from the opposite direction may flash their high-beams a few times as signal for you to let them pass. In developed countries like the US or in Europe it is just the opposite: this signal actually means that they are allowing you to go first. 

Although in my point of view this kind of signal should be corrected so that it becomes universal and everyone on the road understands it, changing something that has been taking place for many decades is not easy. 

As a motoring journalist for the past 30 years, I have been trying to change this behaviour. But I never feel that Thai people who don’t understand this are “strange” or “wrong”. 

When I have to drive in Europe or in the US, I must also adapt in order to ensure the same understanding with the locals in those countries.