To queue or not to queue?

"A Nation of Shopkeepers" ("L'Angleterre est une nation de boutiquiers") is a disparaging remark supposedly used by Napoleon to describe the English. However, whilst Napoleon was referring to their unreadiness for war (the sense in which he meant it), most people remember that phrase as conferring a sense of cultural identity as somehow being "English." Thais also have their own sense of identity, something that marks them out and confers their own sense of "Thai-ness", although this is something that is changing faster than the CEOs of American banks.

If, like me, you have lived in the Kingdom for a number of years, you may have noticed a relatively new phenomenon. Certainly since the advent of the BTS, there have been a number of cultural changes that have taken place. One has been a noticeable trend by Thais to form orderly queues at bus stops, outside elevators, in government buildings, and at taxi ranks.

As that Aussie Croc Hunter would have said: "Crikey! What's going on mate?" The idea of queuing up for something was hitherto completely alien to a Thai, so what has happened to cause this sea change?

Influx of foreigners

Undoubtedly, the sheers volume of foreign visitors to Thailand over the years has been a major contributing factor. Since the Amazing Thailand tourism promotion campaign from 1998-1999, the numbers for tourist visitors has gone up dramatically, year on year. Indeed, according to Wikipedia, tourist numbers have grown from 336,000 foreign visitors and 54,000 R&R soldiers in 1967, to over 14 million international guests visiting Thailand in 2007.

What this means is that with such a high volume of people visiting these shores, with all their cultural as well as normal baggage, there was bound to be some repercussions, some changes in the way Thais behave. Some of this may be deemed good and, well, some bad, but either way, it shows a trend that is unlikely to abate.

Remembrance of things past ("À la recherche du temps perdu")

Back in 1997 when I first arrived here, there was no subway system and, of course, no BTS. What that meant was, if you were a chalky (teacher) like me, you invariably needed to supplement your meagre income by doing corporate teaching, unless, by some miracle of frugality, you were able to live on 23,000 baht a month.

This usually involved one or two of my own Proustian-like ‘Madeline moments,' hopping on one of them old, red, non-air con buses, dashing through the Bangkok metropolis at breakneck speed. (Ok, I exaggerate - actually it was more like, sitting on one of them buses in sweltering heat, stuck in endless traffic, and me praying that the traffic lights would change so that the Mexican air conditioning would kick in e.g. air would enter through the open windows of the bus.)

Personal experience

On one such occasion, I had been on my way to teach at the Database Department at the Thai Docks on Rama IV Road. It was during the Hot Season and, when I disembarked from the bus, I'm sure I must have looked like a corpse recently dredged from the Chao Phraya. As usual, I headed for the nearest 7-11 to get a Coke and generally cool down in the welcome air con of the shop. Having formed a queue behind a young lady, I thought, in my very smug, British way, I was doing the right thing.

When it came to my turn to be served, a Thai man entered the shop and stepped in front of me to order some Krung Thep cigarettes. Unperturbed, I waited for the other assistant to offer me eye contact, but then a girl wafted a pack of Mama instant noodles in his face and, again, I was unable to pay for my drink. Feeling more than a bit disconsolate, I turned back to the original assistant who had unfortunately started to take money from another customer. In the end I walked out in disgust.

Of course this was the wrong reaction, as it hadn't really occurred to me back then (having only been in the Kingdom a short time) that Thais don't actually queue up for things, so I'm sure I learnt a valuable lesson that day.

On another occasion, not long after it had opened, I was on the BTS and was getting off at Siam Square readying myself to face the usual hordes of passengers waiting to get on. One woman in particular was hell-bent on getting on, but the only way for her to achieve her aim was for her to literally go through me. As there was nowhere for me to go (being surrounded by other passengers, I remembered Tennyson's Charge of the Light Brigade poem, "canons to the left, canons to the right...) I continued pushing forward in order to get off the train. Instead of stepping to one side, which would have been the sensible thing to do, this lady tried to push me out of the way.

I am sure that, if you haven't seen the movie version of David and Goliath, you are probably familiar with the basic story. Try imagining a short, 40-kilogram, slightly built Asian woman barging into a large, 95-kilogram male and imagine the result. I'm ashamed to say the lady hit the floor like a proverbial ‘sack of potatoes'. Embarrassed, I leant down to try to help her to her feet, but she got up by herself and gave me a look that I am unlikely to ever forget. It was something I interpreted as, ‘crazy foreigner, you should learn how we do things here'. Fortunately, she wasn't hurt, but one wonders if she learnt something valuable that day? I hope so. I know I did.

Tom Tuohy is a teacher and writer. His book - ‘Watching the Thais: From the Outside Looking in' - is published by Legend Press, the UK. Versions in both Thai and English will soon be published in Thailand. You can access Tom's blog here.