Thailand was our very last Asian country, we we had such a blast here! The people are awesome, the food is amazing and the Lord is moving here! If youre a future World Racer and Thailand is on your route, here are some things you should know about this awesome country:
- There are 7-Eleven’s everywhere. And they warm up meals for you! Like panini sandwiches and steamed dumplings. If you’re anything like S Squad, you’ll clean the Bangkok 7-Eleven (the one by YWAM) out of the ham and cheese panini sandwiches within 48 hours.
- Even the smallest of towns have really nice gas stations and coffee shops. We were in Nong Khai, a small town right on the border of Laos, and we had super nice coffee shops and stuff! We were surprised because in most Asian countries, small towns weren’t the cleanest or nicest.
- Thailand has some gnarly pests. Our host had a little orientation about the scary insects and animals that we should look out for, and it scared the sleep out of me for a solid week. I’m absolutely terrified of snakes, so that probably why, and turns out we had absolutely no problems at all with snakes, scorpions or spiders. In fact, I didn’t see a snake until the month after, in Albania of all places! And it was dead. Just be careful going through your laundry. I’ve heard scorpions like to get in there.
- Don’t be afraid of the street food! Pad Thai, honey grilled pork, roti (ahh the roti… its so amazing) an also, the MANGO STICKY RICE. Don’t leave Thailand without trying it.
- If you need a wardrobe revamp, you can get some good stuff in Bangkok. If you’re anything like me, you will need some new clothes after 5 months in Asia (Thailand was our month 5). We had LDW in Bangkok, and most of us did some shopping at the Mega Banga, which is a HUGE mall. They have H&M, American Eagle, Cotton On, and so much more. It’s definitely pricier than clothes you’ll find at a market, but it’s nice to feel normal and to have clothes that you’d wear back at home.
- Tuk tuks usually have a price chart. Before you settle on a price with the driver, look at the price chart inside the tuk tuk is he has one. It’ll usually had a price for what ever you want to go to. We went to Tesco Lotus (their grocery store chain) a lot in Nong Khai, and that was on the chart for like 30 baht. If they try to charge you more, point out the chart.
- Get to know one tuk tuk driver and get his number. If you use him every time, you’ll probably get better prices, and you’ll be able to minister to him frequently!
- “Hello” in Thai is “sawadikha” (this is almost definitely NOT how it’s spelled…) said like “sa-wa-dee-kahhhh” (draw out the kha). If you’re a guy, you say it more like “sa-wa-dee-kahp”.
- “Thank you” in Thai sounds like “kahp-coon-kahhhh” or “kahp-coon-kahp” if you’re a guy.
- Thai people will often add “kha” or “kahp” to the end of everything they say, even in English. So they’ll say “hello khaa” because they’re so used to using it in their own language.
- It’s hot and humid. Maybe this is obvious but it’s so important to know that it likely won’t be a month of comfort. We weren’t even there during their rainy season, but we still got rained on all the time. We even rode in the bed of a truck in pouring rain for 3 hours!
- Prayer ministry is so important here. This is true for every country, especially ones in Asia, but we felt a lot of heaviness around the temples. Don’t be afraid to go to one and pray for it. Pray that the people who come to worship the idols find Jesus instead.
- Go for a hike if you can! Thailand is so beautiful.
- Do bar ministry even if it’s not your set ministry for the month. It wasn’t our ministry for the month but we asked our host if we could do bar ministry on one of our off days and he said yes! We split up and sat at bars and talked to two girls who ended up giving us their numbers so we could connect them to the church and get them out of prostitution. It’s a huge issue in Thailand and these girls need love and friendship! Just sit down and get to know them.
- Do your research before you get a hand tapped tattoo. If you’re like me, you probably really want to get a hand tapped tattoo in Thailand. But do your research because many places actually do a Buddhist ritual before giving you your tattoo and may even give you something you don’t want based on your “aura”. But, if you’re in Chiang Mai, I’ve heard good things about a tattoo artist there that many Racers have gone to named Ugly, who is super open to the gospel.
- The Thai people are very receptive to the gospel. Always know what the people in your community worship before you evangelize to them. Learn about Buddhism and you will be so much more effective in evangelism.
- Don’t be surprised if you hear Christian Thai people cursing. They have no idea that some of the words they use are considered “bad words” in our culture. Once, our team had to go do house visits but most of our clothes were in the laundry. One of the girls on our team asked if it would be okay if she wore leggings, and the pastor’s wife said “yes, just make sure you cover your ass”. We were shocked at first, but then we realized… why would that word be “bad” for them? They know it’s a word for “butt”, so why would they not use it? Just be cool. It’s fine.
