By Anne Bottjer
When I arrived at my hotel in Thailand, a colleague from the human resources department accompanied me to my room. To my surprise, she took of her shoes and carefully placed them next to the entrance before she went into the chamber. Without really thinking about it, I followed her example and left my shoes at the door step. Later, I learned that there is a general rule in our hotel, employees escorting guests to their rooms, may not enter it, wearing their shoes. Initially, I thought it must be for hygiene reasons, because my parents also taught me, to take off the shoes in our house in order to keep the carpets clean.
But a few days later, I understood that taking of shoes is an expected gesture of respect for the people that grew up in Thailand. I was about to enter a local pharmacy, when a woman behind the counter shouted at me: “No, miss shoes off!”. Back home, I never took my shoes off in public, so I started wondering why this was so important. Researching the local culture I learned, in Thailand is the spirit of a person very important. And because the spirit resides in the head, the head is seen as the most decisive part of the body. The feet are the furthest away from the head, thus are considered an unheedful part of the body, both physically and spiritually. Feet equal ‘dirt’ and it is very rude to point the feet directly at someone.
Also, drawing unnecessary attention to feet is condemned in Thailand. Because shoes drive unnecessary attention to the feet, everybody takes them off, when there is no need to wear them. Nobody wears shoes in a private household, a doctor’s office, while eating on a mat or inside a temple. And when entering someone’s house, taking off your shoes is an expected gesture. If someone fails to comply, he appears impolite and disrespectful.
But how do you know when to take off your shoes in public areas? Luckily, most stores and offices that do not allow shoes inside have a sign that says: “No shoes!” If that is not the case, a good rule of thumb is, to take off the shoes, when there are shoes already at the entrance. It is important to not ignore this practice, because wearing shoes indoor is sometimes considered ill-mannered. Hence, for a visitor, it is very important to look around and pay close attention to the surroundings, to check whether it is necessary to take off the shoes.