Wai question

[topjohn5]

I have a question about the Wai and it is NOT when to wai.......I fully expect that discussion to begin but it's not what I care about at this point....I have already read far to much about when to Wai and to whom and it is not clear at all.....
My question is this. Do you keep your hands steady and lower your head to your hands or, do you move both hands and head about the same amount together (up and down)? I have seen it both ways described.

http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/fo ... 44-30.html (http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/forum/learning-thai-t14844-30.html)

see smiles post.

[topjohn5]

Good info....
Now, does anyone know the answer to my mechanics question of exactly the how to wai properly.....maybe it changes under certain conditions? I'm not going to sweat this I am just curious by nature....I realize I will be forgiven if I do it wrong.....but any one have an answer?

Good info....
Now, does anyone know the answer to my mechanics question of exactly the how to wai properly.....maybe it changes under certain conditions? I'm not going to sweat this I am just curious by nature....I realize I will be forgiven if I do it wrong.....but any one have an answer?

The mechanics 'as you say' is incredibly complicated. You should not in any circumstance either give or return a wai but be courteous and bow the head lightly to acknowledge the compliment.

The two answers above are correct.

Do you keep your hands steady and lower your head to your hands or, do you move both hands and head about the same amount together (up and down)? I have seen it both ways described.

If you think about it sensibly, you will realise the answer may lie in prestidigitation.

The amount of independent movement your nose is capable of in the vertical plane in is a few centimetres - acheived by effectively nodding your head. Any other raising or lowering of your head also requires the rest of your body move in the same direction.

On the other hand, your hands have a much larger arc of travel relative to your face. They can go from below your waist to above your head.

So, think about it carefully again, and you will realise that the answer lies, as in most things connected with Thailand, not in what you actually do, but in what you appear to do.

[krobbie]

Here is a Thai Airlines advert. It shows how to wai and you can watch and watch again. When to wai, I can't help you with that. Up to you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKA8OKGRI3A&NR=1

Cheers
krobbie

[krobbie]

Good info....
Now, does anyone know the answer to my mechanics question of exactly the how to wai properly.....maybe it changes under certain conditions? I'm not going to sweat this I am just curious by nature....I realize I will be forgiven if I do it wrong.....but any one have an answer?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDn5IPQZR34[/google]

[thaiguest]

I have a question about the Wai and it is NOT when to wai.......I fully expect that discussion to begin but it's not what I care about at this point....I have already read far to much about when to Wai and to whom and it is not clear at all.....
My question is this. Do you keep your hands steady and lower your head to your hands or, do you move both hands and head about the same amount together (up and down)? I have seen it both ways described.

Under no circumstances should foreigners wai Thais.
The Thais don't expect it and very often they see it as another example of farangs making fools of themselves.
I sat at the little bar at the entrance to Soi Twilight recently and watched a farang wai his bar-boy friends as they passed by in pursuit of their careers. I'm not an expert on Thai culture but I know he broke at least half a dozen folkways and maybe a few mores right there.

[Smiles]

I have a question about the Wai and it is NOT when to wai.......I fully expect that discussion to begin but it's not what I care about at this point....I have already read far to much about when to Wai and to whom and it is not clear at all.....
My question is this. Do you keep your hands steady and lower your head to your hands or, do you move both hands and head about the same amount together (up and down)? I have seen it both ways described.
The head/hand movements you describe are not that important, so don't worry about it.
The most important parts of the 'wai' is in (1) WHO you wai, (2) WHY you wai, and (3) How HIGH you wai. It is all quite structured and my advice would be ... in farang ignorance about the complications (and as Thaiquest advises), don't wai at all. Just a nice gentle smile to Thais who wai to you is all that's necessary, or expected.

If you insist on wai-ing, then go ahead, no one will think less of you. Keep your wai at chin level, certainly not higher than the tip of your nose. Make the wai a gentle and slow movement of upward hands toward a very slightly bent head (but ever so slightly, if at all . . . it's not necessary to 'bend' head' at all). If you have an umbrella or a large dildo in one hand, then a one-handed wai is quite exceptable.

I regularly wai the very old mother (85 or older) of our landlady. She's a lovely old soul, and takes my wai with a big craggy smile. It also serves the purpose of the not unimportant brown-nosing of our dear landlord.

Cheers ...

[topjohn5]

I have a question about the Wai and it is NOT when to wai.......I fully expect that discussion to begin but it's not what I care about at this point....I have already read far to much about when to Wai and to whom and it is not clear at all.....
My question is this. Do you keep your hands steady and lower your head to your hands or, do you move both hands and head about the same amount together (up and down)? I have seen it both ways described.
The head/hand movements you describe are not that important, so don't worry about it.
The most important parts of the 'wai' is in (1) WHO you wai, (2) WHY you wai, and (3) How HIGH you wai. It is all quite structured and my advice would be ... in farang ignorance about the complications (and as Thaiquest advises), don't wai at all. Just a nice gentle smile to Thais who wai to you is all that's necessary, or expected.

If you insist on wai-ing, then go ahead, no one will think less of you. Keep your wai at chin level, certainly not higher than the tip of your nose. Make the wai a gentle and slow movement of upward hands toward a very slightly bent head (but ever so slightly, if at all . . . it's not necessary to 'bend' head' at all). If you have an umbrella or a large dildo in one hand, then a one-handed wai is quite exceptable.

I regularly wai the very old mother (85 or older) of our landlady. She's a lovely old soul, and takes my wai with a big craggy smile. It also serves the purpose of the not unimportant brown-nosing of our dear landlord.

Cheers ...

Thanks Smiles! I won't wai much, lol.......

I have a question about the Wai and it is NOT when to wai.......I fully expect that discussion to begin but it's not what I care about at this point....I have already read far to much about when to Wai and to whom and it is not clear at all.....
My question is this. Do you keep your hands steady and lower your head to your hands or, do you move both hands and head about the same amount together (up and down)? I have seen it both ways described.
The head/hand movements you describe are not that important, so don't worry about it.
The most important parts of the 'wai' is in (1) WHO you wai, (2) WHY you wai, and (3) How HIGH you wai. It is all quite structured and my advice would be ... in farang ignorance about the complications (and as Thaiquest advises), don't wai at all. Just a nice gentle smile to Thais who wai to you is all that's necessary, or expected.

If you insist on wai-ing, then go ahead, no one will think less of you. Keep your wai at chin level, certainly not higher than the tip of your nose. Make the wai a gentle and slow movement of upward hands toward a very slightly bent head (but ever so slightly, if at all . . . it's not necessary to 'bend' head' at all). If you have an umbrella or a large dildo in one hand, then a one-handed wai is quite exceptable.

I regularly wai the very old mother (85 or older) of our landlady. She's a lovely old soul, and takes my wai with a big craggy smile. It also serves the purpose of the not unimportant brown-nosing of our dear landlord.

Cheers ...

Thanks Smiles! I won't wai much, lol.......

Wai not TJ? http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk216/ThaiRakThai/happy011.gif


Cheers,


George.

Good advice; don't. Smile, acknowledge, nod but don't wai- it's much too complicated for us stupid falangs to understand.
A couple of years ago, my boyfriend spent a long, exhausting evening explaining the intricacies of the wai and it confirmed my view that it is best avoided. The only exception for me would be to his parents.
By the way, I was fascinated to learn that he was proud of the fact that he'd won a wai competition in his school and was considered so proficient that he was sent to the district finals in Nakom Sawan. I assume that had he won here , he would have gone on to the national finals- has anyone ever seen them?

I won't wai much, lol.......

Wai, on your first visit, should you feel the need to do so at all?

In Oogleman's link above I wrote:



Just knowing how to wai gives you lots of handy knowledge that can be used to place someone in the social hierarchy. Alas, it also makes you cringe every time you see someone waing a waiter or addressing his payboy for the night with the equivalent of "sir".

While I find it relatively easy fixing someone's "place ... in the social heirarchy", I personally find the wai a very confusing indicator since there are simply too many variables - what is the status of the person initiating the wai, for example, is it based on age, financial status, marriage, etc, etc.

Since we, as farangs, are in an entirely different "social hierarchy", varying from farang kee-nok to farang hi-so, I find it far simpler to only wai monks and royalty, whose status is not in doubt, and to simply smile and nod instead - all Thais, as far as I am aware, accept this from farangs and it can avoid all manner of embarrassments.

Wai do you feel the need to make an idiot of yourself?

[topjohn5]

I won't wai much, lol.......

Wai, on your first visit, should you feel the need to do so at all?

In Oogleman's link above I wrote:


[quote=asiagayboy]Just knowing how to wai gives you lots of handy knowledge that can be used to place someone in the social hierarchy. Alas, it also makes you cringe every time you see someone waing a waiter or addressing his payboy for the night with the equivalent of "sir".

While I find it relatively easy fixing someone's "place ... in the social heirarchy", I personally find the wai a very confusing indicator since there are simply too many variables - what is the status of the person initiating the wai, for example, is it based on age, financial status, marriage, etc, etc.

Since we, as farangs, are in an entirely different "social hierarchy", varying from farang kee-nok to farang hi-so, I find it far simpler to only wai monks and royalty, whose status is not in doubt, and to simply smile and nod instead - all Thais, as far as I am aware, accept this from farangs and it can avoid all manner of embarrassments.

Wai do you feel the need to make an idiot of yourself?[/quote:998244zp]

Well, I figure I should be prepared just incase someone of a much higher social rank than me, such as, the past and present winners of the SGT poster of the year were to pass by me on the street. It's so much cleaner then prostrating myself on a Bangkok Soi.......

[Khor tose]

Well, I figure I should be prepared just incase someone of a much higher social rank than me, such as, the past and present winners of the SGT poster of the year were to pass by me on the street. It's so much cleaner then prostrating myself on a Bangkok Soi.......

lololololol :cheers:

Thank you, for a morning laugh.

The basic wai rules aren't really that hard.

You don't wai children, beggars or people providing commercial services, like waiters. If they wai you, the response is a smile.

Assuming you steer clear of monks and royalty, the only people you need to wai are: the parents, grandparents or other more illustrious relatives of your Thai boyfriend; people to whom you owe substantial gratitude or a substantial apology (accompanied by the words kop khun or kaw tort respectively; people introduced to you as VIPs of some sort; or people (other than those in the first paragraph) who wai you.

When you wai, the tips of your fingers should be slightly below your chin and your hands a little away from the body. You make a just perceptible bow (mainly a question of not looking haughty.

You may see Thais doing wais with their hands held right against their face. You should never do this - unless you are an expert in Thai customs and you know that it's appropriate.

Finally, don't let anyone rope you into any ceremonies involving monks. These often involve genuflections only otherwise seen in Parkinsons sufferers after an overdose of amphetamines.