May pen heaven! Thailand. "Mai pen rai" - universal formula Aroy - Aroy

In general, there is a huge amount of information about Thailand on the Internet and being original in this niche today is almost useless. Therefore, I will not load you with vulgar stories about Pattaya and Walking street, which have long ago turned into a branch of Gelendzhik, you will not find here tips like “where to buy latex pillows cheaper” and forgive me, I won’t say anything about the Royal Palace either. It’s not that this palace is ugly, or not grand enough, no, everything is fine with it. It’s just that on any trip, first of all, I’m interested in people, the opportunity to communicate with them, observe their behavior, learn the traditions and culture of the country. Let's start with them.

Family is of great importance to Thais, and first of all it is the relationship with parents, and only then between spouses. Those. Divorces and leaving children to fend for themselves are quite common, but the parental home is forever the center of all life. Interestingly, the greatest responsibility for the financial well-being of the parents lies with the eldest daughter. Boys can play the fool until old age, but a daughter must earn and feed not only her mother and father, but also the rest of her brothers and sisters

Well, while the children are small, they are loved and pampered in moderation. Not once in all my trips have I seen anyone yell at children, scold them, much less spank them. Never.

In large and poor families, however, like ours, there is no special control over them. This cheerful couple took water treatments in the gutter every day while mom worked as a masseuse on the beach

Taking into account my individual characteristic of constantly getting into all sorts of incidents (in any country, wherever I fly, coups d’etat, wars, demonstrations, earthquakes, floods, etc. immediately begin), I prepared to film a real report, especially the police has already begun to draw on its strength.

But alas, or maybe fortunately, everything worked out and the park continued to live out its hot and lazy day off. This place reminded me a lot of Central Park in New York.

The Chinese on one of the alleys were meditating and practicing wushu, however, somehow without any severity or fanaticism, or even laughing and managing to communicate

Some schoolgirl, despite it being Sunday, was diligently doing her homework

Farang children frolicked with the locals at the watering hole

the park attendant fed rolls to the huge and impudent fish, and in general, I confess, I got a little bored from such serenity

and returned to the Central World area. It was there that the festival of anime doubles began, really, as in Japanese cartoons, the youth were rocking

I saw this character on the subway, he was already in character :-)

Yes! I almost missed the main theme, one might say the foundation of Thai life. This is, of course, Buddhism, which is practiced by 95% of Thais.

I’m not sure that you, unlike me, are interested in the philosophy of karma or what Theravada and Mahayana are, so I’ll limit myself to a few words about monasticism in Thailand.

This is an extremely respected and revered cause. Every Thai must spend several months or years serving as a monk during his life. This is, as a rule, simple work at the temple. They get up very early, take bowls in their hands and collect alms (food and water).

They are not allowed to take money into their hands, touch women either, or eat food only before lunch. There are still a bunch of small prohibitions, but it would be wrong to call their life difficult and tiring. And they smoke, and listen to music, and do not refuse other delights of life. And that’s right, in general they do it.

Well, in conclusion, a little more about the Thais and farangs, meetings with whom, for one reason or another, my selective memory recorded.

One of the main difficulties when mastering the Thai language as a foreigner is tones. There are about five tones in the language, which are quite difficult for a European to reproduce, much less to distinguish them by ear. In addition, in a relatively small country like Thailand, there are many dialects, which makes understanding even more difficult.

Below is a mini phrasebook of the Thai language, based on the central dialect (phasaa klang), with the help of which you can easily communicate with local residents in ordinary situations. The tourist also needs to know about the “politeness endings”: “khrap” and “kha”. The first of them is used by men, and the second by women in relation to all people. Such additions, placed at the end of any sentence, make your speech more polite and respectful to the interlocutor. Relationships and communication between people are at the core of Thai culture, so you can only get discounts on goods and services for being friendly, understanding and respectful of the traditions of the country you are in. Pronouncing these particles separately from any context means agreement, an affirmative answer, a more polite analogue of the Russian “aha.” Therefore, do not forget to use these particles at the end of an address or sentence, and you are guaranteed even more smiles and goodwill in the kingdom of Thailand.

Another note. Women, when saying “I” and referring to themselves, pronounce “shan”, and men - “phom”. For example, a man says “I’m already full” - “phom im leo.” In the basic Thai phrasebook below, we have listed the basic phrases and expressions you may need when visiting Thailand. Let's hope that your communication with local residents will leave you with only pleasant memories, including thanks to the material given below.

EtcNote: 1. Most of these phrases do not contain the ending kkhrap/kha. You can say it or not, but in reality, the more often you add it to your speeches, the more Thais will like you. 2. If you want to indicate that the action has “already” been completed, then add the ending “laeow” (“leo”). For example: “already left” - “pay leo”, “already full” - “im leo”, etc. 3. The grammar of the Thai language is very simple; there are no cases, genders or articles, which somewhat simplifies mutual understanding with Thais. So, if you want to say that you have already eaten and are not hungry, it is enough to use two words: “kin leo”, which literally means “to eat already” - and they will really understand you.

Everyone can make a mistake, both Thai and tourist. The latter, of course, make mistakes more often, since they do not know the customs of the country. Thais are very tolerant of unwitting violations of their etiquette, especially if the “offender” apologizes afterward. Apologies work wonders with Thais; they are ready to forgive the most terrible crimes. Arrested criminals often sincerely ask for forgiveness from police officers and their victims, which evokes understanding and compassion. At the trial, the accused, if he is not a fool, will also zealously apologize, and the judge will demonstrate appropriate leniency. It is no coincidence that Thai sentences often seem too lenient compared to the crimes committed. Another murderer, who repentantly confesses his crime, gets off with 6-8 years in prison.

This willingness to forgive stems from. Buddhism believes that every person is in the nets of his fate, helpless in this world, his life is full of suffering. Every life is suffering, and therefore every person should be pitied. After this, how can one not forgive someone who, being unhappy, made a mistake?

The common formula for Thais to communicate that they have forgiven you is: may pen rai, literally: “I’m not angry”, in other words, “it’s okay”, “I’ve already forgiven”.

Thais pronounce these words willingly; it is not difficult for them. Callousness (Thais call an evil, cruel person “taidam” - “black-hearted”) is not in Thai.
Mai pen rai can be used in other situations. For example, if a person bought lottery tickets for a lot of money and didn’t win anything, then he says, “So what, everything is fine, I won’t die.” A person seems to excuse his own mistake, his own fate.

Mai pen rai they say if it suddenly rains, but you left your umbrella at home and you get wet to the skin. Or if you twist your ankle in one of the common potholes on the streets of Bangkok - “well, bad luck,” may pen rai.

So, with the help of the expression mai pen rai, people are forgiven for their mistakes, as well as unfavorable life circumstances or blows of fate. If the reader still doesn’t understand what I mean, it doesn’t matter, such is life, I’ll survive somehow, may pen paradise, may pen paradise.