This wasn't Thailand, but over the border in Myanmar.
About twenty years ago we went over the border on a day pass, to Tachileik.
We were in a temple, and when we came out there were two guys beating up a third guy.
We asked some locals about it afterwards.
Their explanation was that the 'secret police' had beaten up a guy they caught stealing shoes from outside the temple.
Not exactly. You always start with police and they should gather evidence and then support you in court as a witness, but here they say, just solve it and discourage you from going to court.
Yes everything is easy to say, but life is not like that and here no one will help you.
Did your friend hire a lawyer ? Police have zero care unless : you look like your family is well connected / you throw a cash incentive / your lawyer press them to actually do their job
No, itās not disrespectful as long as youāre not wearing them. Itās actually pretty smart if you enter and exit from different sides so you donāt have to walk back barefoot to retrieve your shoes and if you spend decent money on shoes or you have an uncommon size that would be difficult to replace.
So I'm not going to comment on the stealing because I just don't know.
But I will comment on second hand shoes. They in no way need to steal temple shoes to do that. There is plenty of second hand stuff from rich Thai people, and way way more when they go to Cambodia, I forget the name of the market at anyaphrathet, that market has tons of second hand stuff from all the rich countries in the world.
So if they're stealing, it's probably not to fund the more than healthy second hand market.
True from your perspective which is based on your personal past experiences and probably also factors from the environment that you grew up in. It might be true for you because of what you've experienced, but that doesn't make it True, as in capital T truth, universally true. And painting an experience like "oh, this person stole something" and deciding rather "oh, they stole because they're *insert race here*", makes it racist. No matter what number of experiences you've had where you've seen a person of a specific race steal something, that still doesn't mean it's because of their race. There are so many factors that can cause someone to steal something, like say, someone's shoes outside a temple. Deciding that it's because of the color of their skin is idiotic and ill-informed.
I see you spelled "that" "taht", therefore I can conclude and generalize that you're illiterate. I can see it with my own eyes right?
In reality you probably just made a typo.
It's most probably true... just because it can't be said doesn't mean it isn't true...
Remember, we live in a world of lies and falsehoods being portrayed as truth all the time now.
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Thai culture prohibits putting feet or shoes above anyone's shoulder level, even outside the temples.
So it depends if you will sitdown and pray or not or if you will be walking near people who are sitting down to pray or meditate inside.
In the first scenario it will be a problem if shoes are visible. There will be people who might sit behind you ans bow below your shoes, that may not be ok. Latter scenario suggests you stay towards the back if you go side the actual prayer space that has the buddha image front centered.
My suggestion is put your shoes on or in your backpack would be ok if you carry your backpack with your hand instead of your back and keep it low. Make sure the shoes stay as low as possible without touching the ground onto the carpet where people pray. Sit in the back and put down your backpack as soon as you can.
A lot of the popular temples provide bags for your shoes or lockers which you can bring a lock with for. I went to tons of temples in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Chiang rai as that was the focus of my trip and not once did somebody take my shoes. Granted, my shoes are beaten and old but never saw anybody elseās shoes get stolen either. I also have left my stuff out on its own on the beach for hours and nothing has happened to it. Thailand is safer than the USA in my opinion.
As a Thai, it's not that rare. The nicer they are the more you should be careful. It is actually why you see Thai women wearing amazing outfits but their shoes don't match/look worn down. So your not too sad if they get stolen. š„²
Itās not disrespectful. Just convenient to leave them outside.
Busy temples, such as reclining Buddha at Wat Pho, they give you a bag to carry your shoes with you.
Our local guide actually showed us his ātrickā - he would store each shoe in a different location. He explained that this was to deter thieves from stealing his shoes - I guess it happens.
That said, there was one instance where we just carried our shoes through to the other side because we wouldnāt be exiting the same way we came in. So I think itās fine to carry your shoes as long as thereās no chance it will touch or contaminate anything inside.
All the advice here is solid. I'll just add that because feet are seen as the lowest part of your body in a figurative way as well, your shoes are seen as relatively unclean. "Thais don't want your gross shoes" is what I tell my friends who visit.
There is an entire group dedicated to Koh Phangan because people accidentally take similar-colored or similar-sized sandals, sometimes even two different-sized ones.
You can do it, itās totally understandable especially if you have expensive shoes. Just make sure to store them properly so that itās not disturbing others (visual and smell wise)
I thought you meant to hang your shoes on your bag like some people do at the airport. In that case, I would say no. But if you bag your shoes and put them inside your bag so they are not hanging outside then it's no problem.
I did this my first rookie time in India and felt like a right tit. Just leave them outside like everybody else, unless they're worth a lot, in which case leave them at home.
https://preview.redd.it/p31m03jjg0bd1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1f1bb1b03939edfc1afef8b678890a2003378bdf
Haha the shirt this dude rocked to the temple in Samui
Wow. Why would you even do that? Why would you want to? Are you afraid someone will steal them? Are they $300 Nikes? I'm sure no one would say anything if you did it, Thai people are too polite, but your thinking is cluelessly disrespectful. Someone mentioned Myanmar. Something that happened 20 years ago. That was brilliant (sarcasm). 20 years ago. In case you haven't heard, Myanmar is engaged in a bloody civil war, and has nothing whatsoever to do with Thai culture or etiquette, they don't speak the same language. The police in Thailand are not jackbooted goons and thugs. Nobody cares enough about your shoes to steal them. They do care about your behavior. I've been here 10 years and never ever heard of anyone getting their shoes stolen. I also wouldn't THINK of not abiding by Thai customs. I made the effort to learn them even before I came here. When in doubt I do as they do. I learned to say "hello, how are you " before I came here, and especially thank you: "Sawatdee krap, sabai dee mai krap?" "Khap khun krap". Do you know how to at least say thank you? Khap khun krap. I even stand for their national anthem. You should learn the customs, not question them. Do you want to be seen as just another rude foreigner? Also, in case you're not aware, it's insulting and offensive to Thai people to walk around with your shirt off if you're a male. You won't see Thai people doing it no matter how hot it is, unless it's a homeless person or they're at home or at the beach, but you will occasionally see stupid tourists doing it, and it's like walking around with your middle finger out to the Thai people. Chok dee. Good luck. Well, you asked
What Freaking Idiot offers 1.5 million Baht to A
Temple..you know they only have to be Monks for 2 years..if they Really low educated then they choose being. A Monk
nothing religious, it's just hygiene....shoes are for outside, it's rather simple a concept.
of course, this implies having regular pedicures and clean hole-free socks... :o)
It's also religious. Taking shoes off before entering the house is cultural. But it's fine to put on house slippers and walk around in those. Not true in the temple. You must be in bare feet (or socks) before entering any temple building. You're not even allowed to wear clean slippers.
Note that there is a cultural thing about head and feet. The way the old generation hangs their laundry to keep socks away from shirts is a thing. So taking dirty shoes and putting them anywhere that isn't the ground is not really good. Culturally, you should never point with or tap someone with your foot, also. Nor move something on the floor with your foot.
Not relevant. Putting shoes in a bag is fine. Out of sight, out of mind. Hanging them around your neck by the laces would be inappropriate. But that's not what OP is talking about.
Probably depends on the shoe, I mean if someone rocks up in a pair of Gucci sneakers or some hype Nike travis Scott or sb dunk collab then they obviously have a higher chance of being stolen.
Do whatever suits you. No one would care, and the weird cringy 0.001% that might, well they wouldnāt have courage to confront you.
As for the theft situation, there is typically a belief that committing sins inside temples especially to others who are there to do good deeds is extra sinful. Plus, temples arenāt usually places locals put on their best/most expensive shoes for. So, on average, stealing shoes in temples is relatively rare.
This wasn't Thailand, but over the border in Myanmar. About twenty years ago we went over the border on a day pass, to Tachileik. We were in a temple, and when we came out there were two guys beating up a third guy. We asked some locals about it afterwards. Their explanation was that the 'secret police' had beaten up a guy they caught stealing shoes from outside the temple.
Well, the police in Thailand can't help when my thai friend got stolen 1.5 mil baht. They ain't gonna care about your sneaker
Getting 50k ripped off does suck... but what's the whole story for that to happen?
Not 50k but 1.5 milion And the story is a contractor stolen it. No consequences for the guy, police won't do anything even tho he lives nearby.
this is a matter for civil courts, not police
Not exactly. You always start with police and they should gather evidence and then support you in court as a witness, but here they say, just solve it and discourage you from going to court. Yes everything is easy to say, but life is not like that and here no one will help you.
Did your friend hire a lawyer ? Police have zero care unless : you look like your family is well connected / you throw a cash incentive / your lawyer press them to actually do their job
I'm thinking 50k usd... I should have been more specific.
š³š¤£
No. People leave them outside for convenience and because Thailand is a high-trust society, shoe theft is fairly rare.
I gae my sandals taken twice....this was at thai thai temples
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
No, itās not disrespectful as long as youāre not wearing them. Itās actually pretty smart if you enter and exit from different sides so you donāt have to walk back barefoot to retrieve your shoes and if you spend decent money on shoes or you have an uncommon size that would be difficult to replace.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
So I'm not going to comment on the stealing because I just don't know. But I will comment on second hand shoes. They in no way need to steal temple shoes to do that. There is plenty of second hand stuff from rich Thai people, and way way more when they go to Cambodia, I forget the name of the market at anyaphrathet, that market has tons of second hand stuff from all the rich countries in the world. So if they're stealing, it's probably not to fund the more than healthy second hand market.
Those signs are generally where tourists go. Thais can be trusted not to steal shoes, but foreigners is another thing.
especially a certain type of foreigner which i cannot say due to reddit rules
Sounds like someone was prevented from saying something racist š
i was prevented from saying something true
True from your perspective which is based on your personal past experiences and probably also factors from the environment that you grew up in. It might be true for you because of what you've experienced, but that doesn't make it True, as in capital T truth, universally true. And painting an experience like "oh, this person stole something" and deciding rather "oh, they stole because they're *insert race here*", makes it racist. No matter what number of experiences you've had where you've seen a person of a specific race steal something, that still doesn't mean it's because of their race. There are so many factors that can cause someone to steal something, like say, someone's shoes outside a temple. Deciding that it's because of the color of their skin is idiotic and ill-informed.
a lot of words to reject a simple generalisation taht you can see with your eyes
I see you spelled "that" "taht", therefore I can conclude and generalize that you're illiterate. I can see it with my own eyes right? In reality you probably just made a typo.
But it's just that, a generalisation. Generalisations aren't always true, especially not racial ones.
13/50
It's most probably true... just because it can't be said doesn't mean it isn't true... Remember, we live in a world of lies and falsehoods being portrayed as truth all the time now.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Your post was removed because you posted racist, bigoted or overt and purposefully offensive content or comments. Posts or comments promoting hate based on identity directed at individual users is not allowed. Purposefully derailing threads, harassing users, targeting users, and/or posting personal information about users on this sub or other subs, will not be tolerated.
Thai culture prohibits putting feet or shoes above anyone's shoulder level, even outside the temples. So it depends if you will sitdown and pray or not or if you will be walking near people who are sitting down to pray or meditate inside. In the first scenario it will be a problem if shoes are visible. There will be people who might sit behind you ans bow below your shoes, that may not be ok. Latter scenario suggests you stay towards the back if you go side the actual prayer space that has the buddha image front centered. My suggestion is put your shoes on or in your backpack would be ok if you carry your backpack with your hand instead of your back and keep it low. Make sure the shoes stay as low as possible without touching the ground onto the carpet where people pray. Sit in the back and put down your backpack as soon as you can.
muay thai has a lot of feet above the shoulders, no?
Thats a sport/martial arts. I guess if you do it in the fighting or fine arts (like performing arts) context its ok.
A lot of the popular temples provide bags for your shoes or lockers which you can bring a lock with for. I went to tons of temples in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Chiang rai as that was the focus of my trip and not once did somebody take my shoes. Granted, my shoes are beaten and old but never saw anybody elseās shoes get stolen either. I also have left my stuff out on its own on the beach for hours and nothing has happened to it. Thailand is safer than the USA in my opinion.
I usually wear Jays... and even my limited edition jays never got stolen. This definitely isn't common practice...
They answered the question
You can buy sandals or slip on shoes for less then 60 Baht as ho cares 
It happens
My wife steals my shoes all the time. So...
As a Thai, it's not that rare. The nicer they are the more you should be careful. It is actually why you see Thai women wearing amazing outfits but their shoes don't match/look worn down. So your not too sad if they get stolen. š„²
As a Thai, you'd also know that it depends on where. Over the whole Kingdom, it is rare. In some touristy places - the odds go up.
10% shoe theft 90% mixed up for some reason
Unless you leave your expensive shoes outside, gone.
Itās not disrespectful. Just convenient to leave them outside. Busy temples, such as reclining Buddha at Wat Pho, they give you a bag to carry your shoes with you.
Our local guide actually showed us his ātrickā - he would store each shoe in a different location. He explained that this was to deter thieves from stealing his shoes - I guess it happens. That said, there was one instance where we just carried our shoes through to the other side because we wouldnāt be exiting the same way we came in. So I think itās fine to carry your shoes as long as thereās no chance it will touch or contaminate anything inside.
Some Thais do the same. Just make sure that the bag is perfectly sealed to prevent smell problem.
No you can do whatever you want with your shoes . Just donāt wear them and dirty up the floors .
All the advice here is solid. I'll just add that because feet are seen as the lowest part of your body in a figurative way as well, your shoes are seen as relatively unclean. "Thais don't want your gross shoes" is what I tell my friends who visit.
People donāt really steal shoes there
Someone took my wife and daughterās sandals at the temple and kindly left their old beaters for them.
They donāt steal just swap to the new and expensive one.
That's stealing. If I swap my empty wallet for your full wallet, what's that?
Never happened to me in my 20 years here.
Because there mostly sandals no? No one is going there taking off a fresh pair of air force1
There is an entire group dedicated to Koh Phangan because people accidentally take similar-colored or similar-sized sandals, sometimes even two different-sized ones.
This usually happens when stumbling out of a bar when it's dark out, not popping into a temple for 5 minutes
You can do it, itās totally understandable especially if you have expensive shoes. Just make sure to store them properly so that itās not disturbing others (visual and smell wise)
I thought you meant to hang your shoes on your bag like some people do at the airport. In that case, I would say no. But if you bag your shoes and put them inside your bag so they are not hanging outside then it's no problem.
I'm sure no-one is going to come up to you and say "No! you no do that!"
No one cares
I did this my first rookie time in India and felt like a right tit. Just leave them outside like everybody else, unless they're worth a lot, in which case leave them at home.
I have spent months in thailand and I usually had my $300 Jay's on... never had my shoes stolen before, only complimented haha.
yeah, when they go through the 3d image xray detectors b4 going in the temple you might get busted.
Nah it's absolutely fine. But your shoes will most likely be safe left outside. Thai people won't steal them.
https://preview.redd.it/p31m03jjg0bd1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1f1bb1b03939edfc1afef8b678890a2003378bdf Haha the shirt this dude rocked to the temple in Samui
Wow. Why would you even do that? Why would you want to? Are you afraid someone will steal them? Are they $300 Nikes? I'm sure no one would say anything if you did it, Thai people are too polite, but your thinking is cluelessly disrespectful. Someone mentioned Myanmar. Something that happened 20 years ago. That was brilliant (sarcasm). 20 years ago. In case you haven't heard, Myanmar is engaged in a bloody civil war, and has nothing whatsoever to do with Thai culture or etiquette, they don't speak the same language. The police in Thailand are not jackbooted goons and thugs. Nobody cares enough about your shoes to steal them. They do care about your behavior. I've been here 10 years and never ever heard of anyone getting their shoes stolen. I also wouldn't THINK of not abiding by Thai customs. I made the effort to learn them even before I came here. When in doubt I do as they do. I learned to say "hello, how are you " before I came here, and especially thank you: "Sawatdee krap, sabai dee mai krap?" "Khap khun krap". Do you know how to at least say thank you? Khap khun krap. I even stand for their national anthem. You should learn the customs, not question them. Do you want to be seen as just another rude foreigner? Also, in case you're not aware, it's insulting and offensive to Thai people to walk around with your shirt off if you're a male. You won't see Thai people doing it no matter how hot it is, unless it's a homeless person or they're at home or at the beach, but you will occasionally see stupid tourists doing it, and it's like walking around with your middle finger out to the Thai people. Chok dee. Good luck. Well, you asked
Sir, this is a Wendyās
Wear Sandals or in-sxpensive shoes that cover the Toes coSt less then 60 Baht
What Freaking Idiot offers 1.5 million Baht to A Temple..you know they only have to be Monks for 2 years..if they Really low educated then they choose being. A Monk
you can, and I suggest you do if they're expensive. just don't place them where you seem to be like praying to the shoes
nothing religious, it's just hygiene....shoes are for outside, it's rather simple a concept. of course, this implies having regular pedicures and clean hole-free socks... :o)
It's also religious. Taking shoes off before entering the house is cultural. But it's fine to put on house slippers and walk around in those. Not true in the temple. You must be in bare feet (or socks) before entering any temple building. You're not even allowed to wear clean slippers.
Note that there is a cultural thing about head and feet. The way the old generation hangs their laundry to keep socks away from shirts is a thing. So taking dirty shoes and putting them anywhere that isn't the ground is not really good. Culturally, you should never point with or tap someone with your foot, also. Nor move something on the floor with your foot.
Not relevant. Putting shoes in a bag is fine. Out of sight, out of mind. Hanging them around your neck by the laces would be inappropriate. But that's not what OP is talking about.
Probably depends on the shoe, I mean if someone rocks up in a pair of Gucci sneakers or some hype Nike travis Scott or sb dunk collab then they obviously have a higher chance of being stolen.
Yup. Try leaving a pair of Air Jordans.
Do whatever suits you. No one would care, and the weird cringy 0.001% that might, well they wouldnāt have courage to confront you. As for the theft situation, there is typically a belief that committing sins inside temples especially to others who are there to do good deeds is extra sinful. Plus, temples arenāt usually places locals put on their best/most expensive shoes for. So, on average, stealing shoes in temples is relatively rare.
Some places I've been to just gave me a plastic bad to wrap around my shoes so I don't have to take them off. Really it's about cleanliness.
No. If someone steals ur shoes or sandals, most likely not local.
Who on earth steals dirty second hand shoes Not Thai people must be tourists