Wearing/doing the wrong thing at a temple

The offense

In the good old days when travel abroad was allowed and people from other countries called “tourists” came to Thailand, one of the most popular destinations they would visit are the many temples around the country. The Grand Palace is a must-visit for all Bangkok tourists, for example, and there are many photo-ops to serve as a reminder of your trip to the Land of Smiles. However, there have been instances where tourists have been prohibited from entering them. Temples banning foreigners outright like they did back when quarantine restrictions lifted is a whole other thing, but I’m talking about instances when a tourist was denied entry because they weren’t following the rules. For example, a Russian woman in Phuket wore a see-through dress on a visit to the temple so everyone got to see her bikini underneath. In another instance, Chinese tourists were banned from the White Temple in Chiang Rai because of constant misuse of its iconic “Golden Toilet”. I won’t get into how it was misused, which is for the best. In 2017, a gay couple with an Instagram called “Traveling Butts” took a photo at Wat Arun. I think you can figure out what the photo was and why they were fined.

How to avoid it

For foreigners like me and tourists who visit the Land of Smiles, the numerous temples all over the country are tourist destinations. They’re great IG spots and a chance to be able to learn more about the Thai culture. However, for the locals it’s a sacred place and it was originally constructed to be a place of worship and not a place for great photo-ops. So if you’re going to visit a temple, do a Google search to learn about appropriate attire and proper etiquettes. Messing about with Golden Toilets is definitely a no-no.