Customs in Thailand – Shoes

Thai-Temple-Caz

“In Thailand, you must remove your shoes before entering someone’s home, temples, and sometimes, specific shops or small businesses, as a sign of respect and for cleanliness. If you see a pile of shoes outside or a shoe rack, it is a clear sign to take your shoes off. 

• Where to Remove: Always remove shoes before entering a Thai home, regardless of how grand or humble it is. Shoes are mandatory to remove at temple interiors where Buddha images are housed, though not usually on the surrounding grounds.
• Signs & Cues: If you see a pile of shoes at the entrance, a shoe rack, or even a few pairs outside a small shop, spa, or clinic, take your shoes off.
• Reasoning: Feet are considered the dirtiest part of the body, and shoes are even dirtier, making this a crucial gesture of respect for the host’s space.
• Tips: Wear easy slip-on shoes for convenience. If unsure, look to see if locals are wearing shoes and follow their lead.”

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This is a very important part of Thai culture. It was one of the first things I noticed when we first entered our condo building. There were pairs of shoes outside some of the condo doors. When Brian showed us the air-bnb where we would be staying while we waited for the condo paperwork for our own condo to be finalized, the first thing we learned to do was take off our shoes before entering ours or anyone else’s condo. (If there are no shoes outside the door, you remove your shoes as soon as you enter.)

Both my husband and I had problems getting our shoes off without having a place to sit down, and even more trouble trying to get them back on when we left, so one of the first errands we ran was to a shoe store. We both found Sketchers tennis shoes in their ‘Step-in’ model. We can simply toe off the shoes to enter a place, and then balancing on each other, we could simply step into our shoes when we left. These were the perfect solution for us.

Almost all of the places you have services, like massages, haircuts, mani/pedis, some doctor offices, etc. have shoes outside with racks of slippers for you to use while you are inside. It becomes second nature to check the doorway to see if you are supposed to remove you shoes or not.

Added details that I have learned are that places like our gym have a tray outside the door filled with water. They ask that you dip your shoe bottom in the tray and then use the big mat in front of the door to clean your shoes as much as possible before you enter. There is another mat inside where you make sure your shoes are as dry as possible before proceeding into the gym.

At my husband’s nursing home, there is one rack for leaving your shoes and another rack with slippers for you to wear. This is a difficult thing for me, as the slippers do not stay on my feet well. I tend to walk right out of them, or trip, or lose my balance. Brian holds my hand tightly as we walk down the hall to Harvey’s room and back out to the front porch when we leave.

Removing shoes seemed a bit weird to me when we first moved here. People’s feet may have odors, bare feet can seem really odd at first. But, when I thought about it more, I realized how very dirty your shoes can get walking around on the streets. You want to honor houses, shops, or temples by either wearing the slippers provided or simply leaving your shoes outside while you are allowed to enter. I now make it a practice to wash the bottoms and edges of my shoes on a regular basis, just because I look at them in a different way now.