Thai culture has been strongly shaped by Buddhism. The same applies to Myanmar and Sri Lanka. You notice this straight away. That is why, for example, women can travel around on their own without any trouble.
In Thai culture, it is customary for every young man to spend a few weeks to a few months as a monk in a monastery at least once in his life. His entry into the monastery is accompanied by the shaving of his head. This is an important moment, attended by the whole family.
The late King Bhumibol of Thailand also fulfilled this religious duty at the time. He did so at Wat Bowonniwet. It was there that the photograph below of these young monks was taken.
Of course, Thailand is also famous for its Buddha statues, which you come across everywhere and in all shapes and sizes. Incidentally, it is forbidden to export Buddha statues from Thailand. If, as a tourist, you walk into a shop where they are for sale, you will be ignored. You simply aren’t there, and you can’t sell a Buddha statue to someone who isn’t there. That’s how it’s sorted out. We did, however, understand why. In Thailand, these statues are objects of worship, not decoration.
One evening in Bangkok, we had another very interesting experience. On one of the city’s busy roads, the traffic was separated by a wide green space. A Buddhist shrine had been set up there. People were sitting on benches, and the whole area was fenced off from the passing public. We were also invited to sit inside the fence, but our ‘host’ asked us to take off our shoes.
Within 10 minutes, a passer-by took offence at the fact that we were inside the fence by the shrine. He became furious and started shouting at us. Our host managed to de-escalate the situation and, after a while, the angry man left. Of course we asked our host what he had said. And his reply was “this man, he has said nothing” … call that “applyed wisdom”.