Every day, thousands of tourists leave Thailand through Suvarnabhumi Airport. For many, the journey home is unexpectedly emotional. Online, foreign visitors have dubbed the airport’s departure escalator “the saddest escalator in the world”, a symbol of a curious phenomenon known as the Thailand Blues—the lingering melancholy that follows a trip to the country.
Travel analysts are still struggling to pinpoint the biggest cause of the tourism syndrome that is linked directly to Thailand. The most common reasons for the long-standing depression that follows trips to the country, known as Thailand Blues or Thailand Effects, are the food, the beaches, the mushrooming of 24/7 convenience stores, the smiles, the hospitality and the cheap cost of living. Numerous online clips talk about them, but they are things that are easy to see, taste, or identify.
Everyone knows the Emerald Buddha Temple, Tom Yam Kung, Mango Sticky Rice, friendly elephants and Phuket. The architectural marvel of Wat Arun is unrivalled and the rural smiles are sincere. Every tourist can mention these off the cuff.
But arguably the most omnipresent reason could be the least talked-about one. The foreigners themselves feel it, but they explain it in different ways, not having a name for it.
Many things that make visitors fall in love with Thailand are related to Buddhism. But before this theory is discussed further, let’s move politics, government and constitution out of the way.
It’s the practice of religion in the way it’s supposed to be, and the foreign travellers love it.
You get the warm smiles even if you are a Christian or a Muslim in the predominantly Buddhist nation. Even if you are an atheist and everyone knows, Thai people will still help you when your motorcycle breaks down, or when you don’t know the directions, or when you lose your wallet. They invite you to every party and drag you out onto every dance floor.
People rarely question your faith. Short-term visitors may just sense it, but long-time expats definitely feel it. Ask any foreigner and they will say that Thais are one of the most open-minded or flexible peoples on earth when it comes to religion. All you have to do is show proper respect, which is not a hard thing to do.
Numerous foreign tourists say Thailand is a place where they can be themselves, where they never have to hide, and where the locals never judge their faith. Some link that to Buddhism, which places unconditional kindness and compassion very high.
That Buddhist culture extends to racial and gender matters, too. Many African Americans feel more welcome here than in many places in their own country. Several cry when they have to go back home. There are Thailand-praising clips of foreign homosexuals as well.
There are jokes like anywhere else, of course, when it comes to unorthodox matters, but while some Thais laugh, many still offer help, and nobody really means to insult.
Foreign expats working as language teachers shed tears when small students respectfully gave them garlands and poured water on their hands at the Teachers’ Day ceremony. The foreigners cried not because they got carried away with the solemnness of the situation, but because the Thai culture let them know that what they did matters, and the kids appreciated it. It’s unlike many other places, where teachers are regarded as just salary earners who should “go ahead and teach me because you get paid”.
Many foreigners ask why the street food sellers always look happier than they do while earning a lot less. One lazy explanation is that Thais have no ambition. A profound reason is that their religion tells Thais to be satisfied with what they have, and live for the present.
One western female YouTuber filmed a motorcycle parking area and described it as a true wonder of the world. There were dozens of motorcycles parked in the zone with helmets on virtually every handle.
Her clip generated quite a lot of agreeable comments. One said the “trust” formed while living in Thailand was dangerous because, when back home, he or she developed a “bad Thai habit” of leaving a laptop unguarded at a coffee shop to go to the toilet. He or she found out the hard way that this usually results in theft.
Numerous online stories have vendors telling foreigners to “come back and pay tomorrow”. It’s rare anywhere else. It’s a combination of trust and kindness, regardless of faith, which is ingrained in the Thai culture.
One western woman staying at Koh Samui carried her baby girl on a routine stroll but went further from her residence than originally intended. When it started to rain, she jogged back, still holding the child. One Thai auntie gave her a plastic raincoat (the cheap, common one that motorcyclists normally use) that could be wrapped around the baby.
A Chinese American woman’s e-bike stopped running halfway to the gym. She was helped by two Thai taxi motorcyclists. One used his foot to push her vehicle while riding his own motorcycle. The other man was at the handle of her pushed e-bike. In a video-recording made from the passenger seat of the first man’s motorcycle, she said: “Thais are the kindest people in the world.”
An American man said on TikTok that the fact that Thais didn’t have as much money as Westerners did not mean they worked less. He said all the Thais he knew even worked harder, probably because Buddhism taught them to rely on themselves, not others. Thai skins were darker from relentless self-reliance, which sometimes exposed them to glaring sunlight, according to the man.
People can find great phad Thai outside Thailand if they try hard enough. Beautiful beaches are everywhere on the planet. But the dish is not served with the heartwarming smiles and the beaches are not crawling with strangers willing to help other strangers. And there aren’t many places where one can get lost but feel safe.
Many things that make foreigners’ hearts sink at the “world’s saddest escalator” can be traced back to Buddhism and the Thais’ approach to it. That the escalator co-exists with Thailand’s status of being the leading Buddhist country on earth is profoundly intriguing.
Writer’s note: Many experiences mentioned in this article come from YouTube channels Good Comments and Kangpoy, which get their content from TikTok or YouTube videos uploaded by foreigners impressed with Thailand.
By Veena Thoopkrajae
