Large jade frog. Symbol of luck and prosperity.
I bought several pairs of pants to wear. Shorts or sleeveless shirts are not allowed in the temple. And you must take your shoe off when you enter any building that contains a Buddha image.
I read about these guidelines
from:
"Thailand" a travel survival kit by Joe Cummings
Monks are not supposed to touch or be touched by women. If a woman wants to hand something to a monk, the object should be placed within reach of the monk, not handed directly to him.
The feet are the lowest part of the body (spiritually as well as physically) so don't point your feet at people or point at things with your feet. In the same context, the head is regarded as the highest part of the body, so don't touch Thais on the head either.
About 95% of the Thai citizenry are Theravada Buddhists.
Bo Tree (Ficus religiosa)
The Thais themselves frequently call their religion Lankavamsa (Sinhalese lineage) Buddhism because Siam originally received Buddhism during the Sukhothal period from Sri Lanka. Theravada refers to only the earliest forms of Buddhism practiced during the Ashokan and immediate post-Ashokan periods in South Asia.
The monarchy and religion are the two sacred cows in Thailand. Thais are tolerant of most kinds of behavior as long as it doesn't insult one of these.
The monarchy is held in considerable respect in Thailand and visitors should be respectful too - avoid disparaging remarks about the king, queen or anyone in the royal family.
While we were in Chang Mai, the traffic was diverted to the sides of the road to let one of the royal family member's motorcade pass by. Kind of like how we stopped to let fire trucks and police cars pass us in an emergency. I didn't know what was happening at first but it was all very exciting.
