Despite the fact that Thailand still suffers from drug trafficking, human trafficking, poverty, high levels of AIDs, and a large number of orphans, it's easy to believe that people here must be much happier.
Of course in some ways they may be (I'll write my thoughts about social development vs. economic development in a later post). But in general, I don't think the average Thai is happier or more miserable than the average citizen of any country.
Unless you've lived here a while you probably don't realize that Thai people smile for many different reasons - and most aren't the "my life is awesome" kind of smile we usually think they are.
Here's a list of 13 known types of smiles in Thailand ("Yim" with a high tone in Thai):
Of the 13 smiles, 5 relate to either avoiding feeling bad or trying not to show others they feel bad. A further 4 come from the pleasure of feeling superior to somebody (Thailand is a very hierarchical society). And then there's the inappropriate smile is a miscellaneous catch all for that-thing-we-find-funny-that-we-shouldn't (same as in the west).
In fact, only 3 smiles (happy, admiration and feigned politeness) are a genuine sign of happiness or politeness.
That's a 15% chance the smile you're getting is what we westerners think is a "real" smile.
Of course you can learn to recognize these smiles. It just takes time. And really, isn't it nicer that the guy showing you attitude is doing it with a smile on his face?
