[Spalax]

I was reading about the culture of who sits where in cars(esp.Japan and Korea). So I was wondering if there is anything along the lines in Thailand in the world of business. Is there a seating order for the boss and the subordinates?

[Khurlxgq]

I was reading about the culture of who sits where in cars(esp.Japan and Korea). So I was wondering if there is anything along the lines in Thailand in the world of business. Is there a seating order for the boss and the subordinates?

Thailand too, has seating etiquette.

Notice how Thais alone will usually sit at the back of a taxi and not the front like most foreign visitors. Sitting at the back gives the passenger more authority.

If a boss is riding with a subordinate, the subordinate will usually sit at the front and the boss at the back - on his own.

If it is the boss' car and he is driving, his subordinate must sit at the front.

If a man is riding say a taxi with a female acquaintant he ought to sit at the front and the lady at the back. However, if he is superior to her she will be sat with him at the back.

If a man travels with say two ladies, he can not sit in the middle of them at the back. If a man travels with his wife/girlfriend and a male friend his wife/girlfriend must sit to the side of her husband and not in the middle. She must sit away from the male friend etc......

Otherwise, Thais are accepting to the fact that foreigners may not know this etiquette so they wont be upset if you mess up a bit.

One other good example that you will see everyday is also on a motorbike:

The policeman of superior rank must sit at the back while his subordinate drives the bike.

A girl who is not bike rider's girlfriend/wife should not sit at the back of the bike with her knees wrapped around him, she ought to sit side-straddle. And no way, if 3 are on the bike should the girl sit in the middle of two men!

[dittygari]

I have a bad habit of ignoring all Thai protocol,
When I was with my Thai girlfriend in Thailand, I would always sit in the middle back seat of the Taxi, my girlfriend on the left and her girlfriend on my right, that way when in the Taxi I could have a woman on both sides to hold hands with, and in the unfortunate event of a side impact car accident, I would have greater protection from the side. of course the front seats were always occupied by the driver and my bodyguard.

[ChrisGoldstein]

I never allow women to ride in the same car with me, and I always travel in a limo with one body guard riding up front with a shotgun and 4 other body guards riding in the back with me and armed with UZI machine guns, you see how important I am,,I never feel safe with only one bodyguard. Even tho I always wear full body armor...5555

(rest of post deleted)

[u2ZQGC6b]

I was reading about the culture of who sits where in cars(esp.Japan and Korea). So I was wondering if there is anything along the lines in Thailand in the world of business. Is there a seating order for the boss and the subordinates?

Before I split with Ubonwan when we travelled by Taxi in Bangkok I would always sit in the back behind the driver with her next to me. If we had our son (10 year old) with us he would sit in the front passenger seat.

David

[Immampdah]

I went to a couple of business meetings as a neutral person in a car and I would think the two sides most important people would sit driver and passenger(western) here, but one side sat in the front the other 2 guests crammed in the back with me so i dont know if that has any relevance but they did wanna know a lot about David Beckham hehe

[ZwHRoTTn]

Great observation, Steve! I've seen much the same, with just one exception. With two guys and a girl riding the motorcycle, sometimes the girl may prefer sitting behind her boyfriend, hugging him, rather than sitting behind the stranger. The other variation is the girl sitting in the front of the driver (his b/f), ducking down so he can see. Haven't seen this last one myself, but just heard of it from my friends.