Shoes, No service

The one huge cultural differnce that we have observed and participated in since being in Thailand is the No shoes policy. According to my travel book, Thais pretty much think of feet as the the dirtiest part of the body. Basically they have a foot phobia. So they hate shoes indoors. Lots of places will expect you to take shoes off before entering, such as our cooking class. There was even a shoe rack outside the door. You are expected to remove your shoes before entering. The one thing I couldn't help but think of is that in the USA if you were to enter a resturant without shoes you would totally get kicked out due to health code, but here in Thailand that is not only accepted, but expected!