Am I too Thai to be Indian, or too Indian to be Thai?

Being Thai-Indian is weird sometimes. You’re connected to both cultures, but not entirely claimed by either. We get asked where we're from, whether we're in Thailand or India. We’re also such a small community that only we fully understand each other. Depending on situations, we can sometimes come across as too Thai or too Indian. Thai-Indians understand what it’s like to feel connected to two homes while also feeling slightly outside both.

We grew up looking Indian, but our daily language is nowhere near Indian. A mix of Thai and English is what naturally comes out when we talk.

The way we speak and carry ourselves is very "Thai". Being raised around Thai social etiquette makes us more polite, reserved, soft-spoken and "krengjai".

No matter how many times Thai-Indians visit India, we never fully adjust to:

• The non-stop honking even when traffic is already stuck

• The constant staring

• People treating the traffic light as a "suggestion"

Thinking our Hindi is pretty decent because we grew up watching Bollywood, then landing in India and confidently speaking one full sentence in Hindi… only for a local to ask, “Madam, where are you from?”

Or when Indian friends go:
“Your Hindi is so cute".

ยาธาตุน้ำขาว (Ya Tard Nam Khao) is our real travel companion during India trips. Our roots may be Indian, but our Thai stomachs are not fully built for the full Indian food experience.

Most Thai-Indians can only count from 1 to 20 in Hindi. Tell us “Yeh Sattasi rupaye hain”, and we’ll just stare at you for 5 seconds..... go into buffering mode, trying to figure out what number you just said. Also, most of us, when we hear numbers in “crores” and “lakhs”, we're like… how many zeros are we talking about again?

We somehow keep up with every new Bollywood movie, breakup, and wedding, and even listen to Hindi or Punjabi songs while having no idea what’s happening in Thai entertainment.

Our nationality may be Thai, but the rituals, traditions, and beliefs we follow are still very Indian, from Indian style weddings and being part of the Indian community to going to the Gurdwara or Mandir and celebrating festivals like Diwali, Holi, Navratri, Vaisakhi, and Gurpurab.

Though we love Thai food, not every Thai Indian can eat like a fully local Thai person. Many of us still can’t handle pla ra (fermented fish), teen kai (chicken feet), pork organs and intestines, or blood cubes in noodles.

The 4 pm cha time is non-negotiable for most Thai-Indian households.

Thai-Indians often have to prove our “Thai-ness” through language because our face alone never fully convinces people. We can spend our whole lives in Thailand and still get treated like we just arrived yesterday.

You're speaking Thai to a local, but they respond in English, no matter how good your Thai is.

Speaking Thai? Easy. Reading Thai? No problem. Typing Thai? Haha... thank god, voice typing exists. (I still remember my Thai boss asking why I looked so stressed, and I was like: “I swear there’s no ง on this keyboard.”)