Media around the world is buzzing after a viral Facebook post about a backpacker that refused to move her smelly feet from a Thai van seat’s headrest.
Narong Thaopanya, 21, an army reservist, posted photos and a short video from the van that was traveling from Sukhothai to Bangkok on March 30.
The farang girl, who is believed to be a French backpacker, is featured in the post with her feet, in sport socks, casually draped on the headrest next to Narong’s seat.
In Thailand, feet are considered extremely dirty and should not be placed near other people or pointed at them.
To add another insult to Narong’s complaints against the girl, he said that her feet were really smelly.
He wrote, “The smell from her feet was filling the whole bus. It was hot and made me feel sick, because her feet were next to my head. I asked her many times to put her legs on the ground and she would not do it. She just kept them in the air,” reported The Telegraph.
Indeed, Narong can be seen asking her to remove her feet in the video and, while she moves them for a moment, she replaces just where they had been a minute later.
He went on to vent in his viral post, “Somebody will have to use the seat and put their head where her dirty feet have been. Would she have done this in her own country?.”
“People should be more respectful when they are visitors to other people’s countries.”
His final thought on the matter was, “This woman’s face was beautiful but she had no manners.”
We think this whole situation stinks and our hearts go out to Narong and his smelly journey.
Pablo says
I am disgusted about this article. I been in Thailand with my family for 5 years and have received so much love and care from the Thai people, they often go out of their way to make a person confortable. I often see other foreigners disregard the law, local customs or simple courtesies that make this country such a great please to visit and live in.
Mazet says
That incident is making history! Probably wouldn’t have happened if this traveller would have been using Cedar Soles. Recommendable for anyone with stinky, smelly feet!