Weirdest Laws in Thailand

Some might argue that all laws are a little strange, but I think just about anyone would be hard-pressed to argue with these – they’re some of the weirdest laws in Thailand.

Now, I should mention that I have no idea whether these laws are actually still on the books at the current time, or whether they’re really enforced even if they are… But they’re pretty amusing, and the fact that they were once laws at all makes them worth sharing, even if they’re not something you should worry about today!

• It’s illegal to step on any of the Thai currency. Just for a laugh, I’d like to see someone throw a handful of Thai coins onto the sidewalk during rush hour and see what happens. Do the locals scatter like pigeons in order to avoid stepping on the coinage, or do they dive to collect it before you can?
• It’s against the law to leave your house in Thailand if you’re not wearing underwear. Every mother who has ever admonished her child to not leave the house without clean underwear will at least be partially pleased by this law. If only there were some stipulation about the cleanliness of said underwear here, every mother would send her children to Thailand to have the rule ingrained in their heads.
• It’s illegal to drive a car in Thailand if you’re not wearing a shirt. So, the Thai courts obviously have a thing about how their citizens are clothed. First we have the no-leaving-the-house-without-underwear law, and now this one. I can see how at least with this law it’d be easy to see the violators. With the underwear one, I’m not sure I’d want that job. Underwear checker? Nah, I’ll pass.
• It’s against the law to throw used chewing gum onto the sidewalk in Thailand, and you’ll be fined $600 if you’re caught. If you don’t pay, you’ll be thrown in jail. I’m all for a government that actively discourages discarding gum on the sidewalks. I mean, who hasn’t had to scrape gum off at least one pair of shoes at least once in their lives? But getting fined $600 for doing it, and jailed if you don’t pay… Well, that seems a bit extreme even to me.

So, folks, what this means is that if you’re going to Thailand, make sure you always wear underwear when you’re outside, dispose of used gum in the proper trash recepticle, keep your feet off the Thai money, and keep your shirt on whle you’re driving.