"Head Pat" Photograph

A nice moment between man and child. The gesture of putting his hand on the boy’s head is interesting in Thai culture as it is usually taboo to touch somebody else’s head. However, two things in this case make it more acceptable: the age gap, particularly with a young child, and the apparent closeness of the relationship. So in this case the gesture indicates an intimacy even more than it would in a western culture.

Photograph taken at the “Saturday Walking Street”, Chiang Mai, Thailand.