Thais, for all their smiling fame and naturally friendly nature, are actually pretty racist, an issue that is, like many things here, deeper and more complex than what you see on the surface. Actually, 'racist' isn't the right word - perhaps 'xenophobic' better describes the general vibe. When I sit on the skytrain or subway with empty seats on either side of me and 40 people standing 2 feet away, I wouldn't call that racist - but its definitely noticeable (although the guy  who once literally walked up and down the car peering for empty seats before deciding to stand rather than sit beside me was slightly more obvious). At any rate, the constraints of political correctness are generally ignored, which often leads to some double-takes - such as Black Man cleaning products.