Why the Wai?

The wai is the traditional greeting in Thailand (see Ronald McDonald). You do this by slightly bowing and placing your palms together, like you are praying. But it's not that simple, there are many rules which still confuse us. The higher you hold your hands the more respect you are showing. The person of "lower class" will start the wai and also raise their hands higher based on who they are greeting. Then the person of "higher class" will return the wai but not as exaggerated, or they may only bow their head. This is hard for us because how do they know who has more "class" and since we are considered "rich farang" they think we need to be shown more respect. We have to be careful how we wai in return because even though we don't think of ourselves as "higher class" we are expected to act that way, otherwise we will embarrass them and that will also cause us to "lose face." Not everyone will do the wai when they meet, it seems to be very formal.