Thai Society/Culture
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Areca Nut (aka Betel Nut)
Apparently, the palm tree growing behind our house is an Areca Palm, because Nam pulled these off it today. I tried chewing betel nut a few years ago with Nam’s grandmother (it was….interesting), and know a bit about it from talking to an old vendor at the market after that. This type is called “mak luang” (yellow betel nut) in Thai. I’m not actually sure if yellow is a variety our just a stage of growth, though. Posted from WordPress for Android
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How to fix Broken Thai Text Display in Google Chrome
I recently experienced a very strange and vexing problem in Chrome (EN v.38, 64-bit, Windows 7) where all Thai text appeared as small boxes or squares, or squares with strange symbols inside of them. It literally appeared overnight, and no amount of tweaking encodings or font settings (you know, the normal stuff) could fix it. Only Thai language seemed affected, and it only happened in Chrome (I tested in FF, IE, Opera, and MS Office as well). If you are experiencing the same problem, I have a solution that is working 100% (for me). It is tied to a new Microdicksoft font rendering technology recently enabled in Chrome by default…
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How poor are poor families in Myanmar?
Poor enough to sell their children to human trafficking rings for $50 US: Trafficker of Rose-Selling Children on Khaosan Road Arrested The story linked above is currently displayed along an article stating that Thailand has been downgraded to the lowest level (with the worst offenders) in the US State Department’s latest report on human trafficking. …This is a direct result of the recent reporting on slavery on Thai shrimp boats and the media tying some of the largest corporations in Thailand, the US, and the UK to human trafficking (the big NY Times article ran just yesterday). The response from some of these corporations has been promising: Through our research…
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Isan Lunch
Lao-style somtam, grilled tilapia, beef meatball skewers, rice noodles, sticky rice: Around $5 US!!
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Taco night
When Dave and Michiko visited from Japan a month ago, we had a Mexifood party. Due to what’s available here, we had to improvise a few things, but it all turned out well: I made carnitas pork and refried beans in the slow cooker (in that order, without washing the pot, using pork fat to season the beans) from the night before. A trip to the supermarket only yielded a single, cement-hard avocado, so we nuked it for a minute and mixed it in with locally available (Khon Kaen) sour cream. Finally, we deemed making corn tortillas with the masa I have in the freezer and the tortilla press my…
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The Perfect Breakfast – East Meets West
Pan-fried eggs with assorted meat, toast, rice porridge, coffee. It’s hard to find a good breakfast in Thailand if you are tired of the standard fare. We found a good place. — Posted from WordPress for Android —
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So I found out why 7/11s have locks on the doors…
…it’s in case there a coup and 10 pm curfew is enforced nationwide. The last time there was a coup, there weren’t any 7/11s near my house. Alas, Thailand has returned to its seemingly default state: Military rule. Besides there being nothing on TV (the broadcasts are controlled by the military), and closing all of the schools, it hasn’t affected anyone up here much (unless they need to work outside from between the hours of 10 pm and 5 am).
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Another Coup?
All of the national TV channels are off the air… We will be fine.
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Kitsune no yomeiri
Sunshowers are sometimes referred to as “the fox’s/foxes’ wedding” (plurality indeterminate) in Japan, or “kitsune no yomeiri.” Today is the sunniest rainy day I’ve ever seen; it’s completely still and over a hundred degrees outside. It’s so hot, the rain leaves no mark on the pavement. Wikipedia entry for kitsune no yomeiri.
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The Westernization of Thailand
This was all all procured locally. This part of the world will be hit with a metabolic syndrome epidemic in the coming years that will surely rival that of Mexico and their pudgy northern neighbors – we have a Starbucks three minutes from my house, for Christ’s sake. Note: This round of Hate Gaijin Expansion may be finished for now.
