Category: Thai Society/Culture
Bye nior
The uniquely Thai combination of “goodbye” and “seniors.” I’m at a farewell party for our graduating class.
Mussels and Archa
One of the best dinners I’ve had this year, at a friend’s house a few weeks ago.
9 Butts 990 Baht
Right on the heels of the Best Product Name of 2013 comes a damn fine contender for Best Marketing Campaign, but I forgot to take note of the brand of jeans using it. I’ll have to check it out next time.
UPDATE: The brand is Maximus Roma Jeans, who do’t have much of a web presence but apparently put a value of 110 baht on each of their individual asses.
Best Product Name 2013 – “I Like Vaggie”
I’m going to declare this the automatic winner for 2013, even though it’s only January. I found it for sale in the canned goods isle of our new Tesco Lotus megastore.
This is a can of vegetarian fried rice that I assume was supposed to be, “I Like Veggies.” It isn’t “I Like Veggies,” however, it’s “I LIKE VAGGIE.” That’s rude, crude, and totally the best product name of 2013.
Three Generations, Four Riders
I take quite a few photos of random riders; I can’t believe this is the first “generations” photo I’ve posted for seven years! The last one was in Vientiane.
We are on a boat.
The kids are having a blast. Incidentally, we are on the mighty river separating Thai and Laos, and it ain’t the Mississippi.
@Chiang Khan, Thailand
Temple at Ancient Khmer Ruins
@ Surin Province, Thailand – New Year’s Eve
Maeng Da – Giant Water Bug (Lethocerus indicus)
This big guy was attracted to the lights we leave on at night in our pavilion. I found him in a weakened state under our Japanese-style table in the morning. This is an extremely important food source in many Asian countries because of its strong odor, which it uses to attract mates and is used as a potent flavoring in various dipping sauces. This insect is also eaten whole in Thailand, usually deep fried and then stripped of legs and carapace.
Because of the perceived sexual behavior of this bug (just sitting around attracting females with its scent), the term maeng da has been adapted in Thai slang to mean something like a pimp or useless man who mooches off of women.
No, I did not eat it.