Thai Society/Culture
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Khon Kaen Immigration
So the most heinous task of renewing our non-immigrant Type B working visas and work permits fell on this very day and to my great surprise, was quite painless, if not actually pleasant. Since I’ve been here, the immigration officethe foreingers in Maha Sarakham report to has changed from Nong Khai to Mukdahan to Khon Kaen. The Khon Kaen office started out kind of rough, which is to be expected anywhere, I guess, but they have really improved their operation. What used to take us 2 hours in Khon Kaen (or in the worst case, 10 hours at the Mukdahan office) only took us 45 minutes today, and since we arrived…
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Flooding in Sarakham
Today we were hit by a sudden storm that dumped a whole lot of water on us, very quickly. This year’s weather has been very wet and relatively cool for Thailand, and it’s been raining almost every day. I’ve been very busy for a while now, and everybody in this house started getting sick from last week. First it was Mina, then mommy, and now Max – but daddy is too busy to get sick. Taking care of three sickies is demanding, you know. So I didn’t even notice that the street in front of our house was flooding after about an hour of heavy rain. Nam did, though. I…
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Thai-specific perk
This week there are girls from the Science Faculty coming around to our offices every afternoon to practice foot massage on anyone willing… and who am I to deny their further education? More than a few people took pictures of both my feet being massaged at the same time as I dozed off on the sofa in the teacher’s room diligently filled out the supplied grading sheets.
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Dog Show at Central Plaza, Khon Kaen
And when they say, “show,” it’s like a spectacle for people who have never seen dogs before and might mistake them for food or something. The only other time I’ve heard of dogs displayed in a cage like this was at Nazo no Paradise (raccoon boner heaven), when they advertised a new “zoo” about 20 years ago and a few people, including my ex-coworker took their kids up to see it… only to find a roped off area next to the muddy parking lot adorned with cages labeled, respectively, “monkey,” “dog,” and “cat.”
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Aegle marmelos
This is a bael or bael fruit AKA Bengal quince, wood apple, stone apple or seer phael (head-fruit). In Thai it’s known as matum. In Thailand, bael is usually found in the form of dried slices, which are reconstituted in water to make juice. Our housekeeper brought over a few from her tree and I was surprised at how hard and heavy they were. We did as she said and boiled them, but then accidentally left them out on a hot night and the next day, they had fermented in the shell and burst, oozing a heavy syrup onto our counters. I threw them into the pond out front as…
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Prime Harshness
From my student’s essay on problems in Thailand: “If I were Prime Minister, the first thing I would do is help beggars in Thailand, because the beggars are pathetic. They can’t find a good job…” She must be a transfer student from Public Administration.
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Thai Ghost Busker
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Last Dinner in Bangkok
This meal was so good, it cannot be described properly with words… Suffice to say, it knocked us all out with a quantity/quality double combo. @ one of the numerous Korean BBQ joints near Sukhumvit Soi 12
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One ThaiPad Per Child
I took this photo a couple months ago out toward the local ostrich farm. The political party that put tons of these signs up on all the roads won Sunday’s elections, so I guess Max and Mina will be getting their ThaiPads soon…
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Essentially Isan
This was taken last week at Rajabhat Maha Sarakham, my university, at a welcoming ceremony for freshmen (aka “freshies” in Thailand). In the foreground, English program students are praying during a traditional bai sri ceremony around a Christmas tree-shaped arrangement of folded banana leaves, as other students play takraew on the courts in the background and molam blasts from the unseen stage to the left.
