Thai Society/Culture
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The Mean Side
This is an update of the adopt-my-child situation. If you shared my anger and shock in that first post, this one will just blow your mind. /////////////////////// Yesterday, Nam and I agreed upon a course of action after carefully considering our options. We decided to take the
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Putting the F in WTF
So here I am almost at the half year mark after starting over in this new place. It’s been grand, it’s been challenging, and sometimes the newness of it all is staggering. That newness, combined with my habit of running full speed into all kinds of cultural barriers and boundaries, sometimes creates situations which I am hard pressed to think about, much less relate to my readers about… Forward, then. /////////////// It started out oddly, yet innocently enough. My father-in-law’s friend came over for a visit with his approximately six year old daughter in tow. A sweet girl she was, bold enough to ask for what she wanted, yet polite…
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odo trick – I [heart] OCD
One of my “borderline” traits is my fascination with numbers, especially numerical readouts (this also partially explains my fascination with pachinko and the like). Some numbers and patterns just mean a lot to me, although my commemoration of odometer milestones I know is at least shared by some of my friends. Some people just don’t get it though – I remember when I stopped my S-13 Silvia on a busy highway median to photograph reaching the 111,111 kilometer mark (sub trip odometer 1,111), the person I was with totally DID NOT understand why I thought it was so special, so I told him to get the fuck out of my…
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Recent Observations
I just saw a big house gecko bite another on the neck, and it wouldn’t let go. Finally the one being bitten managed to escape, but the big one chased it all the way across the wall. I wonder what that was all about; it’s not like there’s a shortage of bugs to eat around here or anything. //////////////////////// For the English camp, we stayed at a campground in a nature preserve, up in the mountains. We stayed in bungalows maintained by the forest rangers, who wore tigerstripe and treebark camouflage, and watched over the entire preserve with high-power binoculars. Once a day or so, they would hear a message…
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Thailand is too hot for campfires
I’ve just come back from an “English camp” where I taught elementary school kids at a summer camp with a couple of colleagues. It was fun, but totally sapping in the 100 degree weather. It was nice to be in the green mountains after living on the dusty plains for so long… Man, it was so hot at times, I could have roasted marshmallows in my pocket! Speaking of heat, there was a fire at MBK center. MBK is great because they have so many unique shops crammed into all the space, which is also why it would suck to be there in a fire. In fact, whenever I’m there,…
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Mangosteens and Rambutans
…are in season! They sell for around 40 cents per pound each at the market; this is apparently a good year. Probably my favorite fruit in the world. In fact, I can’t think of a close second. Such an alien-looking fruit. Delicious, though. Fr007 pr0n! Bonus trivia (via Wikipedia): The mangosteen is known as the “Queen of Fruits” in Asia. (The “King of Fruits” is the durian. If the king and queen ever bear children, I’ll be the first in line to eat them.) The exocarp (purple outer layer) of the mangosteen is rich in both nutrients and antioxidants, however, this is generally not the edible part. The inner white…
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Cows in Kalasin
A photo from a road trip to a dam in Kalasin (a neighboring town) last month. I just had to stop the car to walk among them even though it was 100 degrees outside. In other news, I am still trying to perfect my channel mixing skills – the grass in that field wasn’t actually orange, it was green, but I think it looks better orange.
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My first speeding ticket in Thailand
So the short version of this story goes: Today I got caught speeding 50kph over the (unposted) speed limit I paid a fine on the spot and was released I love Thailand! |||||||||||||||||||||||| I have this running joke with people who ride in my car and ask what the funny device attached to my windshield is – “It’s a 7-11 detector,” I always say (I’ve NEVER seen another radar detector in Thailand, so their curiosity is understandable). Sure enough, it starts beeping madly whenever we pass a convenience store (or anywhere else with automatic door sensors), so this explanation may be less facetious than it sounds (then again, maybe not).…
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Impossible Fish
Why not ride on the coattails of the Impossible Fish Tank? (See that? That’s how to give credit, bitches…) We somehow acquired a small fish tank at the house and went out to buy some fish to keep as slaves (not slaves in the sense that they will work our land for a share of the crops, but in the sense that they exist only to amuse us, since freshwater fish make such shitty companions/rescue animals). We went to the local pet shop and found mostly a bunch of fat, quivering goldfish and mollies, which I detest, as I like my slaves skinny (and preferably, forlorn/amusing). In a tank wedged…
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My favorite breakfast joint in Sarakham
Sorry, no time for captions. Maybe no need, either! ; ) (Click on any image below to open a larger version in a pop-up window.)
