Thai Society/Culture
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Banks and Blades and Monster Geckos
One of the coolest things about rural Thailand is the prevalence of bladed tool vendors outside of banks and government building selling scythes, spades, hatchets, axes, machetes, and cooking knives of all sizes and types. I went to the tax office with some Japanese teachers last week and as they waited in line inside, I was just outside the window closest to the tax clerks, handling what could basically be desribed as a ghetto battle axe, with a rusty, roughly machined blade welded to a steel pipe that served as a handle. I don’t know if the clerks saw me outside in my adolescent dwarf warrior state, but when I…
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All you ever wanted to know about using squat toilets
I’ve lived in Asia for over a decade, so I’m used to squat toilets (as opposed to western-style toilets that you sit on). I prefer squat toilets everywhere except for my own bathroom, actually. I know that doctors and health professionals say that you don’t “get germs” from other people via toilet seat transfer, but what can I say? They probably live sheltered lives and have never SEEN the disgusting state of nasty public toilet seats – you know, the ones yellowed from age, with huge welts from cigarette burns, cracked in three separate pieces and with stinky bits of shit and god-knows-what stuck to it. You know, the kind…
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Weird Thai Snacks
SEMON – The breakfast of champions. Extra creamy filling. CHICKEN SHAKE – According to the package, it is/contains neither. It is, however, a magnificent concept, even more repulsive than the famous meat shake joke. BIG SHEET – When you get the urge for coprophagy, nothing else will doo. 😉
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Tiny Geckos
… are falling from my walls onto my bed and the floor. There are hundreds of them, I’m sure, hatching around our house. I’ve seen around 30 or so in the past couple of days, slightly more than an inch long and still learning how to walk. Thus, they fall on my bed from the ceiling. I accidentally crushed one with the screen door yesterday and felt really bad about it. hemidactylus frenatus – the House Gecko, known as “jingjok” in Thailand. Image borrowed from here.
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Staircase Method
I just finished grading for the first semester of classes – whew! It was hard work, much more work than a sweaty gaijin should have to do in 38 degree (C) weather. Anyway, many of my colleagues aren’t finished, so I told them about the “staircase method” of grading that I read about somewhere on the in-tar-webs. This consists of standing at the top of a staircase and throwing a stack of ungraded tests (or papers) down the stairs. The tests on the highest steps get A’s, the next highest get B’s, and so forth… My Thai colleagues really got off on this idea, maybe even a bit too much……
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Bangkok Bookstores
If you are looking for a specific book that’s still in print, your one-stop shop is the Kinokuniya in Siam Paragon. There is an Asia Books one floor down from it that looks like it’s about to go under because the selection at Kinokuniya is just that good. Also, the Kinokuniya branch at the Emporium comes nowhere close to the one at Siam Paragon, in terms of pretty much anything. I haven’t been able to make a proper tour of the used bookstores in Bangkok yet. I know there are a few around, and a couple even have blogs – just haven’t had the time. I did spend a couple…
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flogging the bishop
I like living in the third world, for the most part. Thailand is a great country and I like the fact that there’s a lot further to go up than down. Today, however, I experienced a downside to the lack of development when I went to the hospital for a sperm count. Actually, we didn’t really go there to get my sperm tested, but I was kind of talked into it, if you know what I mean. It was all quite embarrassing, truth be told – the nurses kept giggling and saying the word “SPERM TEST” really loudly, in a waiting room full of people (yes, the word “sperm” has…
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my new car
The overnight bus departs from Sarakham at 9:15 and arrives at Bangkok sometime after three in the morning. We took the “VIP” bus which costs another forty or fifty baht, yet is great value for the money since you get a hot meal, a bottle of water, and comfortable seating. We stayed at Nam’s aunt’s house in Lad Prao and set out the next morning in search of a used car. Surprisingly, this was fun. I shocked a couple of dealers by showing them evidence of past accidents on their cars, so I guess the average Thai buyer is about as knowledgeable as the average American buyer. There was a…
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Bangkok Bombing Update
The Australian is reporting that the New Years bombings in the capitol were the work of Jemaah Islamiah. Originally the focus of investigation seemed to be on the former (Thaksin’s) regime; now they seem to be coming to the conclusion everyone else came to thirty seconds after the explosions: Muslim separatists from the south (Religion of Peace reprazent!) Full story here. I went to a local carnival yesterday (which I hope to write about soon) and was surprised to find so few people in attendance. Asking around this morning, it seems many people are afraid to go to big events now because of bombs. That’s just fucked. I, myself, think…
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Shave and a Haircut
I have found "my" new barber shop. I had a hard time finding a good place here at first; I made the mistake of trying beauty salons when really all I wanted was a barber shop. I had the same problem in Japan, and come to think of it, Japan was really horrible in this regard because if you walk into the wrong place, you might end up being there for hours (literally – my longest "stay" in a "fashionable" place was OVER 3 HOURS!). This is because they take service to a ridiculous level and serve you coffee before and maybe after your cut, plus sometimes take up to…
