A Different Type of Fifth Wheel

Posted on 1 September 2009 by christao408

A fifth wheel is a type of coupling device used for towing campers, trailers and various types of recreational vehicles. More broadly, the term “fifth wheeler” refers to recreational vehicles. In the category of “bringing another vehicle with you”, I saw one of the stranger entries while walking down Soi Thong Lor 13 on my way home from the market last Friday:

What in the world is this guy doing and why? I have one particular answer in mind, but I want to see what you think the answer might be.

Saab Bor Hok – the Sixth Grade Test

Posted on 29 August 2009 by christao408

Settling back into the routine here in Krungthep, I’m reminded why I carry my camera with me most everywhere I go. There is always something interesting to see. On Wednesday I had to run some errands. I drove to the Ministry of Labor to retrieve my work permit book, the address of which I had modified to reflect the “annex” unit we bought next door to our condo. Then I continued to the post office to mail wedding thank-you cards. Next I headed to UOB Bank to drop off some paperwork. Finally, I stopped at Emporium mall to have some pho at Little Hanoi restaurant.

While sitting in traffic on Sukhumvit Road, I noticed something odd about the cement truck in front of me. Dangling between the rear wheels was a dirty pink stuffed animal, akin to an Ugly Doll but probably not a branded one. I’ve seen this before. In fact, about a year ago I was noticing this on cars and trucks of all types here in Krungthep. To this day, though, nobody with whom I’ve spoken has an explanation. Why would you tie a stuffed animal at the back of your vehicle?

From the carpark at UOB Bank (the Sukhumvit 25 branch), I snapped this picture of an unfinished hotel. This is supposed to become a Crowne Plaza property at the corner of Sukhumvit Soi 27 but the developer halted construction about six months ago, ostensibly in response to the lousy tourism market. It is very well-located, just a few blocks from the Asoke/Sukhumvit junction and the Skytrain and Subway stations there. to the right of the picture you can see the Windsor Suites hotel, managed by our friend Ben. Very nice hotel and also well-located. If you’re looking for a place to stay in Krungthep, I recommend it.

Tawn was very inspired by our trip to New York, taking careful notes on the styles and looks he saw on Manhattan’s busy streets. Above is one of his work outfits that he put together as a result of his inspiration. What do you think?

Speaking of New York, I returned from my 24-day trip to the US only to discover that a Dunkin Donuts kiosk has opened underneath the escalator connection from the Asoke Skytrain station to the Sukhumvit Subway station. See, the Big Mango is just like the Big Apple!

Since my return, I’ve resumed my twice-weekly classes with my Thai tutor, Khruu Kitiya. For the past two and a half years, we’ve been meeting at the same place, a small coffee shop and restaurant called Bitter Brown, also close to the Asoke/Sukhumvit junction. They make cute latte art, like the flowers above. After having been gone for nearly a month, the owner was a bit shocked to see me again. “We thought you must have graduated!” he said, upon seeing me.

No, I haven’t graduated. Although, Khruu Kitiya is suggesting it might be a good idea for me to take the government administered “Saab Bor Hok”, or Sixth Grade Examination. While it isn’t a requirement for me, this examination represents the level of linguistic skills the government expects for certain types of visa holders such as missionaries or those applying for permanent residency. The test, which lasts about five hours, has four parts:

Dictation of questions and multiple-choice answers, in which you have to indicate the correct answer on an exam sheet.
Reading of questions and multiple-choice answers, in which you have to indicate the correct answer on an exam sheet.
A writing section composed of two parts: Dictation of paragraphs which you have to correctly write on the exam sheet, and then the composing of a short essay based on a question or subject given during the exam.
An oral section in which you have to engage in a ten-minute conversation with an evaluator.

Khruu Kitiya’s assessment, with which I concur, is that the first two parts would be very easy for me, the writing section would be challenging (the essay would be harder for me than the dictation), and the oral section would be a killer. This is because the one thing I don’t spend much time doing is actually speaking with Thais, since I work from home and my work is in English. As she has suggested before, Tawn and I should probably start using Thai as the spoken language at home.

Contrast this with Jon, a 19-year old Canadian with whom we had dinner Thursday night. Jon first contacted me through this blog more than a year and a half ago, when he was on a one-year Rotary Club exchange program here in Bangkok. He finished that program and returned to complete his senior year in Edmonton, with the plan of returning to Bangkok after he has his university degree.

Jon spent most of his year here immersed with Thais – Thai students, Thai friends, living with a Thai family. Then on this current two-month trip, the circumstances have been the same: all Thai, all the time. Needless to say, his spoken Thai is way beyond mine and I was humbled by the ease with which he and Tawn were able to converse. Clearly, there is still some work for me to do!

The good news is, the “Saab Bor Hok” isn’t until the end of November, so I have time to prepare for it as well as time to decide whether or not I even want to take it at this time.

View from my balcony on Friday late afternoon. We’re in rainy season and there were some spectacular storms this week. The best part about it, in my opinion, is the way these awesome (and I mean that in the original sense of the word) clouds form: huge, complicated things that build into dark, angry towers. They are amazing to watch.

Lots of cooking to update you on in the next entry.

Four-Way Intersections

Posted on 6 July 2009 by christao408

As I travel around my adopted hometown of Krungthep, I sometimes see things and think, “Oh, that is so very Thai.” These things usually seem innocuous enough at first glance, but I think they illustrate the differences between Thai culture and other cultures. Four-way intersections are a good example.

When I drive in the US (or pretty much any “developed” country), there are rules and laws and signs and to some degree, everyone follows them. Very little is left entirely to human nature and the good will of the drivers.

Italy seems to be an exception, actually…

Anyhow, here in the City of Angels, we have many uncontrolled intersections. Much of this is a result of how the network of roads and streets developed out of a network of canals and waterways. What worked well for boats isn’t always so effective for cars.

Whether a major street like Sukhumvit or a small, twisting back soi, you encounter these intersections where the drivers’ best behavior is all that governs right-of-way.

Most of the time, it works alright. In fact, like the use of traffic circles, drivers are forced to be more attentive and drive slower because there are few rules to rely upon. Other than the occasional marks on the ground, spray-painted by an insurance company investigator after a crash, there are few signs that the uncontrolled intersections are really a problem.

Here’s a 90-second video clip (set to pleasant music) for you to see the above intersection in action:

In a chicken-or-egg dilemma, it is unclear whether these types of social confrontations (uncontrolled intersections) work so smoothly because of the Thai people’s culture of patience and friendliness towards others, or is the culture a result of having to negotiate these types of confrontations in everyday life?

In either case, it is interesting to observe and even more interesting to experience firsthand as the driver behind the wheel!

Independence Day in the Big Mango

Posted on 5 July 2009 by christao408

Edit: Video is now public. Sorry for not catching that before posting. Thanks to Gary for informing me.

It may surprise you to hear that there was a large celebration of July 4th in Bangkok. The American Chamber of Commerce hosts the annual festivities, which bring together not only the disparate American expat community, but also many Thais and people from other countries who have lived or studied in the US, or just appreciate a chance for a taste of real American tradition.

Last year was my first year attending, in the company of several other American expats who had pretty much only negative things to say about the experience. I won’t go into that episode again, suffice it to say I enjoyed it enough to not only show up for a second year, but also to volunteer for almost seven hours of working at the raffle tickets table.

While some expats take the approach of, “I don’t like the United States, that’s why I left”, I look at it from the belief that even if there are aspects of US culture for which I don’t care, it is within my ability to actively participate and influence the changes I want to see. That’s why last year I volunteered at the Democrats Abroad table, registering expats to vote and talking up the need for change in Washington. I’d like to think that my efforts contributed in some small part to moving the world’s perception of America back towards the right track.

This year’s event was held at the American School, a private primary and secondary school that is located just a few blocks from my condo, behind Samitivej Hospital. Their campus has lots of trees and the main basketball court / stage area has a large roof over it, giving celebrants plenty of shaded areas to enjoy the breezy day.

Several thousand people attended, representing every star and stripe of American culture. We had many expat families who are here on temporary work assignments, we had Mormon missionaries and young Peace Corps volunteers, we had a group of “butch” lesbians with lots of piercings and tattoos, plenty of gay couples of all ages, long-term expats who have been here for dozens of years, tourists who just happened to be in town this weekend, and of course the typical hugely overweight American men with their tiny Thai girlfriends/wives who were half their age and one-quarter their size.

Where some might have seen ugly stereotypes, I saw the diversity that is America, for better or for worse.

There were also lots of Thai families there, many of whom have children attending the American School and others of whom were there just for the fun of it. There was a large play area set up for children with all sorts of games, including all the traditional Fourth of July favorites: tug o’ war, bucket relays, three-legged races, potato (or, in this case, rice) sack races, face painting, etc.

Below, a short video look at some of the fun.

On the food side of things, the local branch of the Veterans of Foreign Wars were grilling hamburgers while the Wives’ Auxiliary were cooking hot dogs and selling the most popular item – Sam Adams beer (which is not sold here and has to be imported through the embassy!). Bourbon Street, Great American Rib Company, Roadhouse Barbecue and Sunrise Tacos were all present, selling their specialties. Another military service group was selling homemade apple pie and at the booth next door, Dairy Queen would put a dollop of vanilla soft serve on top. Of course, what Fourth would be complete without a chili cookoff?

Above, a direct hit at the dunking tank.

Most of my day was spent at the tables by the entrance where I and other volunteers hawked raffle tickets. Fifty baht (about $1.60) a ticket for a chance to win fifty fabulous prizes. First prize was two free tickets to anywhere in the U.S. that United Airlines flies. We had hotel room stays, spa visits, bicycles, car rentals and all sorts of other prizes. Best of all, proceeds went to support the chamber of commerce’s Adopt a School program, which provides support to poor schools in rural Thailand, including the building of playgrounds and providing of supplies. We must have raised at least $4,000 just from the raffle.

So it was a fun day celebrating the 233rd anniversary of America’s declaration of independence. I hope that those of you who were in the U.S. had a chance to enjoy the holiday, too. For those of you outside the U.S., I hope you had a nice weekend!

Shots from Around Town

Posted on 2 July 2009 by christao408

Let me conclude the week with a few shots I took while out and about.

The morning after we have a heavy rain storm, the skies are really clear and the sun is tremendously intense. Here at the Thong Lo BTS station, passengers huddle in the only shaded area as the sun is at such a point that during midmorning, it floods the inbound platform with bright light.

The passengers waited until the train had arrived and come to a full stop before they left the shade to board.

Walking to my Thai class on a warm and increasingly humid Thursday afternoon, about two hours before another thunderstorm set in, I was following a tourist who was carrying his toddler daughter. I felt so sorry for him, trying to navigate the unevenly paved sidewalks of a miserably warm Big Mango in flip-flops while carrying a sleeping child who looked so warm and uncomfortable with her sweat-matted hair. Add to that the pollution and noise coming from the neighboring street and the Tourism Authority of Thailand would have a fit!

Interesting billboard for an English Language school near Chulalongkorn University. The stated message: “You… can do it.” The implied message, “Unleash your inner farang.” Is it any wonder that so many Thais (especially the better-off ones such as those who might find their way to Chula U) apply whitening lotions and have plastic surgery to shape their features to be more “pleasing” (i.e. more Western)? With messages like this plastered along the street, who wouldn’t feel a bit dissatisfied with themselves?

Dining on Sukhumvit Soi 38

Posted on 1 July 2009 by christao408

Our friend Jackson is in town from San Francisco, his first time back since late 2006. The other evening we took him for dinner to Sukhumvit Soi 38, a side street near the Thong Lo BTS station known for its nighttime eateries.

Both sides of this Bangkok soi are lined with food shops that spill onto the streets, offering nearly every type of Thai food you can imagine. The food is very fresh, very cheap and very authentic. Because of the location – lots of expats live nearby – some concessions have been made to non-Thais for everyone’s convenience. For example, it is increasingly common to find laminated menus that have some of the more popular items with both English and Japanese names. If you want some of the more obscure items, though, you have to read and speak Thai.

Regardless of your Thai literacy, no corners are cut when it comes to preparing the food! This is the real deal.

Fatty pork (roasted then fried in oil for an extra-crispy skin) served over rice with a Hoisin-type sauce.

A “red soup” with various pork parts including cubes of boiled blood.

Borrowed from Malaysia and Singapore: chicken and oily rice.

Wide rice noodles stir fried with egg and shrimp – kind of like pad thai but without the tamarind sauce.

Everyone’s favorite – and also a Malaysian import – chicken satay with peanut dipping sauce.

One of the nice features of Soi 38 is that if you are sitting in one vendor’s building, you can still order form other vendors elsewhere on the soi. They will deliver the food to you, collecting the money and then returning for the utensils and plates later on. Each vendor uses a different type of plate, so it is easier to identify what belongs to whom.

Here’s a little video:

While eating, the rain started to pour outside. After several hot days with no rain, we seem to be back into the typical rainy season cycle. Building humidity and clouds throughout the day, giving way to intense storms for thirty minutes or an hour in the late afternoon or early evening.

Above, Jackson dodges the rain.

Since there was nowhere to go and no way to get home without getting soaked, we stopped in at a massage parlor around the corner for a 90-minute foot massage. This was a very “old school” parlor, Chinese owned with the menthol smell of balm thick in the air. My masseuse was a blind man who was surprisingly in tune with the knots in my feet and lower legs. What the parlor lacked in ambience, the masseuse more than made up for with skill.

Angels without Nipples

Posted on 23 June 2009 by christao408

The two-year old white elephant – I mean, international airport – here in Krungthep is filled with all sorts of artwork, most of which is kind of cheap, mass-market versions of traditional Thai temple murals. There are some contemporary pieces in the arrivals hall by local artists, but most of the baggage claim walls – many stories high and hundreds of feet long – are filled with these faux temple murals.

They are pretty enough, in and of themselves. What you see here is a trio of angels, gracefully flying through the firmament.

What you don’t see here is their nipples. I thought it odd at first, as in the traditional murals that you would actually see at the temple, the angels are anatomically correct. Not so, the baggage claim murals.

I walked the length of the artwork and discovered that all of the celestial beings depicted in it were nipple-less. Perhaps the tourism authority is worried about offending the sensibility of all the visiting European tourists who (with complete disregard for the local modesties) sunbathe topless at our beaches?

On the drive out to the airport two weeks ago, heading to Kuala Lumpur, there was this really frightening cloud cover. The entire city was under a heavy downpour but as we reached the airport, which is to the east of the city, we could see the edge of the weather system. Beyond it were bright, sunny skies. This picture is taken on the road connecting the expressway to the airport. The THAI Airways maintenance building and employee car park are visible to the left.

Your Guardian Angels

Posted on 22 June 2009 by christao408

Continuing on the theme of Thai taxis, almost all taxis here in Krungthep (and pretty much everywhere else in the kingdom, I’d suppose) are given special protection for their drivers and occupants through a variety of means.

A monk will bless a new taxi, chanting, sprinkling it with holy water, and often marking the ceiling over the front windscreen with various designs and Sanskrit words that are meant to ward off evil, bad luck, and accidents.

As an extra layer of protection, drivers will decorate dashboards with various good luck charms. These are usually Buddha statues, statues of venerated monks, amulets, laminated prayer cards, jasmine garlands (plastic or real), etc.

Occasionally, other things make their way onto the dashboard.

An example I saw on the way to the Ministry of Labor the other day was this trio of objects. In addition to the prayer fan with a monk’s image on it (in the foreground), the driver has a naga, a cobra and a model of a THAI Airways Boeing 747.

The naga is a mythical 5-, 7- or 9-headed serpent. In Buddhist lore, the naga raised its heads up over Prince Siddartha to shield him from the elements as he spent his forty days meditating in the forest until he reached enlightenment and became the Buddha. One common depiction of the Buddha is with the naga rising up behind him. (example here) You see the back of one of these images in gold, to the right of the cobra.

The model of the plane is actually balanced on its stand and rocks back and forth as the car drives. Video below.

I wonder what the correlation is between drivers who have more of these good luck charms and their accident rate? Do drivers with more charms drive more dangerously, assuming they are protected from harm? Or do they drive more cautiously, the charms being an indicator that they are risk-averse people?

It is worth mentioning that many private cars also have some of these good luck charms and markings, although rarely to the extent that you see in the taxis. For example, our car just has a couple of Madonna cassette tapes to protect it.

No sex, no drugs, no wine, no women

Posted on 22 June 2009 by christao408

Bangkok taxi drivers like to pimp out their cars. Anywhere the drivers gather, you are sure to find a sticker stall – a bicycle-driven shop that has thousands of different stickers and decals with which you can customize your car. “We Love The King” is a popular one, of course, but sometimes you see some pretty odd ones.

The other day I hopped into this taxi and saw what looked like a very typical, professional sticker indicating what behavior/items were appropriate in the car.

From left to right (as viewed by someone getting into the car):

DVD Karaoke available
No smoking allowed
No drinks allowed
No knives or guns allowed
No sex allowed
No durian allowed
No dogs allowed
No water buffalos allowed

Please, if you have a water buffalo with you, hail another taxi.

Tawn’s Kitten Eaten By Snake

Posted on 20 June 2009 by christao408

File this story under “Urban Jungle” as at first, in a city of six or seven million inhabitants, it sounds improbable. Tawn’s mother sent a text message to him breaking the news that one of the cats they take care of was killed and eaten by a python. Tawn called back and spoke to his father for the rest of the details.

Tawn’s parents have a bit of a menagerie with seven small dogs, three cats and several more strays that his mother puts food out for. The cat in question was a copper-colored kitten that had shown up a few months ago and was actually given his own cage in the house.

Friday morning, as was its habit, the kitten was out playing and exploring the yard as the maid did chores in the area. The maid left the yard for a few minutes and when she came back, she saw a two-meter long python wrapped around the kitten, suffocating it.

Alerted by the maid’s screams, Tawn’s father came out of the house to catch the snake with the kitten halfway in its mouth, trying to swallow it. He grabbed a stick and hit the snake, which then spit the kitten out and slithered away through a gap beneath the wall.

Sadly, the rescue came too late as the kitten was already dead. He was buried that afternoon in a corner of the property that has come to be their pet cemetery.

There’s an interesting back-story to this, though:

The neighborhood where Tawn’s parents live is fairly developed, but here in Thailand even developed areas have lush tropical foliage. The jungle is never that far away.

In September 2000, when Tawn and I had been dating for a half-year or so, I came back to Krungthep to visit him for his 25th birthday. Arriving late at night, I stayed at his parents’ house as they were out of town. In those days, there was a vacant property behind his house, an empty, overgrown field that Tawn’s father has since purchased and annexed.

Shortly after I fell asleep at about 2:00 am, there was a commotion outside. A large snake was found resting on the top of the wall between his parents’ house and the vacant land. Tawn summoned the police, who stood around talking about what lucky lottery numbers the arrival of this snake might symbolize, unsure of what else to do.

Eventually, one of the Chinese mutual aid societies, rescue squads of young men who volunteer to attend to accidents and who monitor police radio frequencies so as to rush to collect the bodies of the dead and injured, showed up to help. Two truckloads of young men, in fact. Eventually, someone got the idea to prod the snake with a stick and it slithered away. One young man helpfully suggested that if the snake returned, Tawn should call the zoo.

I slept through the whole ruckus but Tawn related the story to me the next morning, explaining that the arrival of the snake was seen as a good omen, because of the Thai belief that when smaller animals seek shelter at our home it is because we are seen as kind and generous to them. I assume this does not apply for mice, rats and cockroaches.

christao408

The adventures of an expat American who moved to Bangkok for his husband.

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