Confronting the reality of southern violence

Posted on 9 July 2008 by christao408

Many of you may be aware, at least in a general way, of the ongoing violence in southern Thailand. From time to time I receive questions from friends and family about my safety, usually after a particular bombing or other incident makes its way into the international media.

This violence, with its deep roots and multiple causes, has claimed more than 2,700 lives in the past four years and completely disrupted life in the three southernmost provinces, an area that was already economically distressed.

I won’t go into the history or a detailed discussion of the insurgency – there’s a well-written article here on Wikipedia – but I was confronted by the reality of it, in a very unexpected way, a few weeks ago at Don Meuang Airport.

In the lobby, set against a wall, is an acrylic box collecting donations to buy bullet-proof vests for policemen and teachers.

One of the biggest impacts on the south has been the closure of schools. As symbols of the government, schools and teachers are often targeted for violence. Schools are bombed, teachers are beheaded and their bodies burned – affecting both Muslim and Buddhist communities and students.

Starting in November 2006, schools in the three southernmost provinces were indefinitely shut down. To this day, many of the schools are still closed primarily because very few people are willing to be teachers there. Teachers have transferred out of the provinces or quit altogether, for fear of their lives.

It is a terrible situation. Sadly, donation boxes may not be the best way to protect people there. Based on the contents of the box (pictured below), I’m not putting a lot of faith in it.

Here’s to a hope that one day, people learn to live in peace. It may be a futile hope, but I still have it.

Khlong Toei Market

Posted on 8 July 2008 by christao408

Saturday proved to be a fruitful day for blog fodder: blueberry muffins, Khun Nui’s visit, the Independence Day celebrations. I’ll squeeze one last entry out of that day based on the walk from the football pitch to the Skytrain station.

Since the weather was cloudy, breezy and relatively cool, we decided to hoof it all the way to Sukhumvit, a good 25-minute walk. Instead of staying on the main streets, we cut through talat Khlong Toei – the wet market in the Khlong Toei district.

Khlong Toei is a rough and tumble part of town, home to a number of slums that have sprung up on unused land owned by the port authority and the state railway.

Located originally near the abattoir or slaughterhouses, the section of town provided housing for the poor workers. To this day it is still known as place where the poor and destitute live.

Once a year or so, a fire will sweep one of the slums, resulting in the destruction of hundreds of homes and the displacement of thousands of people. Amazingly, they rebuild quite quickly. Sadly, the homes are never any safer.

In fact, there is the interesting story about the work of Father Joe Maier, an American-born Catholic priest that has spend more than thirty-five years working in this community fighting the ravages of poverty, disease, prostitution and drug addiction. Here’s a link to a recent book about his efforts.

Unlike some of the other wet markets in the city, which are listed in the guidebooks as “unique” (but decidedly accessible) looks into the heart of the daily lives of residents of the Big Mango, Khlong Toei’s market sits in relative obscurity.

It is one of the largest markets in the city and if you eat at restaurants or street vendors anywhere along Sukhumvit or in Siam Square, it is certain that at least some of your food was originally purchased at this market.

Let’s take a virtual tour of some of the sights in the market:

Below is a look down one of the long aisles in the market.

By late afternoon, almost everything is closed and vendors have cleaned up and gone home for a few hours of rest before their day begins again in the middle of the night.

The concrete footpaths are still damp from scrubbing. Sunlight filters down through the tarpaulins. The community of shopkeepers is tightly-knit. Friendships are made and families intermarry. True to the Thai ethos, despite the hard work there is always time for some fun. And nothing is more fun that some chit-chat and gossip. Well, except eating!

Above, a view of the khlong – canal – that runs through the market. This used to be used as an open-air sewer, the tides flushing refuse out to the river twice a day. While it still isn’t the cleanest water in the city, shopkeepers are now forbidden to dump anything into it. From what I understand, most of them comply. Quarters are close as houses are tightly packed but this part of the district is by no means the most humble.

Thai Buddhists love pork but rarely eat beef. The taste of Thai Muslims is the reverse. But poultry, below, is a favorite food for Thais of all beliefs. Guaranteeing freshness, you can buy your chickens and ducks alive and kill them yourself at home, or if your condo doesn’t allow that, have them slaughtered and cleaned for you.

The market offers an interesting array of food and no shortage of people who were curious about the farangs walking through their world. I want to go back in the predawn hours, when the market is at its busiest, and see how it looks then. Probably a lot harder to take pictures, though.

If you’re in town, you should stop by for a look. The market is a very short walk from the Queen Sirikit Convention Centre subway station.

Independence Day in Khrungthep

Posted on 6 July 2008 by christao408

Saturday July 5th was the American Chamber of Commerce’s annual Independence Day celebration in Khrungthep. What used to be hosted by the U.S. Ambassador on the stately grounds of his residence on Wireless Road was discontinued several years ago because of security concerns. A few years later, AmCham resurrected the tradition, moving to a new location at a football field and sports complex in Khlong Toei.

Invitations for the event came from two directions: Doug, a friend from Oregon, is involved in AmCham and sent an email. A second email came from Democrats Abroad Thailand, which conducts a voter registration drive at the event.

There was a nice breeze Saturday afternoon and the gathering thunderstorm clouds provided some intermittent shade and, thankfully, nothing more than a few seconds of sprinkles.

We were able to find a shady place to sit while the grounds were emptied and swept by heavy security. The process for entering the field was slow – there was only one gate with two metal detectors and everything was being hand searched, much more thoroughly than even at the airport. But we were in the shade and there were plenty of distractions while we waited to enter.

The set-up was very much like any Independence Day celebration in small town America: vendors offering barbeque, hot dogs and beer; raffles and giveaways; informational booths for different civic groups; giant slides and other games for the children; a stage with life music, magic shows, and other entertainments; the presenting of the colors by the local chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars; and evening fireworks.

Because it is rainy season, some areas of the field were quite muddy, resulting in more than a few children who looked like they had engaged in pig wrestling contests. Along with many Americans were lots of Thais and other foreign nationals.

I headed over to the Democrats Abroad table and started my two-hour shift as a volunteer registering people as absentee voters, answering dozens of questions, and selling “Bangkok for Barack” t-shirts. In those two hours, we probably signed up sixty voters and there were several hours remaining when I left at about 4:30.

What was most interesting about the experience was the difference in perception between myself and the other four American expats who arrived with me. Maybe this is because I was actively working at the booth while they grabbed some food and drinks and sat under a tent visiting and, it sounds like, complaining about the event.

Talking with two of them later on, I tried to understand what they felt was so bad about the experience, because they definitely sounded unhappy about it. Here is my understanding of their concerns:

Security was unreasonably thorough.
The field was too muddy.
There were too many Americans there (or maybe too many fat Americans?).
Too many of the songs played by the band were not from American artists.
For the 300 baht entrance fee (about US$10; the event was a fund-raiser for charity), there should have been food and drink included.
Instead of hanging around with other Americans trying to do American things, people who attended the event should be participating in Thai culture and doing Thai things.
No cotton candy.

In conclusion, the event was designed “for people who actually miss America”.

Ouch.

While I discard as completely backwards the view of “love it or leave it” – freedom of speech is a constitutional right in the USA, after all – I can understand where that reactionary impulse comes from. Since Saturday, I’ve spent some time thinking about their concerns, trying to understand their point of view. It leaves me feeling kind of odd.

There are many things I dislike about American culture and I try to hang out with a group that is more diverse than just Americans alone precisely because of the “American group think” that is easy to run into amongst any insular group of expats.

Still, my experience at the Independence Day festivities was very different. Maybe if was different just because I was actively involved signing up voters, but here were my observations:

There are a lot of overseas Americans who, despite being expats, care very deeply about their country and want to make it a better place. I spoke with Democrats, Independents and Republicans who were intelligent, passionate, and caring. They have strong views about what their country needs but they are also very interested in talking to and hearing from people with different opinions.
In this gathering, I saw a community coming together that, despite their living in a different country and culture, makes an effort to celebrate their heritage and identity – especially for the many families that were there with their children including families of mixed cultures where the children possibly have never lived in the United States.
I also saw many non-Americans coming to the event to celebrate an ideal (imperfect though it may sometimes be) that they see in America: a functioning, free and fair democracy in which people can climb to great heights and make their own success regardless of social status or background. Something that is decidedly not true in many countries around the world, including Thailand.

The reaction of the others to the event left me frustrated. Frustrated in part at a sort of negativity that, political beliefs aside, looks like a dark vortex around which I wish to steer clear. Sitting around bitching and moaning just breeds more bitching and moaning. If you don’t like it, do something to make it better.

Frustrated also by the increasing habit of Americans both at home and abroad to isolate themselves in like-minded circles, interacting with and gathering news from people and sources that only serve to reinforce their already-held views. It is healthy to challenge our views and beliefs, right?

Finally, frustrated that my friends didn’t have more fun. The weather was nice, the Belgian beer being poured on tap from the Roadhouse BBQ stand was tasty, and the square dancing group from a local elementary school was cute. In my opinion, it certainly beats another afternoon at the mall or another night sitting on Silom Soi 4 drinking whisky and ogling Thai moneyboys.

Lunchtime in Khrungthep

Posted on 4 July 2008 by christao408

Friday afternoon I joined Tawn for lunch near his office. We went to the local talaat nat (regular market), the noontime habitat of office boys and girls throughout Khrungthep. These talaat take different forms, but the one located next to the Ploenchit Ayuddha Bank building is about a quarter-acre of small shops arranged along four alleys, each covered with tarpaulin to keep out the sun and rain.

One alley is exclusively food vendors, small mom-and-pop operations that have their own space or, in some cases, cohabitate in a larger space. This is Thai food at some of its most real: fresh, fast, inexpensive, and full of flavor.

It has to meet the exacting expectations of some of the pickiest eaters in Muang Thai: office workers. Short on time and cash, they are looking for good value for their money. These are not the people who are riding the Skytrain, spending 50 baht each way to and from work. These are the people who are riding the un-airconditioned buses and concerned that fares just raised from 5.5 baht to 8 baht per ride.

Serious value shoppers. If the food doesn’t meet expectations, the shop will be out of business faster than you can stir fry an order of pad thai.

Most vendors are selling prepared gap khao (literally, “with rice”) – curries, stir fries, grilled chicken, green papaya salad, veggies, fried and boiled eggs that are served on a plate with a molded mound of rice. There are also some noodle vendors, who will whip up a bowl of rice noodles to order.

Generally, there is no fried food cooked to order as this would create enormous clouds of smoke and chili oil that would make dining unbearable and result in customers returning to their offices smelling of the restaurant – a definite no-no in cleanliness conscious Thailand.

The vendor at which Tawn and I ate offers many fish and vegetable choices and is also known, incongruously, for their Korean-style pork. They also have a khao soi vendor – the Northern Thai style noodle soup served with a curried broth that is a favorite of mine – which I’ll have to try next time.

The recent price increases for rice have hit the office workers hard: a plate of rice and gap khao cost 25 to 30 baht a year ago. These days it is running 40 to 50. Between the two of us (Tawn was hungry), it cost us 103 baht to eat, not including drinks.

Finding dining space would, at first glance, be a daunting challenge. The dining room is crowded with small tables and smaller stools. Packed shoulder to shoulder, coworkers eat and gossip. Thankfully, turnover is rapid so upon receiving and paying for your plate of food, you’ll find a spot within a few seconds.

From your seat at the table you can order beverages from one of the roving waiters/bus boys. On your way out you settle any outstanding charges with the owner, usually a woman and sometimes a man, who is standing watch over the operations.

The lunch rush is compacted into just 90 minutes, from about quarter before twelve to quarter after one. But by 12:45 the food selections are running out and latecomers can’t be picky.

Afterwards, there is time for some shopping in the nearby boutiques. Each vendor has a space of maybe three meters by four, but sells clothes, shoes, and just about everything else you might need. Bargain hunting is a good way to burn off the calories you’ve just consumed.

Notice the tree in this picture: it is wrapped in strips of fabric and has food, drink, figurines and other offerings at the base of its trunk. I’ve written before about spirit houses and the belief that the land, the trees, and all living things contain spirits. Thais cover their bases when it comes to beliefs, seeing as how Buddhism – strictly speaking – doesn’t subscribe to these animist principles. Here you can see how the tree has been saved and incorporated into the development, and how the spirit or spirits living in the tree are accorded the proper respect by the vendors.

Finally, before returning to the office, there is time to stop at the street vendors at consider which khanom – sweet snack – to bring back to the office to share. Thais know that everything, especially eating, is more fun when done in groups. Whether it is fresh fruit, grilled sticky rice and coconut, little taco-like sweets, or cookies, the bag will contain enough to share.

And that, my friends, is lunchtime in Khrungthep.

Happy Birthday Khun Sudha

Posted on 30 June 2008 by christao408

Today is Tawn’s father’s birthday. As a good Thai son, Tawn will join his parents this morning to go to their neighborhood Buddhist temple and feed the monks. This way they will acquire merit on this auspicious day.

Tonight, Tawn will return to his parents’ house for dinner, where they will likely be joined by the many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins that live nearby for a birthday dinner.

I have a conference call with my boss at 8:00.

That’s not to say that I chose a conference call over celebrating my father-in-law’s birthday. Unfortunately, though, we’re still not over the hump of Khun Sudha (“Khun” being an honorific equivalent to “Mister”) embracing his son’s gayness and farang partner.

Left: A rare photo of the four of us together, taken when Tawn’s parents came to San Francisco for a visit in (I think) 2002.

I’m an optimist, though. We’ve made it over the hump of acknowledging the situation already. We’re making some progress climbing the windward side of the hump of accepting the situation. So it seems that with enough patience we will make it to the third hump at some point in the future.

It tears Tawn apart, though, as he sees himself as stuck in the middle between his parents (really, just his father as his mother is very embracing) and me. But I’m a “glass half full” type and think that we’ll get there eventually. All it takes is a large does of understanding, something needed from both sides.

I’ll have to spend some time today thinking about whether or not it is appropriate to send a birthday card to a father-in-law who would rather not have to confront my existence. And what exactly do you write in such situations?

Trying to be a role model (or just look like one)

Posted on 29 June 2008 by christao408

This weekend Tawn and I had brunch with an 18-year old exchange student from Canada. He’s another of those “Xanga friends”, that class of interesting people you meet through this community whom you might otherwise never have the opportunity or occasion to know.

In January I received this message (name changed for privacy):

Hi There, My name is Ian, I’m a Canadian Exchange student currently living in Bangkok. I stumbled upon your blog a few days ago – and meant to send a message, however I thought you might find it odd to receive a comment from a boy 20 years younger than you. (I assure this is not some insane form of reverse pedophilia.) haha, this is simply one person, genuinely interested in the life of another.

The truth is that your entries have really brightened my last few days – Seeing a happy successful Gay Couple gives me a lot of hope for my own future. The truth is that although I accepted my sexuality a few years ago – I never managed to meet anyone with the same lifestyle. I’ve met a lot of confused teenagers – but never any adults like yourself. It’s great to know that people like you and Tawn exist!

Anyways, I hope your New Years was a happy one. This has been my first one outside of North America – it was amazing.

This is the first time I can recall that anyone looked at me and Tawn as role models. What a responsibility! What a bad choice on his part! (Ha ha… just a little self-depracating humor there.)

I stayed in touch with Ian through his blog. His time here has been interesting: he’s picked up Thai quickly, explored the city and many pats of the country, made many Thai friends as well as friends with other exchange students, and met a young Thai man his age who (it sounds) stole his heart. Ian says that he’ll be back to study at university as soon as he finished high school.

With Ian’s time in Thailand running out soon, I suggested we should meet up. He is now 18, so my fears of Rotary International exchange parents hunting me down for corrupting the young have subsided.

To provide a wider range of examples of other Thai-western couples, I invited Stuart and Piyawat and Ken and Suchai to join. We had a pleasant brunch at Kuppa, a San Francisco-style restaurant situated in a former warehouse on Sukhumvit Soi 16 that roasts its own coffee.

Meeting Ian in person was a nice experience. He’s young but he handles himself well around what must have been a rather boring bunch of chattering middle (or nearly middle) aged gay men. But I hope he realizes that there are many other people who have already walked down the same paths he will travel.

There are multiple paths we represent, from being gay, to being in successful same-sex intercultural relationships (heck, being in any type of successful relationship), to moving to another country and adjusting and thriving in it.

Most importantly, I hope he realizes that there are many people here who will help and support him when he decides to move here; he’ll have the advantage of a network of resources.

All this got me thinking to the responsibilities we all have to give back, or more accurately, to give forward to the generations that follow us. What contributions are we making to help younger generations? Some of us are parents, many more are aunts and uncles either by blood or by choice. But all of us have the capacity to share our experiences and to help others in their lives.

What other things can I be doing to make this contribution?

Popping Pills Like Candy

Posted on 25 June 2008 by christao408

This week I’ve been battling a bit of a chest cold, my chest feeling like it was filled with wet sand. A visit to the doctor Tuesday indicated clear lungs that were moving air effectively, leading to a diagnosis of just a bronchial infection. As it had lasted a few days already without any signs of clearing, the doctor concluded that it might be bacterial rather than viral and prescribed antibiotics.

It seems that doctors here in Thailand love to prescribe medicines, especially antibiotics. Since this nice doctor was an expat Indian, I decided to get her perspective on this trend.

She agreed that doctors here are prescription-happy and said there were two main factors:

First, because pharmacists have the latitude to prescribe low level antibiotics, they are used “like candy”, leading to many bugs building resistance to these drugs that would normally be sufficient to treat them. Over time, this leads to doctors having to prescribe stronger medicines more frequently to treat those resistant strains of bacteria.
Second, Thais seem to expect that when they go to the hospital or clinic to visit the doctor, they will return with a “goody bag” of colorful pills. This leads to the prescribing of more medications than might normally be the case.

Even after this conversation with the doctor I still walked away with antibiotics (azithromycin), a cough suppressant (dextromethophan), and a mucolytic (Mucocin, which I’m fascinated to learn is an extract of the rollinia mucosa, or wild sugar apple, tree – native to the West Indies and Central America!). So no shortage of medications. I did save the environment and forego the little paper bag, opting to instead carry the drugs in my messenger bag.

Interesting articles here and here about the overprescription of antibiotics and the public health risk it creates.

Karaoke Etiquette

Posted on 19 June 2008 by christao408

Last Saturday I hosted a karaoke gathering at R&B Karaoke on Thanon Naratiwat. Marc was actually the person who kept sugesting we do karaoke, but he didn’t really know a place so I offered to pull it together.

A large number of our “regular” group were out of town or otherwise unavailable. At one point, it looked like it would be just six of us, even though I had booked a room that held up to fifteen people.

Roka came through a few days before, inviting a group of her friends who were already gathering to celebrate a birthday. It made for a lot of new faces, but I’m always ready to meet new people. Especially if there is singing involved.

All in all, the night was good fun. The selection of songs was good, the singers were no worse than “okay”, and the food was tasty. We ran into some problems as the evening progressed, though, the types of problems that karaoke parties can often encounter.

At the end of the night, on the way back home, Tawn shared with me some of his expertise in this area. See, you have to appreciate that I grew up in a culture that, while very musical, was not very karaoke-savvy. As much as I enjoy singing, I can safely say that I’ve been to a karaoke place less than ten times in my life, including the six months I lived in Hong Kong.

I know. You’re surprised, right?

To address some of the challenges we encountered at karaoke, Tawn educated me about karaoke etiquette. Like bowling etiquette (Don’t bowl at the same time the people in the adjacent lanes are bowling. You did know that, right?), karaoke etiquette contains rules for genteel behavior that makes the experience more pleasant for all involved.

Let’s review:

Choosing songs

One common problem is that whoever grabs the remote control device starts browsing the catalog and, before you know it, they’ve entered ten songs that they really like. The problem is by the time those songs come up they only want to sing the first couple, then they tire of singing and try to pass the microphone to other people, none of whom is enthusiastic about the song because they didn’t choose it.

Solution: The two song rule. Each person gets to choose two songs to sing then the remote is handed to the next person. If the remote is difficult to use, you can have a designated “DJ” to enter the information, but each person chooses two songs. Once you’ve gone around the room you can start again.

Another problem with song selection is that there are just certain songs that aren’t really good for karaoke. You know the ones. They are hard to sing. You don’t really know the melody because you only sing along to the chorus. They are slow balads that are really depressing. They have l-o-n-g instrumental parts between verses.

Solution: Choose songs carefully. The best ones are ones that are upbeat and that everyone knows and can enjoy singing to. “Summer Lovin'” from the musical Grease is a great example. “Like A Virgin” by Madonna is another good example. Nearly anything by the Beatles. If you need something down tempo, choose “Misty”.

Group Composition

This may be a little touchy, but I’d argue that the best karaoke experiences occur when your group has pretty common tastes in music. We listened to everything from the Everly Brothers to Robbie Williams to some new hip-hop artists I’ve never heard of. Hey, I enjoyed the music but there were frequently several people sitting around kind of bored with the music at that given point.

Solution: Meanly cherry-pick your participants so the range of music doesn’t get too wide. Okay, I’m kidding a little bit on this one, but there is still a point to be made here. I’m not sure I can relate to what those youngsters are listening to these days.

Paying

This is always a challenge. Some people arrive early and leave early, others arrive late and leave late. Some just stop by for a bit in the middle of the evening. At the karaoke places here in Thailand, you can order food and drinks to eat in the room. These are good quality but expensive, as that’s how the money is made.

So you have the twin problems of how to collect money and how to divide the bill fairly.

We ran into that at the party. Part way through, a few of the people decided to head out. We actually totaled the food and beverage bill through that point and agreed about how it would be divied up. We also agreed that the room rental would be divided equally by the number of people who eventually showed up and would be added to the food and beverage bill that we had just settled. Then we did the whole thing again at the end of the evening.

Even though I thought everyone had agreed to the division, I received a call the next morning from one person who seemed to feel he had paid an unfair amount and questioning the motivation of other people who had showed up, suggesting they maybe were intending to free-load. Oh, brother.

Solution: Come to an agreement beforehand about how bills will be covered. I can agree that the cost of alcohol (which is a big expense, along with mixers) can be unfair to spread among people who did not drink, although if they had juice or cola they were drinking expensive mixers. But outside of that, I think the room and food costs need to be splite evenly per person regardless of how long you stayed, how much or little you sang, and how much or little you ate.

It is just the easiest way to ensure that the hosts (or other people) don’t end up paying a hefty “surcharge” to cover a bill when those who pitched in didn’t pitch in enough.

So those are my initial thoughts about karaoke etiquette. I’d appreciate you sharing any more so that I can be coaxed into organizing another outing.

Trip to the land of honey part 2

Posted on 29 May 2008 by christao408

After some political interruptions, let’s return to the second part of my trip to the land of honey – the literal translation of Bangnamphung, the location of the nearby weekend floating market.

The floating market isn’t really a “floating” market. Instead, it is a weekend market built alongside the khlong (canal) that may have at one point years ago had some vendors in boats but which eventually was developed by well-meaning local officials into a destination for local tourists.

It is still a fun place to visit, but isn’t the quaint local market that you might envision. Still, there aren’t too many foreigners there. I did see one other but I pushed him into the water so there wouldn’t be any competition.

Some areas of the market sell crafts and products, others sell fresh fruits and vegetables, but most of the market space is dedicated to prepared foods. This is because, as any Thai will tell you, there is absolutely nothing more fun to do than eat! Eat in a group and you’re in an even higher plane of heaven.

Below, Khun Tawn borrows my straw hat as he prepares to chow down.

Here’s a guide to our culinary explorations. First, we enjoyed that tasty snack that thrills your tongue, pak pbed. Literally translated, “duck mouth” or grilled duck beak. Let’s get a closeup of that beauty:

Here’s one of several vendors grilling the delicacy, proof that you can eat pretty much every last part of a duck except the quack.

And did Paul try one? Despite the pose, I wouldn’t count on it! Aori, however, thinks they are the best thing in the world, or pretty darn close to it. They taste smoky and the beak is edible albeit crunchy. The tongue (still intact) is supposed to be the best part. As my paternal grandmother used to say, to each his own.

Moving on to other delights, we have hoy tod or fried mussels. Normally fried in a batch with scrambled eggs, this vendor did a little play on tradition by frying an individual mussel in a half-moon shaped khanom khrug pan with a little egg to make versions of the original dish. Tawn didn’t feel like it was an improvement.

We also had some khao klug gapii, friend rice with shrimp paste served with a variety of condiments including lime, cucumbers, shallots, green beans, chili, scrambled eggs, green mango, dried shirmp, and sweet and sour pork sauce.

Turning to some more traditional Thai foods, here is som tam, the ubiquitous green papaya salad that is crunchy, sweet, vinegary, salty and spicy all at once. A fixture of northeastern Thailand, it has been adopted by Bangkokians as a de facto official dish in part because so many people who live in the Big Mango are from the northeast of Thailand.

Something you can find in nearly every culture, fried chicken wings. I don’t know what they use to season them, but these were incredible.

Our little culinary tour included some flavors of Muslim Thai food, predominately from the south of the Kingdom but brought into the local culinary lexicon by the many small pockets of Muslims who live in and around Khrungthep. Here is gai satay, chicken skewers served with a peanut sauce. The onions and cucumbers, pickled in rice wine vinegar, provide a clean contrast to the sweet richness of the dipping sauce.

Below, the satay vendor prepares an endless supply of satay served with toasted white bread. Note the way the fans are rigged to blow the smoke and smell away from the tables but towards potential customers.

The tables were tightly nested together and this young man behind us almost had to climb over us to get out to buy some ice cream.

This homemade ice cream is made from fresh young coconuts that are locally grown with the scoops served in pieces of the shell that still have shreds of the coconut flesh attached.

Chatting with his family, they encouraged him to try speaking whatever English he has learned in school, but I couldn’t get so much as a “hello” out of him.

Below: Yes, there is actually something floating at the floating market. Here a vendor grills khao niyaw ping, literally “grilled sticky rice” wrapped in a banana leaf and filled either with baked taro root or baked banana.

Actually, the guy doing the grilling is the husband of one of the ladies sitting at the stall onshore and conducting transactions. How he got stuck in the boat, I don’t know, but at least he was in the shade and there was a little breeze along the water.

One final food item was kai nokgrata nam siiyuu, grilled quail eggs (they are boiled first otherwise they would take forever to cook on the grill) served with soy sauce.

After eating our fill and far beyond it, we wandered around the market to see what else was interesting. We saw these seed pods called teen bet naam, which look like something out of a sci-fi movie.

Here I am standing on one of the concrete pathways built above the marshy ground.

The market also included a park area with public karaoke. Anyone was invited to sing and, judging from Tawn’s reaction below, greater discretion should be used before people go on stage and inflict their voices on others.

Despite the lush local atmosphere, the latest security systems are installed to help the police keep an eye on all corners of the market.

Walking back along the khlong to the main road where we would catch motorbikes back to the pier, we saw a group of local children playing in the water and diving from the bridge and the water pipe. Once I started taking pictures and they saw they had an audience, all sorts of derringdo ensued.

On the ferry ride back across the Chao Phraya River, I took these shots of two youngsters:

Lovely helmet, huh? I can’t imagine what good it would do him on the back of a motorcycle but it is the thought that counts, right? Whoops! That was very “naive farang” of me. I should let Thailand be Thai.

That concludes our trip to the land of honey. And, I’ll have you know, I did return home with two bottles of unpasteurized local honey to add to my morning oatmeal.

Just how “farang” shouldn’t I be?

Posted on 26 May 2008 by christao408

When I write these entries, I also post a link to them on my Facebook account because I have many friends who don’t regularly read my blog. (As opposed to the many regular readers of this blog who have become friends.) On Saturday I wrote an entry about this little boy, pictured right, playing on a sidewalk while his father operated very loud construction equipment nearby.

I wrote that two of the questions crossing my mind were why the boy was sitting there and why nobody had any hearing protection on. I didn’t rail against the injustices of the situation, demand that Thailand change, or harumph about how superior things are in the west. I simply wrote that those were questions that crossed my mind.

You can perhaps imagine my surprise when I received the following comment on Facebook from a former Thai language classmate of mine, a European man with whom I studied around December 2005:

“How long have you been living in Thailand? I am amazed that you are still thinking like a novice farang. Let Thailand be Thai.”

I’m not sure what qualifies my thinking as that of “a novice farang” nor what I did to suggest that Thailand shouldn’t be Thai. Was I being culturally insensitive to suggest that the loud noise could cause hearing damage to the young child and his father? Was I being too “western” to wonder why they didn’t have any hearing protection on?

It seems to me that concern over the wellbeing of people, especially children, is a pretty universal value and not one that I should grow out of the longer I live here. Maybe there is another stage of thinking after novice farang: “jaded expat”. The jaded expat sees the lives and wellbeing of the locals as disposable commodities since he won’t be living here in five, ten, twenty years to deal with the long-term effects.

What are your thoughts?

christao408

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

Tag Archives: culture