First Impressions and Logistics
Hello From the Beautiful Land of Smiles!
This is my first official post from my home base here in Bangkok, the Internet Cafe on Soi Nana. It's been an event filled past five days. Between time zone acclimatization (aka jet lag), traditional Thai Massage, arranging phones, classes and apartment I've been quite occupied. Oh! I guess I've made time for a bit of sightseeing as well.
The first thing that always strikes me is that it's VERY hot and humid here. I have not yet developed a tolerance for it, but I have high hopes. At least this time I was prepared mentally. Walking very very slowly helps a bit.
The next thing that is always somewhat unexpected is the number of Brit and Aussie expats here. I meet few Americans or Canadians here. Even before 9/11, I met very few Americans. Curious. The majority of these expats have cobbled together a variety of enterprises. Some do web design, some do consulting of various kinds and others eke out a living owning restaurants and bars. Some of course, work for offshore companies and are posted here for various perioids of time. All seem to have a love/hate relationship with Thailand. Corruption is an issue here. One incident I was told about illustrates this quite clearly. At lunch time, one should be prepared to be pulled over by the local gendarmes and shaken down for lunch money. Police here like many other places are vastly underpaid. They have been known to use the most bizarre pretexts to pull unsuspecting motorists (usually farang - foreigners) over. One of my friends was driving with his Thai wife and he changed lanes at a toll booth because a new booth opened up. He was immediately was waved over and was told it was illegal to do that. He replied with "since when, it was legal last week?" The policeman said "it's not legal now". For 100 baht which is about $2.50 US, he wasn't given a ticket and the policeman had his lunch money. The government frequently makes halfhearted efforts to halt this practice, but seem never to be successful. It's just an extra 'benefit' to being a foreigner in the Land of Smiles!
A comment one hear's often is TITT which stands for This Is Taksin's Thailand. Taksin is the current Prime Minister. Yet another negative expression referring to anything these expats find annoying or not logical by western ideas. In reality most corruption has minimal effect on these expats.
One thing that I always have to get used to is the overall pace of life here. Everything moves more slowly. I had to buy a cell phone the other day. The one I originally bought didn't work properly so I had to return it. No big deal, happens in the USA or anywhere else. I arrived at the huge shoppng complex called MBK at opening time of 11am. When I got to the shop to return my phone, it was closed. About 30 minutes later the shopkeeper strolled in. Fortunately I am already in my best patient and tolerant mode, so I just sat down and waited. No worries (Mai mee baan haa). She took care of it and I was on my way. No apology from her AS IF anyone could possibly have expected her to open 'on time'.....
My dear old friend, Sue K says of SE Asia that it is "exotic, terrible, spiritual, tacky, paradoxical, and mad". So true. In the future you will hear more from me illustrating these things. On the surface, some of it is obvious. Brand new modern buildings going up all over the city, a brand new subway and the Skytrain which has been completed in the past 7 or 8 years juxtaposed with street carts selling anything from excellent food to sandals to ripped off DVDs and CDs. Barefoot children, motorcycles, cell phones, cars and pedestrians clog the streets. Pure sensory overload.
This week I will move into my apartment where I hope to have internet. I will also begin my Thai classes and continue to meet new people.
Attached somewhere on this blog are three new pictures. One is of a beautiful purple flower which was growing out of a huge pot of water. Another is the head of a 19th century sculpture and the third is of the Lacquer Pavilion. All of these new pictures were taken at Suan Pakkad Palace. Suan Pakkad Palace is known as the Cabbage Palace. It was built in 1952 by Prince and Princess Chumbhot to be donated to the Thai people. Various buildings and artifacts, including a royal barge, are in place there for public viewing. It is still used sometimes by various government and royal officials for meetings and can be closed unexpectedly. It's well worth visiting, but call ahead as it isn't exactly on the beaten path.
In future posts which I hope to do regularly, technology permitting, I'll discuss the culture, economy, political ramifications and travel tips and pictures. All with my own ... um... unique slant. All for now, everyone.
This is my first official post from my home base here in Bangkok, the Internet Cafe on Soi Nana. It's been an event filled past five days. Between time zone acclimatization (aka jet lag), traditional Thai Massage, arranging phones, classes and apartment I've been quite occupied. Oh! I guess I've made time for a bit of sightseeing as well.
The first thing that always strikes me is that it's VERY hot and humid here. I have not yet developed a tolerance for it, but I have high hopes. At least this time I was prepared mentally. Walking very very slowly helps a bit.
The next thing that is always somewhat unexpected is the number of Brit and Aussie expats here. I meet few Americans or Canadians here. Even before 9/11, I met very few Americans. Curious. The majority of these expats have cobbled together a variety of enterprises. Some do web design, some do consulting of various kinds and others eke out a living owning restaurants and bars. Some of course, work for offshore companies and are posted here for various perioids of time. All seem to have a love/hate relationship with Thailand. Corruption is an issue here. One incident I was told about illustrates this quite clearly. At lunch time, one should be prepared to be pulled over by the local gendarmes and shaken down for lunch money. Police here like many other places are vastly underpaid. They have been known to use the most bizarre pretexts to pull unsuspecting motorists (usually farang - foreigners) over. One of my friends was driving with his Thai wife and he changed lanes at a toll booth because a new booth opened up. He was immediately was waved over and was told it was illegal to do that. He replied with "since when, it was legal last week?" The policeman said "it's not legal now". For 100 baht which is about $2.50 US, he wasn't given a ticket and the policeman had his lunch money. The government frequently makes halfhearted efforts to halt this practice, but seem never to be successful. It's just an extra 'benefit' to being a foreigner in the Land of Smiles!
A comment one hear's often is TITT which stands for This Is Taksin's Thailand. Taksin is the current Prime Minister. Yet another negative expression referring to anything these expats find annoying or not logical by western ideas. In reality most corruption has minimal effect on these expats.
One thing that I always have to get used to is the overall pace of life here. Everything moves more slowly. I had to buy a cell phone the other day. The one I originally bought didn't work properly so I had to return it. No big deal, happens in the USA or anywhere else. I arrived at the huge shoppng complex called MBK at opening time of 11am. When I got to the shop to return my phone, it was closed. About 30 minutes later the shopkeeper strolled in. Fortunately I am already in my best patient and tolerant mode, so I just sat down and waited. No worries (Mai mee baan haa). She took care of it and I was on my way. No apology from her AS IF anyone could possibly have expected her to open 'on time'.....
My dear old friend, Sue K says of SE Asia that it is "exotic, terrible, spiritual, tacky, paradoxical, and mad". So true. In the future you will hear more from me illustrating these things. On the surface, some of it is obvious. Brand new modern buildings going up all over the city, a brand new subway and the Skytrain which has been completed in the past 7 or 8 years juxtaposed with street carts selling anything from excellent food to sandals to ripped off DVDs and CDs. Barefoot children, motorcycles, cell phones, cars and pedestrians clog the streets. Pure sensory overload.
This week I will move into my apartment where I hope to have internet. I will also begin my Thai classes and continue to meet new people.
Attached somewhere on this blog are three new pictures. One is of a beautiful purple flower which was growing out of a huge pot of water. Another is the head of a 19th century sculpture and the third is of the Lacquer Pavilion. All of these new pictures were taken at Suan Pakkad Palace. Suan Pakkad Palace is known as the Cabbage Palace. It was built in 1952 by Prince and Princess Chumbhot to be donated to the Thai people. Various buildings and artifacts, including a royal barge, are in place there for public viewing. It is still used sometimes by various government and royal officials for meetings and can be closed unexpectedly. It's well worth visiting, but call ahead as it isn't exactly on the beaten path.
In future posts which I hope to do regularly, technology permitting, I'll discuss the culture, economy, political ramifications and travel tips and pictures. All with my own ... um... unique slant. All for now, everyone.