Thai Prices

Although dubbed "The Land of Smiles" for the constant cheesing of members of the culture, Thailand may also have received this epithet as a result of the facial expressions of foreigners upon hearing the prices of goods and services here on the Thai side of the world. Here are some examples of why:

*B = baht

Meals:
cafeteria: 20B ($0.65)
street: 30B - 60B ($1 - $2)
beach resort: 80B - 140B ($2.65 - $4.65)
American omelet: 80B ($2.65)

Street Food:
meat kebab: 20B ($0.65)
pineapple (half): 15B ($0.50)
fried sugar dough ball: 2B ($0.06)
roti with banana: 20B ($0.65)
mango sticky rice: 20B ($0.65)

Drinks:
water (1.5 L): 12B ($0.40)
chocolate milk (250 mL): 10B ($0.33)
ice: 1B ($0.03)
glass bottle of Coke (2o oz): 15B ($0.50)

Market goods:
misspelled or American Goodwill t-shirts: 50B ($2.65)
live falcon: 2000B ($65)
air-soft pistol: 400B ($13)

Accomodations:
hotel room (no AC): 600B - 1000B ($20 - $33)
hotel room (AC, on beach): 1200B - 3000B ($40 - $100)
KMUTT dorm: 2500B ($80)

*rooms are per night and can usually be split between 3 to 5 people, the dorm is per month

Transportation:
songtaew: 5B ($0.16)
taxi from KMUTT to Bangkok: 120B-180B ($4-$6)
bus to Bangkok: 20B ($0.65)

Little Deuce Coup d'Etat

Here I sit in Thailand, the site of numerous coups over the past few decades, and I have no idea what is going on. The most recent coup took place in 2006 and democratic elections were held in 2007 leading way for a new government to take office a few months ago. Good right? Not so fast.

Since the end of May, people have been demonstrating in Thailand calling for the resignation of the Prime Minister. The demonstrations have seen very little violence, but still, schools close down periodically, streets may be closed, and people warn us not to go near the crowds in Bangkok. Right, because the first thing that comes to mind when I see a large mass of people chanting in a foreign tongue is to grab a sign, wrap my shirt around my face to thwart any tear gas, and hop right in the middle of it.

This past Friday, the protesters decided to march on the Government House and (I quote) "lay siege". Lay siege? Do they plan to bring catapults to throw flaming projectiles over the walls and then ford the moat with a battering ram? Regardless, all of the news articles were pretty intense about this latest development discussing how the Prime Minister met with army officials to ensure there would not be a coup, how all non-essential personnel were sent home from the Government house, or how the police would resort to force should the protests turn violent. Then on top of all of this, a number of state unions have agreed to join the protests should the government try to disband it.

Protesters March in Thai Capital (Video)
PM Ends Meeting With Army Chief
Violence Averted as PAD Claims Easy Victory
Protesters Lay Siege to Government Complex

Here's my issue though: I have no clue what's going on. I've narrowed this down to two possible reasons:
1. I don't speak Thai (shocking, I know) and therefore can't understand what people are saying.
2. It's not that big of a deal.
The former of course seems the most plausible.

The take home message? Coups in Thailand are a dime a dozen, so there's nothing to worry about. There will still be rice for every meal, I still won't understand a single word spoken to me (other than farang of course), and those evil construction workers outside our window will still start work exactly 15 minutes before my alarm goes off, regardless of when I set it.

Stop Asics!

Yeah, you heard right: Stop Asics! Or to be more precise, stop buying Asics. Stop buying company shares, stop buying their shoes, stop buying into their philosophy.

Before you start defending this Reebok-of-the-running-world, hear me out.

I don't ask for much in life, although some of my requests may be unreasonable. When I make a purchase from a store within the #1 economy in the world of a product produced by the #2 economy in the world, I expect a certain level of quality assurance. Sure, here in Thailand, I'll let it slide if some food and I don't agree (already happened) or if two of the three pairs of pants a lady sells me are bell-bottoms (happened the second day I was here) or if a cab driver agrees to take you to a place that he didn't know existed before you mentioned it (happens most every cab trip back to the university).

Instead, I go out on a limb in Raleigh, North Carolina and purchase a pair of Asics running shoes for my peaceful foray into the Land of Smiles and how am I rewarded? Tread slowly peeling off with each step I take. I need all the help I can get trying to impress the Thais and crappy shoes do nothing to improve my already deficient athletic prowess.

So here's the deal Asics. I'll finish off this pair, but only on two conditions. One, I never have to buy another pair of your shoes. Two, the Elephant Supra Glue I purchased from the 7-Eleven here holds the tread on and allows me to actually wear them. For now, and the rest of time, you're being relegated to a tie with Reebok for worst shoe brand ever.

Oh, but one last thing, thanks for sponsoring the US Olympic marathoners Ryan Hall and Deena Kastor. Just be thankful that neither they nor the rest of your customer base will probably ever read this.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL (for Japan)

Yesterday we took part in another Bangkok adventure, this time watching Thailand and Japan battle on the football field. The goals:
Japan - Win and keep alive their hopes to qualify for the World Cup.
Thailand - Draw and save face or simply don't loose too bad.
At least one team accomplished its goal (no pun intended).


The game was in the newer stadium called Rajamangala National Stadium and lucky for us, given Thailand's inability to change their World Cup fate with the game, few Thais showed up and we had a great view of the stadium.

Sadly, our presence at the game did more for the local vendors selling food and souvenirs than it did for the Thai team's chances of winning. Still, the diehard fans were in attendance and as a gesture to us non-Thai, they kept their cheers simple and annoying: "THAI-LAND" (horn blast) "THAI-LAND" (horn blast), "THAI-LAND" (horn blast), "THAI-LAND" (horn blast), "THAI-LAND" (horn blast), "THAI-LAND" (horn blast), "THAI-LAND" (horn blast), "THAI-LAND" (horn blast), "THAI-LAND" (horn blast). . . you get the idea.

The Thai team did put up more of a fight in the second half, which I believe was a direct result of the wave that went around the entire stadium not once, not twice, but three times. More than once and I think it's classified as a tsunami. No that's not a 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami joke, I'm just trying to use local terms.

Despite the 3-0 skunking of the Thai team, I had a good time. Now all I have to do is find a sport the Thais are good at. . . Muay Thai anyone?

Football and Bugs

The past two days have been a little crazy so I figure it's best to split my jaw-dropping narrative into two post. Friday was a long day that started with laundry followed by class from 9 to 11 then another class from 1:30 to 4:30. Our ill-planned Frisbee game turned out better than expected with a full field match of 6 on 6. The evening turned into a gender specific affair with all the girls going to dinner in Bangkok followed by the much awaited movie version of everyone's favorite HBO hit. Sadly I'm not talking about "Curb Your Enthusiasm". For us three guys we had manly plans involving sports, beer, and meat on sticks.

The Euro 2008 tournament is currently in progress and the two matches for the night were Italy vs. Romania at 11 PM then Netherlands vs. France at 1:45 AM. We went into downtown Bangkok with our Thai friends and some other Americans working at a school nearby. The venue for watching the first game was an outdoor tent (maybe 150 ft by 400 ft) with a big screen TV. Luckily the game was a draw, but perhaps the most interesting part of the game was the "food".

I'd seen some fried bugs before and figured that I'd keep putting off trying them if I didn't get them sometime soon. Why not now? I mean, what could go wrong with Thai insects cooked by semi-toothless on a grill that, well, I couldn't actually see any grill. I just had to go on faith that they were cooked. I went for the bug bonanza which was a mix of worms, grasshoppers, and one mantis. The result? A little crunch and a something new to check of the list. Plus a little more protein than usual.

Following the first game we headed out to another spot to watch the Netherlands vs. France game that the French would've just been better off surrendering at the start. It wouldn't have been a surprise and it would've saved everyone two hours of their time. The end of the night saw a cab ride back to the dorms at 4 AM and me displaying my recently developed climbing skills to hop the front gate. I'm sure the guard was a little surprised to see me walking up to him from a closed 10 foot gate, but given my lack of knowledge of the Thai language prevented me from answering his questions. Just a quick "sawatdee krup" and I was on my way.

Online Photos

I've set up a Picasa account so that you can check out some of the pictures that I've taken here.

They can be found at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/btphilli

As a bit of a preview, here's the result of the peppers at dinner about a week ago, courtesy of Angela:

Thank you sir, may I have another?

I guess it's that time of year again. You know, that time during the monsoon season when hordes of Thai undergrads gather in lobbies, courtyards, and cafeterias and chant ominous passages from little red books.

No, it's not a Communist gathering nor an vicious game of Red Rover. There also isn't any special Kool-Aid involved. Of course I didn't figure this out until a few days after it started.

After not being able to concentrate on my homework last night due to throngs of chanting Thais in front of the dorm and then being kicked off the field as we were playing Ultimate Frisbee, I was finally forced to ask what was going on. Apparently I haven't picked up Thai quick enough to understand what they're chanting.

Apparently the fraternities over here are pretty intense, although not in the broom stick and paddle sort of way. Practically every Thai is either part of a fraternity or group associate with their major, such as mechanical engineering. It seems like a great way to get to know people and also gives them an immediate sense of community, all without a keg, croakies, and Solo cups. Who would've dreamed it?

I've still got my fingers crossed that I'll get to witness a Thai keg stand at some point.

Surfin' Bang Saen?

It's been a while since the last post, but don't think that Thailand has subdued me. This past weekend we headed out for a beach adventure with our UNC professor, a trip that my skin was dreading. Luckily I had the Beach Boys to get me through.

Departing from the university at 7:30 we traveled by songtaew (a pickup truck with two rows facing each other in the back), city bus, SkyTrain (an above ground metro), then bus again to get to Bang Saen. Along the way I found a vendor selling 6 inch waffles that I couldn't pass up. Of course as I'm eating them on the platform for the SkyTrain a security guard yells at me (in Thai) and my guess was that I shouldn't have been eating there. I quickly packed them away.

Bang Saen is a beach that isn't frequented by many Westerners so we stuck out even more than usual, as if that was possible. We rented 12 chairs and umbrellas for about $10 total for the day then just relaxed eating food, reading, playing Frisbee, and swimming.

A quick note on the "swimming": the water felt hotter than the air, giving the impression of floating in a pool of urine. There were oil buoys about 400 meters off the beach, protecting us swimmers from. . . well, everything. Despite these minor drawbacks the beach was a blast. Dan and I were sneak attacked by some Thai kids who for some reason believed they could get away with splashing us. Put me up against someone my age and sure, I'll run away. But if you're half my age and don't speak my language, you're in for a world of hurt. It was really fun though and I'm pretty sure I had just as much fun playing around with them as they did with us. We even taught a few how to play Frisbee.

After a perfect game of Ultimate Frisbee played on the beach exposed at low tide we headed for dinner and walked the town. The next day we visited a Thai Buddhist temple, a fish market, and a Chinese Buddhist temple, all of which were impressive in their own way. Not to take anything away from the temples, but there was something about just walking around such a local market where everyone seemed to know everyone else (no, not just because they were all Thai) and the products seemed so fresh. Maybe this is just a result of me being landlocked for 18 years of my life.

All in all, the weekend turned out great. I'll try to post some pictures on the blog.

Campus Map

Here's what is possible with 15 minutes and Google:

KMUTT Campus

This is a map of the campus we're staying at.

Humbled by the cuisine. . .

Yesterday was a day filled with food highs and lows:

First, I decided to be my own personal, completely reject Thai culture, and only order two fried eggs for breakfast. It only took 5 minutes (4 minutes longer than expected), but it was a decision that lasted hours, mainly in the form of stomach discomfort.

Next, I re-embraced the culture by trying a Thai delicacy for dinner, thanks to the advice (and ordering assistance) of our TAs here. The delicacy: duck beak. The verdict: delicious.

This high was not to last as I sipped some soup near the end of the meal and ended up with a pepper stuck to the back of my throat. Of course I was already sweating from the climate and the first few dishes, but this actually brought me to tears. Lucky for everyone but me, Angela was there to catch it on camera. The picture just might make it on the blog in the future.

The dinner was then salvaged by the first ripe mangoes of the trip accompanied by sticky rice.

My best guess is that Thailand earned the name "The Land of Smiles" from all of the Thais laughing at foreigners trying to eat the dishes. And to think, they wouldn't even give me a discount for providing entertainment at the restaurant.

White Men Still Can't Jump

The Thai undergrads were in for a treat the other day on the basketball court outside the girls dorms. No, it wasn't because we played shirts and skins and my glorious torso saw the light of Thailand for the first time. No one actually went shirtless, which was both good and bad. Good because the Thais weren't embarrassed by my bis, tris, delts, and pecs. Bad because I had no idea who was on my team.

My introduction to Thai pickup basketball came with two realizations: (1) every play is a fast break (and as a results cherry picking is a national past time) and (2) they play zone defense. Who the hell plays zone defense in pickup basketball? Oh well, luckily I had my days on the Sharks Biddy basketball team to help me out with my knowledge of the 2-3 zone.

The game was a blast and it's great being the size of a power forward over here. My team won the first game 13-2 and the next 13-6. It's all I can do to not fabricate an elaborate lie of me being a starter on the UNC varsity team and putting off plans to enter the NBA this year so I could study abroad.

And so ends my first foray onto the court. At the very least it was a good workout and I'm learning the numbers 1 through 13 in Thai.

Day 3

Here we are on Day 3 and I'm not sick yet. I'll refrain from the whole "knock on wood" saying to save my knuckles since my stomach is bound to be humbled by the local cuisine at some point.

It was a smooth transition from the Bangkok airport to the university thanks to our pees (TA's) Pai and Nung, both of whom are grad students conducting research at KMUTT. The accommodation are sparse, but spacious and clean. We even get our own bathroom with a cold water only shower and toilet sans toilet paper. The preferred wiping mechanism:











It's crazy traveling around with 9 other farangs (foreigners) and trying to find a Thai street restaurant to fit us all is an adventure. So far I've stuck with kao pat (fried rice) with moo (pork) or gai (chicken) and then some fried spring rolls here and there. It's difficult getting much else since we barely know the options and can only point. Hopefully the pees help us out with this a little more.

This morning we played ultimate frisbee on the campus's soccer field, which was a little more difficult than expected. Playing with 8 people in 85 degree weather with 70% humidity was an experience. Next, soccer, basketball, ping pong, or badminton. Yes, I'll be careful with the latter two and make sure I don't get hustled by some KMUTT students.