COMING SOON HOUSE ADVERTISING ads_leader
Saved: September 6th 2022
Edit Blog Post
ENTRY 54 —
April 15th 2008 AMAZING THAILAND I love Thailand: it is a great privilege to be allowed to live and teach in this country. The climate is warm, scenery gorgeous, and temples beautiful. It has
a long and interesting history. The people are friendly, always polite and have a great sense of humor. It is truly one of my favorite places. Yet the culture is totally different from what we are used to. Thai people say, "Where are you going?" rather than "Hello." A polite response is, "Just down the street." They address one another by first names and titles. Last names are difficult even for Thais to pronounce. Titles, rank and honor are very important. Thai given names are preceded by Khun (Mr., Mrs. or Miss), unless the person carries a higher rank or degree. A professor at a university is an 'Ajarn'. Nicknames are often used in Thailand. 'Fat Rat' is acceptable while
'Buffalo Bill' would be considered insulting. Naming a football team the
'Buffalo Bills' would not be done!
Bangkok Traffic
Nothing, however, confuses the foreigner (Farang ฝรั่ง ) like the traffic laws. Indeed I was told by my driver that there
were no 'traffic laws' . . . just 'traffic suggestions'. You can do anything, as long as you smile. When you come to a 'red light' or a 'stop sign' it is "suggested you stop" but if you do not want to, that is okay. On occasion, if you are speeding, a police officer will pull you over and suggest you not speed. You will thank him for the helpful "suggestion" by giving him a gift (cash was the custom). My driver always got me safely to Thammasat University smiling his way through every situation.
One day, as I was walking along Rama 1 Road, I saw no less than 20 people gathered at the pedestrian crosswalk. A boy let me know that the drivers "did not feel like stopping today". I walked to the front of the crowd tightly gripping my knobkerrie (heavy, wooden, South African walking stick). Everyone fell silent as I: 1) put one foot forward in the pedestrian crosswalk; 2) stuck out my knobkerrie at the "head light level" of the oncoming car; 3) smiled at the driver of the oncoming car — good manners are very important in Thailand. Also, broken head lights are
People of Soi Kasemsan 1, Rama 1 Road, Bangkok
Our local taxi driver who summed up the rules of the road a follows: "You can do anything as long as you smile while why you are doing it." very expensive to fix.
Immediately, the drivers stopped as I walked across the road, knobkerrie still outstretched. All the Thai people followed me. All smiled politely at the stopped cars. It was quite a sight. One little old lady called out, "Moses is parting the Red Sea".
Thai tones
The 'tones' can totally change the sense of a word. 'Mai' can have five different meanings (i.e., yes, wood, burn, new, etc.) "Mai mai mai mai mai" means "new wood doesn’t burn, does it?". The word 'ma' spoken in a flat tone means ‘come’ but in a rising tone this means ‘dog’. The same is true for the words 'pretty' and 'unlucky'. To us they sound alike. Thus, "Come pretty lady" can easily become "you unlucky dog". The latter would be considered an insult in Thailand. The tones only 'got me' once. During my first week of teaching, to my horror, I found I was calling one of my students "Miss Pubic Hair" in Thai!
Losing Face
One thing you can never do is make someone lose face. I did this only once that I am aware of. To make a long
Wendy House on Soi Kasemsan 1
Ray, Bryan,
Wendy and Bo at Wendy's Coffee House.
The Wendy House Cafe is where many "long term" visitors to Thailand hang out. It is a good place to find out what is really going on in a crisis, is safe and has many types of great coffee at good prices. One soi over is Jim Thompson House. story short, I agreed to pick up the bill for a customer at Wendy House cafe without telling the staff. The lady at the front desk reacted poorly to what she thought was a customer leaving without paying. Disaster! She had lost face. I knew that this lady liked chocolate. I reacted quickly and went and bought her an expensive selection of her favorite type of chocolate. Then, I walked up to the front desk and gave it to her. In front of all the staff I apologized for "my mistake". At first she politely declined the chocolate. Then I said if she refused my gift, it would cause me to lose face and I would have to leave Wendy House! At that, she smiled and accepted my gift. Miss Wendy, who had witnessed the whole event, came over to me and said, "Ajarn Bryan, you have become a Thai person."
Old Man
Miranda was late and I was having supper at a local restaurant with a friend. A large man who had been drinking did not like the fact that there was not enough room for him to sit at the table behind me. He
People of Soi Kasemsan 1, Rama 1 Road, Bangkok
Reno Hotel, Mamma's Pizza, the Lit Hotel and Wendy House (See map # 2-5) taken from National Stadium Sky train station (See map #1) seemed to be trying to pick a fight. "Let's go at it, Old Man!"
Old Man! Old Man! I had been called many names in my life by a wide assortment of riff-raff, but "Old Man"? I managed to avoid the fight but . . . .
My friend and I finished supper and I went home to Wendy House and looked in the mirror at the old geezer with the white beard. It was at that moment that I knew the golden years had begun.
Ho Ho Ho
A "wai" in Thailand is a sign of respect. One puts one's hands together in a praying motion and bows slightly. The higher the wai — the greater the respect that is being shown. As an 'Ajarn' (university professor), I generally got quite a high wai.
On one particular day I went to visit Miranda while she was teaching her kindergarten students. Four young children ran over to me, dropped to their knees and waied me, touching the base of their thumbs to their foreheads.
I looked over at the Thai teacher and asked what they were doing. As far as I knew,
only the King or a monk would receive such a high wai.
The Thai teacher started to laugh, saying, "All foreigners look alike to us. Ajarn Bryan, you are not a thin man. You laugh a lot, you have rosy red cheeks and a big white beard. The children think you are Santa Claus!"
"Oh," I said.
"Don't worry," she replied, "Santa Claus is very popular in Bangkok!"
Referendum Day
Thailand is a beautiful country, with a wonderful people and a wise king. Indeed, the King saved the nation many times in the past. However, it must also be said that Thailand has been the victim of corrupt, greedy governments that have tried to oppress the people. Thammasat University has a tradition of fighting for liberty and democracy in this country. The name Thammasat comes from "The University of Morality and Political Science". If one spends any time at Thammasat it becomes clear that the young, idealistic students are prepared to fight injustice, as has been done in the past.
Notwithstanding the dangers, Thai voters came out to the polls to approve the draft charter of the constitution that will allow elections
People of Soi Kasemsan 1, Rama 1 Road, Bangkok
The Slab Restaurant: Next to the Lit Hotel was our favorite eatery. Here are Miranda and Roberta. later this year. The draft charter has been approved by the majority of people nationwide and has been signed by the King.
Links:
Photo - Sukhothai
COMING SOON HOUSE ADVERTISING ads_leader_blog_bottom
Tot: 0.438s; Tpl: 0.028s; cc: 7; qc: 50; dbt: 0.0853s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.3mb
BEAU
non-member comment
Good King
It's really bad thing in Thailand now we can't live peaceful like before.I hope people will protect their country and do good thing for our King.Even though Foreingner love Thailand why Thai people not love each other!!