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Published: July 11th 2008
Okay, we've just wrapped up our month in the land of smiles and we hope you've enjoyed the vicarious journey with us. We're headed off for two weeks of festival camping (I'll write a bit about that in a week or so), but for now, here are a few thoughts and observations on Thailand that don't really fit anywhere else. Some of it is a bit crude and adult oriented, but there's just no other way to accurately convey some of this stuff. At any rate, here's the stuff you'll never find in Lonely Planet. Enjoy!
Toilets
There are two things you first notice about toilets in Thailand. First, is that virtually all public toilets, when you can find one, are Turkish style. That means they are simple ceramic bowls set flush in the ground. There is nothing to sit on. It takes a Westerner, particularly men, a bit of practice to get comfortable with these things, but in the end (pardon the pun), you find that they really are the best design for public use. They are extremely sanitary since there is nothing to touch but where your feet go, and once you've got the balance thing down, are really convenient and easy to use. But don't worry, most hotels and houses have Western-style toilets. The second thing you notice is the lack of toilet paper. Some places provide a bit for us Western folk, but Thai's don't use it. There are also big signs on the wall that tell you not to flush the toilet paper into the toilets, as their plumbing just isn't designed to handle it. To answer your question... all toilets provide sprayers conveniently hung on the wall next to the toilet. These look and act exactly like the sprayers you find on a kitchen sink anywhere in America. Thai's wash themselves after every toilet visit, so toilet paper is only used for drying yourself, never for cleaning. Ed had a short conversation about this with a local English ex-pat living in Pai who remarked, "When you get shit on your hands, you don't just wipe it off with a paper towel do ya?!?" I think he may have a good point there. Of course, I don't eat with my asshole either. The Thai style is certainly "refreshing," since they only run cold water through those sprayers, nevertheless, once you get used to this system, it is hard to give it up. I've promised to install one for Tricia when we get back home, so don't be surprised to find a sprayer hanging next to our toilet when you come to visit, and at least now you'll know what it's there for.
Napkins
This is somewhat more curious than the toilet thing. Thai's don't use napkins when they eat, and this country has never heard of nor seen a paper towel. You can't find them anywhere. Some restaurants offer a small bin of tissues (about half the weight of a Kleenex) on the table for Westerners, but have you ever tried to get greasy food off your hands with a Kleenex? It's a foolish endeavor at best. What you see is that most Thai people use a spoon when they eat, and they are very careful and particular about their food. The rest just use their pants or their shirt tails to wipe their hands on, and those who serve or cook food use an apron. It's a bit of an adjustment for those of us who have more of a carnal relationship with our food. Those of us who enjoy eating with our hands have few options. On the other hand (heh) an entire load of laundry in Thailand will cost you about 60 cents, and those Thai shirts do have long tails on them. Sorry Mom.
Trash Cans
...or lack thereof. In 30 days in Thailand, I never saw a single public trash bin. They just don't have them. Occassional food vendors on the street might have a small plastic bag hanging on their carts for the occassional bit of waste, but that's it. And yet, everything purchased in Thailand comes shrink-wrapped in plastic, including lighters, and everything is sold in it's own little plastic bag. Surprisingly, however, there is virtually no loose trash anywhere on the street or beside the roads. It's a very clean country. Bangkok, being a large city, certainly has a bit of the standard flotsam and jetsom of human consumption in the gutters and in the alleys, but far less than one might imagine for a city of its size. People here carry whatever bits of trash they have on them around with them all day, and then dispose of it at home. Even then, the average family produces significantly less garbage than their Western counterparts. Every aluminum can, plastic bottle, cardboard box and glass container gets recycled. All bits of leftover food go into compost piles or to the dogs, and these people don't have enough of anything else to throw out what they do have. It's rather nice in its own way to see an entire culture focused so completely on keeping their land clean. We can learn a thing or two from them.
Dogs
Wendy and Ed had mentioned the dogs in Thailand once or twice, but nothing can prepare you for the sheer numbers and freedom that dogs have in this country. There are very few big dogs, and not all that many tiny ones. Virtually every dog you see in Thailand is small to medium size (10 to 30 pounds), and they are everywhere. Only once in 30 days did we see someone with a leash on their dog. All the others roam free. There are far fewer in Bangkok than there are everywhere else, but they're still there. Once you get outside of the city, however, they are constant and ubiquitous. Every store, every bar, every restaurant and every home has a loose dog wandering around somewhere or laying under the chairs and tables. Furthermore, they are all well adjusted, friendly and socialized. The dogs don't bother anyone, they just ignore you. They mostly ignore each other as well, though we did see one short-lived dog fight that would've ended before it started if some stupid Westerner hadn't tried to intervene and riled them up again. He stuck his hand in between them and got bit on the arm, and I didn't feel an ounce of sympathy for him. Idiot. The dogs in this country are well fed, if not always well cared for. Most are just happy to lay around and serve as the garbage disposal for whatever meat is leftover at the end of the night. They don't beg, they never steal food from a plate or a hand, and you never see any of them dead beside the road, though you do see an occassional one limping. There is also the occassional cat, but not too many as you might imagine in a country ruled by the free range dog. Here's one at our favorite bar in Pai enjoying a back scratch on the concrete floor.
People
There are two kinds of people in Thailand, the national Thai people and Burmese refugees. There are a LOT of Burmese refugees. As for the Thai people, they are mostly friendly and helpful. It's not unusual, even in Bangkok, for a man on the street to help you find a restaurant or a business you're looking for, just to be helpful. It's also not unusual in the big cities for the a man to try and convince you to go to some business he is charged with dragging people to. Outside of the cities though, the Thai people are friendly and warm and welcoming. You'll mostly notice women working in the shops and stores and restaurants though, and the men mostly sitting around and drinking. In fact, the biggest complaint that all Thai women have is that the men are all drunks and lazy and don't work while the women have to raise the children and cook and work. In that respect, it's very much the same as it is here. On the islands though, there is a unique situation in that women never raise their own children. Women have two or three children each, but always send them off to live with the grandparents. The first child goes to the father's parents, the second child to the mother's, and they alternate. Twins are very rarely raised together. They are separated and sent to each of the grandparents. The parents then spend the next twenty years working and sending half, or more, of their salaries to their parents to support them and the children. When the children are grown, they get married and have their own children, and then the parents retire and live off the income of their children, and the cycle repeats. It's very strange.
Then there are the Burmese refugees. While we were in Thailand, there were several national protests against the Burmese refugees, with the nationals wanting them thrown out of the country, but the economy of Thailand is rather like that of America in that much of the base economy is supported by these immigrants. The Burmese immigrants come and work for poverty wages and supply most of the hard labor. The restaurant workers at Ban's diving, for example, are all Burmese refugees. We asked a couple of them about their work. They told us (and our dive instructor confirmed) that they work 14 hour days, 28 days a month. They make 250 Baht a day (about eight dollars), and send most of that home to their families in Burma (Myanmar). They all live together in a small shack and sleep in shifts when they're not working. It's also true that most of the prostitutes working in Bangkok and Chang Mai (and other places) also come from Burma and make quite a bit more for their work than the restaurant boys, but not much. All the Burmese, both men and women, are working hard and long hours, and all of them are happy and grateful for the work. Their families in Burma have nothing.
Ladyboys
These are all boys. All of them. Thailand has a unique and interesting relationship with sexuality, and the widespread acceptance of "ladyboys" in the culture is one example of that. In Bangkok, they are everywhere, and are usually pretty easy to spot. Not that many look as good as the young men in this photo, but quite a few do. Most interestingly, they are also VERY upfront about it when they speak to you. They will tell you right out that they are ladyboys, just in case there is confusion, and they always work together in the gay bars and gay district in the cities. There's no real danger of running into one in a gogo bar or place where people are expecting young women. Nevertheless, they are a friendly and interesting subculture in Thailand. They're in every town and it seems to be a status symbol for young men to dress as women and try to be as pretty as possible. Very strange.
On the other hand, there are the prostitutes in Thailand. They're also in every town, and most towns of any size has a sort of redlight district. Below is one from Bangkok taken during a daytime stroll. They are heavily advertised and also regulated by the government. Bangkok is truly a town where you can buy anything, and almost anything goes. Fortunately, the Thai government has worked hard the past ten years or so to stamp out child prostitution in the country, and it seems to have disappeared for the most part. Anyone caught trafficking in child prostitution or engaging in prostitution with a minor (under 17) in Thailand, will either be immediately deported to the authorities of their home country, imprisoned for life, and in some extreme cases have been executed. I say good for the government. As for the rest, anything goes. Women, men, ladyboys or any combination can be purchased easily either for an hour or a night. It's not unusual, apparently, for some men to come to Thailand on vacation for a couple of weeks or a couple of months, and buy a prostitute or two to spend the entire time with them touring the country. International sex tourism is a big part of Thailand's economy, and the culture doesn't seem to mind. In fact, it seems to be encouraging it. The Thai's have a different relationship with sexuality than Westerners do, but I'm not sure I could ever completely understand that culture.
That being said....
The bar scene
Going out to a bar at night and enjoying a few beers is part of the scene in Thailand for both tourists and local. After 9:00 p.m., every bar on every street in every town is full of people relaxing and enjoying a large Singha beer. It's really a pretty good lager and I certainly had my share of them during the trip. The bars close around 3:00 a.m. in most places, but some go all night. There are some great street bars in Bangkok, along with the usual pubs and restaurants that cater to crowds enjoying a round or seven. There's usually a pool table or two, often music of some kind and lots of great people. The last night in Bangkok, Tricia went to a spa and I walked down to the night area to find a beer. There were two bars across the street from one another, both offering Singha for 80 Baht ($2.50) a bottle. One was an open to the street bar and fairly full. The other was a gogo bar with young women in school girl outfits dancing on the bar. The beer cost the same at both, so I opted for the gogo bar. Because I could. I was enjoying my beer and chatting with an Australian couple in the bar (there were lots of couples, women, men, etc. having a good time) when a young, pretty Thai girl approached me and offered me a blowjob under the bar while I drank my beer. This was a new one. I smiled and politely declined... though I admit I took a couple of long sips from my beer first. I was telling the story to Tricia later and thinking about it in my head. A great bar, cheap beer, and blowjobs under the table.... this may be the greatest bar on the planet! (just kidding...mostly). But that is the unusual story. Most of the time you drink and meet new and wonderful people and everyone keeps their head above the table.
We had to be up at 5:00 a.m. to catch a plane to Tokyo, which ran late, and barely made our connection for the plane to New York. We flew over Canada and made the whole trip in about 22 hours. Now we're safe and sound in Connecticut, about to head out for two weeks in the woods with a bunch of hippies and Pagans. I have to say, I'm not sure what they'll have to offer that could top what we found in Thailand, but it should make for a nice relaxing couple of weeks before heading back to the land of sand. I hope you've all enjoyed the trip with us. We certainly won't forget it anytime soon. Thanks to everyone who posted comments and complimented the blog. We truly love you all and will be in touch with each of you as soon as we get home.
Peace and be well,
Greg and Tricia
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ryan hayes
non-member comment
ladyboys
i saw a group of touring ladyboys in Brighton, England about a month ago. that seemed pretty random out here. i've enjoyed following the blog and am so glad you two enjoyed your trip. have a good time at the festival and say hi to tricia for me! -ryan