Top Ten Likes and Dislikes

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Dear all,

Sorry for not having sent a massive group email earlier - I'm alive and kicking in Bangkok. My mother is visiting me here, and we went to Rai Leh and Ko Phi Phi - two of the areas affected by the tsunami - but left there the 24th, and were safely in Siem Reap, marvelling at one of the 7 Wonders of the World (Angkor Wat) when the tsunami hit.

It's now almost seven months that I've been working in Bangkok, and in honour of this, and the New Year, and the fact that I *may* shortly be returning to Australia for a two-week holiday (cross your fingers for me!), here's a list of my top ten fave and least fave things in Thailand.

1) My farang (foreigner) friends Mandi, Sarah and Susan. They rock. They're smart, interesting, fun, funny, sweet people. Without them, I would probably be lonely and bored; with them, I am amused, entertained, and mentally stimulated.
2) My Thai friends, Ten, Tommy, Tanya and co. They make my social life a crazy, frolicking adventure. Ten is the best dancer, and she has a store at Chatuchak Market which is very cool.
3) My co-workers - all of them funny, kind and caring. They were very worried that I'd disappeared in the tsunami, and had difficulty sleeping as a result. I'm very lucky to be working with such wonderful people. The whole team (we have offices in Burma, Cambodia and Laos too) are amazing people and team meetings are glorious love-ins.
4) My apartment! I love my apartment. It's full of pretty Thai things, and the building has a stunning pool. It's an oasis.
5) The nightlife. Fun. Even if bars and clubs shut at 1am, we have ways around that, and always have a blast (even if the place we go to seems to play the same music *every* single time).
6) The massages. OMG. Cheap and so good.
7) The cheap taxis! And generally the convenience of life here. And the motorbike taxis! Love them.
8) The street food and associated street culture. So exciting and vibrant!
9) The weather. Always warm! I never ever need to take a jumper when I go out. No queueing up in the cold, no freezing, just warmth.
10) The safety. I walk around at any time of night and always feel fine. There is practically no sexual harassment here from random men on the streets, just a very occasional leer.

Things I don't like so much:
1) The movies. Dire. Tried to see a movie recently with a friend, and the best options were Wimbledon or A Home at the End of the World. Spew.
2) The pollution. Cough cough.
3) Beer tastes piss-weak. Very bland.
4) Last month, I was at a bar when a waiter beat the shit out of a customer. The other waiters just stood around and watched while the customer's girlfriend screamed for an ambulance. (I tried calling one and the operator didn't want to know.) I don't understand Thai people in this way - of course, they were all desperate to help after the tsunami - but if there's a fight on a street, some kid getting picked on, or a dog being abused, they just avert their eyes. Not their business.
5) The Thai "can not". Sometimes, if something is just too hard, or they just can't be bothered, they simply tell you that they 'can not' do it. I got this a lot at the start when I would ask for vegetarian food ("No, don't have"... err... I can see vegetables on that person's plate, but you don't have vegetarian food? "No, can not."). It's very frustrating.

Still, the list of things I like is longer than the things I don't like, so all in all, props to Bangers!

Interesting aside:
The cheap Thai whisky, Samsung, has amphetamines in it. This is despite the society-wide public (who knows what goes on in private…) disapproval of yaba (speed) and the so-called War on Drugs last year, during which 2500 drug addicts and other people not liked by police or village chiefs were murdered in extra-judicial killings.

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Photos

Ten, Tommy and I
Eating street food after a night of dancing.

The ARCPPT Team
One of our team meetings (hard life, eh?)

Aie in her shop at Suan Lum
Ten designs the bikinis, Fon designs the dresses and skirts, and Aie designs the tops.