Another Thai/English difference

When I was learning Thai back in Chiang Mai, I had an interesting class concerning a Thai word (I don't remember) that is translated as "to look for something" and "to find something." Someone in the class said what we were all thinking: "To look for something and to find something are very different things." To which the teacher replied, "Not in Thai."

No, I have the best sausage!

I needed to go to Laos briefly. I left yesterday and came back today. I arrived at the train station about 10 minutes before departure, but I was hungry. So like a fool I went over to where they are selling food.

Some people already know my deep love and affection for Isaan sausage, sai grawg (the R and second G in "grawg" are very soft). So I went over there, sure that one of the many ladies would be selling it. I know you think I'm being sexist, but it's almost always ladies that sell those beautiful sausages.

There was one very aggressive lady who got in my face and tried to pull me over to her area. Then another lady on her cell phone tries to persuade me to hers. I ask them both if they have the sausage. They both say yes. I ask how much. They each say 40 baht. Finally I decide to go for the seller who is not literally dragging me to her stall, but she doesn't have the damned sausage that my heart so desires. Oh woe is me! So, assuming that the other was not LYING I ask her what she has. But alas, they were both LYING. So now I was sausageless in the Ubon bus station.

Eventually I got an Isaan-style grilled chicken breast, but my love for Isaan chicken breast is nothing compared to my passion for Isaan sausage. :-(

Glossary:
Isaan--North-Eastern Thailand and/or North-Eastern Thai people, associated with a very unique dialect and culture.

Isaan-style grilled chicken breast:

 Sai-grog--Wonderful sausage of the Isaan people.

Interesting Thai/English language difference

Today I went with Thai friends out to a restaurant that served different types of curry noodle soup. One friend of mine that I call "Little One" has a tremendous amount of English skill. She has lived in America and received a graduate degree from an Australian University, but she is always seeking to learn more English.

Now I disappoint a lot of Thais with how much I enjoy and am not fazed by spicy food. Little One told me that I was "very good at eating spicy food." She asked me if that made total sense in English. She has a real passion to learn the language. I told her that normally in America people would not speak in exactly that style. Then I learned something interesting.

In Thai, the ability to eat a lot of spicy food is considered a skill that you have to practice to attain. In Thai being able to eat spicy food is a skill while in America it is not. In the US it is simply a preference, a taste.

Later I was eating some more of this curry noodle soup thing (it was spectacularly good) but I had some fish bones on my plate and I accidentally ate the fish bones!! :-( I had to eventually spit them out, which is not polite either in Thailand or the US, so I was very embarrassed. 

So how hot is it in Thailand?

If you are back home then you probably look at the map and say that it must be pretty hot in Thailand right now. You see that it is the middle of summer in DC, so you may think the middle of summer in Thailand is much worse. But reality may surprise you.

Fact 1: Our hottest months of the year are behind us. March, April, May are the hot months. April can get pretty darn hot, but it never got that bad this year. I'm not sure if it even got over 95 degrees.

Fact 2: Your high temperature for the day is much higher than ours today. According to Google, your predicted high temperature is 97 degrees today. Ours is 88 degrees. (Yes I converted everything to Fahrenheit.)

Fact 3: We have three seasons. If you talk to me enough, you would know this. Tropical climates like Thailand have three seasons: hot, rainy, and cool. To give you an idea of what each is like.

• Hot season. Imagine August in DC. But with a lot less humidity. March-June
• Rainy season. The rainiest single summer month you can remember in your life. July-October
• Cool season. Remember a day in July when it got UNUSUALLY cool for July. It's basically like that. Except less humidity. And no rain EVER. November-February

Right now it has been pretty nice out. A few days are steamy, but most of the time I am turning off the air conditioning and just using fans. It's a nice time of year.

How to prevent Thai mosquitoes

This is interesting. Isaan people (and Thais) do not get bitten by nearly as many mosquitoes as farang(Westerners) do. For that matter, I get bitten very little as well. I tried to look for some internet information about this phenomenon, but I have found nothing the least bit scholarly, so I am going to put forth a hypothesis: Eating spicy Isaan food prevents mosquito bites. Here are the facts:

• Most farang get bitten a lot by mosquitoes. 
• Isaan people get bitten very little.
• I get bitten very little.
• When I stop eating a lot of spicy/Isaan food I start getting bitten a lot.

I wish there was a way to actually test this scientifically, but I am certainly no expert on the scientific method. I also wish I could find scholarly material on the subject.

Quick! What's the coolest thing about having this blog?

Answer: Pageviews by country.

USA: 515
Thailand: 38
Russia: 15 (Who do I know in Russia?)
Germany: 11 (Not a huge surprise.)
South Korea: 7 (That's Jeff. Hey Jeff.)
UK: 4 (Also not surprising)
Malaysia: 4 (not surprising)
China: 3 (Hey Anna.)
Indonesia: 2 (A little weird.)
India: 2 (Also a little weird.)
Georgia: 1 (WHAT?)

Thailand Hospital Adventure Chronicles

Episode I: Saturday

Arrival: 8:30am

One problem that I have been pretty consistently having here is a strong increase in asthma symptoms, especially when running. Since running inside is not really a very good option here, running outside has to suffice. I had been planning to go to the hospital and visit an allergist, but I never did that until Saturday. This is because I had also developed a dorsal ganglion cyst on my wrist. Again, this would not have been enough, but it began to hurt when putting pressure on my wrist (like doing push-ups) so I decided it was a good time to go ahead and brave the hospital.

About the hospital. This hospital is huge for Isaan (Northeast Thailand). In fact when there is an emergency that needs special treatment for anyone in this province or any of the neighboring provinces, they come to this hospital. It is known for being crowded and having long wait times.

To understand what it feels like to go into a crowded public Thai hospital that is the main one for the region in one of the poorest areas of Thailand, you need only look at this picture to understand:

(Stolen from my brother)

But on Saturday it was not THAT crowded--thankfully. So I went to the area where you get an ID card (I knew where THAT was). I had to wait in a line, fill out a form, and repeatedly and emphatically say that I don't speak Thai. Then I received it. I have no scanner, for just showing it to you would be more funny. My name both on the card and in their system is and forever will be "Andres Hurn." No joke.

Then I went to internal medicine and tried to look lost for a while. When no one came to my rescue I gave a nurse my information and she pointed me in another direction, I guess to the surgery specialist for diagnostic or something. Waited there for about...2 and a half hours or so. I don't think the doctor even got in until 10am. I read a book I got from a friend. It was a good book so I was pretty content. At one point someone came through selling food so I bought a good old-fashioned waffle with corn.

Doctors in Thailand can speak more English than almost anyone else around, so this doctor was very good. He told me to come in for surgery (!) on Monday. (Don't worry, I'll get to that. It's not as scary as you think.) I asked to be pointed in the direction of the asthma specialist and they helped me--with some language struggles. But they escorted me there so it was okay.

Another hour of waiting or so. At first I ended up with a young doctor(?) who didn't know ANY English (never happened to me before). But the next doctor was spectacular. She prescribed me an inhaled steroid. It was at this point I left. I probably could have gotten a cheaper price on the medication if I had bought it at the hospital pharmacy, but I was afraid of more waiting. I got home at about 12:30pm.

Cost
Hospital Fee: 50Baht ($1.70)
Inhaled steroid 1 month: 1200Baht ($37)


Episode II: Monday, The Surgery Tease

Needless to say I was not way too keen on getting surgery in a poor region of a 3rd World Country no matter how awesome it is, but I know many people and many stories of people who got surgery here and were totally fine. Arrived at about 8:30am again. It was VERY crowded today.

I went to the information desk, they said to go upstairs. I checked with another person to see where to go just to make sure. They said to go to a place on the first floor. I went there and they said to go to the second floor. I went there. I found a helpful soul who spoke just enough English. (I would probably not be living here right now if I did not have so many helpful souls here who speak just enough English.) She translated for a nurse and took me back downstairs to where I was immediately before. They told us again that I needed to go upstairs. My helpful stranger asked two more people to help. One of them almost tried to take us to the asthma section because she remembered me from before. Finally both the nurse and my helpful stranger took us downstairs again to orthopedics where I said my emphatic thank you's and goodbye's.

I waited a short time for the orthopedist who decided not to treat and to just wait for a while (so no push-ups for me I guess). He said check back in a month.

Cost
0 Baht ($0)

Long Trip South Pt 3 of 3

This is the final installment of my trip through Southeast Asia.

Table of Contents:
Melaka--aka snoozeville
Singapore--aka Western Utopia. Worth a look.
Bangkok--VIP at the movies!
Lopburi--THE MONKEYS ARE TAKING OVER
Ayutthaya--Sheep Land!
Bangkok--picking up J
Ubon Ratchathani--finally back home

Kota Bharu-->Melaka

The bus to KL was long and then I found out that I had to get to a different bus station to go on. I went to the one I thought it was but alas! So finally I met up with two English English teachers (hah!) and we went to the THIRD bus station to get a bus to Melaka. They had a guesthouse that they really liked so I tagged along.

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Melaka:

Melaka is a common stop for someone traveling through Malaysia. It was a Portuguese colony and a Dutch colony and a British colony at different times in its history. So there are several interesting things to see (though I personally found the city rather boring). It is interesting to note that this is a HUGE tourist destination for Singapore. The place was practically filled with ethnic Chinese tourists the whole time.

View from the gaudy tourist tower in the previous picture. The weird lollypop shaped building is a mall. It was a notable place for me because of the models used for pictures around clothing stores there. Even though Malaysia has almost exclusively Malay, Indian, and Chinese people living there, every single model was European. It was very sad.

 The trademark archetecture of Melaka, seen from the tower.

The weird dragon at the entrance to Chinatown.

 A statue of Mr. Universe.

This was a really posh place. (I hear the English people use the word posh a lot! Why can't I use it?) On the roof of a hotel.

Melaka-->Singapore

The bus was uneventful, but the border was ridiculously uneventful. Easiest border I've ever crossed I think.


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 Singapore:
The first thing you notice about Singapore is how green it is. They call themselves the "garden city" and they truly are. One thing that was also readily apparent is the difference in culture between Malaysia and Singapore. Where Malaysia is very Muslim in how the culture has developed, Singapore is very secular. So one of the things a guy will notice quickly is...how do I put this...the skirts get much shorter. After all, we are ridiculously close to the equator. I got a cheap bed, which is much more expensive here. About $15/night compared to the $5/night I was getting in Malaysia. People who have been to Singapore who grew up in Malaysia or Thailand immediately mention how the country is very clean first and foremost, and it is. But what I notice first is how orderly things are. The mass transit is unparalleled and simple (and in English with an English accent!) Also, you get the full brunt of being in a country where English is the official first language of the country. Also, I want to point out a demographic fun fact: Singapore is 75% ethnic Chinese. Anyway, here are some pictures:

 I thought this was funny. If you don't know what I mean, then read carefully.

One of the first things I did was to go to the Night Safari in Singapore which they claim is the only one of its kind in the world. This picture is near the entrance. I don't have pictures of animals because flash wasn't allowed. But some neat highlights:

• For anyone that ever goes to the zoo in the US: here the lions were actually awake!
• There were two interesting "houses" one with a flying squirrel (awesome to see in person) and the other with fruit bats. Now in this "zoo" there is not a single cage in a conventional sense, and many times there is nothing but open air and a disguised barrier between you and the animal. The reason these "houses" were notable was because theoretically you could touch a flying squirrel or a bat if you got "lucky" (lucky being a very relative term). Many people were in the squirrel house, but I was surprised to see no one in the bat house...until I went in. They PACKED that thing full of bats and let me tell you, it made me wish I had 360 degree vision to dodge the bats that were flying EVERYWHERE. I didn't actually get hit, but it was very unnerving to be literally walking among these flying creepy creatures.
• There were a few parts of the "train ride" where again, theoretically you could touch the animals (the less violent ones). And again I want to emphasize that Singapore is a safety-obsessed country unlike many other countries I visit. They do this stuff for the tourists and because they can. They are certainly daring and unique.
• I would have LOVED this place if I came here as an 8-year-old kid.

 Cafe in the Night Safari.

 Night view from the top of that mountain.

Yes, Singapore has its own Universal Studios.

 Touch-screen mall directory!

...read at your own risk...

Interesting building. I think it is a museum.

I heard about this building before I came, but it wasn't in my Lonely Planet. I did finally find it. That's like a boat or something on top there. Isn't that just interesting. 

This is to the right of the previous picture. It was here that I decided that Singapore would be a much better place for Ted (from HIMYM) to live because they clearly are affectionate to people who have a sense of architectural daring and creativity. I am not an architecture nerd or anything, but the architecture here was really something to behold! Pictures do not do it justice at all.

 The flying saucer I think is part of their Supreme Court building or something.

Another interesting building. 

The subway/elevated train. It was cool. Also notice the tri-pole on the left. Very practical. We should do that in DC.

Singapore-->Bangkok
I took a plane. Duh.

Bangkok:
Back in Bangkok again, I met up with Uncle Marty at the Shangri La Hotel (really famous, really posh). He didn't recognize me because of the shaved head so I almost had to tackle him as he rushed out of the elevator looking for me.

 Uncle Marty was a tremendous host (wait...this is my country). He took me and a friend of his who lives here to the nicest cinema in town. You get a recliner, a pillow, a blanket, a waiter. And before the movie you get a VIP bar/lounge and a private massage area. Good stuff. We had a lot of fun. (THANKS FOR EVERYTHING UM!!!)

 This is the spectacular view from his hotel room.


Bangkok--> Lopburi
It was actually kind of difficult to do this route because I had to get all the way up to the Mo Chit bus station. Then I ended up in a van with a bunch of military people (weird). They dropped me off at the Lopburi bus station which was really disorienting because there is not much indication on the map or in the Lonely Planet how to get the area of Lopburi with the touristy stuff. But eventually I just hopped on a bus (because I didn't know what else to do) and I ended up in the exact right place in no time.



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Lopburi:
Famous for MONKEYS. THE MONKEYS ARE TAKING OVER.

I think this is the one that chased me...

 I made it bigger so you can see the baby monkey.

 I cannot describe the feeling of being constantly surrounded by monkeys while a this temple and at various times around the city. It was an experience. 


Lopburi-->Ayutthaya
This was probably my most interesting traveling leg of the journey. I was going by train. At the train station I met two scotsmen. Later one of them claimed to be MI6. Of course I didn't believe him and he pulled out his ID card and badge and everything. This COULD be a Khao San Rd souvenir, but he was really drunk and whenever I asked him a question he gave a real good answer. And if you were to buy fakes of these in the States, I'm sure it would cost you over $500. He said he wasn't undercover so he's allowed to tell me (and I'm allowed to tell you). He said he was tracking down pedophiles in Thailand. I also met a French Canadian who I ended up hanging out with most of the time I was in Ayutthaya.

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Ayutthaya:
Famous for being the capital of Siam/Thailand until the Burmese sacked it in the 1700s.

 "Darth Vader" tuk tuk.

 My favorite ruins picture I have.

 This is for a dutch cultural heritage festival. I blew it up so you can see...the stuff...

 There is this whole weird built-up area around the floating market that I cannot call anything else than a series of tourist traps. For example, I don't remember there actually being any sheep in this so-called sheepland. There was also a tiger that you could pet and take pictures with, but he was clearly really drugged up and I didn't want to support that kind of thing by paying the guy.

The floating market.


Ayutthaya-->Bangkok
By train again. These pictures were taken at the train station at Ayutthaya.

Okay, these pictures do NOT do the cuteness I witnessed justice. There was one point when one of these dogs carefully picked up one of the kittens in its mouth and carried it over a few feet. Just the kittens and the dogs interacting, priceless! I should have just taken a video.



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Bangkok:
I actually thought I was going to pick up J the next morning, but alas, he was delayed half a day. But once he got here it was cool.

The steps of Wat Arun.

At this point his camera died so he started using mine.

 To take a picture of the blurry back of my head.

As well as the exotic different types of Lay's potato chips in the 711.

As well as this Nazi symbolism........

 ...........in a sewing machine ad.

Bangkok-->Ubon
Unfortunately we got a 2nd class bus for the long journey overnight back to Ubon. J is not acclimated to bus sleeping yet so he did not have a good night.


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Ubon Ratchanthani:
  

It began to rain really hard at my house. Jeremy decided to leave the house in the pouring rain in a motorbike helmet and without shoes. I am high and dry on my porch.

The floating restaurant we went to for dinner one night.

 J thinks all the food in Thailand is really good.


THE END it's finally finished!