Tourists

Today I walked to Wat Pho, a beautiful temple by Thammasat University, and there were so many tourists on the way! I guess it is tourist season. I am always amazed at how many street vendors there are! It was hard to get to Wat Pho because so many tourists were blocking the side walk.

Plastics

Bangkok is a fan of the plastic bag. Something that I'd never seen before coming to Bangkok is that street vendors sell sodas and juices in small plastic bags with a straw. At first I thought it was too impractical because of how flimsy it is, but this method actually proves to be quite handy because people can hold their drink by the handles or hang it from their motorcycle handlebars as they zoom away. At least two plastic bags are used for other foods that are purchased on the street. 10 baht worth of pineapple will be put into a small bag, then that bag will be put into a another small bag with handles. These smaller bags are nearly impossible to reuse, especially because we collect so many each day and they are typically dirty after one use. Larger bags from the grocery store can be reused as trash bags, but my roommate and I hardly generate enough trash for all of the plastic bags we get! I usually carry a couple plastic bags around with me wherever I go so I can avoid getting new bags, but it's inevitable that I'll be handed a few plastic bags each day. I wonder if the city will ever consider alternate solutions for their plastic bag addiction.

711

They are everywhere! There are probably at least two 711s on each street major road in Bangkok, and then of course they are also scattered on random blocks here and there. They end up being a clean, air conditioned refuge from the otherwise humid and dirty streets that are typical in Bangkok. It amazes me how often these chain shops are frequented by the average Thai. Although they appear to be western in all of their corporate glory, a closer look will show that they are unlike any 711 in the states! The shelves are packed with dried squid snacks and whitening beauty products. It is such a tiny shop, but they are taking over. There is a 711 at the foot of my apartment building, so I'm often there to break my 1000 baht bills with a carton of soy milk or a spicy minced pork rice burger. I can't figure out if I'm grateful or annoyed by the plethora of these 711s.

Prostitution, then travel agencies

I read a book about autobiography about a sex worker for my Ethnic Groups of Thailand class. After running away from her home in rural Ubon at 13 to make more money for her family, she became very actively involved in the strip bars and bega selling her body for more money than she could have made any other way without a high school diploma. While working as a prostitute and porn model for many years, she gained a number of traits like depression, pharmaceutical dependencies, financial responsibility for her entire family, and fluency in English. After a series of failed relationships with farang men, she worked hard to get out of the sex industry in order to clean up her life and discover the value of her own life. She mentions that she became a tour guide and a travel agent to make better money, though it hardly compared to the thousands of dollars she made per month selling herself to wealthy foreigners.

Her story probably resonates with thousands of women who join the sex industry each year, and also with those who are lucky enough to get out of it. It makes sense that prostitutes would become travel agents, because they have years of experience selling their personalities to tourists.

Do all that you do well

I helped with bin ta bhaat again this morning. I left my apartment at 5:20 to make it to Wat Mahathat by 5:40, and it was a lovely peaceful walk across the bridge and through Thammasat to get there. There were three of us students helping, and we were overloaded with donations within the first half hour. Each of us farang carrying 5 or 6 meals in plastic bags and following the monk is something you don't see every day! At some point, the monk's nephew came by with a cart to take some of the offerings off our hands so we could continue on our journey. I love starting my mornings this way. Seeing people selfless and thoughtful helps me to be peaceful throughout the rest of the day. When we got back to the wat, I helped separate the food into three categories: rice, meal, dessert. I watched as the monks washed their feet and sat ready to eat their first of two meals for the day.

As a symbolic gesture of offering, the monks nephew removed his shoes and lifted each of the three food trays before the monks began to eat. They recited a chant before starting as part of their morning ritual, and they also ended the meal with a chant. I don't quite know what to do with myself during this time, so I watched observantly and responded to their questions and comments to the best of my ability, since women are only to speak to monks when they are spoken to. They are both very friendly, but only one can speak English. After they finished their meal, I ate with my friend and we continued to talk with the monk.

My friend, who is somewhat of an intern to the monk, was rolling up an umbrella that was used to block sun from this face as he ate. As he rolled it up and was ready to buckle the strap around to keep it in place, the monk assured him that his job was too sloppy. He then showed him how to properly roll it up by starting from the top and carefully folding the umbrella around the supporting stick all the way until the bottom. It sure looked a lot nicer, but I giggled because the situation seemed overly complicated. After all, it was just an umbrella. The monk then proceeded to explain that people are like water. It is natural for water to move downhill due to gravity, and water can only move uphill with a conscious effort. He said that in life, we must strive to move uphill always, in everything that we do.

Snakes

I am fascinated Thailand's overall interest in and dependence on snakes! A snake lover myself, I couldn't be happier. I think it's so cool that snakes are appreciated for the unique properties in their venom that can help create a plethora of vaccines. Drink snake blood is also thought to aid in sexual health, and snakefish heads are a fairly common item on Thai menus. The Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute is a handy educational resource near Bangkok, where I've yet to go but plan to as soon as I can find an open weekend. At the snake farm there, people can learn how to safely handle snakes and be educated about venom extraction. The institute also houses the Department of Animal Diagnosis and Investigation, Immunization and Travel Clinic, Animal Bite and Rabies Immunization Clinic, and an Animal Toxin Clinic: http://www.saovabha.com/en/default.asp

Eat now, pay later

In situations here, such as laundry and eating, stores will prefer that you pay after they have provided the service. I am more than okay with this philosophy because it means I get to enjoy my expenditure before even paying for it, or even thinking about grabbing my wallet. However, sometimes I forget to pay for things because I'm so used to paying at the beginning! Today, for instance, I ate delicious pad see ew moo with Liza from a woman downstairs in our apartment complex. It was delicious, and we walked away afterward eem maak (very full). After a couple minutes I remembered that we hadn't paid, so we ran back to pay the 25 baht as necessary. Of course, she was very Thai in her mai ben rai (it's nothing) attitude, but what if Liza and I had completely forgotten? Do people forget often? Perhaps Thais have just been programmed differently so they always remember to pay after a meal. I've even forgotten to pay for a Thai tea once, but I went back a few hours later to pay. Keeluum farang (forgetful foreigner).