Thailand Observations And Musings...

Here are some musings and amusings I've collected so far roaming around Thailand.

Fruit Lassi and a Banana Pancake - Breakfast of Champions! And only costs less than 100 Baht...

Why is it that when I drag out my Thai Phrasebook and work really hard to memorize a phrase or question, the object of my effort always speaks perfect english? And when I'm not prepared and approach someone who looks like an English speaker they have no idea what I'm trying to communicate?

Bad News:
Don't worry but I got bit by a dog tonight. Came barking out of an abandoned lot and latched onto my left hand as I tried to ward it off. Blood everywhere and some nice dings to my index finger and the back of my hand...
Good News:
It happened about 50m from an open Pharmacy and the Betadyne and couple of bandaids only cost 45 Baht. Plus, they let me use the bathroom in the back to clean it up.

Been reading a lot - on boats, beaches, buses, planes, and ferries and even occasionally in bed. Lots of decent book piles at the guesthouses and some nice used book stores in every town - I'm finding it hard to limit myself to one at a time for weight reasons. In one, I found an old boarding pass, forgotten as a bookmark. Julian Hewitt of seat 6D, Thai Airways flight 4141, what did you experience when you landed in Koh Samui from Bangkok at 12:45 and what has become of you since August 12th, 2002? I think of all that has gone on in my life since that date, and can't help but wonder if he is still the same person he was then... And did he like the book? I've made up several stories in my mind for him and I'm sure they are no better than his reality.

All the ferries and buses I've been on seem to have DVD players that endlessly show videos of Thai Pop Stars. There are more Justin Timberlake, N'Sync and NKOTB flirty wannabes than I'm strictly comfortable with, and they are all trying so poutily hard to appeal to the young female crowd. I've taken up playing more hardcore music, (rap, alternative, house, etc.) on my iPod while I watch the videos. It's hilarious! I love it when the words and pictures match so strangely, the humor is inescapable and I'm sure the other passengers are wondering what I'm snickering about...

Thailand is known as a country for sex tourism and it's pretty sad the way poor country families sell their teen and pre-teen daughters out of desperation. The AIDS epidemic is still going strong here, and I've read that 30%-40% of Thai sex workers are HIV+. Plus, the Thai strain is really contagious and drug resistant. All the bars have women in packs out front enticing you in and knowing that 2 out of 5 will most likely be dead in a couple of years is pretty depressing. On top of that, the number of older farang men I see walking around holding hands with a very young Thai girl like they are 13 and on the way to the movies makes me feel sick inside. Let's not even talk about the Ladyboys...

As an American, I'm conscious of the perceptions the rest of the world holds about us, and am very amused that while they claim to be so tired of us and wish we were less imposing, I still heard it from a German four days after the fact that Karl Rove had quit.

I write this as I sit in an internet cafe in Phuket, site of the Tsunami that came ashore on Boxing Day, December 26th, 2004. I got here early in the evening after a breathtakingly beaufiful journey across the Thai peninsula from the ferry port near Surathani. Considering what happened that day to this part of the world, it is amazing how hard I had to look to spot any indication it ever happened. Sure, there's a small pile of rubble here and there, but that could be due to the construction going up on the same lot. It makes me embarassed at the state New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast is still in... How can this little country recover from such a larger blow better and faster than we can?

Off diving tomorrow early - I'll have to write about Koh Samui and the Ladyboys another time..

Goodnight and Sweet Dreams,
Clement