Thailand Oddities and Uniqueness

While being in Thailand I have noticed several small things that differ from my normal life. From simple greetings to how Thai's manage to have cold beer in such hot weather. This is a compilation of all the oddities and uniqueness that Thailand beholds. I will continually add to this as more new things appear.

The first time I ordered a beer in Thailand I noticed they put ice in it, and I thought WTF who do they think they are watering down my beer? Turns out, due to such hot weather in Thailand your beer quickly gets warm (ya ya I get it, "Well drink it faster!") If you want to enjoy the beer you will need ice in it. I have come to not mind the ice because the beer is always perfectly chilled. Although they sometimes put ice in your beer indoors I have grown to like the consistent cold temperature that the beer is at. Also, the waiters always refill your beer for you....your glass is never empty....I like that.

Shoes are to always be taken off before entering 50-60% of the buildings you enter. They are always taken off before entering peoples homes, sometimes taken off before entering certain shops, and some restaurants (though very few) require you to remove your shoes.  I found this odd based on one fact, in the Thai culture feet are considered dirty and gross (like most places) and it is an insult to point with your feet, refer to them, or have them anywhere but the ground. So for a country that despises feet so much you have them out an awful lot....contradiction.

The whole bathroom situation in this country is a tad odd. In most places there is no toilet paper, just a sprayer next to the toilet. You are supposed to spray your bum. My question is after you spray your bum don't you need toilet paper to dry it off? I decided to do a little bit of testing, after I used the restroom (No. 2) I sprayed my bum. Although it did clean it there is no way some one would just walk around with their bum and crotch that wet....you would chafe like crazy and it would be soggy. I came to the conclusion that no matter what you do after pooping you are going to need toilet paper which leaves me to think there are alot of smelly, chafed, soggy crotched people walking around Thailand. No AC in any bathrooms.....Every bathroom I have been in so far (except the Marriott which is a 5 star hotel so they are excluded) has not had any air conditioning in it. Going No. 2 is the most sweaty, humid, light headed thing I have done so far. No hot or cold.... The faucets in all bathrooms (both houses I have lived in so far) do not have a hot or cold choice....just warm. Which is kinda like whatever but every once in a while you would like to wash your face with some cool water....except it's just warm so you sweat again deleting the fact that you just washed your face.

This is how you get hot water in the shower. It is an electric home shower heating system made by Panasonic. The first two times I took a shower I took cold ones because I figured they just dont have hot water here (just as the faucets don't have hot or cold) I didn't mind it because it wakes you up. However, the owner of the first house showed us how it worked but must have thought we were idiots while showing us. The system works perfectly and saves the home a lot of energy. Although, due to the average Thai person being small the shower heads are lower. The nozzle is equal to my neck so I am bending at the knees for most of the shower.

The napkin holders at every table at every restaurant are made of plastic and have on average 1-2 additional compartments on them. The compartments always hold tooth picks which are sometimes in wrappers and sometimes not. I thoroughly enjoy this because I pick my teeth often. The other compartments will hold sugar. However, the napkins are pathetic. They are extremely thin and you need about three of them to wipe your hands just once. I still have yet to eat somewhere that has thicker napkins or even separate napkins to set on your lap. To put this in perspective this allows you to be a cleaner eater making it to the point where you don't need napkins at dinner, which is an extreme challenge to me as my family would know.


Business Cards: The way you take business cards is much more kind and respectful compared to other countries. Usually when someone gives you a business card you think "Oh, wow, cool another small piece of paper with a requirement for me to do something later." In Thailand when someone gives you a business card you see it as a sign of respect. When both receiving and giving a card you must hold it with both hands and bow your head. You also are not allowed to write any thing on it (such as intended usage or notes for why you have it) when the person is still there. It is seen as a sign of disrespect.
Greetings: When greeting someone you say "Swadee Krub" meaning hello. While saying that you hold your hands together as if you were praying and slightly bow. The height at which you hold your hands is determined by the age and respect of the person you are greeting. The higher you hands are the more respect you are giving the person, also done if the person is older. The lower you hold your hands the younger the other person is.
I will add more later and Thank you for reading!!!
-Z

Our First Night Out "Bar Unknown"

     After two exhausting weeks we were able to find one night to go out, let loose, and make some memories. To start, we found the street that contained all the bars (Thai equivalent to Court St.) which at the end of the night was deemed irrelevant due to the fact that we stayed at the same bar all night, which we never found the name of hints "Bar Unknown." The outside of the bar looked like a jungle it was about 20 feet wide and 50 feet long. As you see here there was a swing tied to one of the trees that hung over the surrounding area. The vibe of the bar was very relaxed, chilled, and had a Zen feeling to it. I apologize for the blur but I guess it gives you a perspective of the night.


As we were relaxing in the back a group of people came and joined and to our amazement all spoke English, which was not a regular occurrence because we are not in the tourist part of Thailand. The group turned out to be in a volunteer organization that worked in hospitals and apparently also built toilets (whatevs.) Their nationalities ranged from Britain, Australia, Brazil, and even Utah (close to were I spent my Freshman year of college.) We also met a guy (50 or so year-old) named Andy who seemed to be a free spirit alcoholic. His stories lasted for ages ranging from the Boston police giving him pounds of marijuana to his recently self built man
made pond with 5 water falls and white sand imported from god knows where. After about an hour of talking to him he attempted to get us to come back to his place, we kindly rejected the offer. However, his offer was presented in persistance he continually tried to get us to come back to his house over and over again. It got a tad creepy so I told him we were staying with another family and could not. He seemed to understand, we could not figure out if his offer was in kind spirit or if we would have ended up in a cement basement chained to a wall. I guess we wil never know and I suppose I will count that as a positive, yet I am glad we met him.

The tables that we sat at were very unique in their build. They were the bottoms of Singer sewing machines (same as shown in pic from link) from the 1800's built from iron with a foot pedal on the bottom that you were able to press and work a wheel. It was nice to see an 1800's sewing machine based in New Jersey, America to be in a small bar on a street in Chiang Rai, Thailand. As you see here, we were playing Jenga which can be much more enjoyable with wobbling hands and twisted vision. At the end of the night as we departed from the small bar a feeling a completion came to us. After two weeks of hard work and producing work of value we were granted one night out that we treated with moderation. We met wonderful people from around the world, had a close encounter with a sketchy old man, and let our mind focus on something other than work. In closure, it was beautiful time that I will forever cherish along with the people I met. Thank you for reading!!!!

-Z

A hectic week of confusion, communication errors, and persistance.

      Upon arrival everything was as I expected hot, confusing,

and kind of smelly......for some reason that registered in my

brain as everything I wanted. Maybe because it was 

something sort of new or maybe just because I am an odd person. Either way, I refuse to start this post of with an obnoxiously long description of how I settled in. I will get right to it. The first house we were in was way too small, due to this the COO of the company moved us into a friends "vacation house" with one requirement, that we spoke english with their 14 year-old son. Which is basically a given because it's not like we speak any Thai (in the process of learning.) Pictured right are the two interns I am staying with (two more are coming in a few weeks.) The girl on the left is Vene Freysen, a beautiful woman from South Africa with an ambitious accent and looks that I personally define as exotic to my American eyes. Her ways of productivity, at times, greatly confuse me. When the work day starts frequent episodes of anxiety and stress periodically break out, yet in the end her ways are deemed successful.  Her style is very elegant, through out the day I seem to notice her in natural poses that remind me of a classy woman from the 50's.  Nino Blaschke, the boy on the right is for the time being, my fellow bro. He is a 22 year old Austrian who graduated with a degree in environmental science. Vene is not much of a drinker (which i respect) so Nino steps in to fill the spot. We frequently break out on rants of trying all the new and unique beverages that Thailand offers. 

     The first week was of utter confusion due to moving into an empty house for a few days with loads of work piled onto us. With the work still piled on we were once moved again, with a room change scheduled in the next two weeks. Our current project is preparing artwork and graphic designs for the upcoming THAIFEX food fair in Bangkok, which is basically an event where all food companies in Asia show off the existing or new products. The stress of this project was at an all time high due to a working period of about 4 days, which was the result of a communication error on the management side that cut our working time in half. On a personal opinion: Due to this "company" not being an actual company yet, the people in charge are unclear in themselves who has the final say and most of the chain of command has fractures at pivotal message points. Regardless of these confusions I thoroughly enjoy it, these circumstances prepare you for the unpredicted variables and errors that are ever present in what us undergrads (or kids who dont want to grow up) call the real world. 

     Our nights start late due to big work loads and consist of eating out and maybe having a drink or two. Due to the busy work schedule we have not had time to have a proper night out, which I am perfectly O.K. with. Recently (last night) we went to basically a street fair that is held every weekend called Chiang Rai Night Bazaar. It was filled with cheap to fine products ranging from socks with Colonel Sanders (KFC) face on them to owls (pictured right.) The fact that owls were available for purchase on the street astonished me, who knew? Yet, it gets better, you could buy an owl for 1,500 Baht, which translates to $ 50. 48 USD. In the heat of the moment I put my hand on my back pocket to take out my wallet because who the hell doesn't want a pet owl....for 50 bucks? However, logic got in my way and I thought where the heck would I put this owl? Plus there is a recent outbreak of a new strain of bird flu (H7N9) and a bird from a street vender that smelt like urine was most likely to have that. The night ended successfully as I walked away with a new wallet (milk coffee leather) and two small saber swords the size of my middle finger. The nights out to come are sure to be filled with language barriers, sleazy taxi drivers, foreign expired food, and one confused American. 

                                                                         The worst part about Thai

The best part about the                                     culture is instant coffe that

new house (guy moment here)                 I'm pretty sure has no caffeine.

    This is Ford (Yes, that's his name), that's about as American as a Thai boy's name can be. He would originally live in the house we are at all by himself (at age 14) I'm guessing the Thai culture puts a lot of pressure on their young. He already knows a decent amount of English and his mathematic skills are sharper than mine, which isn't saying much but still. He is my new found friend and I have greatly enjoyed him so far. The first bit of english I have taught him is Q: What's up? A: Just chilling, bro. He loves hanging out with us and to be honest takes care of us more than we take care of ourselves, with the exception of Vene.  

       Thank you for reading, and I guarantee the posts will become more exciting once the confusion is worked out. Enjoy!  

Z