Changes in latitude, changes in attitude

Learning the lingo

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Mike

Over the many years that I have been visiting Thailand I have met many farang who have been living here for some time, but could not speak more than a few phrases of the most basic of Thai, often picked up from their bargirl girlfriends, and often obviously so because of it’s colloquial crudity. The Thai language reflects the multi-layered social culture of this country, with more formal language for the higher class of society, different terms of address for older or more senior members of society, and so on. No doubt some foreigners from more egalitarian countries think that’s all a load of rubbish, but it’s the way things are here in Thailand.

Often these linguistically challenged foreigners live in the farang ghetto of lower Sukhumvit road, where basic English is widely spoken by shop and restaurant staff, so there is no real need for these resident foreigners to learn Thai while they stay in their comfort zone, wandering between their condo and their favourite bar. If that is how they want to live their time in this exotic land, then OK for them, but on moving here I was determined that I would not be living in the ghetto, and would at least make an effort to learn “proper” Thai.

So when finding a place to live I chose a condo in a mainly Thai neighbourhood, although there are several westerners living in the district, where the shop staff will give you the price in Thai not English, and where most of the food stalls at the night market have a menu in Thai only. Next task was to find a Thai language school, with many to choose from. I used the reviews at www.womenlearningthai.com to filter out some schools, and then went along to check out a few of the rest.

A couple were rejected because they did not wait for a new course to start, but just put new students into a course that had been running for a few weeks, expecting them to catch up …. no thanks ! Another favoured the “total immersion” method of speaking, reading and writing Thai all at once, some people say this is the best way to go but I was not so sure. Eventually I settled on Pro Language ( www.prolanguage.co.th ) at Times Square, near Asoke skytrain station which made it very convenient for me to get too. To qualify for the Education visa I signed up for the year long course, which is 180 lessons of 50 minutes. The lesson schedule was 4 lessons every Saturday, I was a bit worried that 4 lessons in one go might be a bit too intense for my ‘older” brain but so far, so good …the time seems to fly past.

The first 60 hours are just spoken language, then we will start reading and writing as well. Then I’ll see how intense it is ! To the uninitiated, the Thai script is just a lot of squiggles, with nearly 3 times as many letters as the Roman alphabet, many of them looking remarkably similar at first glance, ie ลส or ปบ ฟผพ ดศต and with vowels that can be in front or behind, above or below, their attached consonant !! I have begun to recognise some of the letters and their associated sounds, but there are still many more to go.

We started off with 13 students in the class, which is perhaps a few too many, but 8 weeks later we were down to just 8, and a couple of them joined us from another class. There are a couple of students who do not turn up every week, by missing just one class while we learn the basics they are way behind the rest of us, which does slow the class down as the teacher has to try and get them to catch up.

I am the only native English speaking student left, everybody else already speaks at least a couple of languages. One guy speaks Indonesian, English, Chinese, Japanese and now he is on Thai !

The lessons themselves are good, although I did have a couple of mild gripes/worries at the start. Because there are more letters in the Thai alphabet than the Roman one, transliteration can be difficult and varied, there is no “one size fits all” universal transliteration for textbooks and phrasebooks and the school uses a couple that I found strange to begin with, such as “ay” for the “eye” sound, so that Thai is written as thay, or the tone marks they use …^ is a falling tone marker. But I’ve got used to their quirks, so no big deal. But I do think some of the exercise texts could benefit from proof reading by an English speaker :

John asked Jim’s secretary to speak to Jim on the phone

Many of us took that to mean John wanted the secretary to speak with Jim, but no, it was supposed to be John talking to Jim. Perhaps something such as :

John asked Jim’s secretary if he could speak to Jim ?

It’s just a bit frustrating to do your homework, only to find out you were translating the wrong meaning.

The lessons emphasise polite Thai, perhaps over polite, ie koor ……noy day may khrap ( I would like ……please ) where normal polite Thai would drop the day may, and those farangs I mentioned at the start would probably say ao …khrap ( I want …. ) ! Anyway, all things considered I would recommend anybody who might want to study Thai at least check out Pro Language.

In other news :

The shambles that is Thai politics is still dragging on, a month after the general election and there is still no announced winner as many constituencies have not yet held elections due to boycotts and blockades. The Thai constitution says that Parliament must meet within 30 days of an election, but also says that 95% of MPs must have been declared and eligible to sit. At the moment they are nowhere near that figure, and the ‘experts” are arguing over what to do as the constitution does not say what happens if those 2 conditions cannot be met. The former govt naturally say that former PM Yingluk Shinawatra should just keep on as caretaker Prime Minister, but it could all be moot as she has been charged by the Anti Corruption Commission with negligence over the rice subsidy scam, and could be banned from office at the very least anyway.

Some of her supporters have said that if she is banned, she should go up north and set up a government in exile, even to the extent of suggesting an independent Lanna state in Chiang Mai. That did not go down at all well with the Army Chief, who has laid charges of insurrection against at least one person.

For at least a month the boss of the “Centre for Maintaining Peace and Order” has been saying that the leaders of the PDRC anti-government protesters would be arrested “soon” but they are still roaming free. They did shut down most of their stages, opening up the roads, and consolidating into one big camp at Lumpini Park. Other groups are still protesting though …a radical monk has closed down the main govt offices, a student group controls around government house, a union group is blockading the Labour ministry, and some of the rice farmers are protesting about the 6 month overdue payment from the government rice subsidy scheme.

If it was not for the people that have been killed and injured in these protests it would be hilarious, something like Monty Python meets Yes Prime Minister meets Fawlty Towers. The sad reality though is that people have died, including 4 young children last weekend in attacks on the anti government protests, presumably by red-shirt thugs supporting Yingluk Shinawatra. The real tragedy is that none were actually involved in the protests, 2 were at their family’s noodle stand and 2 were going shopping with an aunt at a nearby supermarket. The red shirts were having a rally when news about the first attack came through, and live on TV somebody (allegedly a police officer !!) said on stage “ I have great news, some anti government protesters have been killed” to cheers and loud applause ! The sooner it’s all over the better, but somehow I don’t think everybody will be happy with upcoming decisions by the Anti Corruption Commission, Criminal Court and the Constitutional Court……the military might have to takeover whether they want to or not. In previous times the tanks would have rolled in long ago, but the Army Chief keeps saying “no coup, no coup”. He is retiring later this year, and he is probably wishing that the day would come sooner !

Posted in Language, politics, Random musings, Thailand | Tagged bangkok, language schools, politics, Thailand | Leave a comment

Eating and walking through the “Village of Love”

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Mike

One of the oldest and most cosmopolitan districts of this cosmopolitan city is Bang Rak, the Village of Love. Although there is another theory that it was originally named after the rak tree (which sounds the same but is spelled differently), Village of Love sounds better, especially on Valentine’s Day when nearly 1000 couples register their marriages at the local district office.

Guarding the entrance to the Chinese temple at Saphan Taksin

Bang Rak stretches the length of Silom Road from Lumphini Park down to the river. Much of the area away from the river is nowadays flashy hotels and shopping malls, but down in the riverside area the old shophouses still remain.
Within a few hundred metres of Saphan Taksin bridge and skytrain station (where I took the New Years’ fireworks photos) are a Chinese temple, a mosque, a Catholic cathedral, a Hindu temple and at least one Thai Buddhist wat reflecting the original settlers of this area. The kings of Siam apparently did not want the early European traders too close to their palaces ? We will do business with you, but we don’t want you living next door to us ?
A few days ago I went on a walking tour through this old part of Bang Rak with “Taste of Thailand food tours”, which I had originally read about on another blog, written by a British expat girl Bangkok Girl.
Arriving at the Saphan Taksin meeting point early, with an empty stomach, I wandered over to the nearby temple. From it’s slightly garish colours and dragons it had to be a Chinese-Thai wat. It’s currently being renovated, so the murals and other decorations are as new. After grabbing a few photos I went back to meet up with Puu and Jacob from Taste of Thailand, where Jacob told me that everybody else had cancelled. At first I thought he was going to tell me that the tour was cancelled due to lack of numbers, but no, I was to get a private tour.
First stop was just down the road at a curry puff vendor where we (as in I ) had a choice of potato, taro, mung bean, mushroom and a couple of other fillings…I went for taro and mung beans.

food safety regulations ? what regulations ?

Then it was time to leave the main roads (thanon) into the sois (sidestreets) and then into the trok (alleyways), into the world of curry paste makers, wet markets and the Bang Rak fruit market, where Jacob and I had a bit of a debate about the true origin of the Dragonfruit, or Pitaya (I think I convinced him that it does come from central America originally LOL). The wet market is busiest early in the morning, so by the time we got there it was fairly quiet and clean. Although the sight of a bare chested, pot bellied butcher sweating over the meat might raise eyebrows with the food safety officials back in the west it’s nothing unusual here. In my previous existence I was a cook, and my offsider at my last employer was always a bit squeamish about some of the market place tales I told her ….Kate, don’t buy any meat from this fellow on the left, LOL. For those that have seen the Hangover 2 movie, this area is right below the Sky bar featured in that movie.
Other places we visited were a Chinese grocery which is the original home of the famous “Healthy boy” sauces, a roast duck restaurant, and a dessert shop that has been making traditional Thai desserts for 3 generations. With samples at each stop naturally ! At the Chinese grocer I had drank their Honey and Black Dragon tea, which is supposed to be good for weight loss …I was hoping it was going to work !

guess what the “House of Somtum” sells ?

But wait, there’s more to come !
Next stop was at Baan Somtum, or House of Somtum. Somtum is a “salad” made from green, unripe papaya, and usually varies from mildly spicy to tongue burning spicy. Most somtum I’ve eaten has been from street stalls, or sitting on a mat with my ex’s family in deepest darkest Issaan. Here at Baan Somtum they serve over 20 varieties, plus other Issaan favourites such as larb and sticky rice, where Bangkok-cool meets rural Issaan in air-conditioned comfort.
The final stop was at the Than Ying restaurant, where they serve “Royal cuisine” in a restaurant run by the son of a princess. Here I had green chicken curry, thankfully only a small serving !
All in all, a very good day out was had. Although in some ways it was good to have a private tour with the undivided attention of Puu and Jacob, if the others had turned up we might have been able to see and sample a wider range of foods ?
For anybody coming to Bangkok I can recommend a walking tour with ” Taste of Thailand“. The cost is $35 or 1200 baht, and well worth it. Just make sure you come with an empty stomach !

Just below the sky bar from Hangover 2 movie

Bang Rak fruit market

Posted in Explorations, Food, Thailand, Travel | Tagged bangkok, explorations, food, temples, Thailand | 1 Comment

How low can a “journalist” go ?

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Mike

Andrew McGregor Marshall is a some-time journalist, some-time pen for hire often used as an expert on Thai politics by BBC, CNN, Reuters, even though his main job is writing PR for Thaksin Shinawatra’s lobbyist Robert Amsterdam so he is hardly neutral.

In the current political troubles there is often mention of “men in black” and “invisible hands” stirring things up for nefarious gains. Through my Facebook feed I found this tweet from said “journalist”:

What kind of low life scum makes a “joke” about somebody’s disability at times like this ?

Posted in Random musings, Thailand | Tagged andrew mcgregor marshall, bangkok, journalist, politics, Thailand | Leave a comment

Shutdown Bangkok, Restart Thailand

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Mike

Shutdown Bangkok, restart Thailand

The ongoing anti-government protests that I have written about before were stepped up a couple of weeks ago when the “Peoples Democratic Reform Committee” moved out of their previous base at Democracy Monument and spread across the city, taking over six major intersections plus another main road outside the Government Offices complex.

On the first day the central city was awash with red, white and blue, as hundreds of thousands of people flocked to the protests. The numbers since then may have dwindled during the day, but increase again in the evening after work, and on weekends. Most of the protesters come from Bangkok so they can go home at night but there are many from the country who camp at the protest sites.

We see a closed road, Thais see a business opportunity

For those who may know Bangkok, the areas around Sala Daeng intersection at Lumphini Park, Asoke, CentralWorld and MBK shopping centres have been closed off, the roads barricaded, and turned into an impromptu street market. In fact you can walk along the road from Chidlom Skytrain station all the way to the MBK mall, which is something like closing George St, in Sydney, from the Town Hall to Circular Quay. With music, food and shopping it seems more like a festival than a protest !

The government did declare a state of emergency last week, and again threatened to arrest all the protest leaders and anybody donating money to them. In response the protesters marched past the police HQ with no police to be seen, and people coming out of their workplaces to shove money into the coffers of the PDRC ….so I don’t think people took much notice of the state of emergency decree !

Barricades have been put up following attacks on the protest sites

I did have a draft version of this post almost ready to go, saying how it had been largely peaceful but there have been a few attacks on the protesters, which has prompted them to put up roadblocks and sometimes search peoples’ bags . The Minister in charge of the police operation issued a couple of not so veiled threats of possible violence against the protesters, and lo and behold yesterday one of the protest leaders was killed, by shots apparently from a group of “redshirt” government supporters. Coincidence ? maybe, maybe not. The Minister should know a thing or two about violence as his sons were notorious for it. One son was charged with murder a few years ago after allegedly executing a police officer in a bar .. all the witnesses either could n’t be found or had lost their memory by the time the case came to court. Coincidence ? again, maybe or maybe not. Apparently it became the bar owner’s fault for not closing on time !

selfie photo op !

Another government minister has a father nicknamed the “Godfather of Chonburi” who was convicted of the murder of a political rival but who disappeared while out on bail, and of course the son (supposedly) never knew where the father was….yeah, and pigs might fly. The current Prime Minister is of course the sister of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, a convicted criminal on the run from a jail sentence but who still pulls the strings of the government from his luxury hideout in Dubai. She is #1 on the party list for elections scheduled for next week, number 2 is his brother in law. With a government like this, with criminal connections everywhere and an ongoing investigation into enormous corruption in the government’s rice subsidy scheme, is it any wonder the PDRC want reforms before elections ?

The election is scheduled for next Sunday Feb 2, but it may not go ahead because of possible violence. Even if it does it will be a waste of time as there are 28 constituencies without a candidate due to boycotts, and under Thai constitutional law there must be at least 475 out of 500 MPs elected before Parliament can meet so they are going to be at least 3 short already, and there are usually several who get ‘red-carded’ and disqualified for electoral irregularities, ie bribery, vote buying or some technicality or other.

And of course there is always the chance that the military will step in, not for the first time. There was an article in the newspaper making a few pointed comments about how the Air Force refused a request to use an airbase as HQ for the state of emergency staff, how the top general refused to meet some politicians and ignored others, and how a senior naval officer told the police to do their job properly so that the military will not have to clean up their mess.

Meanwhile life goes on as normal for most of Bangkok, the only difference being that there is less traffic on the road and more people using the Skytrain and Metro .. which is not a bad thing, although it can be crowded on the Skytrain at rush hour. Yesterday was an advance voting day, which means that alcohol sales were banned from 6pm the evening before (Saturday) to prevent people from voting while drunk/being influenced by free drinks ! Saturday afternoon I was drinking with friends down in the ghetto, at 6pm the staff came around and poured everybodies’ drinks out of bottles into glasses partly hidden in condoms (drink coolers/stubby holders). It would have fooled nobody if the police had came looking, but the nearest they came to that was driving down along the street with their lights flashing. It did bemuse the tourists though, who often had no idea what was happening. The bargirls tried to explain ‘election tomorrow, no can sell alcohol” so some tourists thought the bars were actually going to close (as they are supposed to). All rather ridiculous as we farangs cannot vote anyway, it just hurts the tourist industry. As they say, T.I.T. ….this is Thailand !

Anyway, some pics :

The protest leader, Khun Suthep Thaugsuban, ignores the emergency decree and goes on another march around town !His supporters also ignore it and continue to donate money to him

From the inside looking out.

Standing out in the crowd

Meanwhile, life goes on outside the barriers

A militant protester ?

yummy, fried bugs. Food vendors cart, Ploenchit rd

Urban camping ..tents set up on the main road, complete with landscaping !

Free food for the protesters

Souvenirs for sale

The govt thinks this old lady is a danger to society !

Not all the female supporters are female !

I’ve no idea who this guy is supposed to be !

More free food for the masses

Posted in politics, Random musings, Thailand | Tagged bangkok, politics, protests, Thailand | 1 Comment

Kids, don’t try this at home !

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Mike

Lion dancers

While walking past one of the “People’s Democratic Reform Committee” anti-government protest sites here in Bangkok the other day some pickup trucks arrived, full of lion heads, drums and dancers. They were obviously going to provide the entertainment in between speeches so I waited around to watch.
First up on stage were the lion dancers and some other characters, with the drums beating away in front of the stage.

Then the action moved down to ground level, with some gymnasts building a human pyramid, four levels high, with a young boy of about five or six years old at the top. I was starting to think how that would probably upset the child welfare lobby back home in the West, but things are different here.

Kids, don’t try this at home !

Then came another lion dance on stage, just one big lion at first before it was joined by another two, this time with people inside the lion standing on the shoulders of it’s “legs”. They even managed to walk up the stage steps like that !

The finale was a balancing act at the top of a long bamboo pole, around 10 metres high. I’ve seen this done before, but never that high.
The young boy was at the top again, after being carried up on one of the older boys shoulders.
No, I don’t think that would be allowed back home …..

Hopefully Chinese New Year celebrations in Chinatown will not be affected by the ongoing political strife here in Bangkok. The government has just introduced a state of emergency decree, which allows them to declare a curfew if deemed necessary, as well as banning protest marches and large political gatherings but that has not affected tonight’s rallies from what I saw on TV. I don’t think they have enough police , or jail cells, to arrest tens of thousands of people !

Posted in Photography, Thailand | Tagged bangkok, chinese new year, lion dance | Leave a comment

A walk through Chinatown, Bangkok

Posted on January 12, 2014 by Mike

The western New Year is barely over, and there is another less than three weeks away … Chinese New Year. Chinatown here in Bangkok is already being dressed up, the alleys and footpaths are even more choked than usual with extra stalls selling everything from horse figurines (it’s the Year of the Horse) to traditional clothing to lanterns and decorations. Unlike the rest of Thailand at the moment, in Chinatown the colour red is not a political statement !
Chinatown has always been an epicentre for religion, commerce, and sin …. the opium dens and (most of) the brothels have gone (out of sight at least) but it must still have more temples and shops per square kilometre than anywhere else in Bangkok, and that is quite a statement ! Gluttony is a sin, is n’t it ? With the number of restaurants and food vendors in the area, I suppose it still has the third part of the trilogy ?
Some of the wats are traditional Thai style, some are more garishly decorated because they were originally built by Thai-Chinese sponsors with a liking for dragons. Some are on the tourist trail, such as Wat Traimit which houses the famous Golden Buddha, 5.5 tonnes of gold, and are often full of gawking tourists. Others, ie Wat Mongkorn, are full of the faithful with barely a white face to be seen. And some, like the pagoda I spied down a Ratchawong road alley , are quiet and empty.