A Queen And Her King

Last week, Thailand's Scorpion Queen broke her own Guinness Record of 32 days by spending 33 days in a confined space with 3,000 scorpions. She also broke the record for length of time with a poisonous scorpion in your mouth with a new mark of 2 minutes and 3 seconds.

In certain respects, I suppose it's a record for the scorpion, too.


She broke the record while sitting in a glass box at a Bangkok department store.



If this isn't weird enough, she's married to Thailand's Centipede King (below sans centipedes).

The Incredible Edible Egg

Growing up, I may have eaten eggs as an ingredient of French Toast, but other than that I never touched them - along with most other foods.

That was until I came to Thailand with the Peace Corps. One of my first stops was a 1 month home stay with a Thai family about 2 hours outside of Bangkok. It was my first introduction to Thai life and more importantly to Thai food.

I remember my first meal being insanely spicy Thai salad, stir fried frog, and eggs. With no alternative, I took the eggs. Turns out the family I stayed with were chicken farmers, and although most meals had some form of chicken (often the innards, while the regular parts were sold at the market), they always had eggs. I ate one or two eggs three times a day for a month, and since then, I put egg on everything - rice, sandwiches, steaks, shellfish, everything but ice cream.

That's why I was happy to hear that Nuch found a 'Pan-fried Egg' restaurant near my home that serves breakfast.

Nuch usually gets a more standard American style breakfast.


I get the Kai Gata (pan fried egg). The pan is served hot off the grill. On top is some ground beef, slices of sweetened pork, and strings of mystery meat. On the side is a minced-pork sandwich, which, after 10 years in Thailand, is finally palatable.

All washed down with a cup of Ovaltine.

New Year's Resolution

Nuch and I spent Sunday afternoon at the Korat Mall. We did a little holiday shopping, then we went our separate ways. Me for a foot massage and Nuch to get her nails done.

Nuch's nails took a while longer than planned (2 hours longer), so I settled in at the small bar in the basement of the mall and started watching Transformers, which was showing on cable. The owner of this bar is a genius because it's constantly filled with happy Thai guys who can wait out the afternoon, enjoying a beer, while their wives spend all their money. Everybody wins.

But to make a long story short, there was one guy whose wife must have been getting their nails done, too, because he was there the entire time I was. Except instead of sipping on a Heineken and watching Transformers, he had a steady stream of people stopping by to say hello. Nuch even said hello to him when she finally showed up.

Turns out it was Somjit Jongjohor.


A Thai boxer who won a Gold Medal at the Beijing Olympics.

I have to admit that after a foot massage, three bottles of Heineken, and an adolescent fantasy adventure via Transformers, meeting an Olympic Gold Medalist makes me feel like my time could have been better spent, and just in time for New Years' Resolutions.

Christmas In Korat

These are pictures taken in downtown Korat.

Although it looks like a Christmas tree, it's actually a Happy New Year tree - as Thais do not celebrate Christmas.


That being said, those are definitely red and white Santas at the base of the tree.

I think these are gingerbread cookie men, but the one on the left is Frosty the Snowman.

With the slumping world economy, I'm guessing the Thailand-based Christmas decorations factory had a surplus this year.

The video below is not from Korat, but it gives you a good idea to what extremes some hotels and shopping malls will go to share their Christmas spirit.

The snowman in Korat is a mystery to me, but I can understand these decorations as most guests at 5 star hotels are foreigners, and the Thai department stores, like any other capitalist institution, are paying homage to materialism, personified by Santa and the Christmas Tree.

Actually, if you ask most Thais why do the stores and city centers put up Santa dolls, Christmas trees and Christmas lights, they'll tell you because it's beautiful. Fair enough.

Rudolph

Santa came to Thailand after all - on his elephant!

Here's Rudolph playing elephant games.

Buche De Noelle

Christmas tends to come and go rather quietly in Korat. But unlike most years, this year one of my favorite restaurants, Amporn's, had a Christmas Gala.

The Swiss chef had an eclectic Xmas menu with Vitello Tonnate (ham with a tuna cream sauce), 200 g tenderloin steak, a "Buche de Noelle", and Sangria.



All very good. Here's the Buche de Noelle.


To add that festive feeling, the owner forced the waitresses to dress up like Santa and his elves.

Happy Anniversary, Christmas, New Year

Thought I'd share Nuch's Anniversary, Christmas, New Year gift with you.

She had it sent to my factory. Needless to say all the office girls were overcome with envy.

"Where's Jack?"

I'm officially addicted to Lost.

I recently discovered a website where I can download every episode. This lets me catch up on a series that has been around for 4+ years. It also lets me watch 4 episodes in row. This has its good points and bad points. On the good side - I can easily get my Lost fix. On the bad side - I stay up too late. In addition, because I watch 3 to 4 episodes back to back without commercials, I pick up on certain "Lost" idiosyncrasies that have started to become annoying.

One - perfectly triangulated sweat patterns. (Bernard is the one exception)

Two - a third of all scenes begin with someone asking where someone else is. "Where's Jack?", "Have you seen Locke?", "Where did Kate go?" Answers vary between "I don't know", "I thought s/he was with you", and "at the beach/ hatch".

Three - the fact that no one has killed Sawyer in his sleep is tempting to dispell my suspension of disbelief.

Four - an episode is not complete without at least one scene depicting an argument/ debate to determine who goes and who stays.

Finally - after almost 2 full seasons, I've realized you only need to watch the last 2 minutes of the previous episode and the first five minutes of the next episode. Basically, to get the cliffhanger and then, the resolution. The 'previously on Lost' intro helps, too, but everything else in between, although scenic, is just filler.

Only 3 and a half seasons to go.

Miss Thailand

Labor Pains

Fun days in Korat recently. With a slowing economy and slumping UK furniture market, this year's worker bonus has also decreased. Needless to say they weren't happy, and stopped working this past Wednesday - 700 people sitting and twiddling their thumbs for 8 hours. When they came back to work on Thursday, we got rid of the ring leaders, and the rest decided that a reduced bonus and job is better than no bonus and no job. By the time I left the factory on Saturday, things were relatively normal.

That wasn't the case 3 years ago. After announcing a less than expected bonus, the workers walked out. Unlike the current situation, which was cleaned up in a matter of days, it took almost 2 months to get things back in order - due primarily to local and international labor unions, who initiated a smear campaign against our company and its labor practices.


First, I should explain that unlike most people's perception of Asian factories, my factory is nothing like a sweat shop. It exceeds all Thai labor laws and meets the strict requirements of our UK customers like Marks & Spencer.

Don't get me wrong, we're here for cheap labor and the daily wage structure of Thai workers makes them little more than hunter gatherers of the modern age, but we have a safe work environment and pay almost 25% over the minimum wage.

That being said certain individuals with only the "best interest" of our factory workers in mind wrote letters to our customers describing my factory as the "factory from hell". They also organized protests in front of the Thai Parliament in Bangkok.

Below is a picture from a Thai newspaper of a group of protesters (not our workers) that were organized by the Thai National Labor Union.


Notice the guy with the red tie with his foot on a worker's back. He is wearing a sign with the name "Samakey". He represents our HR Manager, Samakey (ironically, Samakey means "unity" in Thai). On the left, there is a girl, also, with her foot on the back of a worker. Her sign says "Sujin" - the name of the local government official from the labor office. Her mouth is taped shut, representing her inability or unwillingness to support the workers - nice touch.

Below are some protesters (once again, a rent-a-mob - not actual staff) who had chained themselves to the gates of Parliament. I'm assuming they went home after the newsman got his shot.

I can laugh about it now, but the 120 workers who sided with the Union were locked out and eventually lost their jobs, and most had to move away, as they were not able to find new jobs in Korat.

To this day, the labor organizer is still lurking around Korat and other industrial zones throughout Thailand, looking for union fees, donations from sympathetic international labor organizations, and a marketable voting block. Fortunately, this year, for the sake of all involved, he felt our staff didn't deserve his help.

The Good 'ol Days

2008 is coming to a close. For a number of reasons, I'll be happy that it's over.

Most recently, my company announced that it would not give out a bonus, and the following day, the workers stopped working. Try explaining to someone who works 48 hours a week, trying to raise a family on 8 dollars a day that they didn't do enough to earn their bonus. In case you're wondering, a global recession, political standoffs, and foreign exchange losses don't cut it.

So, here's to the good 'ol days - before the sub prime crisis, airport shutdowns, citywide protests, and a global financial meltdown...

Back when the sunset wasn't darkened by industrial smog, when a trip to the market meant floating down river, and you could eat the fish in the stream.


Then again, back in the good 'ol days Thailand had rampant epidemics, invading armies from Cambodia, lots of ghosts, floods, and tyrannical leaders...


It also had some nice temples.

Perhaps, it's only the days that have changed.

Man vs. Rabbit

Last night, you may have noticed that the moon looked especially big. Apparently, this was the closest it will be to the earth for another 8 years (although I've also heard 15 years - as well as forever!!)

From my front porch it still looked pretty small, but perhaps that was just my camera.

You also may have noticed the man on the moon staring down at us while collecting cheese.

Just as Thailand has it's own way to see the world, it also has its own way to see the stars and moon. Instead of a man, a rabbit is the moon's sole inhabitant.

Where's The Beef

I had a new adventure in Thai cuisine yesterday. When I came home from work, I found some beef jerky on the table that, I assumed, Nuch had bought for me. I had a few bites to tide me over til dinner and have to say it was pretty tasty - until Nuch asked me if I liked her vegetarian beef.

Nuch has decided to eat vegetarian for a month, which is not uncommon in Thailand for people who wish to make merit. For all those people who have chosen to live on rice, fruits, and vegetables, a sub-market of fake meats has been created - in this case, some non-beef, beef jerky made from mushrooms. I'm still not sure what they did to the mushrooms to give them that beef jerky toughness.


She also had some crispy fried chicken bits made from Tofu.


Here's some vegetarian Peking Duck.

The Tim Tebow Song

This must be some kind of conspiracy to defame the Gator Nation. Real Gators don't wear socks with flip flops, carry 3rd grader knapsacks, and do the Robot.



Fear of someone making a similar rap video about me is one reason I've chosen not to be famous.

Father's Day

Friday December 5th is the King's birthday and is also the Thai Father's Day (the Queen's birthday is Mother's Day). More importantly, it's a national holiday.

With the king held in such high regard, it's not proper to have anything negative associated with this day, so there were no funeral services for Nuch's dad on this evening. With some time to ourselves, Nuch and I went to a resort restaurant near Kao San Rd, called Mayompuri.

The place looks 5 star and somewhat out of place compared to the backpacker haven of Kao San Rd. I've been there several times and it's always nearly empty, which makes for a quiet evening out in this usually hectic part of town.

Mayompuri is next to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and Senam Luang, which is the King's park and is also the location of his annual fireworks show.

Sitting in the courtyard of Mayompuri we had Baghdad, 'shock and awe' view of the fireworks with ash residue dusting our desserts.

Even more amazing - I figured out how to download pictures and video from Nuch's phone to my computer.




Finally, no public festivity is complete without an after party traffic jam.

No Tears In Heaven

Nuch's father's funeral began yesterday. In the afternoon, his body was brought to the temple, and family and close friends had a chance to say their last goodbyes. Then, he was placed in the casket, and the funeral altar was prepared.

At 7:30 in the evening, the monks arrived and began chanting. During one of their breaks, Nuch told me to turn around and pointed up at the sky. Above the temple roof and looking down at the funeral, Venus, Jupiter and a crescent moon had come together to form a celestial smiley face.

The auspicious smile hung in the sky for about half an hour, while the monks chanted their funeral prayers. By the time they were finished, Venus and Jupiter and drifted away, and the crescent moon had sunk below the horizon. It's the first lunar constellation I've ever seen or even heard of, and its presence certainly made an impression on the funeral guests. The significance of it all - no one can say for sure - perhaps, it was just another last goodbye.

Ketchup And Mustard

Sure ketchup and mustard are different colors and different tastes, but somehow they are able to work together to give that extra zest to a McDonald's hamburger. If only Thailand's version of ketchup and mustard could figure out how to do the same. And if they don't do it soon, the Big Chilli and its condiment-filled streets will become known for it's brightly-colored chaos instead of it's traditional, tropical spice.

The yellow team and the red team are at it again. This time the yellow team has taken over the international and domestic airports.

This is the road leading up to the departure terminal at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The red team is hoping the army or police kick them out, but if Thailand's security forces can't get the job done, the red team plant to do it themselves.

Exciting times, indeed. Here's a video of Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Up in Korat, everything is completely normal - except that our air shipments can't get out.

Grilled Fish By The Canal

On a quiet Sunday with no where to go and nothing to do, you can usually find Nuch and I at a local grilled fish restaurant (aptly named, Grilled Fish) that sits next to a small canal.

Here's the kitchen. The fish are salted, so they don't burn as they're being grilled, and they're stuffed with garlic, lemon grass, and other herbs to give them flavor.


The food is cheap and tasty, and the traditional Thai homes along the canal make me feel like I've gone back in time.



To add to the feeling of nostalgia (or what I imagine would feel like nostalgia if I had actually been in Thailand 30 years ago), occasionally a boat will pass by with an old lady selling homemade sweets or steamed shellfish. The lady in this video was selling grilled duck - Peking style.



Lunch is served along with some somtam or Papaya Salad. Simply peel back the baked skin and dig in - beware of bones. I guess I've gotten used to eating food with the head still on.


When the food comes, the restaurant's cat comes.

Far from 5 stars, what Grilled Fish lacks in luxury it makes up for in hominess - accented by some one's laundry hanging up on the back deck.

I think I mentioned this before, but if I believed in reincarnation, and the Big Buddha said I was going back to Thailand, I would choose to come back as a beach dog. However, if all the beach dog spots were filled, my second choice would be a restaurant cat - hopefully, at Grilled Fish.