Bridgend Pub Crawl

I've been in Bridgend for 36 hours and have spent about half that time in a pub. Saturday, our UK Sales Director took me to watch Manchester United beat Aston Villa 4 - 0 at Coach pub.


Then, we hit a round of pubs, so he could see some of his friends - one was having a party to celebrate his return from Thailand after a 2-week vacation.






For dinner we ate at an amazing Indian restaurant. If you didn't know, Fish and Chips is not the most popular food in the UK. It's Chicken Tiki Marsala (or something like that) - basically curry.








Sunday morning, Paul picked me up and we went to meet his dad, Harold. Otherwise known as 'H'. He's 88 years old and still enjoys a few pints with old friends.

We started the day at the Prince of Wales pub, which overlooks the Welsh coastline.




Every Sunday, Paul, his father and local friends (some from schoolboy days) come to have a few pints and talk it up. When the ladies arrived, we had to leave. In the small card room, Paul's father claimed the decibels of the ladies' chatter was just too high for his ageing ears.






In the afternoon we headed to the Old Castle pub to watch the Merseyside Derby (pronounced like Darby) between Liverpool and Everton. Liverpool won 1 - 0 to solidify their spot in the Champions League.



The real reason we were there was the free Indian buffet. I had it for lunch at 2pm and then again for dinner at 6pm. That means that so far 100% of my non-breakfast meals have been Indian. Tonight I plan to get out of that rut.



By 7 pm, jet-lag had kicked in and I was on my way home. This is just an odd etching of a town near Bridgend in the hotel elevator. Reminds me of Led Zeppelin.

Coed-Y-Mwstwr

That's Welsh for 'Whispering Trees' and the name of the hotel I'm staying at in Wales.

It's an old English Manor and sits atop a hill overlooking the town of Bridgend, where a few of our customers are located.

I just arrived yesterday and already have had the best Indian food in the world (so I'm told) and saw my first premiereship football match - granted it was only at the local pub, but at least it was in the UK.

As it turns out, Nuch will be arriving in London early Monday morning with Thai Air, so I'm trying to convince her to take a 2 hour train ride and visit me in Wales. Getting to Bridgend is fairly simple, but once here, it may be a problem getting to the hotel since I don't know the way from the train station, and have yet to figure out how "Mstwr" is pronounced.

Meat Salad

I had my annual health check up last week, and amazingly, my cholesterol level is within range.

I can thank the fact that of all the unhealthy things I put in my body - this pile of deep-fried animal bits is not one of them.

A Very Short Engagement

This past weekend, my friend and co-worker, Stewart (of Noodle Shop fame) married Peach - who happens to be the Executive Secretary for my boss, the owner of the company and, also, Stewart's uncle.


It was probably the most bizarre wedding I've ever attended, but that's mostly because it wasn't supposed to be a wedding. Stewart and Peach had decided they were simply going to get engaged, have a small party, and wait a year to get married, so they could save money and the rest of Stewart's family could join. That's not how their plans turned out.

Everything started out normally enough with a dinner cruise, attended by close friends and family.

Here are Peach and Stewart giving a short speech.

After everyone was introduced and thanked for attending, dinner was served and a bottle of 18 year-old single malt scotch started to make its rounds - typically, stopping in front of Stu Gibson, a friend of ours who has worked with my boss Joe T (his last name is Torrance, but is referred to as Joe T. I'm Joe B.) for many years and actually, set up the factory I manage, now.

Stu is a bit eccentric. Here he is demonstrating a "Scottish Douche"

Apparently, when a bottle of fine scotch is empty - it is not really empty.


To savor every last drop, pour water into the bottle...


...swoosh it around.


and then, add the remaining drops of whiskey and water into your glass - not a single molecule wasted.

This last swig of Glenfiddich was likely the catalyst that sparked the events that were about to unfold.

Towards the end of the boat trip, Stu Gibson and my boss Joe T., got it into their heads that just getting engaged was a waste of time and the fiancees were much better off getting married, getting it over with, saving lots of money, and saving Stewart's family the hassle of flying to Thailand.

This is a picture of Joe and Stu getting off the boat, moments after finally deciding (without consulting anyone else) that the engagement was now a wedding. As you can see, they were very pleased with themselves.

After the dinner cruise, we sat alongside the river for drinks. This was when the wedding idea was introduced to Peach's family and the rest of the guests.

Here's a picture of Joe trying to convince Peach's mother. She doesn't speak English and he doesn't speak Thai. Joe later told me that to get Peach's mother to agree with changing the engagement to a wedding, he was somehow able to communicate to her that Peach was pregnant, but I don't believe him. Actually, I think both sides were happy to see Stewart and Peach just get married.

Here's a video of the final deciding moments, when Stewart and Peach, after much persuasion, bought into the idea.

Only one problem - it was 11pm at night, and we had no monks, no food for the monks, no water pouring equipment (for the traditional Thai ceremony), no props for the wedding parade, and no bouquet.

But, as often happens in Thailand - everything worked out fine. Peach's sister found some monks, her friend stayed up all night with hotel staff to make sure preparations were made, and at 9am the following morning, the wedding began.

One small problem - Stewart didn't realize he would have to take his shoes off and wore his holey socks.

Here's a video of the monks chanting.

After the Buddhist ceremony, there is often a ceremonial wedding parade called a Khan Mak. Stu Gibson, who went MIA sometime late in the evening, finally showed up with a busted lip and missing his glasses. Apparently, he didn't know how he got back to his room. I have no idea either - He's Scottish, but please pardon his French.

Here are some more pics from the rest of the wedding.

This is the dowry that is paid to the family of the bride.

These days, the dowry is mostly ceremonial and returned to the newlyweds to help them start their lives together.

Kid in the hotel lobby. Think I gave him a fright.

Some Irish guys showed up at the hotel painted in green. Was it St. Patrick's day or Easter?

Peach with her lucky spots.

I think Stewart just told Peach that Joe T had told her mother she was pregnant, so she would agree to have the wedding. Once again, I think he was joking about that.

And finally, the bouquet. I should mention that Peach caught the bouquet at my wedding, and my secretary caught the bouquet here. Unfortunatley, she got a sore nose for her efforts.

Hi Ho!, Hi Ho!

I was driving to work like any other day and happened to have my camera sitting next to me. So, to pass the time, I snapped some pictures of Korat starting its day.

Five people on a motorcycle is a common sight, but it's usually a husband and wife and three small kids. This was a father and 3 grown sons - equally impressive. I didn't get a picture of their faces, but they all looked exactly alike - as in 40 year-old man faces.

I live near a horse track, but apparently, the stables are down the road because every day I pass the horses walking back after their morning run.


Art Deco apartment, but look at those wires.

Suzuki Samuri with monster truck tires.

Thailand's link to the past, a traditional 3-wheeled "Samlor", making a right hand turn while clogging the roads and almost making me late.

Blurry picture of a broom vendor. For some reason brooms are the one household item that are still sold door to door in Thailand.

No, this is not a carjacking.

Just your friendly neighborhood, masked flower vendor.

Finally, a short video of the last of three harrowing intersections that I must traverse on the way to work each day. No stop lights, no signs (that anyone pays attention to), no cop, and only one traffic law to guide us all - every man for himself.

A Little Too Close To Nature

I was getting ready to drive back to Korat this morning, when I noticed an unwanted friend, hoping to hitch a ride.



You may know that in most Asian countries people take their shoes off before going inside. Great idea for keeping dirt and dust from getting inside your house while keeping the smell of sweaty feet outside your house. Only drawback is, apparently, Thai frogs like the smell of my sweaty feet.



Unfortunately, this is not the first time frogs have have taken shelter in my shoe. The first time this happened, I didn't see the frog and tried to put my shoe on. When my shoe didn't fit, I figured I had left a sock stuffed inside. Needless to say, when I reached inside and realized it was a frog, I squealed like a little schoolgirl. Nuch's mother ran outside to see what happened and told me, don't worry about the frogs - just be careful not to put my shoe on when there's a snake or scorpion inside.

Open Up and Say, Aaah!!

Came across this picture on the web.

Makes me wonder how many of those beef curries that were a little tough were actually Water Buffalo tongue curries. Best not to think too much.

Flashcards for Life in Thailand

There's a website called ThaiPulse that provides much more insight into Thai life than my petty blog. Although ThaiPulse has hundreds of informative articles on every aspect of Thai society and culture, the creator of the website best captures the reality of living in Thailand with a series of flashcards. There are a total of 51. I've picked out a few here that best conceptualize life in Thailand through the eyes of a foreigner.

Ageing

First, 'farang' in Thai means foreigner - more specifically a Westerner. After 10 years in Thailand it's still difficult for me to judge the age of Thai women - especially, in rural Thailand where life is much harsher than the pampered lifestyles of Metropolitan Bangkok.

Biodiversity

Don't be deceived by the Wonder Bra, locally known as Bangkok Foam.

Privacy

There are no secrets. In fact, the things that you least want other people to know are probably the things that most people know about.

Invitations

May be exaggerating a little bit, but the underlying truth is definitely there. That being said, somehow Thais always seem to make it work out and there's always enough tables, food, and booze.

Customer Service

You can insert - cable gets installed, dry cleaning gets delivered, car gets fixed, or just about anything else into this index card. I think the point is your urgency is not part of the equation when local service providers (I'm not talking about Multinational Businesses and 5 star hotels) set their priorities. It's safe to assume that everyone of his customers is complaining just like you - what makes you so special?

Same Same, but Different

In fact, I don't think Thailand is any stranger than any other place in the world. But when you come here as an outsider (or any new country, for that matter), a fresh look on the world usually provides some strange insights. What I mean is the world is the same everywhere, it's your perspective that changes.

Lots of Trucks

In a previous blog, I wrote about stuff in trucks. Once again, tough to stick that water buffalo, your 12 nieces and nephews, or your living room furniture in the back of a Toyota Camry.

Menu: Everything

Just because you can eat something doesnt necessarily mean you should - unless you're in Isaan. I was told that people in Isaan (Northeast Thailand - rural, farming area) will eat anything with wings - except an airplane. But that's only because they are too expensive.

One Man's Pest is Another Man's Lunch

The farther away you get from Bangkok the more bizarre the eating habits become.

Corruption

Thaksin is the ex-Prime Minister who was ousted in the 2006 coup. My new favorite soap opera.