100 Pipers And The Closet Genius

Last weekend, Nuch and I joined her cousin's wedding at the Bangkok Tobacco Factory where they have a number of banquet halls for staff to use for special occasions. I wasn't sure what to expect, having never met this part of the family, but when I saw the bottles of 100 Pipers (a cheap local whiskey) on the table, I knew it was a good thing that I had left my black tie at home.

We got there early, so we were able to get good seats - close enough to see the stage, but far enough back to lessen the blow of the ear-splitting speakers.


Here's Nuch's mother and her aunt (the last of her father's siblings). By the way, they were little to no help getting to the bottom of the 100 Pipers.


Here's the bride and groom with the bride's family. Her dream wedding...


Here's the bride and groom with the bride's maids. His dream wedding...

All in all a good time. Lots of music (very loud), lots of alcohol (very cheap), and one genius.

At some point during the night, I saw a girl at the table next to me fiddling with a Rubik's cube, spinning and twisting it while talking to her friends and family. I thought to myself - this is the oddest nervous twitch I have ever seen - until some point later in the evening when I looked over and saw that she had solved the cube!

After a fairly standard wedding, witnessing this genius at work (while not realizing it) made the whole evening all worthwhile. Not so much because she was able to solve Rubik's puzzle, but because from the moment I saw the bottles of cheap whiskey on each table, I was able to surmise (correctly) what the evening would have in store - loud music, dancers with short skirts, people talking so you can't hear the speeches and toasts, and a drunk guy who decides now is a good time to start learning English. Thailand can be so painfully predictable, but my assuming that this girl was simply a bumpkin with a strange nervous habit, and then to be proven wrong was a nice surprise - the kind of surprise that always seems to pop up just when you think you have everything figured out; the kind of surprise that keeps life in Thailand refreshing.

Here are a few more pictures. Enjoy

Chombeung - City Of Sacred Monkeys

After 12 years I finally made it out to Ratchaburi Province to visit my Peace Corps buddy, Tim, at his ho in meChombeung District. I'm not sure what took so long because it's an easy drive at just over 100 km, and it's a nice place for a short visit. Although Chombeung is only a short distance from Bangkok, it still has that small, upcountry town feel - similar to my Peace Corps town in Chaiyaphum. I wouldn't want to live there, but it's great to visit. Things tend to move a little slower and the people you meet are much more open. It's most likely due to the lack of foreigners in these towns, where we are more of a novelty compared to Bangkok where foreigners are seen as more of a hassle.

I didn't take a lot of pictures because we didn't see a lot outside of a bar or the Chombeung version of the "Noodle Shop". I did snap a shot of this 10 inch lizard that surprised me in the bathroom while I was taking care of my morning business.


Sparing no expense, Tim and his buddies treated me to a local delicacy - chicken feet stew.

Here's the man himself. Mastering the Thai technique of stuffing a Vick's Vapor Inhaler in your nose whenever a bad smell wafts by. Apparently, the guy next door to the noodle shop is a fish fryer.

Although there's a lot to see in Chombeung, we spent most of our time catching up. However, we did stop by a small park to visit our close cousins, the sacred monkeys of Chombeung. As the story goes, these monkeys were proclaimed sacred by the King of Thailand some years back, and therefore, must be protected - to the extent that they run amok throughout the town. They're absolutely everywhere. Always watching, waiting, plotting, biding their time...

They're not afraid of humans, at all, and ran straight for my car, thinking I had food. I had to close the window for fear that one of them would jump inside. Here they are playing on the roof. They were about to rip off my antennae, so we had to leave.

This guy wanted to hitch a ride back to Bangkok.

Battle Of The Sexes

Around this time of year, Thailand has its annual Miss Thailand competition followed shortly by the annual Miss Tiffany competition.

You may know already, but the winner of the Miss Thailand contest goes on to compete in the Miss Universe pageant while the winner of Miss Tiffany, who is a transsexual, goes on to sing cabaret songs in a local theatre and enjoys the never-ending series of hormone shots to keep her voice high and her cahones from growing back.

This year, there was some controversy over the two Miss's, as many are arguing that the pseudo-woman is more attractive than the real woman.

You be the judge...

Miss Thailand - Chutima Durongdej

Miss Tiffany - Sorawee Nattee

Under Quarantine

On the way home, Nuch and I (along with everyone else on our plane) were temporarily placed under quarantine at the Narita airport. Although Swine Flu seems to be under control and not nearly as deadly as first feared, the Japanese are not taking any chances - especially with a plane full of Gaijin.

Fortunately, the initial threat of Swine Flu had already passed, otherwise this quarantine inspection could have been a frightening experience, as the plane was boarded by a team of about 20 very serious looking blue-garbed "scientists" with goggles, masks, and Ghost Buster-esque influenza ray guns.

In fact, most passengers were enjoying the novelty of being under quarantine and taking pictures of the Virologists and their fancy blue suits.


Eventually, the fun came to an end when the head scientist came on the intercom and asked everyone to stop taking pictures because it was interfering with the readings on their flu detector devices.

After checking our recent travel history and confirming that we were not demonstrating any flu-like symptoms, we received a document confirming that we were not carriers of Pandemic Influenza, and were allowed to disembark. I'm getting mine framed.

It was all a bit over-dramatic. I'm guessing it was just an excuse for the typically bored out their minds Narita Quarantine Station to wear their cool masks and suits and pretend they were Dustin Hoffman in Outbreak.

Pirates Of Tampa Bay

Last Saturday while visiting Nuch's Aunt and Uncle in Peachtree City, I made a short trip to Tampa to visit some friends from college.


I arrived around noon and by 2 we were on T's boat.

Captain T leading our mission to pillage and plunder Tampa Bay.

Chris's son, Colin, picking out his future home. I think this one is actually Derek Jeter's new pad. Something like 39,000 sq ft.

After getting properly fried on the boat, we headed out - no idea where we were. Here's Shelley, Chris, myself, and T. I've got a lot more photos, but unfortunately, most of them are unpublishable.

The next day was Mother's Day and Chris invited me to join his family for Crawfish. Between the Chris and I and a little help from Shelley, we ate 15 pounds - or 3 plates like this.

Here's the "after" picture.

Something about the cajun spices make crawfish ideal for nursing a mind-splitting hangover.

Some other pics from the weekend.

Land Of A Thousand Golf Carts

Just got back from a quick trip to the US with Nuch to visit her Aunt and Uncle and finally have time to upload some pics.

Here's Aunt Agnun (Nuch's mother's sister) and Uncle Bruce at their home in Peachtree City, otherwise known as the Land of a Thousand Golf Carts.


If you've never been there, the concept is not so different from M. Night Shyamalan, The Village, but instead of rejecting all modern conveniences and dressing up like pilgrims, the people of Peachtree City simply drive around in golf carts.

They do have cars and roads, but golf cart paths are everywhere, making everything easily accessible without the use of a combustion engine.

The kids even take their golf carts to school.

The 90+ miles of cart paths connect you to schools, restaurants, shopping centers, and each of the neighborhoods within Peachtree City. They also weave through the idyllic forest and follow the shores of the Peachtree lakes where you can find streams, waterfalls, and wildlife.

It's also a chance for a mini-rally car race. Here's uncle Bruce leaving me in the dust.

When we weren't relaxing or scooting around in a golf cart, we were eating. Italian at Maggiano's...

Mexican...

Instead of experiencing the cuisine of every Nation, we saved some time and went to IHOP, the International House of Pancakes. I think the last time I ate at IHOP was in 1989, during my Senior year in high school, when it was the happening late-night hangout in Orange Park. Perhaps it was there that I first discovered my desire to see the world?

I never considered IHOP a high risk environment, but apparently, some of their foods can cause serious illness or death, as described in the warning at the bottom of their menu.

I can't say it was the highlight of our trip, but Nuch's discovery of grits was a big moment. She liked them so much, we had to buy a box of Quaker Instant Grits to bring home with us.

All good things must come to an end. After gaining 6 pounds and adding a notch to my belt, here I am with my Last Supper. Auntie Agnun made some Thai food to help prepare my stomach for the lighter loads it will experience back in Bangkok. Aroi!

Time To Make The Donuts

The other day, I was speed walking through Bangkok pedestrians and vendors trying to get to a meeting on time. In a rush, I wasn't not paying close attention and tripped in an open gutter - as can happen easily on Bangkok's broken sidewalks. Once I had gathered myself, I looked up and saw this donut shop - called Daddy Dough with their motto - "The Secret Recipe Since 1985".

Having just tripped in the gutter, I was afraid to ask what that "Secret" may be.