Try Before You Buy

When The Hunter Becomes The Hunted

If you go to any Thai department store you'll immediately notice the high proportion of Staff to Shoppers. 

The other day at Home Pro, they reached the pinnacle of customer service achievements with a staff/ customer ratio of 1:1 at the bottom of the escalator - no easy accomplishment considering it was a busy Sunday afternoon.

A few of the orange-aproned staff are difficult to see, but there are 8 of them to the 8 shoppers.

Upon entering Home Pro, casual shoppers quickly learn that the rules of the game have changed - that the bargain hunter is now the hunted.  It's a never ending game of cat and mouse, as most customers duck and dive to avoid a high-pressure confrontation, and only the bravest shopper will venture into the Electronics Department.  Many unsuspecting husbands, innocently whittling away time watching Avatar while their wives shop for a blender, have found themselves the new owner of a 47" Hi Definition 3D-TV.

The staff in the picture above look like they're standing around talking about which food stall has the best somtam.  In fact, they're quietly plotting their next attack, tracking their next victim.  They prey on the old, the infirm, and wives that come without their husbands. 

From the looks of things here, my guess is the guy in the white shirt is about to find himself a few baht poorer.  He's alone and outnumbered.  There are 7 staff in front of him and a woman in the rear to block any retreat.  His fate was sealed as soon as he stepped onto the down escalator - unknowingly walking into a textbook ambush.  It's only a matter of time now before he finds himself at the checkout counter with a new Samsung 1800W Twin Jet vacuum cleaner.  Shopper Beware.

???????

I'm afraid the true meaning of "This car is Yellow non children" will forever remain a mystery.

Along Came Polly

Here's some pictures of Carl's new daughter, Polly - which is short for Pollywog.  His first daughter gave her that nickname after she saw an early sonogram.



Big Fish In A Small Pond

Usually, it's a good thing to be the big fish in a small pond.  Oddly enough, the one exception is when you're actually a big fish and you live in a small pond.

At Rabieng Talay Seafood on Bangna-Trad Rd, they have a 3 foot-long fish with a spindly dorsal fin, a species I've never seen before, living in a tank at the entrance to their restaurant .  Like many Thai restaurants, it's there for good luck.  Unfortunately, this Big Fish was not so lucky, as the water was so shallow it couldn't completely submerge himself.

and it was longer than the tank was wide.  Looks like the tank could have used a good cleaning, as well.  Actually, the tank looks more like the bin where the chef keeps the fish that are about to be filleted - not where you keep a valuable good luck charm.

For the record, Rabieng Talay puts smiley faces on their rice.



Sunset Park Birthday

A couple weeks ago Nuch and I joined a friend's birthday party at Sunset Park Resort.  Here are a few pics.

Here we are at dinner

Here's the birthday boy.



Cognitive Dissonance

Last night Nuch and I went shopping at Home Pro.  In the time that it took Nuch to narrow down her selection of a frying pan to the final two, I was able to choose and pay for a towel rack, a shoe rack, and end tables. 

It still took another 15 minutes before a final decision was made. 

She's the same with mascara. 

What I really don't understand is when compared to the decision-making process of choosing a home - it took Nuch all of 30 seconds after looking at some pictures on the Internet to decide that our current house was the perfect place for us. 

Fail In Thailand

For the last hour I've been waiting for a report.  Instead of doing anything productive I've been scanning a website called the Thai Fail Blog.  Here are a few choice contributions.

Taken at the Phuket Zoo

Cash or Credit

These guys didn't want to miss their chance to give alms to the monks, so they had an all-nighter

Thai ingenuity

This sign reads - Don't Pee Here.  The Spirit of the Land (Jao Tee) is Powerful!!!

This sign reads - Don't Catch the Fish of Any Kind

Don't judge a book by it's cover.

What a deal?

More Thai ingenuity

In making his cart, this vendor used an old sign that says "Chocolate Flavored".  I wonder how well his grilled chicken sells?

Safety First

When Google Translation goes bad.

Speed Reading

This restaurant has a guarantee that their food is the best in the world - and if it is not, you can punch the owner.