The Girl From Brazil

Perhaps it's just me, but this advertisement creeps me out. 

It's an ad for a Thai cookie snack, which translated directly says - "No matter what face, it's good".   I think that's supposed to mean that no matter where you're from or how old you are, you're going to like these cookies.

It's placed at the bottom of the steps of the Phaya Thai Sky Train Station. 

I don't go there often, so it always makes me jump back when I come up the stairs and see the 3 faces of Anne Thongprasom, a popular Thai actress looking back at me.  Her normal self is in the middle.  To the left she is portraying a foreigner.  I know this because up close you can see that she has freckles - the telltale signs of a whitey.   Finally, to the right is Anne's morphed 8 year-old face that looks like the result of a Boys from Brazil-esque genetic experiment.

The Sound of 200,000 Pounds of Thrust

I think I've mentioned before that Nuch and I live close to the airport.  Up until recently, the planes have been taking off away from us on the near runway and landing towards us on the far runway.  For the most part, unless we have the sliding glass doors upon, it's relatively quiet.

Apparently, Air Traffic Control can switch the runways/ flight paths because about a month ago the incoming flights started landing right over our condo.

I took this picture while jogging through the neighborhood.

This was taken from our condo parking lot. So, I suppose they don't fly directly overhead, and for the most part it is still not too disturbing - although the 747's tend to make their presence known.

Without Washing The Butt

Unable to sleep on my recent China Eastern flight from Shanghai to Bangkok, I tried to kill some time by reading the in-flight magazine.  Most of it was in Chinese, but there were a few articles about France that had been translated into English. 

The first article was about Dijon.  I assumed the articles were in the magazine to promote China Eastern's Shanghai - Paris route, but if that was the case, China Eastern has a unique way of endearing would-be Chinese tourists to France, or, as you'll see - endearing France to would-be Chinese tourists.

The article was written by a Chinese travel writer.  Below is the opening paragraph:

When I just arrived in France, I learned three simple and practical expressions: Bonjour, Salut, Merci Beaucoup.  In order to memorize the words, I visualized the sound in Chinese: 

Bonjour =  Ben Zhu, which translates as "Silly Swine"

Salut = Sha Lu, which translates as "Silly Donkey"

Merci Beaucoup = Mei Xi Pi Gu, which means "Without Washing the Butt"

I toured many French cities and towns with these three expressions with confidence...

I can only imagine what the Chinese use to remember the sounds of Hello, Goodbye, or Thank you, but I am confident that whereever the Chinese go in the world, they are able to tour many cities and towns "with confidence".

Turkey Day In Thailand

For the 2nd year in a row, Nuch and I joined John's Thanksgiving dinner.  Instead of going out, John decided to roast turkey on his grill. 

Here are some pictures.

The chef John with his masterpiece.  For being cooked on a grill, the turkey was incredibly moist.  Our compliments to the chef.

Nuch and Cindy.

Marc and his wife, Mon

Stewart and Scott eyeing the Dr Seuss-green mashed sweet potatoes

Scott had called dibs on one of the legs.   I was a little slow and must wait until Thanksgiving 2013 to get mine.

John's girlfriend, Jas, got the other leg.

Here's Nuch contemplating what to eat next.

Busy digesting among other things

And to remind us to be thankful - while going up to the Sky Train we came across a legless beggar crawling along the streets of Bangkok.

Forgoing Your Earthly Possessions

I forgot to add this video from Stewart's monk ceremony.

Just before he enters the temple where he'll take the final step towards monkhood, Stewart tosses out coins and candy to the kids (and adults) who scramble to get as much as they can.  It's fortunate he was not throwing out nickels or someone might have been killed.