Wednesday, December 31, 2008

More fruit



OK, so here are a couple pictures related to fruit.  "Fruit in Love" is a shop in a nearby mall that serves fruit shakes where you choose one fruit for a 'first love' shake or a second fruit for a 'second love'.

The sign is from a Chinese seafood restaurant we went to - no dogs, durian, or food is allowed.  Durian, you might remember, is the rather... fragrant tropical fruit you can get around town.  To give you an idea of the potency of its scent - we were in a huge food court the other day, and there was one food stand selling a couple slices of durian that were wrapped in plastic.  You could smell those couple pieces throughout the *whole food court*.

The cut fruit is dragonfruit and pomelo.  Dragonfruit not only looks cool (a bright pink shell with long threads curling out from it, and white fruit speckled with eatable seeds inside), it tastes cool too - the fruit has a really cool texture, and the taste is subtle.

Religion in Bangkok


Bangkok is a very cosmopolitan place.  There are a lot of ethnicities, nationalities, languages, cultures, and religions represented here.  Around town, you see a lot of Buddhist temples, but pretty much any other religion you can think of also has temples/churches/mosques here, and Thais seem very tolerant of the other religions.  It's enjoyable, because you never quite know what you'll see around the next corner.  We took this picture around the 'Little India' section of town.

The Atlanta Hotel


We stopped by the Atlanta Hotel a couple days ago. That's the place I stayed with John Kremer and Sam in 1996 when we were here in Bangkok.  We got the rooms without A/C then, and let me tell you, Bangkok in July without A/C made an impression, but it was pretty cool, because we were very young, and it felt like we were in a war movie or a famous novel or something.  It was great, and we have great memories of the place.  The Atlanta also has a fabulous restaurant - check out the picture of their morning glory veggie plate and 'three crispies' salad, which is deep- fried seafood in a spicy salad.  That was another pleasant surprise - I've been thinking about that salad for the last 12 years.  
The restaurant also has one of the best vegetarian selections on it menu in Bangkok - including sun dried 'beef' medallions, which are really tofu, but you wouldn't know it.

The Atlanta looks almost exactly how it did back then.  It's a place with a lot of history; it's been around since the mid-50's.  Check out the lobby:
http://www.theatlantahotelbangkok.com/

Unfortunately we can't stay there anymore, since they don't allow sexy tourists to stay there.

On Nut!


One of the places we think we might find a good apartment is near the "On Nut" BTS SkyTrain station.  The names of the stations just crack us up - you say it like "on newt", but to us it looks like "on nut".  And the "Mo Chit" stop is pronounced "mo cheet", not, well, you know.  So every time we see the stop names, we giggle.  Not very mature, or culturally sensitive, but there you go.  Anyhow, for those who are interested, the Chit Lom "cheet loam" station is between Mo Chit and On Nut.  And we might live On Nut, but it sure beats Mo Chit, because I just don't need Mo Chit in my life.  Tee hee hee.


Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Holiday celebrations in Bangkok - Happy New Year!



Here are some pictures of our Christmas and New Year's in Bangkok.  For Christmas evening we attended the Christmas party at our hotel - it was poolside and very pleasant.  They kept filling our glasses with some really nice red wine from Umbria, so it reminded us of Italy, except for the heat and humidity and absence of anyone speaking Italian.  





For New Year's vacation we checked out (but did not stay) at some beer gardens at Central World plaza downtown.  You see, Central World gets crazy for New Year's - it's where the 'ball' drops here, and that's a bit too much of a crush of people for us.  Imagine Times Square at New Year's and you get the idea.  But the beer gardens were nicely done - each one was sponsored by a different beer company, and each one had a Thai pop or rock band playing for their garden.  Not knowing much about Thai pop or rock, it wasn't so much our scene as it was for all the younger folks there gathered to hear their favorite band.  But it was still very cool, and we're glad we went.





So - we had a more low key New Year's, and enjoyed it.  It's been a great 2008 for us - lots of change, but a good step forward.  Hope 2008 treated you as well, and here's to an even better 2009!  Happy New Year!

Beer in Bangkok

A number of people have been asking about the beer in Bangkok.  Perhaps because we relocated from Wisconsin [aka the center of the known beer universe - if you can find a better three breweries to be located next to than New Glarus, Capital Brewery, and Lake Louie, I'm all ears], this is perhaps predictable.  New Year's Even day seems like a good time to post some analysis on the topic.  I can't say that I've had much time to scope out the local beer scene, but here's what I know so far:

1. There is 'local' beer, there is 'cheap local' beer, and there is imported beer.  I will only discuss local beer here.  Imported beer you already know, and, not to put on airs or anything, but I've been warned away from cheap local beer -- though I may just gather the courage to investigate that some point, understand what cheap means here.  Cheap in Thailand means less than, say, $.30 USD a standard size can or bottle, which as anyone from America knows, puts you in Malt Liquor territory.  So let's put that aside for the moment.

2. Local is easily defined as 'you can find it at the 7-11 outside your doorstep'.  Hey - don't laugh - convenience stores are much more convenient in an Asian megacity where getting anywhere is a half-day event

3. Bangkok is hot - so if you're thinking about anything but a lager, you're either homesick, or crazy.  This is December, and it's 'winter' in Bangkok, which means mid-80s+ for those of you using Fahrenheit.  Which means you can take your non-lager beers and go drink them where there is a few feet of snow on the ground.  In most parts of Asia, lager isn't even drinkable enough in the heat - rice is used as a fermentable to lighten the beer.  A side effect of this is to increase the alcohol content, which is a crying shame, I tell you.  The beers I'll show you here are 5-7%, depending on how you're counting.  For the Americans reading, that's about twice the kick, but you don't taste it.  Crying shame.

4.  Local beer is cheap.  A large bottle (about two cans in the US) is about 50 baht at a pretty expensive store (7-11).  That's about $1.40 USD, or $.70 a can.

Without further ado, here are some beers worth knowing about:





Singha is what I think of as the national beer of Thailand.  I don't think that's official or anything, but it's made in Thailand, and you can find it in Thailand, and any Thai restaurant you go to in the US has it, ergo...

It's actually Sam and my favorite beer we've had in Thailand so far.  I think that's because it's so well balanced - the hops are really well balanced with the malt/rice, and it's sort of spicy, which makes it go real well with Thai food (perhaps to be expected).  First rate.  Plus, it's very fresh here.

I've heard and read that some folks believe Singha (and other Thai beers) is made with formaldehyde.  I can pretty well say that's not true.  But believe what you like - if I have a choice, I'm choosing Singha.



We had heard cautionary tales about Chang (which means 'elephant' in Thai) before we even drank it -- it was also purported to be made with formaldehyde, and since it is cheaper than Singha, to contain more 'chemicals'.  We then had one at a bar (an English bar) and it didn't taste that great.  We gave it another go from the 7-11, and the one we had at the bar must have just been old and stale, because it tasted just fine.   Perhaps people going to an English pub don't generally order Thai beer.  Chang is a bit on the sweet side, which has us liking Singha better, but it is cheaper and has a bit more kick, so we forgive it.  Plus it's totally Thai (check out the label) and has great pictures of elephants on it, which will give a great metaphor for how your head feels the next morning after drinking too many - like it's getting crushed between two elephants.  Chang - I have no beef with you, and since you taught me some Thai when I learned how to say your name, you're alright in my book.  Here's to you, Beer Chang! (in Thai, adjectives come after nouns like 'beer' or 'hangover').



When we were in Singapore, we heard Tiger was the Singapore national beer.  Turns out it's brewed by Asia Pacific Breweries, which is a Malaysian company.   But close enough.  Tiger is another excellent lager, also well balanced.  But the fact that it's not from Thailand just gives a different feel when you're drinking it than Singha.  It just doesn't feel local enough.  And if there's anything Wisconsin teaches one about beer - it's buy local.  So cheers to Tiger, and it's a great beer, and it's great on tap, and it has a kickin tiger logo, but we still have to give the local Thai beer crown to - Singha!






This is not to say we will not also be drinking Chang and Tiger along with Singha - one of Thailand's hallmarks is tolerance, so we very much shy away from any position here that is too harsh - we welcome all three of these fine beers onto our table, and appreciate them for what they are.

So - that's the quick roundup of the local brew, as well as we can give it a few weeks in to our stay here.  Hope that helps!

McDonald's in Bangkok


I must say that McDonald's is one of the most consistent American icons everywhere we travel.  Coke is another, and lately Starbucks seems to follow us wherever we go.  If you look closer you can find Pepsi and Gillette (though it seems a lot of countries we go to are a blade or two behind the US - for instance, both Sam and I love the Fusion razor, but the most recent blade you can get in Thailand is Mach 3 - go figure).  Everything else you might want from America is hit or miss - you might find it, you might not, but you'll generally pay double price.  Sometimes you get surprised - Burger King in Bangkok has a whopper value meal for 100 baht, which is around $2.50 US or so.  The Economist [the usually use Big Macs, but still] would say that means the baht is undervalued vs. the American dollar - I hope so - if the baht gets more valuable against the dollar, I get a raise! :)

Here's Ronald evincing the traditional Thai greeting - the wai [in Taiwan, he looks like he's congratulating someone at a wedding, or giving a gift at Chinese new year - McDonald's is clever that way]

And lest you think I'm above eating at McDonald's when I'm in exotic lands, think again - let me tell you, when you're homesick from living overseas, there is nothing, and I mean nothing, that can scratch the itch quite like eating a Big Mac.  It tastes exactly the same everywhere you go.

[although drinking a Coke comes in a close second for curing homesickness -- in fact, in Thailand and some other countries, they still use cane sugar to flavor the Coke, which tastes *way* better than corn syrup -- so drinking a Coke outside of America is even *better* than drinking a Coke in America - again, go figure]


Eating what - we're not sure

So the other day we roamed Chinatown 














looking for some food, and stopped in a local establishment that seemed popular.  Unfortunately the whole menu was in Thai















No one from the restaurant knew English, so Sam got up and pointed (we had a good idea about what was good based on what other people were eating. It's amazing what a smile and a bit of body language will do for you when you don't know the local language. In our case, it yielded us - lunch! (and it was delicious!)









Snacks!





I've read that folks in Thailand like to snack.  With all the great food around here, I can see why.  Here are just a couple of the tasty treats we've found around town.  The worm looking thing is fried shredded taro root with honey, the grilled frog looking things are actually grilled frogs [awesome].

(actually, mostly I've seen folks eating fresh cut fruit, which is readily available just about everywhere - but these are good too)

(note: we didn't actually eat the grilled frogs - were already full -- we'll just have to go back later and finish the job!)

Monday, December 29, 2008

Bangkok politics


I'll try to avoid commentary on the politics of Bangkok or Thailand, but I have seen a few comments on US politics while here.  Chatuchak market had a lot of US army-themed gear (as well as a Communist memorabilia store), so left and right seem to coexist around town.  Caught this image at a street market stall in downtown - the shirts depicting the presidents are probably from the left, but the Osama shirt you can sort of see is advocating hunting him down, which is a bit more from the right.  See - Democrats and Republicans can get along!

Flower market






We went to a flower market the other day.  It was, predictably, full of fresh flowers - a fair number of which were meant for weddings or funerals.  We did see some roses meant, we assume, for loved ones - and at 50 baht (~$1.50) for two dozen or so, they seemed pretty reasonable.

Transportation in Bangkok - low adrenaline options




The excellent SkyTrain BTS rises above the streets and whisks you around downtown in air conditioned comfort.  No adrenaline in sight.

Boats ply the Chao Phraya river, and those, too, are nice and sedate.  This one is actually a hotel shuttle boat - a lot of fancy hotels line the river, so their guests have frequent need to cross to the other side.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Transportation in Bangkok - high adrenaline options







There are many ways to get around in Bangkok.  You can take a taxi (and, if you're a hello kitty fan, you can find a pink one to take).  Taxis in Bangkok drive... well... like Batman.


You could watch that pink taxi go by, and walk instead.  Here's the alley I walk down when I go to work each day.  In the morning it's full of cars going both ways.  How do you get down the alley without getting run over by a pink hello kitty taxi?  Hug the wall, my friend.  Fortunately Thai drivers are very understanding and try to give you as much room as they can in situations like this.


After this alley, there is a busy intersection.  At some intersections like that one, you're on your own.  Sometimes there is a traffic cop, and sometimes you grab a flag like this and hold it as you cross in the hopes oncoming traffic sees you and slows down so you can cross

If that's too slow for you, you can hail a tuk-tuk - sort of a three wheeled motorbike.  They are not known for their safety, so you may not get there in one piece, but you'll get there quickly.














If you're really in a hurry, you can flag down a motorcycle taxi.  This is like a taxi, except the taxi driver is on a motorcycle with you on the back, so you're both much thinner, and can fit between things like two cars side-by-side, or a car and a wall, or two cars, two other motorcycles, and a tuk-tuk.  This added maneuverability comes at the cost of safety, generally, so pick your poison.  This picture shows someone on a motorcycle taxi - note the orange vest of the motorcycle taxi driver, which, given how they drive, presumably makes the driver and the passenger completely immune from harm.





A river runs through it





Here are some pictures we took while we were taking the water bus up the Chao Phraya river on Christmas day.  The Chao Phraya river runs through downtown Bangkok - the town is close to sea level (it's situated on a flood plain in one of the most fertile rice growing regions in the world); water is common here and the town is full of canals (it is sometimes called "the Venice of the east") many of which people live next to.  Sam touched up the pictures a bit so that you can see the details of the boats and buildings more clearly.  The really cool looking temple is Wat Arun ("temple of the dawn") which we might go visit over new year's break.


Saturday, December 27, 2008

From the hospital offices








We have some offices at the hospital - that's where I work for now but I'll likely be moving to the others offices I pictured earlier within a month or so.

The hospital offices also have a great view.  You also take off your shoes before you go in, hence the shoe rack.