Mighty Moso

Sometimes I research what I see and try to understand it fully, sometimes it's more fun to not understand. Here's a sign I saw on the BTS, and I have a few theories as to what it might mean, but it's rather enjoyable to not entirely know.

A few thoughts:

1. Thai society already strikes me as very high on the moderation scale

2. Advertising like this might be less effective in Bangkok than in, say, Singapore.

Sanuk

I'm really bummed these pictures turned out blurry, because they're such a great illustration of the Thai idea of sanuk. From what little I understand, the concept of sanuk is having fun while doing work. The Thai ideal is not that you trudge through your work looking forward for the end of the day where you don't work and have fun - the ideal is that work itself is approached in the spirit of fun and play, so that work becomes play.

So at the BTS one day Sam and I ran into the chicken people - workers from Burger King handing out flyers for a special promotion. They were wearing chicken hats, and were really having a great time doing it. We asked if we could take a picture, and they happily hammed it up for the camera. This is really a great example of one thing I've really enjoyed about working and living with Thais - the focus on bringing energy, enthusiasm, and fun to working in a group together. Especially if it means wearing chicken hats.

And the cars go marching on

Being fervent public transit riders, it's somewhat hard to relate. Many Bangkokians use taxis or cars on a regular basis, but we really don't. So scenes like this are more eye candy than reality. But note the stop-and-go traffic, and the concrete elevated SkyTrain rising above. The cars you see are mostly stopped.

You couldn't pay me to own a car in Bangkok.

Prices at the fancy beer garden

So here I am playing Vanna White to one of the local beer gardens' price list.  This is a fancy beer garden, next to a BTS stop, in a crowded night market, with a regular expatriate and professional class crowd, and the beer is brought to you by folks dressed in logo wear for the beer brands (lots of official signage in this place).    Everything considered, those are some very reasonable prices.

And I've still never tried Federbrau.

kudos to 'Chelle for catching me in perfect display of beer prices pose.

  

Thomas the Tank BTS Skytrain

They sell a stuffed toy of the BTS Skytrain.  The real thing looks more or less like this, except it's bigger, and not fuzzy, and doesn't have a smiling human face on front.  

Your friendly neighborhood temple

We went to Wat Tat Thong because we had noticed it from a BTS stop.  It was an interesting experience - it wasn't so elaborate as a lot of the more famous temples we've seen in Bangkok, but it had more of a community feel to it - it had an elderly center as part of its complex, for instance, and when we were there we saw a local enter and ask advice of the monk that was there.  It reminded me of community churches I've seen in Midwest America, and it felt more functional for that than some of the other temples we had previously seen.

Hot in Bangkok

Caught a fun saying on the back of someone's shirt on the BTS.  Underneath there was a Rolling Stone's style set of lips and tongue.  Perhaps he was a Mick Jagger fan?

Special Thailand Edition

Got the new U2 CD the day it came out.  It said 'special Thailand edition', and I bought it at a legitimate store, legitimately packaged.  What's so special about the 'special Thailand edition'?  Well, for one thing, the price.  267 baht, which at current exchange rates works out to a bit under $7.50.  For Bangkok, that's a lot, because I'm sure for 100 baht or less I could have gotten an unofficial, illegitimate copy off the street.  But it's the right thing to do, and hey, it's still cheaper than in the States.  Doing the right thing is cheaper in Bangkok, apparently.

Hope it's good - I tend to buy U2 CDs without listening to them first, more out of habit and nostalgia than anything.  One of these days they've got to lose it, don't they?  Maybe this is the one?

I have fond memories of getting two new U2 CDs while in Taiwan, though, so it should be a good experience either way.

Putting the band back together

There's so much right with this picture I don't know where to start.  

Each day in Bangkok, even walking the same route to the same SkyTrain stop to the same office building, I see something new.  This isn't just because I'm more or less observant on different days, it's that this city of Bangkok is just that big and dynamic that there's always a new sight, a new sound, a new smell.  A week or two ago, I walked past a great group of street musicians, and they were drumming along to a guitar, and they were rockin', and I thought of taking a picture with my brand new camera on my brand new phone, and thought - no problem - they'll be here tomorrow.  I didn't stop to take the picture, I didn't stop to listen, because hey, I've got to get to work, and these folks aren't going anywhere.   Well, turns out they did go somewhere, because they haven't been back since.  

So imagine my joy as I walked out of a different BTS stop today and heard the same (?) band playing the same general groove.  I rushed over, and threw 20 baht in their dish, and took my picture, and gave thanks to the city of Bangkok for serving up a good thing twice.

A lot of Bangkok, even at the street level, does stay the same, by the way.  The places where beggars beg often stays the same, but the specific beggars sometimes rotate through (I assume begging gangs here as in so many parts of the world?).  Street vendors are often the same for place on the sidewalk and time of day, though you'll often see different vendors during different times of day or week.  But I'm definitely learning about this town - in the worlds of Mr. Rasczak in the greatest movie ever made - 'never let a good thing get away'.  If you see it, and it's good, then seize the opportunity, on the spot, don't wait.  Because this town is about change, rapid change, and you must work with that to be happy here.

What else is great?  Well, their groove was fabulous, but I can't post that here.  I don't even know what style of music they were playing, and I've heard an awful lot of music in my time.  I would say some of the rhythm was almost Indian, and the guitar most reminded me of ukulele, but there was something else going on that I can only assume was Thai.  And it was fabulous.

The dancing baby (and it did dance) in front of them, that is pretty Thai as well - fun for fun's sake.  The expression on their faces - well, they were having a great time, but were playing it cool - that's probably bands anywhere.  There was definitely a reaction to the baht I put in the dish, but it was brief and different than the buskers in the States.  The dude in the background, listening but pretending not to - that's pretty Asian, you it all around this part of the world.  It's sort of a 'oh, was there something mundane happening here, I didn't notice, for I'm quite somebody, you know [edging slowly closer, and looking out the corner of his eye].  A face thing, perhaps?

But it was spontaneous, and great to listen to, and a lively way to end the day.  

The doctor is: IN

Do you need more spicy snack foods in your life?  Do you require the maximum crunch that your baht can buy, do you crave the most extreme flavor sensation that can be experienced?  Well you're in luck - 'cause the doctor is in the house!

Dr. Taco, that is.

I have no idea if the Thai display next to this guy actually says all that, but I imagine that it does.  I will say, though, that Dr. Taco is a fabulous name for a snack food.  Also I like the fact that Dr. Taco advertises at SkyTrain stops - because Dr. Taco has places to go, and he doesn't want to wait in traffic.

And the winner is...

Took this picture from a BTS stop - it was overlooking a beer garden in a local market.  You can see from the tables, that Heineken is the choice of people who drink pricey brews in Thailand and want to be served their beer by women dressed in beer logos, followed by Singha beer, and then some German beer that no one has ever heard of and that I've never tried (which is why obviously no one has ever heard of it).

I wonder if as the market share changes, so change the tablecloths?