He Said: Final Thoughts on Thailand
So Madame Librarian had her say...now I get mine. I have this to say in summary about Thailand: it is a land of contrasts and sublime irony.
BTW: Madame Librarian has done a fair amount of directing traffic to this little corner of the web. Just so you know, only members can post (I get enough spam). Shoot me an email (or any other member for that matter - we're all administrators) and I'll get you signed up. The rules are posted in the archives - December 2005 as I recall.
So as for Thailand, keep in mind that I'm writing this while confined to the smoking lounge at the Denver Airport (and contined on a B737 to Indianapolis). It's cold outside, and I was thrust back into the realities of the rat race two days after getting off the plane.
The Thai people have a huge cultural emphasis on saving face. What this means is that they keep their thoughts and feelings to themselves, and always try to end things amicably. Therefore, I will end this posting on the positive, as I don't want my sarcasm misconstrued as denigrating.
First, the bad. The pollution is unbelieveable. Dick Cheny (the smoking gun V.P. of the U.S.) would get a hard-on from it. Even in Chiang Mai, a city of less than a million people has worse smog than Houston and L.A. combined. Aimee and I are used to not seeing the sun as we live in Oregon. However the sun doesn't shine in Thailand because of the smog. It's that bad. Yet in spite of this, the smog is the only criticism that I can offer of this wonderful country.
Bangkok traffic is also beyond belief. Crossing the street is literally like playing Frogger. People in North and South America, Europe, and Down Under just cannot fathom what it is like. Caracas aint got shit on Bangkok. People in Caracas obey traffic laws. Even "la ruta desde inferno" pales in comparison. However, it must be admired as an adaptation to the reaities that exist: The city was built without any sort of traffic envisioned. A city with a population in excess of seven million made it work for them. It must be seen - and admired - for that reason alone.
I'll describe tuk-tuks like this: if the Teutuls (the American Chopper guys - forgive the spelling) smoked some crack and were asked to do something with a rickshaw, the tuk-tuk would be the result. Thailand is the land of adaptation and innovation. The rickshaw is a terribly inefficient way to deal with transit issues. The Thai people changed that. I will say that you shouldn't ride them in Bangkok however. They only take you to places that give them a kickback. But other than that, a ride is a must for anyone visiting Thailand.
As for the bartering, Aimee is a bit misconstrued in her insinuation (sp?) that I am soft on it. I know I have the cash, and I know that farangs (look it up on Wikipedia) pay more. Besides, I really like my rip-off Teva sandals and North Face fanny pack. I felt even more justified when I got my cheesy Chairman Mao watch. I gained an admiration for a people who are brazen enough to fake Chinese goods.
As for the watch, it adds to my "comrade time" collection. I picked up a cheesy Soviet watch in Budapest a while back. I just wish the had a smiling Ho Chi Minh watch to go with it. The Chairman Mao watch has a complication of Mao's wand waving as the seconds tick by. Being as it's a rip off of a real Chinese timepiece, I only wish that it was waving a middle finger. It takes huevos muy grande to rip off the icon of Chinese communism.
Another interesting contrast that you must experience are the smells. Heavenly wafts of satay, incense, and tropical flowers are punctuated by raw sewage. You just have to experience this dicotomy of olfactory sensation. It's a reminder that beauty and ugliness are part of a cycle. The Bible says, "ashes to ashes, dust to dust." South Park says, "we are all part of the circle of poo."
Going back to the commerical end of things, Thai culture is a culture of free traders of the purest sense. Unlike many histories of East Asia, Siam has never been a closed society. I would also dare to suggest this is the sole reason that Europe never colonized Thailand. The Thai people have always been traders and middlemen. Yet despite the culture of trade, Thailand is still part of the developing world. Contrast the cultural spirit of Thailand with Singapore - just down the Maylay Pennisula from Bangkok. The cities were founded for similar reasons within one-hundred years (or so) of each other - pure, unadulterated, unfettered trade with The West. Yet Singapore is miles ahead of Bangkok in their standards of living. If I am speaking out of my ass here - just tell me.
One of the strangest ironies I found was in the flag of Thailand. The contrast wasn't in the flag itself, but in its availability. Everywhere you go, you see the Thai flag flying. The tuk-tuks and taxis fly it. The night market vendors fly it. Shops everywhere fly the flag. But nowhere do you see it for sale. Nowhere. Being a citizen of the U.S., I found this remarkable.
In The States, the U.S. flag flys everywhere as well. Our flag is held in a reverence beyond that of the shroud of Turin. Even tattered and old flags are religious icons. In the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics (held in Salt Lake City - my former home) the organizers nationalized the event by bringing out the flag flown at the wreckage of the World Trade Center. The flag flown at Fort McHenry (the inspiration for our national anthem) is one of the most visited exhibits at the Smithsonian.
But for the life of me, I couldn't find a souvenier Thai flag anywhere. I collect a flag of any country that has stamped my passport. It shows off where I have been. It also reminds me that the U.S. is only one nation of many - all equally deserving of respect and understanding. I finally got one at a vendor in a night market in Chiang Mai. This woman was selling sew-on patches of all sorts of national flags. She sold me the semi tattered and moderately dirty flag that she flew at her stand. The pole is a coat hanger. I washed it a bit in the hotel bathroom, and thought I would really clean it up once I got home. However, once I got me, I thought better of it. The bits of tarnish that remain are somehow give it dignity. Thailand is a culture that while crude by western standards, is unique and hard working. They have good reason to be proud. Put another way, a crude coat hanger pole and a bit of ground-in dirt and smog on their national symbol reflect the cultural spirit of ingenuity and willingness to work hard. In this respect, we have much to learn from them. If only the rest of the world had such culural values, life would be very different.
The work ethic that is so pervasive in Thailand deserves special praise. People work very hard under excruciating conditions. Aimee and I were there in the final stages of winter - and it was worse than a summer in Louisiana. Hot and shitty doesn't even begin to describe the climate. I quit wearing deodorant because it just turned into gobs of shit in my armpits.
[Side note: I sincerely apologize to my fellow passengers on the Bangkok Skytrain of Tuesday, 14 March. When I got back to the hotel and changed into swimming clothes, my own smell nearly made me vomit. I really did shower that day - before I ventured out. But 38 degrees Celcius and 99 percent humidity are going to result in some fine bacteria feasting upon the perspiration of this farang. As for any possible commentary by others that I don't wear deodorant anyway, yes I do. I just don't on my days off.]
Forgive me, I digress. The heat is possibly the most severe condition under which these people work diligently away. I can't imagine what it is like in the summer. In The West, we would bitch about the heat until we were blue in the face. Even the American military has days during basic training that they don't march. Those days are mild in comparison to the heat in Thailand. Yet despite the heat, they always are happy and nice, and moist importantly free of stress. The only other place I have ever experienced this was New Zealand, and to a certain extent, Australia. Despite the harsh condiitions and struggle, the traffic and smog, the rat race that we experience in The West is non-existant in Thailand. Perhaps it is part of the whole face saving aspect of the culture. Whatever the reason, we have much to learn there as well.
Why is it that we are this way? I speak here of an attitude that is pervasive in North America and Europe. In American English, we call it the rat-race. This is the crisis mode that we impose upon ourselves. Why do we do it? What does it get us? Are we so enamoured with the two cars, house, and chicken in every pot that we stress ourselves into early graves? Note the irony in this little soliliquy (sp?) as I write this from a fucking blackberry at 35,000 feet in an airplane - yes, I am a hypocrite.
Let me end by raving about the food. At the cooking school in Chiang Mai, Thai cuisine was described by the presenter as a blend of Indian and Chinese ingredients, made unique by the Thai's themselves. "The very best of both worlds that we made our own" as he put it. Our worst meal in counrty was better than most I've had elsewhere. As for the irony here: take a look into how to make shrimp paste and fish sauce. Its revolting. Smell them if you don't believe me - it's enough to gag a maggot. Yet added where they should be, the results are orgasmic.
In closing, I'll tell you all what I told someone today who asked: don't go to Europe - go to Thailand. You will never be the same.
