O is for Orchids
Seems to be like the shamrock is in Ireland, the Orchid is a prized part of Thai culture, we went to the largest orchid farm in Thailand, and whilst I’m not much of a botanist, I was impressed with the array of colours and the lovely displays.
Pretty gay though.
P is for people.
Thailands biggest natural resource. I’m always going on about how in Ireland we get shafted in restaurants where you feel obliged to tip, but have to suffer the narky and rude service staff that would rather be elsewhere, and this is in a country famous for being friendly! Well Thailand is exactly that, friendly. The amount of times I was stopped just walking down the street for a chat, with no angles (typical cynical Irishman looking to see what he’s being sold) people were genuinely interested in where I was from and what I thought of their country. I was blown away by the friendly smiles that greeted me everywhere, even if I was a walking dollar sign, I didn’t feel obliged to do anything and when I did tip in restaurants, I was thanked again and again and again. Made me feel like a fucking king.
Q is for Queen
Freddy Mercury is huge over there…oh no, hang on, not that Queen. It’s the actual Queen of Thailand, again, like the his Majesty the King of Thailand, the Queen is also saint-like throughout the country, whilst we were there, it was her birthday, and everyone (and I mean everyone) was wearing yellow (the royal colour) it was actually amazing to see.
R is for Rice
I posed the question to my Thai buddy whilst I was having dinner during my stay, “do you ever get out of bed in the morning and think, If I see one more fucking grain of rice I’m going to vomit?” his answer was simple. Thai people eat to live, they don’t live to eat. A simple bowl of rice with some pork is a staple diet over there, and whilst I can only eat so much rice before I start wanting pasta or spuds I can see why this is so popular, it’s like eating a pillow, fills you right up.
S is for Snakes - see vid.
S is also for Singha beer!
A big bottle (a pint and a half) of delicious Singha beer (that I had drank in Ireland before) would cost you 30cents over in Thailand, thing was, in a month, I was only completely shitfaced about 3 times, which is good going considering I drank everyday and once or twice for breakfast! The other beers available were Chang (very nice) and Leo (not the best)
T is for Tuk Tuk
T is for what? Yeah, I said Tuk Tuk’s, they are the preferred mode of transport in Thailand, they’re basically 3 wheeled bikes with a wee shack on the back for the passengers, and they’ll take about 3 or 4 people depending on the size. 4 of us got 2 each one night, and I decided to rile the driver of our friends Tuk Tuk by saying “Cha, Cha” which means Slowly. Suddenly we found ourselves caught racing through the streets of Chiang Mai in what looked like a poor mans scene from Ronin. Scary stuff – but hilarious when we got to the pub intact.
T is also for Toilets
Hong Nam yoo tee nie Khop? Which means, Water room, where is please? My favourite Thai sentence, I went as far as to ask someone where the toilet was even though I was standing beside it. I’m a Feckin show off. Anyway, by and large, the toilets in our hotels were normal, although no Armitage Shanks for us, it was all Cotto porcelain. But out in the bars and restaurants you generally got a porcelain hole in the ground with a bucket of water beside you. (below is the toilet in the blues bar in Chiang Mai).
U is for Umbrellas
You’ll need them when it’s sunny, and they’re fucking useless when it rains. Mental eh?
Seems to be like the shamrock is in Ireland, the Orchid is a prized part of Thai culture, we went to the largest orchid farm in Thailand, and whilst I’m not much of a botanist, I was impressed with the array of colours and the lovely displays.
Pretty gay though.
P is for people.
Thailands biggest natural resource. I’m always going on about how in Ireland we get shafted in restaurants where you feel obliged to tip, but have to suffer the narky and rude service staff that would rather be elsewhere, and this is in a country famous for being friendly! Well Thailand is exactly that, friendly. The amount of times I was stopped just walking down the street for a chat, with no angles (typical cynical Irishman looking to see what he’s being sold) people were genuinely interested in where I was from and what I thought of their country. I was blown away by the friendly smiles that greeted me everywhere, even if I was a walking dollar sign, I didn’t feel obliged to do anything and when I did tip in restaurants, I was thanked again and again and again. Made me feel like a fucking king.
Q is for Queen
Freddy Mercury is huge over there…oh no, hang on, not that Queen. It’s the actual Queen of Thailand, again, like the his Majesty the King of Thailand, the Queen is also saint-like throughout the country, whilst we were there, it was her birthday, and everyone (and I mean everyone) was wearing yellow (the royal colour) it was actually amazing to see.
R is for Rice
I posed the question to my Thai buddy whilst I was having dinner during my stay, “do you ever get out of bed in the morning and think, If I see one more fucking grain of rice I’m going to vomit?” his answer was simple. Thai people eat to live, they don’t live to eat. A simple bowl of rice with some pork is a staple diet over there, and whilst I can only eat so much rice before I start wanting pasta or spuds I can see why this is so popular, it’s like eating a pillow, fills you right up.
S is for Snakes - see vid.
S is also for Singha beer!
A big bottle (a pint and a half) of delicious Singha beer (that I had drank in Ireland before) would cost you 30cents over in Thailand, thing was, in a month, I was only completely shitfaced about 3 times, which is good going considering I drank everyday and once or twice for breakfast! The other beers available were Chang (very nice) and Leo (not the best)
T is for Tuk Tuk
T is for what? Yeah, I said Tuk Tuk’s, they are the preferred mode of transport in Thailand, they’re basically 3 wheeled bikes with a wee shack on the back for the passengers, and they’ll take about 3 or 4 people depending on the size. 4 of us got 2 each one night, and I decided to rile the driver of our friends Tuk Tuk by saying “Cha, Cha” which means Slowly. Suddenly we found ourselves caught racing through the streets of Chiang Mai in what looked like a poor mans scene from Ronin. Scary stuff – but hilarious when we got to the pub intact.
T is also for Toilets
Hong Nam yoo tee nie Khop? Which means, Water room, where is please? My favourite Thai sentence, I went as far as to ask someone where the toilet was even though I was standing beside it. I’m a Feckin show off. Anyway, by and large, the toilets in our hotels were normal, although no Armitage Shanks for us, it was all Cotto porcelain. But out in the bars and restaurants you generally got a porcelain hole in the ground with a bucket of water beside you. (below is the toilet in the blues bar in Chiang Mai).
U is for Umbrellas
You’ll need them when it’s sunny, and they’re fucking useless when it rains. Mental eh?
V to Z next my little labradors! - it's getting tough now!
2 comments:
that's some fierce plumbing there dude - don't know if I could handle it meself! (so to speak)
When I used one of them to drop a guff, I wasn't sure if I should squat. I was a bit reluctant to do so as I was hammered and thought I might fall over. So I leaned back bit and let 'er go.
Scuts ain't nice, but it's a picnic on a normal jacks compared to these things.
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