V is for Vermin
Plenty of rats in the more rural parts of Thailand, and sod the saying “they’re more scared of you than you are of them” because that’s just not true man. Mind you, what they are scared of is the 1000000 other things that are going to eat them if they’re not careful. So you have to chuckle to yourself when you see them staring at you.
I’ve worked around rats before, in the port tunnel, and saw some pretty big ones, so I wasn’t too worried, but the females (and some of the males) in our group got quite hyper when they saw a few scuttling around the place.
W is for Wedding
I was indeed over in Thailand for a wedding, and it was smashing, everything from the setting (on the beach) to the hotel (5 star) to the food was idyllic. You know when you watch those movies and they get married at the end? Well this was basically a “kiss the bride – cut – that’s a rap – roll Billy Ocean” scenario, and I was honoured to play the first song for the bride and groom also – very special moment for me.
W is also for Weather
During the months of June to August it rains a lot in Thailand, now by this I mean, a LOT, not often, just a LOT. So from the hours of 2pm to maybe 4pm you’ll have grey sky and thunderous rain, but it’ll still be nearly 40 degrees. The rain is great, cools everything down, and signals the end of your time in the searing heat for the day, it brings on the evening time quite nicely too.
W is also for Watersports
I’m not much of a swimmer, but when the water is so nice it’s hard to stay out of it, so no matter where I went, if there was a beach, I was on Jet Ski’s, Banana boats, Speed boats and all that jazz, really good fun, I had never driven a Jet ski before, and it’s so much fun, also I had a really dodgy hangover the day I first drove one and it totally excited the hangover out of my body!
X is for Xylophone
Always.
Y is for Yellow
The national colour of Thailand, it’s not on the flag, so I presume it’s something to do with the monarchy. It’s everywhere, mainly on the people though, Yellow t-shirts for the most part.
Z is for Ze end.
(sorry) But all good journeys have to have one, and mine was really an excellent experience, I’ll be back to Thailand, it’s an amazing place, and I’d recommend it to anyone, but don’t just take my advice – there’s plenty of websites and forums out there for people who have seen south east Asia and you can get information and travel advice there. I’m beginning to sound like a travel ad, so I’ll leave it at that. Normal service will resume tomorrow, and thanks for tuning in folks!
Peace IN!
Arroy ma Khop, Sawasdee Khop!
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
A to Z of Thailand part 3 - O to U!
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!
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