-We've seen the proprietor of a rice store, and another of a fabric store, sleeping on their merchandise.
*When we order food, we never know exactly what we're going to get. We've bought spring rolls containing who-knows-what, "fried rice" that turned out to be stir fried veggies on steamed rice, the "chocolate milkshake" which was "Ovaltine in water" Carrie described in a Bangkok post, and other meals that were nothing like what we expected.
*Pictures of the king are everywhere, and it's unusual for a business to have fewer than 2 or 3 up. Not just pictures, either, but public monuments. At the end of the road where I'm sitting now, a 9' by 12' picture of the king is in a huge, ornate, golden frame and prominently displayed outside of a park. It's lit up at night. You'll even see these outside of private businesses and homes. Every calendar we've seen has a king motif, displaying different pictures for each month of the year. But it's not like a communist state, where it's something forced. I see it more like a tithe. The money spent on the monument is directly proportional to the income, but also like tithing, it's simultaneously compulsory according to the culture but completely volitional as people choose to do so without coercion.
*People, not machines, work the fields. We've seen seed-sowing and spraying done by hand.
*In the country, small fires are everywhere. Not just fields, but every morning and evening you smell the smoke of a thousand small fires in yards. They are left completely unattended, and we've often marvelled that they don't spread. We still have no clue as to the purpose of the fires.
*You see a lot "spirit trees" by the side of the road. After a Buddhist ceremony, the trees are wrapped in brightly-colored cloths and can't be cut down.
*There is garbage everywhere. Sadly, you see a ton of it in the crooks of spirit trees and around the base of the tree. We've carried trash for nearly 30 minutes looking for trashcans. It's rare to see one in public, and when you do, it's usually a large plastic bucket.
*In the center of Thailand, the most common food sold from street carts is grilled meat on a stick. Balls of meat, chicken liver, whole chicken, hot dogs, BBQ chicken, sausages, whole fish (carp, trout looking things, snake fish), and that's just the stuff we can recognize. We could probably identify 20 different options commonly available.
*Thais don't use chopsticks. A fork is used to push food onto a very large spoon. They never use the fork to put food in their mouth.
*Everything you buy is double bagged. For example, this morning we got doughnuts. Each doughnut was put into its own sleeve, then both were put into a paper bag that was taped shut. If we hadn't stopped them, they would have that bag in a plastic bag. The food carts are the same.
*Really, really bad karaoke is everywhere. Today, a woman in her 40s was walking with her child through the streets with a speaker on her chest, singing. She wasn't trying to earn money, she just wanted to share.
*Considering that Thai is a tonal language, the karaoke here is shockingly off-key.
*Soda is always in glass bottles, the only things recycled in all of Thailand.
*People in 90 degree weather wear long sleeves and pants, and don't sweat. If it gets down to 80, expect coats.
*Driving lanes and sidewalks are arbitrary. If you have a food cart and want to take up a large chunk of both, no one will stop you. In town, pedestrians walk in the street more often than the walks, which are littered with food carts and other vendors.
*From reading guidebooks and the net, we expected much ado about feet (you're not supposed to point your feet at people). We constantly see old guys sitting on sidewalks with one leg crossed, showing the world the soles of their dirty feet. Three related points:
-Everyone wears flip-flops or sandals, so all feet are dirty.
-You see men--not women--loitering all over. They'll just be sitting there, watching the world outside of an abandoned store front, or sitting on their motor scooters.
-The only place the feet thing is an issue is with shoes. You have to remove your shoes before entering all temples and many stores (which probably explains the flip-flops).
*The right of way for cars and pedestrians is always taken, never granted.
*Right of way is determined by the largest person or car. When we got here, we'd wait for gaps in pedestrian traffic to open so we could slip in. Now, I (Eric) just walk where I want to go and because I'm a pretty large person here (that's still funny to me), people get out of my way and don't seem put off by it.
*There are very few Thai smokers. There are very few European backpacking non-smokers.
*Thais don't say anything after you sneeze (at least not that we've ever heard).
*At meat markets, vendors shoo away flies with plastic bags attached to bamboo poles.
*A dinner of Thai food for two at a street cart is 40-60 baht. Two slices of toast with jam at a cafe is 35 baht. Pancakes and coffee are 45 each.
*All slices of bread are square.
*Nobody uses a bicycle. It's all mopeds. Manual transportation, including walking, is for those too poor to buy a moped.
*Potato chip flavors: crab, shrimp, seaweed, Thai chili paste, salt and sour.
*Women walk holding hands or hooking arms.
*Public toilets cost 3 baht per use. Toilet paper is not provided.
*Large pools of stagnant water are used as city decoration.
*Internet cafes mainly serve 9-to-18 year old boys who are gaming on the internet. Most popular game? Using the keyboard to make your character dance in step with your back-up dancers.
*Ages 15-25 are considered the adolescent years.
*Searching for clothes is difficult. In the US, Eric wears a small; in Thailand, his chest is too broad for many larges. Carrie can't find a damn thing.
*There isn't a dark beer to be had in the whole of Thailand. It's all local versions of Bud.
*Hotels can't be expected to have soap, toilet paper, or towels. Top sheets are nearly impossible to come by.
