Mon 29th Sep – Was hoping that my package was going to arrive from the UK today so
headed off to the post office to check…no luck unfortunately.
The rest of today
was nice. I met up with a lovely lady for a meal and chat which turned out to
be interesting and hopefully the beginning of a long friendship. Afterwards
spent some time with another friend at a local bar talking about stuff which
got very personal, but that is a good sign when someone trusts you enough to
talk about things they need to resolve in their lives. There are many people
here with issues and it isn’t easy, but I spend much time listening to people
and what brought them here and what they want out of their lives. It is an odd
situation when I am sort of doing the same thing myself. But it all puts things
in perspective. Off next to visit a bar that an acquaintance has just bought a
few days ago to see what shape it is in. Had a nice time as familiar with the
staff there, and did some dancing too which was a bonus. On the way back
stopped for a chat with a portuguese guy working in the middle east but taking
a break here for a while. He had just been to a bar where they attempted to
drug him. Apparently a couple of girls in one of the more dodgy bars were
acting as a double-act and whilst one girl was distracting the guy, the other
was putting a drug in his drink. He spotted the other girl doing it and stopped
what was going on. Had he not noticed it, the stories you hear are that they
then might have carted him off to steal his money or do other stuff to him. You
have to be careful and not take unnecessary risks and maybe he was reaping the
results of that risk….they have a saying for it here…”Som nam na’ ..it’s your
own fault!
Tue 30th Sep - Got a call
this morning that my package had arrived, so Back to the post office again to
collect it. Spent the rest of the day getting my accounts back in order as new
cards meant that most of my direct debits were now wrong, and set up for the
old card, so had to sort that stuff out. A fairly boring day. Went to a nice
vegetarian restaurant on Tha Pae road in the evening. Only one couple in there,
so very quiet, but meant that I got really good service from the friendly
staff. Afterwards it threw it down again, so ran for cover at a pancake stand
nearby. Whilst I was indulging in some dessert, I was chatting to a great old
lady who had so much character. She gave me some sweetcorn to eat whilst we
talked. Originally from Bangkok, she left because her son suffered with his
health due to the increase in traffic pollution, so came up north to the
fresher air. I do wonder about the state of even Chiang Mai, as the traffic
here is excessive on the ring road around the moat, and the roads into and away
from it. The rest is ok though.
Wed 1st October - A nice wake-up call from a friend this morning. A bit too early for my
liking, but made me get up and on with the day. Off for breakfast and read the
newspaper. As you know, some articles catch my eye and I have to mention
them.....
One article
from Tokyo, entitled 'Knicker Fisher Netted' was amusing. A 51 year old guy was
caught with a fishing rod stealing the knickers from washing lines. The police
followed him back to his apartment and arrested him....he had a stash of around
500 pairs of women's knickers which he said he had collected since he was 18.
Didn't know why he did it of course!
An article
from Thailand about law students who were forced to have their hair cut whilst
they were taking their law exams...they were trying to set a standard of course...odd
thing is they will end up wearing a wig in court anyway! I wonder if any
ladyboys go in to be lawyers here...would they cut their hair or are they
exempt? The students also complained that people would enter the room during
the exam and attempt to humiliate them...Lawyers are said to be called to the
'Bar'...this form of humiliation is normal isn't it when you go to a bar?
An article
about the future of education was interesting. Sun Microsystems, the major
computer systems designer has this great plan....think of the old fashioned
university education system as 'Education 1.0'...a professor stands up in front
of a class and the students go to the library to borrow books and read about
the subject....no technology. Now for 'Education 2.0' where the students do a
lot of the research on-line and don't read books as much...enter 'Education
3.0'....no professor or attending lecture theatres. Instead enter your virtual
world on a computer and wander around what they call 'Wonderworld' in search of
your global information. Qualifications would be global ones rather than
country specific and your professor is there on-line if you just need a guide.
The philosphy behind this is that knowledge is universal and should not be
contained within one person's location, but available anywhere at any time.
Will be interesting to see if this cyber-world of virtual reality students
really works out for the best, or just develops an anti-social world where
people don't gather to discuss subjects anymore?
And finally...a
british economist was awarded a prize of 5,000 euros by the venerable 'Institue
of Venice' when he suggested that the whole of Venice was turned over Disney to
manage. He claimed they had people's interests in mind and could manage
tourists better than they are currently doing. He didn't get the job to carry
his plan through of course...could you imagine the beautiful canals of Venice
alive with the sound of cheery little tunes like 'It's a small world after all'
whilst you get paddled along in a gondola! You Know the tune....sing it now! The gondoliers would be wearing cheery little
McDonaldesque hats instead of their present hats and St Mark's square would
have theme rides whizzing thought the lovely alleys.
Erstwhile...now
that's a word I haven't used in a while....have now....that feels better! Have decided to try and use a new word every day...now
that's exciting isn't it?
Further on in
the book I am reading and Rene Descartes...the man who came up with the
immortal phrase..'I think, therefore I am'. Monty python added that line into
their 'Philosopher's song'....one the highlights of my early musical life....I was only a kid!
One
of my life's great dilemmas (have a few of those at present) is a backpacker's
worse nightmare. The decision to replace my backpack with a wheeled suitcase
has been dwelling on my mind recently....scary thought! Could I cope without my
backpack...a life changing decision such as this takes a lot of thought and
prepration for the stigma of no longer being a backpacker. Sorry world...it
might happen...oh no! My decision to use a backpack in the first plae was that
I wanted to backpack around the world. The problem is that I have gathered some
more stuff along the way and the weight starts to become a problem when on and
off buses etc, although it has its advantages too. I have also being thinking
of buying myself a guitar as I have been missing playing so much. Recently even
bought a guitar music book....just need the guitar now! All signs of going
crazy and missing some of the things that I enjoyed before I started
travelling.
Whilst I
procrastinate over the suitcase situation, stopped off at the excellent Kalare bazaar food area in the night
bazaar area. Every type of food you could want. They use a coupon system, so
you have to decide what you want by looking around first and find out how many
coupons you need to buy. Then go to a booth to buy them and return to buy your
food.
Thus 2nd Oct – Not too exciting a day. Had promised a local bar and restaurant to
provide some salsa music for them to play, so spent an age Compiling a CD. Had
also made a local contact who runs salsa and ballroom lessons here, so made
contact to see what the possibilities were. The outlook is bleak as the thai
people aren’t committed to this kind of dance form, other than is Bangkok. As
part of this research I ended up on a Yahoo Groups dance site for what events
are happening in the Chiang Mai area. Definitely a bit bleak, and doesn’t look to be much prospect of
future improvement.
The evening
was spent with a lovely friend at the Cineplex cinema at Airport Plaza. Unfortunately
chose the worst movie in existence to see. Called the ‘disaster movie’ . How
true that was…it was a total disaster!
Fri 3rd Oct – Had breakfast at the Leprechaun Irish pub on Loi Kroh. One of the best
places for a good breakfast here. Had decided that it was time to move south
for when my visa expires on 15th October and cross into Malaysia for
a while. So booked a train to Bangkok
and subsequent travel to Ko Samui for Monday 6th Oct.
Total random
change of subject…..
Have you ever
pondered on the microscopic world of an ant? You should do…Just think...these
tiny little creatures, some no bigger than a couple of millimeters have brains
and needs and can move at an amazing speed for their size. Watch an army of
them scurrying around in random directions and see what happens when two of
them come close to each other. They hover for a while…who knows what is going
on their minds and then scurry off again in search of something else. This goes
on every second of their lives so it seems.
Do they sleep…don’t think so….do they read books, listen to music, go on
holiday? Nope, just scurry around all day…until some giant of a finger comes
hurtling out of nowhere…and…silence…end of an ant! Not sure what the moral is
here, but I dislike ants and feel as guilty as possible for terminating an
innocent life, but my bed has been crawling in them and cannot put up with
that…sorry ants!!
A lovely afternoon
spent talking with Kan then picked up an MP3 player from someone who I had
promised to add some music onto as a favour. Turned out this was riddled with
Viruses and porn and caused me no end of trouble!
Here’s
another thing regarding the vicissitudes of life….when you promise to do a
favour for someone…what happens when that favour turns out to be a total pain
in the backside? I have on previous occasions offered to give people some music
for their iPods and ended up with a virus on their iPod infecting my system, so
causing me lots of pain and wasted time in sorting it out. Today was one of
those occasions. And I started to wonder if doing this sort of favour is worth
the effort. I always like to do things for people, but this particular exercise
seems to end up causing me more trouble than it is worth, so part of me says
not to do it anymore, and another part of me doesn’t want to ossify into a
person who doesn’t do things for people because of always being put off by the
potential risk. Such is life eh?
In the
evening went off to the Guitar-man again as the music is always good there. Was
interesting in many ways as there were a few people I got talking to. One
couple. an American guy and a thai lady, are due to get married within the next
few days, and it was lovely to see a couple genuinely happy and sorting out
their plans together. For the guy it was his first time ever married…wonderful
for someone in retirement to finally find a happy ending to his life’s story!
Everyone who
lives here long-term has plenty to say about life here. And as a newcomer
looking at possible options, it is always good to get as much info as possible.
After the
music finished…off to the infamous ‘Hotshots’ discotheque, only a short walk
away on Charoen prathet. Free to get in and a live band was in full flow singing
some well known thai songs…must have been well know as everyone was joining in.
It wasn’t what I expected of a disco…no dance floor! Nobody dances…just wiggles
around and jump a bit. The main aim of the game here is for thai ladies to attach
themselves as firmly as possible to a farang’s wallet and not let go until he promises
to marriy them for life…or until they have removed as much cash from his
bank-balance as possible, from which point he has served his purpose and it is
time to get rid of him and move on to husband number 300 or so….not cynical am
I? The music was good anyway, but I was tied as it had been a long day and so
left early and went back to bed…A bit unusual for me…must be wearing down with
the late nights!
Sat 4th Oct – Didn’t get out of bed until nearly noon…proof from last night that I
definitely am wearing down…Will be glad to take a break from this city.
Breakfast at the Gatehouse inn, always enjoy it there due the great quality of
the food. As it happens, I met an interesting guy from Glasgow living here. In
the course of the next couple of hours we must have covered every subject
possible to do with living in Thailand. In no particular order…here’s a few interesting
insights into life in Thailand as we know it (some I will have already
mentioned)…..
Most girls in
the working part of this city come from an area of Thailand referred to as ‘Isaan’
or ‘North-East Thailand, comprising 19 provinces. There is a lot of poverty
there and not much in the way of prospects for a happy future, so parents
either send their girls to the city to work or they go because there isn’t any
work locally. These girls are money-hungry and in general send money back to
their families for support. Many cannot be trusted to tell anything near the
truth about anything, and so prey on unsuspecting foreigners/farangs who are
seen as the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow…a life of support and no more
money worries. All sorts of lies will be issued to find out your worth…A story
about one guy many years ago who had shown an interest in an isaan girl, who
told her brother where he normally drank, who was desparate for money and came
armed with a shotgun and threatened him to hand over all of his money. The irony
was that the guy with the gun was a police man! Nice girl and nice family eh!
Not sure that would happen now..who knows?
Most people
here have to work 6 or even 7 days a week. They do not have an entitlement to
any leave from work. If they need the money they work. They take time off, they
don’t get paid. Many foreigners come here to find their perfect wife and land
themselves with someone they never see, as she is always at work. Many of Them
get up early in the morning to do their praying to Buddha ritual or give alms
to the monks and then go to work. By 9pm they are tired and have to go to
bed, so many couples don’t get to have a
social life as their partner is asleep, unless they can afford for their
partner to not work, and support them in entirety. The isaan girls who choose
to be bar-girls of course have a different life…most start work at 8pm and go
through until 2am or later and get money in whatever way they can…leave the
rest to your imagination. Most ways are back to the earlier approach of
leaching themselves to at least one guy’s wallet for the duration of the
evening, until he has to leave to see a bank manager for an overdraught so he
can sell his soul to another thai beauty the next night! For someone who marries a thai girl….never have
a joint bank account…unless you really really trust her. Even if you do…never
give her a credit card…disaster disaster…red alert!!
On a
different note, the thai government love people to come and retire her. They do
their best to make sure you have enough to live off and spend here…must have at
least 800,000 Baht a year and a monthly income above a set level. Every year
your 1 year retirement visa expires. And you have to prove to them again that
you have enough funds for the next year. You are not allowed to work if on a retirement
visa either. If you come here and want to build your won home, you cannot
theoretically work on it ad that requires a work permit…even on your own home!
So, you have to pay for everything to be done, and they don’t always understand
what you are asking of them, and often give you something you don’t want…frustration
abounds! Once you have built your home though, it does change and you can then
do what you want with it…it is just tricky whilst it is being built. Another
comment was made here…sounded like from bitter experience…to never have your
property in your spouse’s name…something that is commonly recommended. Instead
have it in a lawyers name….only joking here but I wonder who I would trust the
most…wife/lawyer? A story was told about a guy who’s new wife insisted on the
house they were having built being in her name, and further insisted on the
best of fixtures and fittings. The husband being gullible and dewy-eyed by his
thai lovely…duly complied. When the house was completed….she got rid of now
red-eyed and seething husband (from empty bank-balance) and sold the house.
Another nice girl. Don’t you just love a story with a happy ending? One thing
that is paramount here amongst thai people in general, is that they cannot be
seen to lose face amongst their family and friends. So they will do anything to come out of a
situation smelling of roses. If they lose, then that entails many hours of
wailing in front of Buddha to rid themselves of the terrible thing that has
happened. Take some of what I say here with some degree of artistic licence. This
is partly why the first thing any girl here will ask you when meeting you for
the first time is…where are you from? … not because they want to know where you
are from, but to calculate the exchange rate to your currency so that they know
how to rip-you off in your own currency and potentially how rich they think you
might be! They will freely tell you they are no good at mathematics, but can
calculate 10 different currency conversions in their head in 2 microseconds!
Well, with a
few interesting stories under my belt and a nice breakfast, I had to go and
sort out this damned situation with what to do with a suitcase or keep my
backpack. The trials and tribulations of life on the road! Ended up deciding to
keep my backpack for a while longer. Not sure whether this is an image thing or
a practicality issue? Will see. I have been ruthless (just tell me…what is the
opposite of ruthless? Has anyone out there even been ruth..if your not being
ruthless?), and got rid of so many things recently that I am now genuinely
carrying more weight in IT related stuff…cables and chargers for my technology….and
books, than clothes! I also have a nice guitar music book that seemed like a
good idea at the time..but still have no guitar! Que? Must have been something
someone put in my tea that day that stopped me thinking straight.
I am adding a disclaimer to anything I have said in the above text...I might have been in a state of dillusion or modified euphoria when I said some of the above comments. This message will self destruct in 5 seconds!
That’s it for
now folks….
