Two good decisions around this trip - one, to come to Thailand. Two, to put my trip in Gloria's hands. She is an attentive, thoughtful, accommodating host. I suspected this would be the case, was immediately confirmed when she booked us into the airport Novotel for my arrival night, walking distance from the baggage claim. A great place to land after 21 hours of flying time:
What a sensible idea to have the international airport, free internet, bus station, local train station, day (Boxtel) and full service hotels, food court and massage parlor in one building! Though the Bangkok traffic horror stories are legend and the mass transit options don't mesh perfectly, there is clearly more planning here than in most large cities in the US. To fill the transit gaps there are tuktuks, songteows, moto taxis, taxis, boat taxis, dedicated bike lanes and probably more. Gloria is a pro at the various options and negotiates/operates in fluent Thai to boot. If not for technical difficulties I would provide Gloria's Thai voice for you to hear for yourself....
Gloria in the Talisman tuk tuk
Gloria catching the breeze at the back of the songteow
Some of the other infrastructure is less impressive; here is a common example of the electrical grid, seen from sidewalk level. Electricity works reliably but there may be a need for alternative long term solutions.
- 4th July celebration at the international school complete with BBQ in many forms, Miller Light and Sam Adams beer, sack races, bands and even Dairy Queen ice cream cones and (only one guy) in a Trump T-shirt. This re-creation of a piece of the US in Thailand felt a bit surreal but maybe it was the lingering jet lag.
- Cabbages & Condoms restaurant and gift shop run by a broad ranging NGO where "the food is guaranteed not to make you pregnant". We enthusiastically joined in with the theme....
Condom outfitted man and condom Teddy bear
- Bangkok Arts and Cultural Center a modern museum with quirky exhibits, shops and restaurants, cinema, and of course conveniently attached to a train station. Among the exhibits, we came across:
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Lilac Ovary (creative safer sex idea?)
- Thawadchai Tokum, a young artist with moving images of "invisible"
homeless in Bangkok whose plight he wants to highlight. According to him most homelessness is due to mental or social issues with no available services or family who can support or take the people in.
- Off to next stop, headed south via express bus (very) air conditioned, large reclining assigned seats with footrest, free bottles of water....departed on time and arrived early, one block from Gloria's home away from home in Hua Hin. What more can one ask?
- Of note in Hua Hin
- Gloria's circle includes the expats in her soi, primarily a mix of European and US men with (mostly) Thai wives here at a birthday celebration at "Say Cheese" restaurant which included beer, Dutch food, beer, pool, beer and a side trip to the night open air market. They helpfully offer many tips and reasons that I too should be a retired expat! That guy I'm leaning on after one too many waters is a retired CDCer...
Food - yummy fried fish with Thai herbs, morning bread at German bakery, all natural freshly made smoothies overlooking the sea and today the food pinnacle, our Thai cooking class. Early morning pickup, visit to the market to buy the ingredients, then off to the lovely home of Beau for a day of cooking and eating; cashew chicken, red curry pork, green papaya salad, and of course mango with sticky rice. If you ever make it to Hua Hin, don't miss this.
Host and teacher Beau
Not staged - that is actually me stirring real food in a real pot!
Our beginning to end red curry porkIn previous posts, Gloria mentioned some of the well known issues (Images Spark Racism Debate in Thailand) around race and dark skin. My experience - from the mild surprise that we aren't from Africa to several sightings of golliwogs, including this pair owned by her landlord. I doubt that Buddha would approve. Nuff said.
My special research project is "Massage in Thailand". As a dedicated researcher must, I have thrown myself into the task of having enough samples to made definitive comments. So far I have conclusively deduced that:
Thailand has lots of petite friendly women with strong hands, elbows, knees and feetAs with American football, a Thai foot massage involves a lot more than footworkDaily 1.5 to 2 hour massages (for <$20 US) aregoodnecessary for my physical and mental healthTraditional Thai massage where women walk on your legs and back is not usually practiced on women with big hips. After two days of feeling like the women were having trouble keeping their balance, I switched to other types of massageMy field work continues. Tomorrow, off from Hua Hin by train to Surat Thani to visit a friend of Gloria's...AR
Hua Hin train station, built 1926
