86 The right to vote
Wednesday 29 September 2004 8.10 am

There are a couple of other Australasian expats in town here. Last night got talking to them about the forthcoming Australian election. Australian citizens who are overseas may vote but are not required to do so. Apparently neither of my friends bother.

In England and USA where voting is not compulsory, governments and politicians have big campaigns to encourage citizens to vote.

It seems that in countries where we have the right to choose our government many people are indifferent. And yet Bush and his allies feel so strongly about this right that they are willing to kill people to give it to them.

85 The price of happiness
Sunday 26 September 2004

We were not given pocket money as kids. We got our bus fare. If we wanted to walk to school or ride our bikes that was our pocket money. I also worked delivering bread and caddying for extra pocket money.

At fourteen, I left school and started working. I think I was paid something like seven pounds a week—that is about A$14 in today's money. Sounds like peanuts now but when you had been getting less than $1 including money earned; at the time I felt rich. I paid Mum, three pounds (I think) for board and the rest was mine to do what I wanted with. I didn't know how to spend it all. But in time I learned. Before my next birthday I was managing to spend whatever I earned. When I turned fifteen I got a raise. Don't remember how much it was, perhaps my wages went up to eight or nine pounds. Once again I felt rich. How could I spend all this? Once again I learned. This pattern continued for a few years and eventually I asked myself what I could learn from it. I decided that having more money did not improve my lifestyle in any real sense and definitely did not increase my happiness. I made a decision to live on the income I had, not the income I wished I had.

I also observed that some of my friends lived always on their next week's wages. Don, for example, was my flat-mate. The first thing he did every Friday night was pay me what he owed me. Then he would go out and have a good time. He had usually spent what was left of his wages by Saturday or Sunday and would ask me for a loan to keep him going until payday. This happened every week. He was 100% reliable, so I had no problems lending to him. I would ask myself why he couldn't, just for one week, stay home on Friday and Saturday night. Then he would get ahead and not have to borrow in future. Somehow this never occurred to him.

84 Sweet talk
Saturday 25 September 2004

Yesterday I had a particularly spicy dish for lunch. My mouth was burning. Water would not take it away. In the shop next to the restaurant they had some home made potato crisps—no label on the pack. I asked my friends what they were just in case. They said 'potato' and then added 'sweet'. In Thai grammar, adjectives follow the noun. I thought they didn't look like sweet potato but I bought them. They did the trick of taking away the heat but they were sweet! I think it was ordinary potato dipped in sugar syrup before frying. I offered them around but they weren't all that popular. Was wondering what to do with them. I didn't want to eat the whole pack.

After lunch I went with my friends back to the university. There was a whole class of undergraduate students in their lab coats waiting to go into the lab for their class. Some said hello. When I got to the office I decided to go back and offer them the chips. Thais just love the opportunity to talk with farang, so they all gathered around and asked me questions with their limited English: where are you from? where do you live? are you married? why do you like Thailand? etc, etc. This continued until their teacher turned up. I think he was annoyed that they were not in the lab waiting for him.

83 Buying speakers
Tuesday 21 September 2004

After I returned from Udon, I decided it was time to get some speakers for my computer. I was happy to get some little ones like I had before but went along to the shop with an open mind. They have a huge range and I decided to do some comparisons. This was a lot of fun because shops here are often overstaffed and I think about 12 people were involved in helping me make my purchase as I tested all the different ones. It is always fun trying to communicate with people who speak no more English than I speak Thai, as was the case. Hand gestures are essential. The funniest bit was when I was trying to ask did it just have a single plug to plug into my computer. I don't think they understood my words. But everyone looked at my hand gestures and laughed.

The new speakers are wonderful. I can hear so much more in my music. In this room, I can use only a fraction of the volume. Some tracks that were previously a little ordinary are now extremely enjoyable.

Electrical products here that (genuinely) bear any of the major international brand names are about as expensive as in Australia. However, if the product is made in Thailand the situation is different. Thai wages are generally low and the savings are passed on to the consumer. I ended up with bigger and better speakers than I had originally planned. My 1000 w speakers with subwoofer are a Thai brand, SAAG. I expect that to buy a similar product in Australia would cost me considerably more than the 760 baht (about $A27) I paid here.

82 Toad soup
Saturday 18 September 2004

An article in the Bangkok Post recently, announced that the Thai government has redefined poverty. Officially now, poverty is having a monthly income of 1,163 baht or less. That's about $A40. Apparently 9 million out of a total population of 64 million come into this category. A large proportion of these people would live in the Isaan region, where I am living, in north-east Thailand.

I choose to live fairly simply. I could possible live a little more simply if I had to and figure if this was my goal I could eat, here in Mahasarakham, for about 1,500 baht ($A52.50) a month. That amount does not include either accommodation or any other requirements. Just meals. I know that many Australians, when eating out, would spend that much on just one meal. Consider for a moment, that 9 million Thais must cover all their living expenses for a month on much less than that. There is virtually no social security as we know it. How do they do it?

One night recently, I was leaving my room and there was an ng ang outside the door. I took the opportunity to take a photo of it. I am intrigued that people tell me 'mai gop' (not a frog), nor is it a toad. Nid is studying for her masters in biology (on a scholarship) so I took the opportunity recently to ask her about the taxonomy of the ng ang. She said that it probably is in the same family as frogs but most people don't understand this. It's skin is different from a frog's, it's back legs are shorter; therefore it is not a frog. Nor does it fit into their perception of a toad.

Toads in Thailand could easily pass for the cane toads that are found in Queensland but they are apparently a different animal. I doubt that I could tell them apart. They are not considered a pest. They are part of the natural balance here. And they are quite plentiful. It is not uncommon, when eating in an outdoor restaurant (ie most restaurants here) to see a toad hopping through.

Nid took our conversation a little further by explaining how they would make toad soup. The ingredients are water, wild rice, wild vegetables, chilli, spices and toads—all gathered from the fields and forests and they cost nothing. I have never seen such a recipe in any of the Thai recipe books that I have used in Australia but this sort of meal is commonly eaten by people living in the Isaan countryside, no doubt including the people in the 1,163 baht or less category.

If you want the recipe I will have to get a translation. Nid and I converse in a mix of Thai and English.

81 In Udon
Friday 17 September 2004 9.15 am

Arrived in Udon yesterday afternoon. Maybe 2.30. There was a crowd of tuk tuk drivers surrounding the door of the bus. I thought I would allow everyone else to get off first so there would be fewer of them to contend with.

From the Lonely Planet guide I had chosen Chai Porn Hotel—not the cheapest in town but still very reasonable. The driver who claimed me had not heard of it. I pulled out my Lonely Planet. (Next time I will photocopy the page. Why carry that weight around?) He took me inside the terminal to get directions.

OK. We're on our way. Except the tuk tuk is half a block away.

He expects me to just pile on. He goes around the front and hops on the driver's seat. 'Tao rai kap?' I ask.

He answers me in Thai. I know he is not answering my question. He is gesturing for me to get in. I don't.

'Tao rai kap?' I ask.

Finally he answers, 'Hok sip baht.'

'Pang mark,' I say and don't get in.

The driver of the next tuk tuk tries to help. 'Sixty baht,' he translates.

'Pang mark,' I reply. It's still expensive in English.

'Ha sip,' my driver says and takes out a fifty note to show me in case I don't understand.

'Pang mark,' I say. He's got to do better than that.

'Si sip,' he says.

I know even this is an inflated price especially for a farang but I agree. I have no map. I don't even know in which direction to walk. I hop in. I guess the hotel is about a kilometer away; no more than two. The hotel looks OK from the outside.

I looked at my phrase book before I got off the bus. 'Me hawng my kap?' The hotel clerk shows the rate card. A room with a fan is 150 baht. No arguments here. This is extremely reasonable. 'Duu hawng kap.' She sends her assistant with me to see the room. It is very basic with furniture that looks about 40 years old. But the bed is firm, the sheets are clean and it has its own bathroom. I take it.

I spend a few hours in the afternoon just walking. I've been to Udon before so I soon have the lay of the place. Udon has shop after shop after shop with just about anything you want if you know where to look. Back lanes are filled with stalls loaded with clothes: shirts, t-shirts, jeans. You can buy fresh fruit from someone sitting on the footpath with the fruit spread alongside them or you can go to a shop where there is a bigger range. One whole block of shops sells religious paraphernalia: Buddha images range from a few centimetres to two metres; gongs that big too; candles of all sizes from small to huge; dharma books (all in Thai); artificial flowers; buckets of essentials for donating to monks; and amulets.

Amulets are not officially part of Buddhism but they have been incorporated into it. Many Thai people wear an amulet that they are certain protects them. Another street is full of stalls of amulet vendors. Some amulets look quite old. Perhaps they have antique value. Some of these vendors are also making, or at least assembling, amulets at their stalls.

Later I find a bookshop. I see a book on amulets—in Thai, so I can't really learn anything from it. 99% of the books in the shop are Thai but they do have a few shelves of second-hand English language books. I choose three. It is not always easy to find reading matter in Mahasarakham apart from two national English language newspapers and the Time magazines that Nathanon passes on to me.

This morning I renew my permit without any hassles. The officer who looks after me is courteous and helpful and I head back to Mahasarakham.

80 Off to Udon
Thursday 16 September 2004 8.10 am

Today I head to Udon Thani. Tomorrow I will renew my permit which will then allow me to stay in Thailand one more month.

To get to Udon, I first take a sorngtheaw into the Mahasarakham bus station. I then catch a bus to Khon Kaen. This takes about an hour or so. At Khon Kaen I switch to a bus for Udon. From memory, that takes another couple of hours. I have decided against doing this as a one day trip. Why rush? I have plenty of time.

When I get to Udon I need to find a hotel. That will be a tuk tuk ride from the bus station. I should be there in plenty of time to just wander—enjoy Udon; maybe take a few photos.

79 Restaurants
Monday 13 September 2004 8.05 am

I don't eat dinner at Pad Pak anymore. I've switched restaurants. Gone a little upmarket. I prefer to eat as Thai people do, however, I put up with the hygiene issue of the dog in the restaurant being handled by people who also handle food but when the chicken was tough two nights in a row, I decided to go elsewhere.

Unlike most Thai restaurants, the one I go to now is fully enclosed, and air-conditioned. They do however, have two tables outside. I prefer them. During the rainy season the evenings in Mahasarakham are quite pleasant. And outside there is no TV to distract me from my main occupation of watching the comings and goings on Sri-sawas Road, which is quite busy in the evening.

78 Shopping in Sri-Sawas
Thursday 9 September 2004 10 am

Most of the traffic at my end of Sri-Sawas is students. So most shops cater to the needs of students. There are several stationery shops; several photocopy shops; many choices of eateries; internet cafes; computer accessory shops; mobile phone accessory shops; gift shops that sell cute symbols of affection and one fishing gear shop. There is a 7-11 and many similar convenience shops. At night, the area around the 7-11 appears to be the busiest part of the street.

With many of the traditional Asian shop-houses, when you enter the shop, you enter the family's living room. At night they sit and watch TV, like anyone else. The difference is that their 'living room' is stocked with whatever goods they choose to sell and they have many visitors who drop in to buy something.

77 The omelette shop
Tuesday 7 September 10.10 am

The omelette shop is run by a family—a young husband and wife and parents, probably of the wife. The husband and wife look after the cooking while the mum and dad care for the tables.

The 'kitchen' is not unlike those of the street vendors. There is a cart on two wheels that is the prep area. It is wheeled out from the laneway each morning to the edge of the road. Beside it they have two gas stoves with woks.

On the cart is a stack of egg trays. Each tray holds 30 eggs. I counted one morning when I was here early. There were 15 trays. Not sure if an omelette is one egg or two. They fluff them up quite a bit.

I guess they stay here as late as they need to use up all the eggs. Some days they are gone after lunch. Some they are still here at dinner time.

They are typical of Thai small business people who work on a high turnover at a low price. Their lives revolve around the business.

76 Street Vendors
Monday 6 September 2004 8.05 am

Across the road from the omelette shop, every day, there is an elderly (means older than me) woman who has a stall on the side of the road where she deep fries bananas. She sets up her gas stoves, woks and preparation area with her husband's assistance each morning. I think she has potato wedges as well as bananas. Not sure. I've never tried them. Both are thick with batter.

Further down the street another couple barbecue what I think are slices of pork on sticks and also chicken wings. They sell these along with sticky rice, kept hot in an insulated container.

Another young woman barbecues bananas. When they are cooked they get squashed carefully between two blocks of wood, chopped and covered with a coconut milk syrup. Delicious.

Sri-sawas is a very busy street thanks to the students of Rajabaht. And almost every spot of road that is not fronted by a shop becomes occupied by some sort of vendor. There seems to be some order. They are in the same place every day. Occasionally another vendor will take the spot when the regular one has packed up and gone home.

As well as the hot food stalls there are fruit and flower stalls.

Not all the vendors are stationary. Vendors on foot carry two baskets of produce balanced on the end of a pole over their shoulders. Others travel in a three-wheeled vehicle, perhaps motorised, perhaps pedal-powered, loaded with products such as home-made brooms.

The food stalls, at least, are usually busy. Some have a constant queue. They charge little, have a high turnover and serve with a smile. I for one prefer this kind of fast food to the franchised mundane fare we are used to in the West.

Similar stalls can be found in any busy street of any town in Thailand. It is part of the Thai way of life.

© copyright John Shield 2003 - 2004

To read this in the order it was written, scroll to the bottom and work your way up.

Blog archives
March 2004, includes: What I am doing in Melaka; Independence / Interdependence; Brother Yap; Why this blog is late.

April 2004, includes: My first trip to KL; Passport; New computer; Karma.

May 2004, includes: Getting it all together; Across the street culture; It's happened again; Writing process; Sincerity; Boring; Why?; Bag snatchers; Cross-cultural communications; Listening without projections; Malaysian or what?; Definitely Malaysian; Battling Bunga Raya; Free food.

June 2004, includes: A democratic proposal; Towards a mail-forwarding etiquette; The smell of durian; Almost free food; Charity fair; Fighting evil; Attempted robbery; Smokers; Cyber cafes; Tropical fruit-lovers paradise; Consumer society; Another snatch-theft death; Passport application—again; Why I prefer squat toilets; If I had a mothball in this hand; Troubles in southern Thailand; Ninety-one today; Going back; Stopping the snatchers; Karma and choice; Hazy skies; Formula for happiness; Where to next?; Trishaw respect; Desire for union; My new grandson.

July 2004, includes: No water; Malaysian society & politics; Buying a camera; KL scam; Attachments; Garage Band; Grandchildren; Moves; Farewell Tzu Chi; Travelling: Melaka - Penang; Women in black; Bureaucracies: I can cope; Giving with no expectations; Back in Thailand; Making merit.

August 2004, includes: Back to Mahasarakham; Independence; Passing time; Observations from the omelette shop; Pad Pak; Procession; Storm; Famine?

October 2004, includes: The real issue; Who are the real Australians?; The Best?; Out of Thailand; Instant Millionaire; Nong Khai to Vientiane; National Library of Laos; Social security in Laos; Please help me!; Lao delicacy; Everyone wants a sponsor; Vientiane markets; Of girls and bombs; Pronunciation of names; Being dead; Renting a bicycle; Losing and gaining customers; Making plans again; Bun Nam Festival; Party's over.

November 2004, includes: Visa applicataon; Lao Tradition show; At the bus station; I didn't make it; Tips for travellers to Vientiane; Visit to an Isaan village; Crickets and grasshoppers; Don't eat cockroaches; Village of the Red Waterholes; Thai winter; All Asians look alike?

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