TheNHBushman.com

On the way home from Thailand, Hui-Chen and I took a KLM flight. Long ago I stopped sitting by the window, preferring instead to at least stretch an elbow along the asile. However, these days, the asiles are now so narrow that I am constantly being bumped into. This time I decided that if I was going to be inconvenienced, at least I would be able to look out the window and see something for my efforts. I am very glad that I packed my 190+cm/120KG frame into that window seat. Although I did not happen to take a snapshot of it, I did see Pratas Island, a personal favorite cool place in the world. Not realizing that we flew over it each time I went to/from Thailand on KLM, I will be on the lookout for it next time for sure.

Friends of the Bushman know that I despise Heineken, but I was on a Royal Dutch Airlines aircraft, so I should have known better than to just ask for “beer.” I like the Dutch. They do pretty nice chocolate and they do know how to run an airline. I know of 2 Dutch beers. One I call “good enough for the Dutch to drink” and the other one is for everyone else: Heineken. In New Hampshire, we affectionately refer to it as “skunk piss.” Note to Americans with a DNA induced compulsion to make other people think like they do: Please do not argue with me on this point, nor try to “correct” me. This is my opinion and you aren’t going to convince me that I am wrong. Heineken sucks. But, you are welcome to drink it if you want to. Here you can see my “I’m not happy” face.

Added to Heineken, a dirty 747 window did not make this experience any better. As the plane approached Taiwan, the fog on the inside outer layer of the window magically began to disappear. Unfortunately the smog surrounding Taiwan remained, which explains the small number of viewable shots.

I want to begin by “annoucing” the best way to Moscow might deserve closer scrutiny. This is a huge advertisement in Bangkok International Airport. No one ever runs these things by native speakers.

OK, now we are in the air, and approaching Taiwan!

This is the southern end of Taiwan, with Kenting running under the cloud cover out past the right edge of the photograph.

This shot clearly shows just how high Taiwan mountians are. Good thing we are heading North and not due East or we would be in big trouble!

This is Kaohsiung City.

At this point the smog isn’t so bad and you can actually resolve some detail in the photograph. Here we see Kaohsiung City a bit closer up. Hui-Chen is from this city.

As far as I am able to tell, this is Tainan. The GPS is an excellent tool for identifying places from the air.

By the time this shot was taken, the smog was so bad that I can’t confirm or deny that this is actually Changhua, but I think it is.

There is one last cool shot that I want to share. I used to live on the north side of Hukou and I could see a small “windmill farm” consisting of 3 units, from my window. I rode my bicycle up there a few times. They are located in the Yongan area, north of the fish market. Once, Hui-Chen and I took our friend Greg for a drive and we ended up very near to them, and I snapped a shot of the 3 units using my mobile phone, seen to the left. I used them as a daily gauge of air quality based on their visibility, being roughly 7 KM from my home at the time.

When this shot was taken our altitude had been reduced significantly as we were on the approach to CKS.

This is a shot of the 3 wind power generators that I have seen many times from ground level. Yeah, I know this is geek shit but I think that things like this are very cool.

My Friend First
On the second time I visited Thailand, I was invited to go to a café where a local performer was working. Later I was asked to go up on stage and play a few tunes for a very receptive audience. After hearing each other play on that occasion, we developed a mutual respect and appreciation for our respective abilities. This man’s nickname in Thai is “first” and that is what we call him in English. Over the past year Hui-Chen and I have really gotten to know him and we call him our good friend. First is a thoughtful man, university trained, and preparing his life for the future. Although he is a singer and guitar player, he earns more than double the salary of a bank teller in Kohn Kaen. He normally works every single night of the year with only 1 or 2 nights off per year!

First took us out in a pickup truck to join in the new year’s celebration here. We had two large tanks of water and several buckets with which to literally drench passersby in other trucks, motorcycles or on foot. Not really able to safely get photos of the event with the mayhem going on, I won’t bore you with a verbose description of happenings. Instead I will show you photos and tell you about some other things we did.


The day after we put on our little performance (previous post), First took us to meet his father and stepmother. First’s father is a local village leader and has a really nice home with a large plot of land.


There are 2 bodies of water which are used to raise fish for their own consumption and also for sale. Here we see the main house in the background right, and the little house one of the lakes which is where the family spends most of their time.


Hui-Chen is standing in front of an ox valued at more than 1 million Thai baht. Its value is derived from its ability to do work on a farm.


After pouring us drinks, First’s father insisted that he have one of his men catch some fish for our meal. The fisherman threw out a net and then waded around feeling for the fish.


Thai people smile virtually all the time. Its very pleasant to be around such happy people even when they are performing mundane chores. They seldom complain about anything.


Look at the size of this fish he caught!


This guy holds the Olympic Fish Throwing record! If you look closely in the upper left you can see the fish in the air on its way to the bank of the lake.


In this shot you can see what happened to several fish that were caught. The sauce in the small bowl is made from all local ingredients, and we were told that every village has their own style of sauce based on availability of ingredients. All these sauces have one thing in common: they will burn your taste buds to cinders.

Later, First invited us to witness a special ritual that Thai young people perform to respect their parents.


First made a concoction of water and powder in a bowl. He is using a freshly picked flower to stir in the powder.


On his knees as a sigh of humility and respect, First used the flower to drip the powder/water mixture on the hands of his parents, starting with his father, and then to his mother. While he is wetting their hands, he is giving them a blessing for longevity and prosperity.


Having completed his blessing to his parents, they touch his head and put some of the water back on him. His parents are saying that he is a good son and has properly shown them respect. I should note that ordinarily, it is considered extremely impolite to touch a Thai person on their head. This social aspect underscores the dignity of this occasion as First must permit them to touch his head.


After he respects his parents, he then shows respect to an elder member of his family.

Hui-Chen and I really enjoyed being privileged to personally witness this private ritual.

DSCN4883
Originally uploaded by thenhbushman.

First and I decided put on a little show at the local restaurant. Did I tell you that I’ve been playing guitar since I was 12 and have performed on hundreds of sessions?

Happy New Year, Thai Style
Hui-Chen are walking around in shorts and t-shirts, our wallets and other valuables wrapped in plastic bags.  My notebook computer is carefully shrouded in plastic as we make our way cautiously down the street to the local bar.  What is our problem?
We don’t want to get wet!

Thais are driving around with people in the back of pickup trucks, bailing water out on unsuspecting victims.  As you drive by on a motorcycle, you can expect to get hosed down by children, egged on by their parents.  Its both fun and uncomfortable at the same time, as the streets are literally soaked with water making them dangerous (we already had our front wheel drift out from underneath us when trying to stop).  Later today we are going to meet with our good friend to dish out some payback!  I will try to get some photos but for now, the Nikon is safely in our hotel room in its case.

Khao San Road
I Cringed As My Friend Said “You Should Stay Near Khao San Road Because Its Nearer To My Area.”

Having used online chat services since 1989, it would be correct to say that I have a large contingent of friends around the world with whom I chat regularly.  One of the pleasures that I derive while traveling is meeting these friends for dinner and a tour of the area.  Naturally I try to make it more convenient for them by staying in an area close to them.  In this particular case, the area is Khao San Road.

I have blogged on this area before, since I have had the (mis)fortune of staying there at least 2 times in the past.  Hui-Chen is also quite familiar with this area, having sat at a table with me, watching the throngs of slovenly foreigners parade past us in a display worthy of a carnival sideshow.  Khao San Road boasts the highest concentration of dreadlocks worn by white European women on our planet.  Its also an area known for homeless foreigners.

As I made my way via taxi toward the general area, it was raining heavily.  This had the effect of washing away the crowd of people and their associated trash from the street.  I couldn’t help thinking how decent the area looked devoid of foreigners.  It must have been a nice place once upon a time.  Fortunately it stopped raining just as I stepped out of the taxi.  It took less than 10 minutes for things to go back to being “normal” (if you will allow me to use that word in connection with this place).

I found a guesthouse with small dorm style rooms.  No blanket, no window, bathroom down the hallway, this room sells for 200 baht per night, or just barely over US$5.00.  The restaurant in the guesthouse was quite good actually, and the staff was friendly.  I have no complaints about the place where I stayed.  Going out was another matter altogether.

Waking around, I couldn’t help but notice something that made me wish I were elsewhere.  This place is a real party town, and one can see foreigners of every persuasion staggering around in a drunken stupor.  This time however, I was revolted by the amount of vomit I encountered while looking for a late night meal.  Seeing vomit while looking for food are two experiences that do not go well together.  Drunken foreigners have now taken to openly puking on the street, anywhere they feel the urge to purge their stomachs of whatever they have consumed recently.  Apparently they feel this urge frequently.

I decided to eat at a place that I have frequented before because the food is decent and moderately priced.  What makes things difficult in this area is the fact that the foreigners wouldn’t know good Thai food if it fell from the sky onto their plate.  I see people lined up for shitty Pad Thai that would embarrass a Taiwanese street vendor parked beside it.  Nevertheless, they gobble it up in wonderment because its so exotic.  Yeah, I suppose that is probably the most exotic thing most of these people have ever seen or eaten.  Too bad its not very authentic.  I did try that stuff the first time because it looked OK.  As I was contemplating the fact that there was no discernable flavor, someone next to me commented on how good it was.  “You’ve never been to Taiwan, have you?”  “No.”  “Well, that explains it.” was my parting comment while my plate was last seen in mid-air heading towards the garbage can.

Having arrived at the restaurant, I ordered 3 dishes, one of them being “deep fried sausage.”  Any experienced Thailand traveler (one who ventures outside of Bangkok) knows how good Thai sausage is.  What arrived at my table was decidedly not Thai sausage, but rather, deep fried cocktail wieners.”  I explained to the waiter that these were not Thai sausages, but were in reality, hotdogs (with fucking ketchup on the side, no less).  The waited tried to convince me that these were indeed sausages (I am so tired of arguing with people about English definitions), and he went to bring another waiter over.  Waiter #2 just parroted #1’s contention, which I flatly rejected.  A few minutes later, a “manager” came over and began to argue with me in earnest.  I told him “dude, they pulled this same shit on me in Laos the last time” (where the “sausages” in my breakfast were indeed, sliced hotdogs).  He then went on a diatribe about me being “the only one” and “the only one in the world” who didn’t “know” Thai sausages.

I looked around.  Hmm….  drunken British students, no doubt fresh from Soi Cowboy.   An older German couple, drinking Thai beer.  Other white people, mostly males, sitting with Thai females ½ their age.

“Yeah boss, you are right.  I am the only person here that doesn’t “know” these are Thai sausages, because I’ve been outside of Bangkok!”  Michael Turton knows too!
Before You Order The “Sausages” Ask To See Them First.  Alternatively, Tell Them Up Front That You Do Not Want “Vienna Sausages” Or Hotdogs.

The guy who sells guitars and stuff outside of his wife’s beauty salon is no longer there.  I was looking forward to hanging out with him and playing some of his guitars.

Would this be a good time to relate the story of how I went to a Bangkok music store one time and tested out a guitar and amp, only to find the country’s #1 recording artist eyeing me?  Apparently my 38 years of playing is substantially longer than his existence on earth.  Anyway, back to the present….

The next day my friend told me she wasn’t able to meet me after all.  I spent that whole day in Khao San road for nothing.  I immediately packed up and went to Tara Lake Hotel, far far away from downtown Bangkok.  I hate Bangkok, can you tell?  The food outside of central Bangkok is like from another world.  Its considerably better.  I just don’t see what people find so attractive in Bangkok, but then again, I’m not shopping for bar girls.  The joke really is on the tourists who think that the prices are cheap.  Yes, they are cheap when compared to the prices for the same items in their home countries.  But, the prices are high when compared to the prices in other areas of Thailand.