8 November 2008 - Living in Thailand

Living In Thailand
8 November 2008

A couple of weeks ago, I was speaking with an old friend in California. During the conversation, he asked many questions about life in Thailand.

Over the past two weeks I have given it some thought and today I will write about it.

Describing life in Thailand is as difficult as writing about life in the United States. In the United States there is such diversity of location, people and culture. Would describing life as a black man located in Harlem in New York City exemplify life in the United States? A Cuban-American in Miami? A Mormon in Bountiful, Utah? An Indian on a reservation? A Cajun in Louisiana? A farmer in Iowa? Obviously by focusing on one of the peoples mentioned above would not fully or accurately describe "Life in America".

However in most of the aforementioned people's life there are common denominators and similarities that identify the conditions of life in America. So it is also true for Thailand. My personal knowledge comes from living in Pattaya, a beach resort and Udonthani, a commercial center in Isaan. I have also had the benefit of visiting many communities in Thailand where I was able to observe and meet people.

Thailand is not a third world country. It has a good infrastructure.

Thailand is not covered in jungle. Since we are a tropical climate there is a great deal of vegetation. I have traveled to remote areas near the Burma border where there are a lot of trees and other plants but nothing that I would consider a jungle - no suitable habitat for Tarzan! Where I live the land is very much like Louisiana - flat, very green with a great deal of water in the form of standing water, rivers, streams, and rainfall.

Thailand has a good road system. The best roads are toll roads around and through Bangkok. Just around the corner from our home is the main road between Laotian border and Bangkok. The road is four lanes of concrete. It differs from similar roads in America in that it goes through urban areas resulting in many intersections and stop lights. Limited access throughways are limited to the toll ways.

Outside the urban areas of Isaan, the roads are a mixture of two lane asphalt and two lane dirt roads. Where heavy agricultural vehicles travel between the fields and processing plants, the roads deteriorate rapidly and often remain unfixed for 6 months or more.

Not every family owns a car or pickup truck in Thailand especially here in Isaan. Most families have a motorbike for transportation. The motorbikes are small Hondas and Yamahas. Bicycles are also used a great deal much more than in the USA. The bicycles are not your fancy10 or higher speed technical types prevalent in the USA. The bicycles are the single speed heavy duty types that we used in our younger years. Judging the age and condition of some of the bikes - we may actually have once owned them.

Everywhere that I have been in Thailand has had electricity. But not everyone has the electricity. Due to economic some people such as the refugees in the camps do not have electricity in their homes but electricity powers the pump for their community water system.

The same is true for running water. However unlike the USA, you can not drink the water out of the tap. I drank water out of the tap in the Karen village outside of Maehongson but I suspect that it was from a water well. In the cities and villages here in Isaan, people drink bottled water though some of the bottles are 5 gallon sized.

In the countryside, people collect rainwater off of their roofs into huge ceramic jugs. The water runs off of their metal or tile roof into a gutter. At the end of the gutter is either a large flexible plastic tube or a piece of metal tube that is moved from water jug to water jug. Typically there are three or four of these 4 foot diameter by 6 foot high jugs alongside of the house to capture and store rainwater. The water is then used to flush toilets, wash, and cooking.

We live in a development and do not capture rainwater. Our development would not be out of place if it were located in California or Arizona. Municipal water is supplied to our home. However ther is not enough pressure in the system, so the municipal water is stored in an underground plastic tank next to each house. That water is then pumped into each house by individual pumps underneath each house's stairwell from the first to second story of the house.

Our water bill runs about $10 USD a month but we have not paid a water bill yet. Because of the economic hardships in Thailand this year, the government has waived payment of household water bills of less than $10.60. Thai houses whether they are located in the city do not have central hot water. In the kitchen and in the bathrooms, there are electrical contact water heaters. These heaters are mounted on the wall of the shower and provide the required hot water on demand. The demand water heaters for the kitchen are usually located under the kitchen sink. Thai houses in the Isaan villages do not typically have any hot water other than what people heat over a fire.

We have air conditioning in our home. Air conditioning in our house as well as other houses or apartments in Thailand is provided by room wall mounted units. The evaporator and fan self contained unit is mounted inside the room. Tubing runs outside to the compressor unit. This arrangement provides air conditioning where and when it is needed. Thai people in the outlying villages rely upon portable electric fans if they have anything at all.

Houses and apartments do not have heat - there is no need for heat in most parts of Thailand. When it does get cold in areas such as Maehongson, and Chiang Mai, people use blankets to stay warm. Some people without blankets die during severe cold snaps.

There are plenty of places to shop in Thailand. Some shopping centers in Bangkok are world class and few in the USA compare to them. In the smaller cities there are shopping malls comparable to malls in the smaller cities and towns in America. Thai malls are different than US malls in one big aspect. The large open public spaces of the mall are typically filled with Mom and Pop type vendors. People set up two or three racks of clothes to sell. Other people set up four or five tables of shoes. Some other people set up tables of toys. Others set up tables of leather goods. Everyone seems to be playing their own brand of music at full volume. It is quite an assault upon your senses but the Thais love it. Westerners go in, find what they want and get the hell out as quickly as they can.

Thailand like the other countries of Southeast Asia is a land of vendors. It seems like everyone has something for sale. In the villages, no matter how small, there will be at least one "market" for people to but things. These markets are about 10 x 10 to 20 x 20 feet large. There is usually a refrigerated case that has cold soft drinks, milk, and beer. At these markets you can also buy snack foods, whiskey, and a limited amount of groceries such as noodles, canned mackerel, MSG, cooking oil, coconut milk, bouillon cubes, chili sauces, etc. You can also buy medicine even antibiotics at these small shops.

In the towns and cities the typical home is a shop house. A shop house is a two story concrete structure. The bottom houses a shop that ranges from a motorbike repair shop, a coffee shop, a bakery, a dress shop, a copy center, a cell phone shop to name only a few possibilities. Above the shop the vendor lives with their family. In small towns and cities there are "markets". These are my favorite. These are open sided covered structures where people sell all kinds of foods, groceries, meats, poultry, fish, vegetables, flowers, clothing, and hardware. Most of the vendors are sitting atop the elevated platforms with their goods in front of them. There are no cash registers. The cash is kept in a upturned hat or metal can. Prices are indicated on small pieces of handwritten cardboard. The markets are not well lighted, crowded, congested with wares for sale, filled with all kinds of odors (mostly not too offensive). There is a great deal of energy and socializing in these venues.

The markets also have many places where you can buy freshly cooked food. One counter may be selling freshly made waffles - delicious but you have to get used to the coconut shavings and kernels of corn in them! Corn in Thailand is as much a dessert as it is a vegetable. Corn is used in ice cream, waffles, and puddings. Thais would probably use it in pies if they had pies over here. The only pies that I have seen here are meat pies for Brits and Aussies. Many of the little stalls in the open markets have small charcoal grills where they cook pork, chicken, fish, and eggs. The meat is not the large slabs and slices that we are accustomed to in the USA. Meat is used as a condiment in Thai cooking and is not a main course. Very small pieces of meat are put on a bamboo skewer about 1/8 inch in diameter and 9 inches long. There about 6 pieces of meat on the skewer and the meat is grilled until it is absolutely dry - more like jerky or bacon than we the way we grill meats back in America.

For chicken there is also another style for grilling. For the second way of grilling the chicken, the chicken is split in two lengthwise. Some way, I don't know exactly yet, but it looks like the split chicken half is flatten by a car or motorbike and skewered onto three larger as well as longer pieces of bamboo. The flattened chicken is seasoned and grilled well done but not burned - more of a slow smoke house style of grilling. The result is very tasty.

Now to discuss the eggs. I do not eat eggs and I am glad I do not eat eggs. Duang and I have a little bit of fun - sort of inside family joke about eggs. The Thai word for eggs is "Kie". The Thai word for sh*t is "Key". More often than not I will refer to eggs as "Key" and Duang knows that I am joking intentionally. Thais eat a great amount of eggs. Many Thai dishes will have a fried egg on top of them or have scrambled eggs in them. At the market you can buy regular grilled eggs. They grill them over charcoal and vent them at the appropriate time so that they don't explode. Regular eggs? Is there some kind of egg that is not regular? Oh yeah, there is a type of egg that I do not consider "regular". You most likely will agree with me, too. The second type of grilled egg contains a chicken embroy inside of it. The embryo is very mature and has a beak as well as feathers. These "special" eggs are grilled and when completed, they are lined up along the edge of the counter so that you can see the embryo inside of the partially cracked shell.

Unlike Vietnam where the open markets included tables selling dog meat - dog meat to eat, not meat for a dog to eat!, Thais, in general, do not eat dogs. However there is an area where the people do eat dogs but the Thais sort of ridicule those people. I suppose when we go there some day we will find dog meat in their markets.

The food sold in the open markets is fresh and cheap. Without refrigeration the items are either fresh or they would be rotten. Without packaging it is easy to determine if it is not fresh. The markets are extremely entertaining and I can never get enough of them.

Since we are a blended culture, we shop in western style grocery stores and at the open markets. We get our "kao falang" (foreigner food) in stores similar to the stores in the USA. We buy "kao lao" (Lao food) as well as fruits and vegetables at the open markets.

I suspect that Thailand has more 7-11 stores per capita than any other country in the world. They are just like 7-11s in America except the people behind the counter are Thai and not Indian. Another major difference is that the 7-11s in Thailand do not get robbed like they do in America.

7-11s are also a type of cultural magnet in Thailand. In addition to the typical stuff that you can buy in a 7-11, you can pay bills at the 7-11. There is always an ATM machine at a 7-11. There is always a pay phone and a machine where you can add money to your cell phone account.

I suspect that because 7-11s are so well lit, people always seem to set up their sidewalk cafes in front of a 7-11 (free illumination?) Some of the best meals that we have had in Thailand, have been at these sidewalk cafes.

Sidewalk cafes consist of a push cart with a charcoal grill or propane burner, a glass cabinet, a hose for water, plastic chairs and tables, and a plastic tub to wash dishes. The menus are very limited - usually 3 or 4 items but the food is fresh and always delicious. Dinner for two runs $1.81 USD to $5.00 USD.

Tomorrow I will continue with more details on life here in Thailand