Random "Thai Moments"

A few recent "Thai moments”….

I was coming back from lunch last week and stopped to buy some apples from a street vendor. He didn't speak any English so I got to use my very limited Thai. I asked “Dtao rai?” (How much?) and he said "yee-sip hah baht" – that means 25 baht. So, I bought two and gave him a 100-baht bill. But he gave me 60 baht in change. So, I asked " Dtao rai?" again and he said, "Neung, yee-sip hah. Soong, see sip." That means, "One, 25 baht. Two, 40 baht." What struck me was how honest he was. I am obviously a “farang” (foreigner) and he could have easily charged me 50 baht for two and I never would have known the difference. Now, we’re not talking big bucks here – 10 baht is about 30 cents – but still.

Recently, I was at one of the many nearby 7-11s buying some gum and the guy in front of me looked like he was paying a bill. So, when I got back to my desk, I asked Puk and he said that you can pay lots of bills at 7-11 -- credit cards, phone bills, etc. He said the invoice comes with a bar code, and you can just take the invoice to 7-11, they scan it, you give them the money, and the money is electronically transferred to the right account. Since then, I’ve noticed several customers adding money to their cell phone accounts at 7-11. Odd that they have that system, which seems very sophisticated, and meanwhile, out on the street, there is a woman selling flowers from two baskets balanced on the ends of a bamboo pole, which she was carrying across her shoulders.

Today's culinary adventure. Had to run an errand so I stopped to get lunch at the food court in Robinson's --the local department store. (Food courts are very popular for lunch here.) Decided to have "kao ka moo" --- rice with shredded pork. I've had it before but Puk was with me then. So, I had to remember to also say, "Mai ao mahn" -- meaning, "I don't want fat." There are two versions of this dish -- and some people prefer to have nothing but pork fat, rather than pork meat. And it's not even fried pork fat -- just boiled fat, all blubbery on the plate. Really?!

And I know I shouldn't be, since I'm in Thailand not America, but I am amazed at how little English the sales people know here. I get it that the guy who is selling pork fat doesn’t speak English, but I was also looking at alarm clocks and the guy behind the counter at Robinson's spoke almost no English. The only English words he knew were "Seiko" and "battery" -- and I don't think "Seiko" counts.