Coconuts and Mooncakes

Every Thursday, there is a fresh market at the end of Soi 23 – the side street that the LMG Thailand office is on. Many people from work go there at lunchtime to buy fresh fruit, vegetables, flowers, etc. A few people in the office were talking about going because they wanted some coconut juice. They were amazed that I had never had coconut juice – coconut milk yes, but not coconut juice. So, Xianyu said she would buy me one since she was going to pick up several for herself. (Puk and I were going to the Chinese noodle shop for lunch and not the fresh market. Puk really wanted to go for Chinese noodles and I like the “ba mee haeng gai” there – “ba mee” are long, yellow noodles, “haeng” means I want it “dry” and not the soupy version, and “gai” means with chicken. I need to remember to bring my camera the next time we go. The place is classic Chinese noodle shop – no frills, plastic stools, no menu (you just write down what you want on a piece of paper) and if you don’t get there early, you’re basically sitting on the street in between parked cars.)

So, we get back from lunch and Xianyu has a coconut for me. (Those are Xianyu’s hands in the photos, by the way.) Evidently, in order to get coconut juice, you need young coconuts, not the hard, brown ones that we think of when we think of coconuts. Fortunately, the coconut comes with the top cut almost completely all the way around.

You just lever a knife underneath and pry it off entirely. Then, there is a flap of soft coconut flesh and below that is what looks like slightly milky water.

Typically, you just put a straw in and drink the juice that way. But, since I wanted to see what it looked like – and so I could take a picture – I poured it into a glass.

I have to say that my life would have been complete had I never tasted coconut juice. Not my favorite – at all. I had a few sips and to me it tasted like lukewarm water with a little bit of salt and a little bit of sugar in it. Xianyu was surprised so I asked her to taste it – maybe it was just a bad coconut? Nope, she said that’s what it was supposed to taste like. Thanks for the effort, but “pom mai chorb” – “I don’t like.”

(Funny how most of the Thai I remember revolves around food. Go figure.)

This week was also the Autumn Moon Festival – September 22 to be exact. It is an especially important holiday in China, but it is celebrated throughout Asia. Basically, it is a celebration of the Harvest Mooon. One of the traditions associated with the festival are mooncakes. Mooncakes are small, round pastries – about the size of your palm – and they are typically filled with lotus seed paste. Besides lotus seed paste, mooncakes also come filled with black sesame seeds, chestnuts, durian, and red bean paste. They can also have a hard-boiled egg yolk in the middle – meant to symbolize the orange harvest moon. Typically, mooncakes are cut into small wedges and eaten with Chinese tea.

Short history lesson:
The legend is that the mooncakes played an important part in Chinese history. The Chinese were ruled by the Mongols in the thirteenth century. But, the Mongols did not eat mooncakes so the legend is that the Chinese used mooncakes to pass along plans for a rebellion. People were told not to eat the mooncakes until the day of the Moon Festival, which is when the rebellion took place.

Tewtip brought some into work this week and I have to say that the ones filled with lotus seed paste were very tasty. I don’t like eggs, but Tewtip knows that so she made sure to give me one with the egg already cut out. (Because Thai people like to put a fried egg on top of many of their lunch dishes, I made sure to learn the phrase “mai sai kai, krap” – “don’t put egg, please” – early on in my Thai lessons. It rolls off the tongue easily and has come in very handy.) They also served up quite a few in the lobby here at CentrePoint. Here are a few photos.

Singapore – September 15-17, 2010

Because I am in Thailand on a non-immigrant visa B, I am required to leave Thailand every 90 days and get my visa validated for another 90 days when I return. Since we have an office in Singapore, it made sense for me to go there. So, I spent a few days there this week.

The hotel was in the historic Ann Siang Hill area. This really was the most interesting part of Singapore that I saw.

Admittedly, it was a quick trip and I certainly didn’t see all of Singapore, but I can’t say that I was particularly wowed by it. It is clean and pretty and efficient, but it also seems very plastic and manufactured. On the way in from the airport, I was talking to the cab driver and commenting on how green and lush it seemed, especially in comparison to gritty Bangkok, and he said, “everything you see is artificial.” That was a theme that I heard often over the next few days. People would mention how “convenient” and “easy” it is to live in Singapore, “lulling” even, but no one ever said it was “interesting” or “exciting.” As one person put it, “it’s like living in Disneyland.” And it’s certainly expensive – especially compared to the much cheaper Bangkok. So, I’m definitely glad to be living in Bangkok rather than Singapore.

I think one of the big differences between the two cities is that in Singapore, I never once had to speak another language. English is the national language and I think that added to the lack of “exoticness” about Singapore. It was oddly “fun” to get back to Bangkok on Friday evening and to say, “Dtao rai?” when I was buying a train ticket.

So, back to the Ann Siang Hill area. There are lots of old, two-storey row houses that have been preserved and turned into restaurants and bars. It was a very stylish area, with rooftop bars and precious shops selling home décor. Liberty’s office – in a building called Liberty House – is in the Ann Siang Hill too, though our office is certainly not stylish. In fact, they are getting ready to renovate it. We own the building so the office is moving to a temporary location for a year starting at the end of October and then moving back in once the renovation is complete.

The office is on the edge of Chinatown, so I spent some time there on Wednesday evening when I arrived. But even Chinatown was oddly “sanitized” and “pretty.” Very nice and easy to get around, but not very interesting and certainly no sense of being someplace different. (I realize I’m repeating this theme so time to move on.)

There is a “Buddha Tooth Relic Museum,” which I have to admit was certainly not something I had ever seen before. And it was a striking building.

Nearby, there was a Mariamman temple, covered in colored statues of deities and animals.

Singapore is dedicated to business and walking around in the evenings I got the sense of being in a “downtown” area – lots of office buildings and skyscrapers. Fortunately, Singapore has a lot of greenery to break up the concrete and glass.

One of the foods that Singapore is known for is “chili crabs.” But the concierge recommended that, instead, I try “chili stingray.” He directed me to Lau Pa Sat – a market with lots of food stalls where, he said, the “locals” eat. Before I went there, I stopped and had a drink at a rooftop bar and watched the sun set and the lights of Singapore come on.

Lau Pa Sat was a short walk there and the chili stingray was very tasty.

Pak Khlong Flower Market

Decided to go for a long walk today, and Chinatown, and the Pak Khlong flower market in particular, seemed like a good destination. I had read about the flower market, how it’s huge and sprawls over many streets and blocks, but the best time to be there is supposed to be between 2:00 and 4:00 AM (“dtee soong” to “dtee see,” if you’re talking Thai) because that is when the flowers start arriving from outside the city. Well… it’s not likely that I will end up there at 3:00 AM anytime soon, so I decided to just go today after breakfast and have a look around.

Chinatown is very interesting and Sunday is a strange time to go. Normally, the stores are all open, the markets are in full swing, and the streets are packed with people. But it’s a much quieter place on a Sunday morning, which was good. I could take my time on the streets and enjoy the smaller scale of the older buildings – the ones with shops on the ground floor and living spaces above.

One thing that I noticed is that all of the same type of shops are on the same street. For instance, all of the shoe stores were together. I guess that makes it easier for customers since they only have to go to one place, but I’m not sure how you would decide to buy your shoes at this store and not that store or the next store. Especially since all the stores are side-by-side.

Another thing that struck me was the mix of people and cultures. I saw a father out shopping with his two sons – not sure if they were from India or Pakistan or Saudi Arabia or somewhere else – but their clothes were spectacular. Long, bright white robes that really stood out from the mix of non-stop color. Here is a picture of them negotiating a fare with a tuk-tuk driver. It was an interesting moment – an American taking a picture of an Indian family talking to a Thai man. In Chinatown.

I eventually did make it to the Pak Khlong flower market and yes, it was apparent that I had missed the height of the action. As you can tell from this photo. Guess it was a long night.

But it was still interesting – and definitely impressive. I can imagine what it must be like at 3:00 AM, with all the fresh flowers arriving and customers haggling with the shop owners.


After about 30 minutes of walking around the market, the sky got really dark really quickly and it started to pour. I found a dry spot under the awning of a shop, figuring I would just wait it out. It rains like this most days in Bangkok this time of year – a torrential downpour that usually lasts about 20 minutes.

After a few minutes, the shop owner came over, smiled, and pointed to a chair for me to sit in. Very nice of her. She spoke almost no English and my Thai is rudimentary at best, but we managed to “chat’ while I waited for the rain to stop. Her name was something that sounded like a cross between “Nut” and “Newt.” I told her I was from America and living in Bangkok for six months. She said that she sold fresh ginger – fortunately I know the Thai word for fresh and she knew how to say “ginger” in English – to restaurants. Plus, it was pretty apparent that she sold ginger, since the shop was filled with ginger bulbs (stalks?) and shredded ginger.

While it rained, she kept working, filling 5 kilo bags of ginger. She had obviously been doing this for quite a while, since, even though she weighed each bag, she pretty much filled every one to 5 kilos on the first attempt. (I was sitting next to the scale so I could see what she was doing.) She must have lived behind the shop because at one point a man came wandering out from the back room, looked at the rain, turned around and went back in. Even though it was raining hard, delivery guys showed up on motorcyles, paid, and then rode off with bags of ginger. One of them made a comment about the “farang” (the “foreigner,” meaning me) and she smiled and I smiled and then I said, “Pom kow jai,” which means “I understand.” That took him a bit by surprise. When the rain let up, I got up to leave and asked if I could take her picture. She said yes, so I pointed my camera, said, “neung, soong, saam,” (1..,2..,3) and took her picture.

Khlong Toei Market

Went to the Khlong Toei market on Sunday morning. The guidebook said it was “interesting” and “authentic” and it was certainly both. It is not too far from the house – just south of Benjakiti Park – so a relatively quick walk. It reminded me of the Haymarket in Boston – only a lot bigger. Like the Haymarket, it is a fresh market with only food vendors. And the food was certainly fresh – so fresh some of it was still alive. There were live chickens for sale and live fish – catfish and sea bream – swimming in large aluminum tubs. Except for one catfish, which had managed to jump out of the pan and onto the walkway. Glad I noticed that before I stepped on it. And very glad I had decided to wear shoes and not sandals.

Many of the customers were buying large quantities of food – either for their restaurants or to then resell themselves from their own food stalls or pushcarts. There were stalls selling dried fish, crabs, pork and chicken. (I don’t think I saw any beef for sale at all.) Not sure how hygienic any of this was, since the meat just seemed to be sitting out. Maybe it was on ice underneath? (Let’s go with that.)

And eggs – lots of eggs for sale.


One section was dedicated to fruit vendors. These red fruits with the green spikes are called “dragon fruits.” (There is a Thai word, of course – sounds like “geow mung korn.”) From the outside, they look like colored bits of armor, but the fruit inside is white, with black speckles, and is sweet. Thais serve it in fruit salad, along with papaya and cantaloupe.


These all-red ones are called “champuu.” I don’t think there is an English world – maybe because the Thai word sounds like our “shampoo” so we can actually say it?!


But the most interesting part of the market was just watching the people. This is definitely not a market for tourists – I spent about 30 minutes or so there and never once saw another foreigner. Most people were Thai, with a few Chinese and Indians as well. Definitely felt like a “farang” there. And while I’m thinking about it, that’s one odd thing – “farang” is the Thai word for “foreigner” but it is also the Thai word for “guava.” Not sure I understand the connection. But according to Wikipedia, “farang” comes from an Indo-Persian word “farangi,” which means foreigner. And, the guava was brought to Thailand by Portuguese traders in the 1600s. So I guess “farangs” brought “farangs” to Thailand.

Here are a few pictures of the people. I especially liked the woman in the green hat, buying eggs. You gotta love her sense of style – who says you can’t wear a red-and-white shirt with a green, floral hat? With earflaps, no less. Guess you can never be too careful about catching a cold.

Kuppa and Baan Kamtheing

A few weeks ago, I was in the gym here at CentrePoint and there was a fellow there wearing a Red Sox cap. So I introduced myself. Turned out that he (Colin) and his wife (Anna) were originally from Massachusetts but had been living in Brooklyn before moving here. Her job brought them here – she works for the Rockefeller Foundation and manages projects to help small cities and towns in southeast Asia to prepare for climate change. She is based here but travels quite a bit – to India, Vietnam, and China. Colin is a writer and was a university professor at NYU before they moved here. He is continuing to write but is also looking for a job. Because they are going to be here for three to four years, they are moving to a “real” apartment on soi 18 – about half a mile away.

We made plans to meet after their move and yesterday we met for lunch at Kuppa. Kuppa is an Asian restaurant owned by some Australians. Their claim to fame is coffee – hence the name – but they also serve lunch and dinner, along with some great-looking desserts. Good food – I had a “crispy duck salad” that was really good. Definitely an expat place – some Thais there, but lots of Australians and Germans. Other than three of us, I didn’t hear any American accents – we still seem to be a relative rarity in Bangkok.

Over lunch, we talked about living here in Bangkok – the pluses and the challenges. It was good to talk to some other Americans and to swap stories about restaurants we have tried and places to see. They have been here longer than I have – Anna spent some time here on her own last year before they both moved over earlier this year. We will definitely get together again soon.

After having lunch there and not having to speak a word of Thai, I came across a fruit vendor on the way home. He saw me looking at the fruit and said, “Aloy! Aloy!” – which I knew meant “Tasty! Tasty!” So, I stopped and used my new favorite phrase “Pom ao sap-arot, krap.” He started counting, “neung, soong, saam...” but I only wanted one piece (neung.) He pointed out that he also had papaya and guava, but I was set on pineapple. Papaya is fine, but I don’t really get the appeal of guava. It doesn’t have much flavor – it has the taste and texture of a unripe Bartlett pear. They sell it with plum sauce, but still. And the price was the same – 10 baht. Did all the fruit vendors get together and agree on a price? Not sure if he didn’t speak any English, or just thought he would follow my lead, but he never said a word in English. It was an example of how the two worlds exist side-by-side here in Bangkok – how you can go from the world of "crispy duck salad and iced French coffee" to the world of “pom ao sap-arot” in less than 100 yards.

Later in the day, I went to Baan Kamtheing. This is a private home from the mid-1800s that was originally built in the north of Thailand, near Chiang Mai. In the 1960s, it was purchased by the Siam Society, moved to Bangkok, and turned into a museum.

It is interesting because it’s an actual home and the scale is personal.

The displays focus on the importance of spirits in Thai traditions – how to invoke, appease, and worship them – and on the importance of water to the Thai culture. So there were several objects that would have been used as altars, prayer mats, and ways to “make merit,” as well as lots of traps that were used to catch fish.

Some Basic Thai Phrases

I am continuing to take Thai lessons each week and thought I’d share a few useful phrases – in case you ever find yourself in Thailand. In some ways, Thai is a very simple language and in some ways it is very complex. On the simple side, there are no articles – no “a, an, or the.” And there is no verb for “to be.” So, if you want to say “The car is red” you just say “rot si-daang,” which is literally “car red.” It is assumed that the listener will fill in the rest and turn those two words into a sentence that makes sense.

And you don’t need to conjugate verbs – the verb stays the same regardless of who is doing the action, how many, or when. For example, “Pom gin kaow” means “I eat rice.” “Gin” is the verb for “eat” and it doesn’t change regardless of who is eating, or how many are eating, or when they are eating. To change the tense, “gin” stays the same but you add some words around it to indicate the time. So…

Pom gin kaow = I eat rice.
Rao gin kaow = We eat rice.
Pom gamlang gin kaow = I am eating rice.
Pom ja gin kaow = I will eat rice.
Meuan-nee pom gin kaow = Yesterday I ate rice. (Meuan-nee is the word for “yesterday”.)

So, once you learn the verb for “eat,” you’re all set and can use that one word over and over. (Unlike French, which seems to have 14 different verb tenses.)

On the complex side, Thai is a tonal language. And there are five tones. So the same word can mean very different things depending on the tone. For example, “som” can mean “orange” or “fork,” depending on the tone. And, “seua” can mean shirt, tiger, or mat. If Noon, my Thai instructor, speaks slowly I can hear the difference in some of the tones, but I’m still not good at reproducing those tones.

But here are a few useful phrases, just in case you need a new party trick --

“Sawadee krap”
This is the basic greeting and can be used at anytime of day – “good morning, good afternoon, or good evening.” But there is a wrinkle – of course. I say “krap” at the end of the phrase because I am a man. Women say “ka” rather than “krap.” These two words – krap and ka – don’t actually have meanings – they are just meant as “softeners.” Thais avoid saying anything too direct or too blunt, so they add these “softeners” to the ends of most sentences. (Frankly, I don’t really see the need to soften “Good morning” but whatever. They do.)

“Sabaidee mai?”
How is it going? No “krap” or “ka” at the end of this one, for some reason. In response, you just say “Sabaidee” – meaning, everything is fine.

“Kuhn shuu arai?”
What is your name? Literally, this translates as “You name what?” In response, I would say, “Pom (I) shuu (name) Douglas.” (I do not say “Doug” since Thais have a hard time with words that end in “G” – they end up calling me “Duk” instead.)

“Korp kuhn krap/ka”
Thank you (Again, add “krap” or “ka” depending on whether you’re a man or a woman.)

“Mai bpen rai”
You’re welcome

Which brings up one of the many challenges in actually saying some of these words. Thai has a number of double consonants (dipthongs?) that are difficult to say. For example, they have a sound that is somewhere between a “B” and a “P.” (The word for eight is “bpat.”) Also, a sound that is a blend of “D” and “T” (“Dtao rai” means “How much?”) and one that is a blend of “J” and “CH.” (The popular Chatuchak Market is commonly referred to as “JJ Market.”) But the worst one, by far, is “NG” – it is just not a sound that Westerners can make. And it comes up often – for example, the word for “one” is “neung” and the word for tomorrow is “prung nee.” Anytime Noon asks me to say a word with an “ng” in it, I ask her if there is a synonym I can say instead.

And one last important phase –

“Pom ao sap-arot, krap”
I want some pineapple, please.

I realize this phrase is not high on the list of the average tourist, but it’s useful for me and I asked Noon to teach it to me last night. There is a street vendor outside our building at work and he sells fresh fruit. A few times this week, I have bought fruit from him and just pointed at what I wanted. Simple enough and it’s been successful, but I thought I ought to at least try to learn how to say it in Thai. And I did this afternoon – and he smiled and gave me some pineapple, so I guess I was clear enough.

(And the process is very interesting. His cart is filled with ice, with large chunks of fresh fruit stacked up on the ice. You ask for what you want – pineapple or melon or guava. He takes the chunk of fruit, puts it in a plastic bag, and then, holding the bag in the palm of his hand, uses a small cleaver to cut the fruit into bite-size cubes. I don’t know how he manages to do this without cutting his hand or the bag, but he does. Then, he puts the first bag into a second bag – one that has handles so you can carry it – and throws in a wooden skewer for you to use to eat the fruit. Then, he asks if you want a packet of sugar (nam taang) to go with it. Finally, he says, “Sip baht” – “10 baht” – and for about 30 cents, you walk away with some very tasty fresh pineapple.)