Thailand - Random Page 3
Fake Goods And Piracy
Making and/or selling counterfeit goods is still a huge business in Thailand. I am reminded of this every time I walk around the local markets. This business exists everywhere but what seems to be different in Thailand is how openly it is treated. It's not like Oxford Street in London where one guy sells fake goods from a suitcase while his mate keeps an eye out for the police. In Thailand the stalls where fake goods are sold are in permanent locations.
Mr Bean won't be earning any royalties for DVDs sold here
The police do visit occasionally, but as soon as they do the vendors roll their shutters down and close their shops until the danger has gone. They open a little later and resume business as usual.
The authorities know it is illegal, everyone knows exactly where the business is being carried out, but no one does anything. Like many activities in Thailand that are unlawful, for example prostitution and illegal gambling, bribes are paid and a blind eye is turned.
Temporarily closed shutters mean that the police are around
On their path to becoming developed countries, Singapore had to close down its piracy trade and Malaysia is having to do the same thing although of course it still exists to some extent as it does in everywhere.
At my local market there are several stalls selling copied CDs, VCDs, DVDs and computer software. Another favourite is hundreds of songs ripped to MP3 format and then burned to CD. And then there are the fake clothes, watches, luggage and handbags, etc., which can be found everywhere in Thailand. Apparently, a lot of the fake goods now come from China.
Fake software is becoming more difficult for the pirates because of manufacturers' activation codes although the pirates usually provide hacks with their copied software to bypass the activation process.
No one tries to pretend that fake clothes, watches and luggage are the real thing. If the items have any writing on there are normally spelling mistakes everywhere and the quality is obviously below par.
Fake documents being sold quite openly in the backpacker area of Bangkok
There is a more sinister side to the counterfeiting business in Thailand. I have read that Bangkok is the international passport forgery capital of the world and there are regular busts. With global terrorism these days, forged passports getting into the hands of dangerous people is not something to take lightly.
Thailand Police Seize More Than 1,000 Fake Passports
All manner of counterfeit degrees, diplomas and other documents are available in Bangkok, but use them at your own peril. Depending on what you attempt to use a fake qualification for, it may actually be considered a crime and you could find yourself being prosecuted.
The problem with Thailand is that Thais always want to have their cake and eat it. They want the money that prostitution brings into the country, but they also get very upset if foreigners ever mention the subject.
Thais ban dictionary over 'city of prostitutes' slur
Thailand wants to be seen as a law-abiding country and Thais want the benefits that come with having a good global reputation, such as Free Trade Agreements, but at the same time they want the money from selling counterfeit goods and Thais themselves want to be able to buy cheap pirated goods.
You can have anything in life, but you can't have everything. Thais always want everything. However, until the country genuinely starts to clean up its act it will be very closely watched.
US keeps Thailand on priority watch list
Fear Of Ghosts
Thais have a terrible, and very real, fear of ghosts. It's most amusing!
The majority of Thais are animists, not Buddhists, and the animist belief system asserts that all natural physical entities and inanimate objects contain a spiritual presence. As far as Thais are concerned, there are spirits and ghosts everywhere.
Spirits can be good or malevolent. The spirits of people who died violent deaths are to be feared. This is why many Thais left areas devastated by the 2004 tsunami.
I have visited some excellent museums in Thailand on weekends and I have been the only visitor. I thought this a little strange until someone told me the reason (again) was ghosts. Museums contain lots of old artefacts which once belonged to people who are now dead but obviously the ghosts of the deceased stay where their belongings are housed. Obviously.
Thais fear ghosts, but they love them at the same time. Ghost stories are the most popular movie genre in Thailand and ghosts appear regularly on Thai TV.
As I write, a Thai ghost movie based on a famous Thai ghost story is grossing hundreds of millions of Baht at the box office and is so popular that it is almost impossible to get a ticket.
Thai horror film-makers sink teeth into south-east Asian market
Next time you are with a Thai girl at night in a remote place with no other people around, sing peeeee very softly under your breath and wait for the reaction. So funny.
Football
Thais are pretty good footballers, probably the best in Asia, but beware of getting involved in conversations about English football unless you are having difficulty getting to sleep. There is only one other place I know of where the locals are even more boring when they talk football and that is Singapore.
The UK has states?
When I first came to Thailand in 1987, Liverpool FC were the dominant force in English football and every Thai was a Liverpool fan. They then moved their support over to Manchester United, then Arsenal and, no doubt, next year they will all be Chelsea fans. However, a few still cling on to the belief they are fans of the Red Devils.
Whenever I get asked which team I support by a Thai my answer always results in a blank stare. West who? No, West Ham. Who are they then?
It is common knowledge that most Manchester United 'fans' don't know where Manchester is on a map of England. Some don't even know which 'State' it is in. If you're not sure what I mean, click on the thumbnail image.
Gambling
At an apartment building I stayed at there was a Thai resident with an obvious penchant for fast motorbikes. His bikes changed every week but they were always the top road bikes from the big Japanese manufacturers - and always brand new. I'm not a huge bike fan but from an engineering perspective they were works of art.
I assumed he worked for a motorbike dealership somewhere. One of my neighbours in England worked for the local BMW dealership and drove different BMW cars all the time so I suspected something similar. Not for the first time in my life, I was wrong.
I got chatting to another Thai guy one day who is a local businessman and knows this guy well. He didn't work for a motorbike dealership at all; he ran a gambling operation. I also learnt that a new BMW car parked in the car park belonged to him and the reason for these purchases was that he couldn't keep too much money in the bank.
Gambling in Thailand is like prostitution. Both are illegal under Thai law but both are massive industries. Many tea shops (raan naam chaa) have gambling operations. European football is a big favourite and quite often as you are walking around you will see the results chalked up outside small cafes.
The guy who told me about all this also pointed out a house where poker games are held every night. He said there is a security guard that stands outside and the location moves every month. His friend with the fast motorbikes operates his business through a web site and mobile phone but he changes his number every month.
He went on to say that five years ago no one worried about the police. The cops received bribes and turned a blind eye. However, it is different these days and the police do attempt to catch them. The gambling operations keep moving around making it difficult for the police to trace them.
Being 'unusually rich' is a sure sign of some kind of illegal activity (as Thai Rak Thai politicians will tell you) and bank accounts can be investigated so they avoid having lots of money in the bank.
With football matches, it is either a case of predicting results and scores or there is another game where you can choose three or four teams and if all the teams you choose win then you get a payout. The Thais - like most Asians - will bet on anything though.
Cockfighting is still popular, bullfighting is popular in the south and Thai boxing is big all over Thailand. For most Thais, the attraction of these activities and most other sports is not the activity itself but the gambling aspect.
I was also told about another guy who ran a gambling syndicate for three years. In that time he made Bt10 million with which he bought three houses and a lot of land. It seems he had the sense to get out and is probably set up for life now with the money he made in that time. Who says crime doesn't pay?
In Thailand I see a lot of people who don't exactly look like respectable businessmen but who obviously have plenty of cash. I used to think they were involved with politics - and perhaps some are - but now I am beginning to understand more about how big money can be made in Thailand.
As far as I am aware, the only legal gambling operation is the national lottery but that has been subject to corruption and some of the people I've been told about involved in the corruption are not those you would expect to be involved.
It's another one of those things about Thailand I don't like and it's something that isn't obviously apparent when visiting as a tourist but the longer you stay here the more you hear about unsavoury aspects of the country.
I don't believe it is right for governments to encourage gambling and disagree with countries opening huge casinos but people will always gamble anyway so governments may as well legalise it so it can be controlled and they can get some revenue in the form of tax.
The problem for Thailand is that there is a big conflict with gambling and Buddhism which makes gambling a difficult thing to legalise so it is set to continue in its current, underground state.
Groundhog Day
A reference to the 1993 film where the character played by Bill Murray is woken by his alarm clock radio at the same time each morning to the same tune playing on the radio ("I got you babe," by Sonny and Cher) and discovers that today is exactly the same as yesterday.
At the local Tesco Lotus there is a small stall selling educational material for young Thai kids to help them read and write Thai. Part of this material is a Sesame Street style video with cartoon characters and a catchy tune to help kids remember Thai consonants. When I first saw it I even considered buying it for myself to help with my Thai studies. I'm glad I didn't.
Every time I go to Tesco Lotus, no matter what day of the week or what hour of the day, the video is playing. I have heard that stupid tune so many times I can't get it out of my head now. You would think that the people working there would be going nuts and that one day - driven to distraction - the lady selling kanom kai would come in with a handgun and unload it into the TV. But no.
The Thais seem to have a remarkable ability to cope with boredom and repetition. On my walk to work, or whenever I go anywhere, I always see exactly the same people in exactly the same places doing exactly the same mundane things. Yet, they seem perfectly content.
This isn't a bad thing. I get bored very quickly with activities, work and even people. It doesn't matter how interesting something (or somebody) seems at first, I find that I need something (or somebody) new after a while.
For this reason, Thai girlfriends can be very easy to keep happy. On dates you aren't expected to keep them entertained constantly because they don't get bored (unlike their farang counterparts). Being content with the life you have is a good way to find happiness and constantly looking for new experiences can lead to unhappiness.
So, it's a good thing and we can learn from the Thais to try to be more content with what we have but .... there is a tendency for life in the provinces to get a wee bit tedious after a while. I specifically mentioned the provinces because I can't ever imagine finding life in Bangkok tedious. Crazy and frenetic maybe, but never tedious.
You could say that it's the same everywhere and, to an extent, I agree. In all countries there are people that do mundane tasks day in and day out. Because of higher salaries though, people from other countries can at least afford to have a complete break from the boredom. In Thailand, many lower paid people can't.
The people I see working in the local restaurants near me, for example, such as the girl who serves noodle soup all day, are there every single day of the year and never seem to get a break.
Haircuts
I enjoy getting my hair cut in Thailand. The service is great and it's really cheap. After living in Thailand for 10 years, it horrifies me to think what Brits pay to have a haircut.
Thai barber shop
If you are a man, you basically have two options. There are unisex salons and the best thing about these places is the shampoo session. It's actually a thorough head massage. The girl might apply shampoo and conditioner three or four times and take 15 to 20 minutes to wash your hair compared to the 30 seconds it takes when I wash my own hair.
Thai salons have special reclining chairs for washing customers' hair and they are really comfortable. In the UK I always sat in a normal chair and and had to bend my neck backwards over a sink, which was highly uncomfortable.
Cold water is usually used and it feels really refreshing after suffering the constant heat and humidity of Thailand. Another big advantage in Thailand is that I have yet to have a Thai shampoo girl ask me where I am going for my holiday this year.
Thai barber shop
The cut itself varies, depending on the stylist. Some have been quite competent, while others snip very cautiously as if they don't know what they are really doing.
Many places don't show prices and based on your appearance you will often be charged the raa-kaa farang (foreigner price). However, this is still cheap compared to Western countries.
Fancy places are more expensive and I have read about a scam where the girl will ask if you want conditioner after she shampoos your hair. She doesn't tell you at the time how much it costs and it is very expensive. Thais are experts at scamming foreigners and this is yet another one to beware of.
The second option for men are the men's barber shops. I started using these places a few years ago and now love them. Barber shops are where most Thai men get their hair cut. They aren't at all fancy, but the service is great and they are really cheap. When I go, I often have to wait in line for a while because they are so popular.
A shave is included in the price and it leaves your face incredibly smooth. They do a thorough job with the hair cut, and you really know that your hair has been cut. However, the look can be a little monastic or regimental.
Thai barber shop
They don't shampoo your hair as part of the normal service, but this can be paid for as an additional service. You can also get them to clean your ears out as an another additional service.
Using a cutthroat razor them remove every spuriously growing hair from your ears, nostrils and other places and also trim your eyebrows.
They normally wipe your face with an iced towel, powder your neck, give you a mini shoulder and arm massage. and the final step is to dab some alcohol on your freshly shaved face. It's quite an invigorating experience.
For a long time I paid just Bt60 for all this service. The whole process takes about 30 minutes. I now pay Bt70. I have noticed that most Thai men don't tip. For great service at such a bargain price I always give a small tip of around Bt40.
Homosexuality
Thais recognise more than two sexes. In addition to heterosexual men and women, there are effeminate and gay men, and butch and lesbian women.
Bar boy working at a gay bar in Bangkok's Patpong area
Thais have extreme tolerance for a person's sexuality.
When you analyse all the social problems in Thailand (of which there are many), a high proportion are caused by macho, testosterone-laden Thai males.
For example, Thai roads are extremely dangerous and a lot of the problems are caused by macho Thai males racing around driving recklessly trying to prove their manhood. They haven't advanced since cavemen.
Seems like a nice boy
Some of the nicest Thai men I have met have been gay. Who cares about a person's skin colour, religious beliefs, or sexuality. The world is divided into good and bad people.
One of the kindest, most thoughtful Thai men I have ever met was an ex-student. At the time I didn't have a daughter but I remember thinking that if I did have a daughter, this is the kind of man I would want her to have as a boyfriend.
I didn't realise at the time but I found out later he was gay.
If there were more caring gay men in Thailand and less of the inconsiderate, selfish, macho, pickup truck driving, Thai male stereotypes, the country would be a lot better.
Karaoke
One purpose of Karaoke in Thailand is just as a euphemism for prostitution. Many small brothels are euphemistically labelled as Karaoke bars. However, genuine Karaoke is hugely popular. A group of friends belting their hearts out together to the latest Thai pop tunes is very much a sanook activity and anything sanook can only be a good thing in Thailand.
Karaoke is a big favourite with the Thais
Most home music systems have inputs for microphones to enable Karaoke and most music is sold on the VCD format with videos and Karaoke lyrics. Sometimes the lyrics are just in Thai but often they are also transliterated into English.
Outside of the home, a lot of Karaoke places exist. They consist of sound-insulated cubicles with coin operated Karaoke machines and are popular with teenage kids. When they are singing, the kids enter a different world completely and forget about all their cares (and homework) temporarily. It's quite a sight to see.
The two girls here were in a group of about six and when I peered through the window they were keen to invite me in and hand over the microphone. On the TV screen can be seen heart-throb and pop-goddess, Lanna Cummins.
They asked me to choose some songs and I only know a few Thai artists, Lanna being one of them. I apologise for my rendition of, "Wai jai da gaa," which I absolutely murdered. Nothing beats listening to (and looking at) Lanna.
Land Measurement
Thailand has its own units for land measurement.
- 1 Wah = 4 square meters
- 1 Ngan = 100 Wah or 400 square meters
- 4 Ngan = 1 Rai or 1600 square meters
In comparison to Western Standards:
- 2.50 Rai = 1 Acre
- 6.25 Rai = 1 Hectare
Laundry
You have several options to get laundry done in Thailand. First, you can buy a washing machine and do everything yourself. You could even hand wash everything yourself. A dryer isn't really necessary because the year-round hot weather gets clothes dry very quickly.
Alternatively, coin operated washing machines can be found in most places and some apartment buildings have them. The going rate seems to be Bt20 per wash.
If you don't want to do laundry there are small laundry shops everywhere in Thailand which are normally one-woman operations. You can pay for each item individually or pay a monthly charge which is normally around Bt500. For this amount there may be a limit on how many items they will do.
The first place I used was unlimited. The second place had a maximum of 80 items per month and anything over that was charged for separately. My current laundry charges Bt500 for every 60 items and as soon as 60 items have been done they come banging on the door for another Bt500. The service varies quite a lot. Clothes can come back smelling good and well ironed or smelling quite bad and badly ironed.
Other annoyances include things just going missing and the way they mark your clothes. Some places will tie small pieces of coloured wool to the label while others will just mark clothes with a black marker pen. If you are lucky they will write on the label but if not they will write directly on the fabric and sometimes in quite conspicuous places.
If you have your own washing facilities but don't want to launder you can always hire a maid. There are plenty of girls in Thailand willing to do this kind of work for a few thousand Baht each month. I've had offers but personally I don't think I can justify employing a maid and I also think the girlfriend might get a little upset.
Lost and Stolen UK Passports
Sorry, but being a Brit I can only talk about UK passports.
It surprises me at times how casually some people treat their passports. Your passport is a vitally important document which gives you certain rights as a UK citizen, in addition to allowing you to travel freely across international borders. Without it you don't really exist and life can be very difficult.
Millions of people in the world would love to have a UK passport. If you have one, look after it. Another very good reason for looking after your passport is that if it is lost or stolen, getting a replacement is not straightforward.
In the event you and your passport become separated you won't be going very far until you have made a visit to the British Embassy in Bangkok. The web site has good information and you can download the appropriate passport application forms.
You will need to provide personal information about you and your parents (places and dates of birth, passport details, marriage details, etc.) and details about how your passport was lost if it is unavailable. Any loss or theft should be reported immediately to the local police or Tourist Police so that you can get a police report.
My current passport is almost full so I will need to get it replaced fairly soon. The required information I have mentioned so far has been quite easy to get - it is either in my head or I just needed to send a few quick e-mails.
One thing that hasn't been easy is getting an acceptable copy of my birth certificate. The original is in the UK but I'm not even sure where it is and I do not want it being sent in the post to Thailand. Thankfully now, we have that wonderful invention, the Internet.
The UK Government General Register Office has a web site and it is possible to order certificates on-line.
To summarise, look after your passport very carefully to avoid a lot of undue hassle and expense. If you are planning a scheduled replacement (your passport is almost full or about to expire), don't leave it till the last moment. There is a lot of administration and bureaucracy involved and nothing gets done quickly.
Mobile Phones
One of the most influential inventions of the 20th century. There haven't been too many inventions that have changed people's behaviour like the mobile phone has and most people in Thailand seem to have them.
I resisted for a long time when mobiles arrived in the UK but eventually succumbed. I have one in Thailand and it has proven to be very useful. In fact, like most people, I'd be lost without the thing now and I expect everyone to have one.
In image and status obsessed Asia they are a big thing because having a fancy mobile apparently puts out a message that you are a successful and clever person. A young Isaan lad who works in the girlfriend's salon does foot massage for a living.
One day I found him salivating over an advertising brochure for the latest Nokia phone. When I asked how much it was he told me over Bt20,000. He earns probably between Bt6,000 and Bt8,000 a month. He had that look on his face that told me one way or the other he was going to have that phone.
The way Thais do this is to buy what they want on credit and then sell the item when they can't afford to pay the instalments, normally after one or two months. My monthly income is more than ten times his but when I bought a second-hand phone I set myself a budget of Bt4,000. My way of thinking though is different to most Thais and I don't give a toss about image.
So, what do Thais do with these hi-tech handsets? Not a lot. Phones with cameras can be useful. The first pictures to appear from breaking news normally come from mobile phones, such as with the 7th July 2005 terrorist attacks in London.
The Thais aren't really into photo-journalism though. They take a picture of their grinning friends, pass the phone around while everyone smiles at the photo and then take another photo of another grinning friend.
Buying mobile phones in Thailand is easy. There are mobile phone shops absolutely everywhere. You can buy the latest models or buy second-hand. Thais trade in their phones regularly so the second-hand market is very active. As I mentioned above, there are also a lot of almost new phones for sale that have been sold because the owners couldn't keep up with the credit repayments.
Pay-as-you-go SIM cards are easy to buy as well. I'm no expert on the subject but I have found out a couple of things. It appears that not all operators provide the same things. The girlfriend moved to Orange as they had cheap call rates but it normally takes me multiple attempts to reach her because the network is always busy.
My brother was in Thailand for a short time and wanted a SIM card specifically to send and receive SMS messages abroad. He bought an Orange SIM card but Orange don't support international SMS messages.
I have an AIS One-2-Call number and it works well even if it isn't the cheapest deal around. I can send international SMS messages, the coverage seems pretty good and very rarely do I encounter 'Network Busy' problems.
At one time it was possible to just buy a pay-as-you-go SIM card anonymously. However, Muslim insurgents were using mobile phones to detonate explosive devices. To counter this the Thai government decided that all pay-as-you-go SIM cards now have to be registered.
This legislation came into effect at the beginning of July 2005. People who have a SIM card but don't register will find that at a certain point in time their phone will stop working. Of course, if terrorists are determined enough to explode devices they will always find a way to do so.
I honestly can't see how this measure will help but it will give the phone companies a nice database of user information for future promotions. Very handy if your family happen to own a mobile phone company.
Money
Notes (bills) come in denominations of Bt20 (green), Bt50 (blue and some are made from polymer), Bt100 (red), Bt500 (purple) and Bt1,000 (brown). Coins are valued at Bt10, Bt5, Bt1, 50 Satang and 25 Satang. A new Bt2 coin was introduced which I saw for the first time in October 2005. It is the same colour and slightly larger than the Bt1 coin. There are very few in circulation and I wonder if it is because people (like me) are collecting them?! They just seem too shiny and new to spend so they sit in piles on one of my shelves.
The relatively new Bt2 coin
Although Bt1 is divided into 100 Satang, only 25 and 50 Satang coins are available these days. They're a bit of a nuisance actually because no one wants them and I only get them occasionally because some goods are priced to the nearest half Baht. Thailand should do what the UK did with halfpennies long ago and get rid of them. (I have read that 1, 5 and 10 Satang coins are in circulation but I have never seen these coins. The same applies with the Bt10 note which apparently is still around but I've never seen one. I may have seen one in 1987 when I first came to Thailand but I can't remember.)
Bt20 notes are very useful. If you have some left over from a trip to Thailand and are planning a repeat visit make sure you keep them. They're great for tuk-tuk fares and tips. Bt1,000 notes result in mixed reactions. If your new girlfriend asks for some money or someone wants a tip and sees Bt1,000 notes being flashed around they will be very happy.
However, if you want to buy anything for less than Bt100 and try to use a Bt1,000 note it doesn't always go down very well because Thais rarely have enough change. Sometimes they will just refuse to make the sale if you want to pay with Bt1,000. At other times they will give you what you want and tell you to come back later with the right money. Yes, there is still a lot of trust in Thailand. If this happens make sure you go back.
Until the 1940's the unit of Thai currency was the Tical which is why you may see 'Tcs' in old books and other written material. Baht, originally a unit of weight, was then adopted. Up until fairly recently (relatively) there were still paper notes for Bt1 and Bt5 denominations.
The 10 Baht coin is remarkably similar to the 2 Euro coin. A German friend of mine used to stock up with 10 Baht coins while he was in Thailand and use these in parking meters in Germany. Unless the German authorities have adapted their parking meters to prevent this I assume that a lot of Thai money is finding its way to Europe for this purpose.
Alien registration, banking, children's day ...
Construction work to electricity and wiring ...
Movie posters, pickup trucks, stray dogs ...
Tailors, toilets and bathrooms, work permits ...