Thailand is known as 'The Land of Smiles' because of the happy, relaxed nature of most of the people and, of course, their 'yim' (Thai for smile) but there's more to it than that for me; I'm asked to pose for so many photos that I almost continuously have a smile plastered on my face ready for the next inevitable selfie that's never more than a flick of an iPhone away plus how can I not smile when my water and electricity bill only costs about 220 Baht a month (around £4!!!). I've also started to notice that, because of the language barrier, I tend to use constant smiling as my main method of communication and this became all too apparent when I had a bit of a cough and had to don a face mask which covered my mouth and therefore hid my trusty replacement for fluent language. I've often heard Thais say things like, "If you are vegetarian, why are you big??", "Teacher, look how ugly my friend is", "My children are really fat. Here, I'll show you a photo", and the only response from the person on the receiving end is a massive Thai smile; this is partly because they're genuinely not offended as it isn't meant in a malicious way and perhaps it's also because it's not acceptable to show negative emotion in public.
I came to Thailand on a two month tourist visa and whilst my work permit was being processed I needed to leave Thailand and get a new visa from a Thai embassy in neighbouring country, Laos. I had to pass through Chiang Mai on my way to Laos and so I took the opportunity to meet up with some friends. You can't walk five steps in central Chiang Mai without seeing adverts for the infinite number of tourist attractions including elephant mahout training, zip lining, massage courses and not forgetting the prodding and poking of caged tigers; these are aimed at tourist budgets plus I'm quite dubious about the way some of the animals are treated so we were searching for something a little bit different when we stumbled upon Elephant Poo Poo Paper Park, an eco-friendly company that turns animal poo into paper! We learnt about the process at their outdoor site surrounded by jungle, had a go at making colourful 'poo balls' into our very own sheets of paper and spent the day elbow deep in elephant excrement (which was surprisingly unoffensive once dried). I then took several buses and various other modes of transport over a 17 hour time period to reach Vientiane, the capital of Laos, where I stayed for two nights so the Thai embassy could issue me a fresh new visa inside my passport. Vientiane is not the most exciting city but since I'd been there before in January (Who Said Vientiane Is Boring?) I had very specific ideas about what I wanted to do and, apart from runs along the Mekong River and a dip in the national swimming pool, these plans all involved food because Vientiane is home to some incredible eats influenced by many different cultures thanks to Indian migrants and the historic colonisation by the French amongst other things.
In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes and being stared at if you’re different. The latter is especially true in rural Thailand. Being one of the only farangs in my town means that I stick out like a sore thumb and I’m constantly being watched, from the most menial tasks like going for a run or shopping for food to more private affairs such as buying underwear....everything is under surveillance! I’m not new to losing my anonymity - it was pretty intense whilst backpacking in India (see my posts from September last year I'm An Alien and Agro In Agra) - but this is sometimes a little frustrating because I’m not merely a passing tourist any more...I actually live here! Even the dogs are wary of me, one particular pet beagle barks viciously at me, and only me, whenever I pass his house and the other day a big scruffy soi dog spotted me and gave me the most horrified, wide-eyed look whilst backing away and yelping like he'd just seen a troll crawl out from under a bridge. I understand that I must look pretty weird to the people in my town who aren't used to seeing foreigners and most of the time the looks are completely innocuous and followed by a mega-watt Thai smile but other times I feel it encroaches on to xenophobic ground; I get followed around my local supermarket by a team of security guards every time I go and I assume this is because I am a foreigner (or perhaps I just naturally look dodgy?!). If there are people who aren't gawping at the weird looking blonde person you can be sure that one of their friends will give them a nudge and point me out. I am a foreigner and I'm not allowed to forget it; not only is the staring a constant reminder that I'm different but it's a well-known fact that farangs sometimes get charged up to ten times more than Thais for all sorts of things which is ok if you're a tourist but not fair if you're earning a Thai wage like myself - it was only very recently that the government stopped openly encouraging this but it's still widely practiced. You can sometimes get around this if you can speak Thai to the vendor/shop owner in question or crack their secret code i.e. learn to read numbers in Thai script: 1=๑, 2=๒, 3=๓ etc. Having said all this, being Lampang's resident curio does have many perks; passers by often offer me lifts whilst I walk and people I've just met invite me for meals and days out, simply because I'm foreign; the kindness and warmth I've felt from some of the local people make me want to stay in Thailand forever! I really enjoy it when the braver Thais break the proverbial fourth wall and approach me to say a few words even if it's only to ask, "where you from?".
Yet more time off school - this time we visited local Wats (temples) and the students presented a decorated candle to the monks after a series of chants to celebrate Kua Pansa day, the start of the Buddhist Lent.
My school is surrounded by many tiny rural villages and each one has a temple.
It's customary to wear a mask to school when you're ill and, despite me feeling extremely conspicuous, it actually helped me blend in as I was no longer the filthy foreigner who was coughing near children.
Every Wednesday I give a short speech to the whole school on English culture at the morning flag raising ceremony.
I came to Thailand on a two month tourist visa and whilst my work permit was being processed I needed to leave Thailand and get a new visa from a Thai embassy in neighbouring country, Laos. I had to pass through Chiang Mai on my way to Laos and so I took the opportunity to meet up with some friends. You can't walk five steps in central Chiang Mai without seeing adverts for the infinite number of tourist attractions including elephant mahout training, zip lining, massage courses and not forgetting the prodding and poking of caged tigers; these are aimed at tourist budgets plus I'm quite dubious about the way some of the animals are treated so we were searching for something a little bit different when we stumbled upon Elephant Poo Poo Paper Park, an eco-friendly company that turns animal poo into paper! We learnt about the process at their outdoor site surrounded by jungle, had a go at making colourful 'poo balls' into our very own sheets of paper and spent the day elbow deep in elephant excrement (which was surprisingly unoffensive once dried). I then took several buses and various other modes of transport over a 17 hour time period to reach Vientiane, the capital of Laos, where I stayed for two nights so the Thai embassy could issue me a fresh new visa inside my passport. Vientiane is not the most exciting city but since I'd been there before in January (Who Said Vientiane Is Boring?) I had very specific ideas about what I wanted to do and, apart from runs along the Mekong River and a dip in the national swimming pool, these plans all involved food because Vientiane is home to some incredible eats influenced by many different cultures thanks to Indian migrants and the historic colonisation by the French amongst other things.
No weekend in Thailand is complete without a foot massage, this time we tried a fish spa before hand....I'm not a fan!
Making paper at Elephant Poo Poo Paper Park.
Touch me!
Vientiane.
In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes and being stared at if you’re different. The latter is especially true in rural Thailand. Being one of the only farangs in my town means that I stick out like a sore thumb and I’m constantly being watched, from the most menial tasks like going for a run or shopping for food to more private affairs such as buying underwear....everything is under surveillance! I’m not new to losing my anonymity - it was pretty intense whilst backpacking in India (see my posts from September last year I'm An Alien and Agro In Agra) - but this is sometimes a little frustrating because I’m not merely a passing tourist any more...I actually live here! Even the dogs are wary of me, one particular pet beagle barks viciously at me, and only me, whenever I pass his house and the other day a big scruffy soi dog spotted me and gave me the most horrified, wide-eyed look whilst backing away and yelping like he'd just seen a troll crawl out from under a bridge. I understand that I must look pretty weird to the people in my town who aren't used to seeing foreigners and most of the time the looks are completely innocuous and followed by a mega-watt Thai smile but other times I feel it encroaches on to xenophobic ground; I get followed around my local supermarket by a team of security guards every time I go and I assume this is because I am a foreigner (or perhaps I just naturally look dodgy?!). If there are people who aren't gawping at the weird looking blonde person you can be sure that one of their friends will give them a nudge and point me out. I am a foreigner and I'm not allowed to forget it; not only is the staring a constant reminder that I'm different but it's a well-known fact that farangs sometimes get charged up to ten times more than Thais for all sorts of things which is ok if you're a tourist but not fair if you're earning a Thai wage like myself - it was only very recently that the government stopped openly encouraging this but it's still widely practiced. You can sometimes get around this if you can speak Thai to the vendor/shop owner in question or crack their secret code i.e. learn to read numbers in Thai script: 1=๑, 2=๒, 3=๓ etc. Having said all this, being Lampang's resident curio does have many perks; passers by often offer me lifts whilst I walk and people I've just met invite me for meals and days out, simply because I'm foreign; the kindness and warmth I've felt from some of the local people make me want to stay in Thailand forever! I really enjoy it when the braver Thais break the proverbial fourth wall and approach me to say a few words even if it's only to ask, "where you from?".
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