Thai Nuggets !!!

Thai people use straws for everything: bottled water, coffee, booze. Any conveniance store you convene in will give you at least four straws for any one beverage you purchase; they insist.


One American snack they have plenty of in T-land is Lay's Potato Chips and Pringles, both of which are dominating the SE Asian chip market. They love them shits over here. But the flavors are just a tad different. The only three we have in common are Original, Sour Cream & Onion, and BBQ, although BBQ is actually Mexican BBQ over here. From there the flavors just get freaky: Nori Seaweed, Spicy Seafood, Squid Chili Paste, Garlic and Soft-Shell Crab, and my personal fave Double Cheese Pork Burger. Doritos are almost considered a luxury; you can only find them in big cities or at the movie theatre.


Swimming is a funny business in Thailand. Thais aren't big on exposure for two reasons. They hate being tan, and they also believe it's disrespectul to show skin. So, when most Thais go swimming, they're usually covered head to foot, even at the beach. All women, Thai and farang alike, must wear a swim cap. It's kind of adorable.


Fashion is an equally funny business. While there are certainly some fashionably savvy people in Thailand, the two most popular clothing styles are Playboy and a line of garments with a marijuana motif. I've seen 5 and 6-year olds running around with huge pot-leafs gregariously gracing their t-shirts and the Playboy Bunny prominently displayed on their baseball caps. Also, the length of clothing Thais generally wear is fever-inducing. In the middle of debilitating heat, just a cartographical inch from the equator, these people walk around in jeans, long-sleeve flannels, and head-wraps to keep out the sun, and hardly a bead of sweat to be found.

They don't really use chop-sticks in Thailand, as you might expect, or maybe you don't. The only time I ever see Thais use chop-sticks is when they're eating noodle soup. Thais use a fork and a spoon for almost every meal; no knives. However, the fork is not used to spear your food; it replaces the knife, and is then used to scoop your food onto the spoon. Weird.

Now a little Laos nugget. Laotians lack a certain spatial awareness. It's pretty common to see a Laotian catching a nap on some stranger's shoulder during a long bus-ride, slumber-slobber and all.