RamenRaven

Thailand is a big breadbasket and has an agricultural surplus. In both rural and urban areas, people usually have food that they don't finish and throw it to the dogs. Food is cheap even by their standards. In fact, Thais are often surprised when I tell them about what food insecurity can be like in Western countries. When eating with a group of Thais, I'm always the only person who finishes every single little morsel and cleans out every grain of rice. Typically no one notices or cares, but occasionally they might ask if I would like some more food when they seen an empty plate. But the Burmese don't throw away food as often.

Traditional baskets. Things wrapped in cloth. Pushcarts and animal transportation. You might want to see vintage photos of Thailand from 100 years ago to get an idea.

I have been to 3 funerals in 3 different parts of Thailand. Every time it's more or less the same. An elderly person, aged 60 to 90+, dies and a carnival-like Buddhist funeral is held. No tears shed at all. No one is crying. People look either happy to see each other, or are slightly bored by the long Buddhist chants. Street vendors come to sell food, people see it as a family reunion event, and everyone talks about the food. It seems like just another religious festival. At one funeral, as an old lady was being cremated and smoke was coming out everywhere, her sons (in their 60s) were talking about how delicious the local som tam is. All smiling, no tears or grieving faces, even though they loved their mother a lot. And then one lady said nonchalantly, "maen" (kind of smells), but no one cared. But I could only stand there silent, because a human body was on fire! It was such a poignant moment for me, but no one else cared. I told a few Thais that in the West, close family members often cry, shed tears, and show a lot of emotion at funerals. They take turns speaking and show grieving faces. I just got blank stares. "Oh they do that?" Confused looks. Then on to the next topic. Can someone explain how Thais view funerals?

I just bought a newly built two-story house in Thailand. It's gorgeous and everything looks great, except for the low kitchen counter and the low stairway headroom. At the 6th step, the space between the step and the roof or beam is 187 cm, which is dangerously low for me since I'm just a bit over 185 cm (I'm afraid to wear even slippers), and I'm always feeling my hair brush against the top. There are 18 steps total that are about 19-20 cm high each (irregular), not including the first and second level floors. Each step is 25 cm wide. There's a small storage room under the stairs too. US standards require the stairway headroom or clearance to 80 inches (203 cm). I'm not sure if this violates any Thai building codes, if they have any at all. I don't know why anyone would build a new house where you only have 187 cm when climbing the stairs, but then again, we're in Thailand. I would like the stairway clearance to be at least my height (185 cm) + the vertical height of each step (20 cm), or at least 205 cm (in New York City, the minimum is 213 cm). The seller warned me that chipping off the top (presumably made up of concrete and wood) to create more headroom is not recommended, since it could put the house at risk of structural damage. Or maybe I should just take a risk and see if I can at least chip off a bit to make the headroom to be 190 cm. But then, completely tearing down the steps to create spacious headroom is a tricky and expensive process. Presumably I'd have to raise the height of each step by 1-3 cm each, which would mean shortening the length of the stairway. There would be less room in the storage room underneath the stairway and then the bathroom that's below the stairs might also have to be modified. Which company or home renovator in Chiang Mai can take on this kind of work?