The Little Enchanting Things About Thailand That Still Put A Smile On My Face

[tigerfish]

yes i know they have their faults and god knows we on tv go on about them enough, but doesn't everyone ?

there are some things out here though that put a smile on my face and make me glad i made the move out here. its just the little things they do you see from day to day, that in some way i would never thought of doing that makes this place so enchanting " at times "

things like the way it just comes as second nature when they tie the elastic bands around and around food thats bought at the various food outlets and its done with such ease. banana leaves that are folded and then wrapped around food to make small parcels. the way the women of this country move with such elegance and dance when dressed in national costume. flowers that are used in so many ways to make such beautiful offerings. the way they just know how to chuck in various food ingredients into a wok and at the right time to make the most amazing and delicious dishes. talc from head to toe and all over, after a shower and more importantly of all the ability to smile ! which makes me think, they haven't got it all wrong.

Edited October 31, 2010 by tigerfish

[sirineou]

HI tigerfish

A Lovely sentiment

when I first got here I would drive in highways in Issan and I would see small broken tree branches laying on the road,I would move over to the other to lane and look for the car that crashed on the tree,

never show one,

after a while, I finally figure it out,

If someone Brock down, they will brake small branches from the tree and lay then on the road, nothing large enough to present any danger, but large enough causing you to slow down and move to the other lane.

An ingénues low tech solution to traffic warning devises.

[sirineou]

HI tigerfish

A Lovely sentiment

when I first got here I would drive in highways in Issan and I would see small broken tree branches laying on the road,I would move over to the other to lane and look for the car that crashed on the tree,

never show one,

after a while, I finally figure it out,

If someone Brock down, they will brake small branches from the tree and lay then on the road, nothing large enough to present any danger, but large enough causing you to slow down and move to the other lane.

An ingénues low tech solution to traffic warning devises.

Sorry for the double post, I guess I must have double clicked, please disregard duplication

Edited October 31, 2010 by sirineou

[sirineou]

Soppy l know but the beautiful smile on my mrs face always makes me smile.

( but never when her kids are around, pain )

Nothing to be sorry about

[smokie36]

I love Thailand's natural beauty.....the sunrise....the hour before sunset particularly south of Krabi....the stars at night.

Did I mention the girls.....a wee cheeky wink and grin.....ahhh!!

[Genericnic]

I love Thailand's natural beauty.....the sunrise....the hour before sunset particularly south of Krabi....the stars at night.

Did I mention the girls.....a wee cheeky wink and grin.....ahhh!!

Thanks for that reminder of the sunsets, smokie36. I spent a few days on Koh Lanta last November and got some really nice sunset images there. Here is an example for those folks that haven't been there yet.

David

[Scully]

When I do the school run on a morning all the teachers and pupils wai to each other and there is always a pupil sweeping up cleaning the school yard.

Back in my home town if you asked a child to do this you would probably be replyed with an F off.

[Loz]

On my old route to school I used to pass a palm tree with the sun rising behind it. Always made me thankful of my choice to be here.

The kids I teach are the best thing by far. Watching them make breakthroughs. Listening to their questions. One 17 year old boy had a conversation with me last Friday. He began by asking me where I go to get inspired. He wanted to write creatively (and he's good at it!) but was blocked and wanted to find a something that would give him an idea. Great material to work with.

There are Twin girls in one of my classes. They are not the strongest students but they will try so hard to put sentences together or to find an illusive word. They might not say as much as others in the class but when they speak I celebrate it like a magic act! They keep trying, and they keep winning.

Lots of good reasons to be here.

[StreetCowboy]

On my old route to school I used to pass a palm tree with the sun rising behind it. Always made me thankful of my choice to be here.

The kids I teach are the best thing by far. Watching them make breakthroughs. Listening to their questions. One 17 year old boy had a conversation with me last Friday. He began by asking me where I go to get inspired. He wanted to write creatively (and he's good at it!) but was blocked and wanted to find a something that would give him an idea. Great material to work with.

There are Twin girls in one of my classes. They are not the strongest students but they will try so hard to put sentences together or to find an illusive word. They might not say as much as others in the class but when they speak I celebrate it like a magic act! They keep trying, and they keep winning.

Lots of good reasons to be here.

I used to really enjoy driving into work early, with the mist still burning off the desert, so that all you could see were the minarets of the mosques as you went over the highway bridge, but that was Dubai rather than Thailand... same same...

SC

[Ulysses G.]

When a beautiful woman that would not even spit on me back home smiles at me like I am something special. It just happened a few minutes ago.

[bermondburi]

A month or so ago I was taking my son back from school and I stopped to adjust something with the motorbike. It's a semi-rural area where the school is and I stopped at the entrance gate to a house with a small fruit plantation in front of it. I didn't notice at first but there was an old woman by the gate and we started having a chat about my boy and where I lived etc. Then she was like " hang on a minute, I'll go and get you some mangoes ". She came back with a big bag of mangoes for us. Very generous. I grew up in SE London where 1) there are no mango trees

2) people don't do something for nothing

That put a little buzz on my day.

[Loz]

A month or so ago I was taking my son back from school and I stopped to adjust something with the motorbike. It's a semi-rural area where the school is and I stopped at the entrance gate to a house with a small fruit plantation in front of it. I didn't notice at first but there was an old woman by the gate and we started having a chat about my boy and where I lived etc. Then she was like " hang on a minute, I'll go and get you some mangoes ". She came back with a big bag of mangoes for us. Very generous. I grew up in SE London where 1) there are no mango trees

2) people don't do something for nothing

That put a little buzz on my day.

South London?

[IanForbes]

Every time I've had flat tire or small accident with my motorcycle there was a Thai willing to help me. And, the cost was always minimal. Every time I've talked to Thai teenagers on a trai, by the river or at a lake they've been very friendly to this old man. It I tried talking to teenagers in a Canadian mall they would ignore me or call the police out of paranoia. In North America the elderly are supposed to stay out of the way, stay quiet.. or more preferably... just die. But do it in a way that doesn't bother anyone.

[dominique355]

To see a beautiful Thai lady (and aren't they all beautiful) sit sideways on the back of a motorbike, elegantly balancing every move of the bike ... that brings tears to my eyes.

[mahtin]

To see a beautiful Thai lady (and aren't they all beautiful) sit sideways on the back of a motorbike, elegantly balancing every move of the bike ... that brings tears to my eyes.

Getting my nuts crushed on the back of a mocy taxi... that brings tears to my eyes.

[deejah]

total strangers from all walks of life offering to share their thai meal with me no matter how cheap or lavish

this continually uplifts me even after years

just yesterday i went for a jog in a rural thai area i had never jogged in before

every time i came to a little village

the children ran out and said hello and tried the little bit of english they knew

so so friendly and clearly genuinely happy

i think i could write a book on this topic

Edited November 1, 2010 by deejah

[aridion]

This post makes me want to be back in LOS again.

[mca]

My Thai in laws, nephews and nieces. Salt of the earth. Nothing's too much trouble for them. I'm a " Do anything for anybody" type of person but they make me look like most selfish bastard in the world.

[cashill]

To see a beautiful Thai lady (and aren't they all beautiful) sit sideways on the back of a motorbike, elegantly balancing every move of the bike ... that brings tears to my eyes.

Getting my nuts crushed on the back of a mocy taxi... that brings tears to my eyes.

Reading some posts here on TV........................that brings tears to my eyes

[bermondburi]

A month or so ago I was taking my son back from school and I stopped to adjust something with the motorbike. It's a semi-rural area where the school is and I stopped at the entrance gate to a house with a small fruit plantation in front of it. I didn't notice at first but there was an old woman by the gate and we started having a chat about my boy and where I lived etc. Then she was like " hang on a minute, I'll go and get you some mangoes ". She came back with a big bag of mangoes for us. Very generous. I grew up in SE London where 1) there are no mango trees

2) people don't do something for nothing

That put a little buzz on my day.

South London?

Southeast. If you look at my avatar name it's not too hard to work out where.

[bermondburi]

A month or so ago I was taking my son back from school and I stopped to adjust something with the motorbike. It's a semi-rural area where the school is and I stopped at the entrance gate to a house with a small fruit plantation in front of it. I didn't notice at first but there was an old woman by the gate and we started having a chat about my boy and where I lived etc. Then she was like " hang on a minute, I'll go and get you some mangoes ". She came back with a big bag of mangoes for us. Very generous. I grew up in SE London where 1) there are no mango trees

2) people don't do something for nothing

That put a little buzz on my day.

How right you are. If you grew any fruit in your front garden in SE London it would disappear overnight, for sure.

If you had a garden. Window box maybe.

[Loz]

A month or so ago I was taking my son back from school and I stopped to adjust something with the motorbike. It's a semi-rural area where the school is and I stopped at the entrance gate to a house with a small fruit plantation in front of it. I didn't notice at first but there was an old woman by the gate and we started having a chat about my boy and where I lived etc. Then she was like " hang on a minute, I'll go and get you some mangoes ". She came back with a big bag of mangoes for us. Very generous. I grew up in SE London where 1) there are no mango trees

2) people don't do something for nothing

That put a little buzz on my day.

South London?

Yes, but I don't know any funny film clips for bermondsey. And south is south. Shut up and laugh!

Southeast. If you look at my avatar name it's not too hard to work out where.

[Scully]

A month or so ago I was taking my son back from school and I stopped to adjust something with the motorbike. It's a semi-rural area where the school is and I stopped at the entrance gate to a house with a small fruit plantation in front of it. I didn't notice at first but there was an old woman by the gate and we started having a chat about my boy and where I lived etc. Then she was like " hang on a minute, I'll go and get you some mangoes ". She came back with a big bag of mangoes for us. Very generous. I grew up in SE London where 1) there are no mango trees

2) people don't do something for nothing

That put a little buzz on my day.

That reminded me of when I first arrived in Thailand, I was walking along minding my own business and a Thai man kept waving at me to come to him. Being a little wary I approached him and with a big smile on his face he handed me one of those small bananas.

It would'nt happen in Manchester either and if somebody in Manchester waved me over to him they were probably selling drugs.

[dominique355]

To see a beautiful Thai lady (and aren't they all beautiful) sit sideways on the back of a motorbike, elegantly balancing every move of the bike ... that brings tears to my eyes.

Getting my nuts crushed on the back of a mocy taxi... that brings tears to my eyes.

Maybe you should try sitting sideways ...

[bermondburi]

A month or so ago I was taking my son back from school and I stopped to adjust something with the motorbike. It's a semi-rural area where the school is and I stopped at the entrance gate to a house with a small fruit plantation in front of it. I didn't notice at first but there was an old woman by the gate and we started having a chat about my boy and where I lived etc. Then she was like " hang on a minute, I'll go and get you some mangoes ". She came back with a big bag of mangoes for us. Very generous. I grew up in SE London where 1) there are no mango trees

2) people don't do something for nothing

That put a little buzz on my day.

South London?

Yes, but I don't know any funny film clips for bermondsey. And south is south. Shut up and laugh!

Southeast. If you look at my avatar name it's not too hard to work out where.

That's because it's not a funny place. Apart from having a laugh at the now dead Jade Goody.

[highlander76]

It is great when you get a topic on thai visa which is not thai bashing well done about starting it, for me it has to be the children of my thaiwifes family and neighbours what great kids the respect they show to their elders this never happens back home in Scotland these days now.

[MSingh]

Did I mention the girls.....a wee cheeky wink and grin.....ahhh!!

S*x case..

I love the mornings, between 6 & 7, they're fantastic..

I like it when i see the old natives, 70 plus & flash them a smile & tehy smile back, which is by no means all of the time but i like it when it happens..

I like it when it comes over black, p*sses down then is sunny again 20 mins later..

I like it when errrrrrrrr, that's it for me..

[travelmann]

Getting the car washed/ dried , hoovered, glass cleaned and dash board etc , engine bay cleaned for 120 baht incredible!!

[phaethon]

I'm quite fond of the sound of the kow-wow bird [Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus)], a member of the cuckoo family. After keeping quiet all summer the males are now just starting to sing.

Edited November 2, 2010 by phaethon

[bermondburi]

A month or so ago I was taking my son back from school and I stopped to adjust something with the motorbike. It's a semi-rural area where the school is and I stopped at the entrance gate to a house with a small fruit plantation in front of it. I didn't notice at first but there was an old woman by the gate and we started having a chat about my boy and where I lived etc. Then she was like " hang on a minute, I'll go and get you some mangoes ". She came back with a big bag of mangoes for us. Very generous. I grew up in SE London where 1) there are no mango trees

2) people don't do something for nothing

That put a little buzz on my day.

How right you are. If you grew any fruit in your front garden in SE London it would disappear overnight, for sure.

If you had a garden. Window box maybe.

I ' HAD ' a front and back garden, cherry tree's in the back but that's another story.

Sounds nice. Whereabouts ?