The Most Shocking Thing You Saw Recently

[Soph]

I often tend to find I start to take for granted the shocking or funny or just plain weird things that I see every day here in Thailand.

The other day it was an elephant in the back of a lorry, whizzing down the street, down to the simple things like 4 drunken lads on a motorbike.

Or a not so funny story of the todler running out into the main road and being millimetres away from getting plowed down by a pickup filled with about 30 worked doing about 130km. Right in front of my eyes - with the father just whisking him up with a big grin on his face as if to say "Mai pen rai"

Whats the most shocking/weirdist/freakyish thing youve seen recently?

[rio666uk]

2 things (not shocking) that stand out as being a bit strange for me but the norm for thais to see...

soi dogs getting mowed down on the toll ways going out of bangkok - our car just missed em but the guy behind hit all 3 up in the air - i saw our taxi driver watch the event in the rear view mirror but not so much as raise an eyebrow

and another thing - cock fighting on the central reservations of major roads.... whats all that about... not so much the cock fighting but why there, on the grassy bit in between busy roads... ??

[BambinA]

The Most Shocking Thing You Saw Recently

I went to the flea market , and i found aguy buying sometime .. there are boiled egg..but , for sure its not an ordinary thing , coz in each egg, there has a chick inside

inTH we call it = ไข่ข้าว "Khai Khao" (Khai =egg /Khao =rice)

Filipino> balut

Vietnamese>hot vit lon

From Wikipedia Balut

A partially shelled balut egg, ready to be eaten.A delicacy of Southeast Asia and especially the Philippines, a balut is a fertilized duck egg with a nearly-developed embryo inside that is boiled and eaten in the shell. Popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac and considered a hearty snack, balut are mostly sold by street vendors at night. Their high protein content is complimentary to the consumption of beer. The word balut roughly translates to mean "wrapped"

Gossshhhhhh..Im sorry.....gimme a break

Bambi

[majush]

most shocking scene in bangkok... A farang in a bar in patpong without any bg's on his lap....

[TheAceFace]

The remains of a jumper in my condo...28th floor.

[Ice Maiden]

The most shocking thing I've seen recently was (sorry to be morbid) I unfortunatley went to a Thai funneral of a family member a week ago and for the first few days on attending (some of you will know it's a three day process) the family were fine and laughing whilst drinking whiskey outside their sons coffin. For me this was unbearable because I was close with the man and the thought of drinking outside his coffin was too hard for me.

On the actual burning no one appeared to be crying except myself and brother which was pretty hard faced if you ask me. This is more of a culture shock. I don't think less of the Thais for doing this because it is their way of coping and to me it is deffo better than mourning for months and getting ill so I have some respect for them in that aspect.

Edited September 23, 2005 by Ice Maiden

[tripperj]

The most shocking thing I've seen recently was (sorry to be morbid) I unfortunatley went to a Thai funneral of a family member a week ago and for the first few days on attending (some of you will know it's a three day process) the family were fine and laughing whilst drinking whiskey outside their sons coffin. For me this was unbearable because I was close with the man and the thought of drinking outside his coffin was too hard for me.

On the actual burning no one appeared to be crying except myself and brother which was pretty hard faced if you ask me. This is more of a culture shock. I don't think less of the Thais for doing this because it is their way of coping and to me it is deffo better than mourning for months and getting ill so I have some respect for them in that aspect.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

In ireland is the same. We have a 3 day wake, were people get drunk, stay up all night with the body and tell stories about the deceased.

[p_brownstone]

On the actual burning no one appeared to be crying except myself and brother which was pretty hard faced if you ask me. This is more of a culture shock. I don't think less of the Thais for doing this because it is their way of coping and to me it is deffo better than mourning for months and getting ill so I have some respect for them in that aspect.

There is a reason for this, it's nothing to do with being hard faced.

At the actual cremation immediate family members (and others who were very close to the deceased) will deliberately try not to show emotion, and indeed will not even ascend to the crematorium building itself when the body is being burnt.

The belief is that if the Spirit of the departed sees such displays of deep sorrow and sadness it will be inclined to stay on this plane of existence in an attempt to comfort the mourners, and so the Soul cannot proceed on to it's next incarnation.

Patrick

Edited September 23, 2005 by p_brownstone

[sbk]

There is a reason for this, it's nothing to do with being hard faced.

At the actual cremation immediate family members (and others who were very close to the deceased) will deliberately try not to show emotion, and indeed will not even ascend to the crematorium building itself when the body is being burnt.

The belief is that if the Spirit of the departed sees such displays of deep sorrow and sadness it will be inclined to stay on this plane of existence in an attempt to comfort the mourners, and so the Soul cannot proceed on to it's next incarnation.

Patrick

Not in any funeral I have ever been too. Where I live it is traditional that the closest family members that go to the crematorium. Before and while the body is on the bier family member gather round with candles and matches with paper on them (don't really know the significance of this one). But I have never been to a funeral (and I have probably been to at least 100 over the years) where the immediate family did not go up to the crematorium. As for showing emotions, well the only ones I have seen that didnt' were either the deceased was a jacka$$ or the family member was

Weirdest thing I have ever seen? A toukay eating a mouse. Very cool (I hate rats )

[khall64au]

I saw a gecko eating a (baby) gecko .... gross!!!

[Tywais]

One day my wife was in a bit of a tizzy telling me to come upstairs because there was a mouse. Looked around, didn't see it and she said it went under the carpet. Figured it was a small mouse and nothing to worry about. Pulled the carpet up and voila, it was a snake. Got to get my hearing fixed. noo vs ngoo

It was very small and said no problem until she said "wonder where the mother is?".

[Soph]

Well I suppose one of the most shocking things ive seen recently is the news report of a well known farrang getting shot on Samui.......another day in Thailand.

Oh and the owner of the bar I go to getting paraletic drunk last night and smashing the place up. Not a pleasant event

[sbk]

Not shocking, just sad.

Shootings occur on a daily basis in Thailand and the fact that it could happen to a farang is not surprising considering the business he was involved in. My brother-in-law had a large fruit wholesaling business in Bangkok, providing fruit to many large hotels, and a rival fruit seller tried to get him shot. Over FRUIT! So, no, it is not shocking that a farang involved in what is essentially a pretty shady business involving huge amounts of money would finally get shot.

[Soph]

I agree SBK its frightening but real. What gets me about all these things discussed from the funny to the weird to the scary, is that the longer you stay here the more normal they become and less shocking than they would be if it happened at home or on your first day in Thailand.

[lordsux]

This freaked me out a week or so ago when I nearly trod on it in my kitchen.

I have tried identifying it but cant find out much about this spider on the net, I cant see it on any sites that cover Thailands creepy crawlies. The Thais say that they have never seen a spider like that.

We get a lot of snakes... 8 in the house since May, prefer snakes to spiders though.

Ive posted this pic before, captured while I was taking a shower.

Still on the nature side, a 3.5 meter indian freshwater crocodile turned up on the island.

Nature also played a part in the death of a Burmese fisherman about 4 weeks ago, he got struck by lightning about 2-300 meters from my home and was killed on the spot.

Any help identifying the spider would be great.

[davethailand]

Not recently but a couple of years ago a man and a women shot (murdered) whilst riding their bike.

Road kill (dogs) everyday nearly.

Baht bus driver shot and killed at marine a couple of years back.

A friend had his head ran over by a coach last year on the way to jomtien.

Another friend came off of his Harley in front of me under the expressway in Bang Na, I managed to park my bike and run back, he dived out the way of a lorry at the last minute. He was more pissed of about the 2.5 million baht Harley he'd trashed

How I love Thailand.

[Soph]

Lordsux - remind me never to come round to your house for a cup of tea!!

Where do you live with creatures like that

Well i did step out my back door and almost tread on a scorpion, one of those huge big black shiny ones, like the ones you can buy in frames on the Khao Sarn.

Whoa that freaked me out - now that will never become part of 'normal' Thai life for me

[autonomous_unit]

This freaked me out a week or so ago when I nearly trod on it in my kitchen.

...

I have tried identifying it but cant find out much about this spider on the net, I cant see it on any sites that cover Thailands creepy crawlies. The Thais say that they have never seen a spider like that.

...

Any help identifying the spider would be great.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How big was that spider? It is hard to tell without anything to compare in the picture...

I couldn't find the same coloration in some quick browsing online, but it reminds me of tarantulas we had in California. I think they are pretty widely spread throughout the world. The ones I am familiar with get to be maybe the size of a man's hand, while the biggest tarantula species can be closer to 12 inches (30 cm). (Talking about legspan... the body itself is walnut sized or smaller.)

As far as I know, tarantulas do not have dangerous venom. However, some species are more agressive than others and they are so big that even a venom-free bite will hurt a lot! Also, many have the ability to fling hairs from their legs/back a reasonable distance and these hairs can be very irritating to skin or eyes. Best not to aggravate or touch them unless you know what you're doing.

[loong]

The most shocking thing I've seen recently was (sorry to be morbid) I unfortunatley went to a Thai funneral of a family member a week ago and for the first few days on attending (some of you will know it's a three day process) the family were fine and laughing whilst drinking whiskey outside their sons coffin. For me this was unbearable because I was close with the man and the thought of drinking outside his coffin was too hard for me.

On the actual burning no one appeared to be crying except myself and brother which was pretty hard faced if you ask me. This is more of a culture shock. I don't think less of the Thais for doing this because it is their way of coping and to me it is deffo better than mourning for months and getting ill so I have some respect for them in that aspect.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, A farang friend of mine was very upset after the death of his Thai Mother-in-law. He felt quite angry at the apparent lack of compassion. The Thais didn't understand why he was crying and some even ridiculed him!!

We can try, but I doubt that we will ever truly understand Thai culture.

Lordsux..........

Nice photo of the snake.......BUT....

You took it while having a shower????

What were you doing with a camera in the shower??

[Tywais]

This freaked me out a week or so ago when I nearly trod on it in my kitchen.

[lordsux]

Lordsux..........

Nice photo of the snake.......BUT....

You took it while having a shower????

What were you doing with a camera in the shower??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I was testing my new waterproof housing....j/k

I saw the snake and did a dash for the camera, there were about 5 other geckos watching their mate being swallowed but I didnt manage to get a shot of those...too busy shooting the close ups. I did manage to get a series of 8 shots of the gecko being swallowed though.

The spiders body was about 5 x 3 cms and the legs about 5-7 cms, for sure the biggest spider ive ever seen. I did try to place a lighter next to it for comparison , but as you see it went into the attack position....and with the ooze dripping from its fangs I decided to back off.

[Totster]

The most shocking thing I saw was the notice board full of graphic pictures of Road Traffic Accidents, limbs and stuff all over the place, very gory.

This was while I was waiting at the bus station for a bus to Bangkok..

totster

[Tywais]

The most shocking thing I saw was the notice board full of graphic pictures of Road Traffic Accidents, limbs and stuff all over the place, very gory. 

This was while I was waiting at the bus station for a bus to Bangkok.. 

totster 

They have the same type of pictures on Rama IV near Silom. Believe it is an accident victum help center or similar.

[loong]

I was testing my new waterproof housing....j/k

Lordsux

Is that a new name for a condom?

Does J/K stand for Jer Koff?

Edited September 24, 2005 by loong

[khall64au]

Lordsux, nice spider but where on earth was that croc ? Which island are you on??????

[sbk]

Good question!!

My husband remembers way back when he was a very small child they had saltwater crocs on koh phangan but they are all gone now.

[Totster]

Good question!!

My husband remembers way back when he was a very small child they had saltwater crocs on koh phangan but they are all gone now.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hmmm... handbags ?

totster

[simon43]

Lordsux, I showed that photo of the spider to my Isaan wife and all she said was 'yummy yummy!!' :) (When she was a kid she used to go hunting spiders to eat - but your photo looks like a real feast...)

[lordsux]

Lordsux, nice spider but where on earth was that croc ?   Which island are you on?????? 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Im on Koh Phayam in the Andaman Sea, 2.5 hours from Ranong by boat.

Some say that the crocs ended up here as a result of the tsunami.

I prefer the theory that a boat transporting them sunk and they made for land, I say they, becuase apparantly there is a larger male croc still on the loose. The pic shows a female.

Koh Phayam at 5 x 3 kms is a small area to have these crocs, if they were here all the time someone would have seen them before.

Its jungle law out here for sure

[khall64au]

Ooooh .... that's on my side of Thailand And crocs can swim a very long way.... and EAT people So if there is a male and a female chances are there may be babies? I come from a place in Oz where we were always on croc alert at the beach. Now I'm feeling nervous again.