Thailand-First Impressions

Stereotypes and Expectations

                In general, the main thing I’ve thought this week is that I was mostly wrong with a lot of the stereotypes I had coming in and several of the expectations either from me or the things people told me. Here’s a few off the top of my head

1.       Asians are short:

Well, I don’t know the statistics, but there are several men and women here who are taller than me. My wife is still shorter than most people, so bummer for her. That said, there are not that many overweight people at all, which I see as a challenge to me. Not only are Thai’s not short, but there are multiple different cultures in Thailand. There was blacks, whites, Muslims, Christians, everything. I’m pretty sure Angel was the only Hispanic person though.

2.       Thailand, Land of smiles J

For a culture that does nothing but smile (according to orientation), these people sure do pack some attitude. The most surprising was the waitress at the pizza restaurant (Bisilicos) when we informed her that she brought us 2 one topping pizzas and we wanted 1 two topping pizza. She looked like I hit her in the kidneys or something. We felt bad, but I also thought she should’ve thought twice about bringing 2 pizzas to 2 people. But I guess with Americans you never know

3.       The smog

I mean, from our 36^th floor window you can see that the air isn’t pristine or anything, but I expected to need a gas mask the way some folks talked about it. I haven’t been running yet so maybe my opinion will change, but I don’t feel like the air here is much worse than Houston

4.       Thailand: 3^rd world country?

This is probably just my own misunderstanding. Somewhere between finding out about how crowded it is, the tuktuks, and the cheap prices, I expected a starving city. Well, there are several rundown buildings in Bangkok and many people do make their living on the streets, but there are more beggars and homeless folks in downtown Houston or Austin than we’ve seen so far in Bangkok. May be all the bums are hiding, I know it has only been 3 days. I’ll keep you posted. Again, I’m not an economic expert, but I wouldn’t say this part of Bangkok is even a second world country, if there is such a thing. There are more malls, restaurants, parks, and other places to spend your money per square mile than any other place I’ve been to.

5.       Thailand is cheap

Ok, this is true in many areas (haircuts, massages, taxis, public transportation), but I have yet to find any everyday goods that cost less than they do in the US. Granted, we have been in the tourist area and we haven’t bought anything from the street markets, but most everything we buy here is more expensive. All  the designer clothes are still waaaay to expensive, the electronics and phones cost as much or more, and general goods (cookware, books, movies) cost about the same. If we’re gonna save a bunch of dough here, we better learn how to use the street market

6.       Music

I’m sure there is some traditional Thailand music that most Thais enjoy, but everywhere I’ve been I’ve listened to some form of American music. We were the most surprised when we were riding in the car with our driver listening to what must be the Thai version of NPR when suddenly the uncut version of C Lo Green’s F*** YOU! Pops on the radio.

There are several other interesting things about Thailand. When I stepped outside at the airport, I felt humidity of about 200%. But once I got into the city, it was much better. Being in the workforce now, I’m used to getting in my car to drive to my office, staying in the office all day, getting in my car to drive home, and then going to sleep. Rarely will I go outside in the summer unless it’s for a sporting event, so just being outside more here has made for a lot more sweating. It’s actually not nearly as hot as far as Houston, although I think it’s at least as humid. When we finally got to our apartment/hotel room, I was pleased to see that it was very spacious, had an amazing view of the city, and was convenient. I was a little worried when we turned up the rundown alley and suddenly we were at the hotel. That’s one of the characteristics that Bangkok seems to have even more than other big cities, you can be in a slum or redlight district at one moment and then within the same block there’s a 5 star hotel or restaurant. I guess at some point we’ll have to get out a little further to see if the rest of Bangkok is different.