One thing I might not get used to is Thai logic. I'm sure there are lots of logical Thai people out there but I'm having a hard time finding them.
Example 1: Highways are built so that if you want to merge onto another freeway you have to go 5 miles the wrong way and make a U-turn to get to the freeway you want.
Example 2: There are no garbage cans yet everything is served in a plastic bag, styrofoam box, or comes with a plastic wrapped straw, fork or spoon.
Example 3: Where there are sidewalks, there are no side-walkers. Sidewalks are also simultaneously bike paths, yet there are no bikers... So who does occupy the sidewalks? Motorcycles.
It’s not uncommon to see Thais drinking water or iced tea out of plastic bags and 7/11 literally is the every-corner store (I can see 3 from my window alone). I’m need to invest in some reusable dish ware soon. A summer foreign exchange student from Hawaii told me, “first you get rich, then you worry about the environment” speaking about Thailand as a developing country. I’m not sure that makes sense to me.
They rarely have sidewalks here and the motorcycles and cars are fearless. I don't think they have the saying that pedestrians have the right of way. I enjoy walking around, most of my adventures have been in transit to destinations. It is interesting -if smelly, dirty, and congested- to see the streets of my neighborhood. Raw meat markets where people grab what looks like livers and hearts out of bins next to grains, vegetables and the neighboring trinket stand.
People don't walk much around here. One local explained it this way: “It’s too hot, you know? We Thai people like to take the bus or, you know, the taxi I think because this weather, you know? You walk somewhere and then too tired to do anything there and have no energy to do anything because you too hot and tired, you know? It’s better just take a bus because it’s cheap and fast, you know?” Fast, they are. I haven’t mastered the bus system but I have learned how to jump on a moving vehicle.
No comments:
Post a Comment