Bangkok is a great city to visit. It has a lot of history and beautiful architecture, but Bangkok is just like any large cities in the world. It has a dark side also. When I was a little kid, I had to get along with the neighborhood kids and had to join their gangs. That was for  good protection. If you were not part of your neighborhood group, who was going to protect you from the gang in the next block? They would  harass you or beat you up when you walked by. They cut up clothes hangars and bent them in a u-shape for their ammunitions. The rubber band was our weapon and was shot with u-shaped wire by putting the rubber band between two fingers. I tell you what.  It hurt so bad when you got hit. I am very lucky to still have both of my eyes. When I was about 10 yrs.old, I decided not to take any part of my neighborhood gang. I got harassed all the time both in my neighborhood and in the school. They slapped me on the back of my head. Thai people don’t like anyone to touch their head. I got so mad when they kept bullying me like that. I decided to do something about it. I asked my dad for some money to buy a punching bag. I told him that I needed to do some exercise. He gave me the money for the punching bag. After I bought the bag, I started practicing Thai kick boxing on my own. I punched and kicked the punching bag everyday after school for about four months. One day at school, one of the bad boys that liked to slap my head came to me to slap me as usual. I told him to stop. He said that he was not going to stop and what am I going to do about it. I told him to find out on Wednesday movie night at the school auditorium. I told him to fight one on one and not to bring anybody else. We both agreed to it. On Wednesday night, I showed up for my school movie night. I had been looking for him and asking many students about him. The word did spread that he and I were going to have a fight that night. To my surprise, he  chickened out. There was no fight on that night.  The next day he showed up for school, and he was nice to me and never bullied me again.  I did fight a few times to defend myself during that age. What I am trying to tell you is that every country  has some bad sections of town somewhere so always be aware of the places you visit.

Bangkok is the best place to eat. The city never sleeps. There is always good food to eat even at 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning. Have you ever  heard about hawker places in Singapore. In Bangkok, they have hawkers in the shopping center on the penthouse of the Mall.  The Thai government is trying to make the city looking better and also  make sure it is clean and healthy for the consumer. Thai food is gaining popularity around the world right now. It is a lot different from the Chinese or American  or European food. Thai food  consists of herbs, spices and curry. Some Thai foods are very spicy and some are not. When you order Thai food, you need to let them know how spicy you want it. They will prepare according to your taste. Most people know Pad Thai very well. It is a traditional dish in most  Thai restaurants around the world. My Papa’ (Dad) always bought Pad Thai for Mama’ and me on the way home from work. Sometimes he bought Lad Na. Lad Na is another well known dish. It is like the Beef and Broccoli stir fry in soy sauce and poured on top of stir fried noodles.  Papa’ bought Thai deserts sometimes like Ka Nom Jeeb, Foi Tong, Kawneeo Sangkaya, etc.

I grew up with my loving parents.  Especially my Mama was always kind and sincerely gave warm love to everybody.  I have been touched by her and I came up with these three phrases :  Doing good deeds, Speaking good words, Showing goodwill.  I told my children about these words.  They love it and will teach their future generations.  I would like all my visitors to pass my good words to the people you know and practice with it.  It is getting to be a long article now.  I will write some more next time.  Bye for now

Mana

Besides the Thai silk factory in Chiang Mai, there are two more  interesting places to visit.  ( There are so many things to see and do in Chiang Mai, but I just want to recommend only two places ).  One is Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, dating back to the year 1383. It is 3520 feet above sea level, accessible via a steep naga staircase comprising around 300 steps.  The Temple has a huge Golden Chedi, within which lie some Holy Buddha Relics.  On the Temple grounds, you can smell many fragrant flowers and  there is a breath taking view of Chiang Mai.  Any visit to this city is not complete without stopping by this Temple.

Kantoke Dinner Show is another tourist attraction, combining great food with cultural entertainment.  The low tables on which the food is served are called Kantoke in Thai.  Diners sit on the floor, propped up by cushions where they can sample a variety of unique Northern Dishes.  Accompanying the traditional food is a performance of traditional Lanna ( Northern Thai ) music and dance.  Kantoke Dinner Show will be one of your unforgettable experiences.  At night  in Chiang Mai, there is a night bazaar.  This is a good place for shopping.  Merchants bring out their goods and set them up to sell on the  sidewalk.  The price is cheap but don’t forget to bargain.  You can make it an even better price.  There are so many things to do and see in Chiang Mai. Let me mention some to you:- orchid farms, silverware factory, painting umbrellas, shrimp farms, elephant trekking, river raft at Mai Ping River, etc.  I almost forgot to mention that the most beautiful girls in Thailand are from Chiang Mai.

Well let’s go down to the southern part of Thailand.  There are many romantic and  beautiful beaches in Thailand.  Some of them made it to the silver screen around the world.  One of them is the James Bond Island in the movie – The Man with the Golden Gun.  The other is Pi Pi Island which is where the movie  Paradise took place.  The main character is Leonardo  DeCaprio.  Phuket Island is ranked among the top five beaches in the world.  All the above beaches that I mentioned are very nice with white soft sands, crystal clear water and are very clean.  The price of a bungalow on the beach front is a very reasonable  price that is about the same as what a nice hotel room costs in the U.S.A.  The food is very good and cheap.  If you like night life, all of these beaches have all kinds of music and a lot of good times to give.  They also have a night bazaar there.

The other day I ran into somebody and they asked me,  “Where are you from?”  I told them that I came from Thailand. ” I see, you are from Taiwan.”  No! no! I am from Thailand, I told him.   It is the country that Siamese cats come from, also Siamese twins, Thai kick boxing, the most beautiful fish fighting, Cat Eyes stone, etc.  Today some people are still confused between Taiwan and Thailand.  I really can’t see it, but it does happen.

I love traveling to many different countries. I like to learn and see many cultures and traditions. I took vacations in Singapore, Hong Kong, Cancun, Bahamas, Mainland China, etc., but I found Thai culture is the most nice and polite of them all. If you all have a chance to visit Thailand, you will see what I am saying.  Like the old Chinese say, “You read to learn from the books for 10 years, but you still can not compare it to seeing it yourself   just one time.”

Goodbye for now,

Mana

I have been telling you about the time that I grew up in Thailand.  It sounds so terrible like the third world country.  That was yesterday, today Thailand is very modern and has one of the strongest economies in Asia.  Bangkok is the capital city and used to be called Venice of the East,  because Bangkok used to have a lot of canals ( Klong in Thai language).  They traveled by boats in canals and rivers like in Venice, Italy,  but today they have to fill them in to make more roads to accommodate heavy traffic.  Thailand is trying to improve the traffic congestion by building more roads, more freeways, sky trains and subways.  Even though they are doing this,  they still have an active floating market.  It is one of the must see tourist attractions ( I highly recommend it).  Floating Market is an open-market where the merchants bring their products to sell on their boats.  They sell just about anything.  You can buy all kind of fruits, vegetables, chickens, clothing, etc.  If you are hungry, you can order a dish of stir fry noodles to eat.  It is a very enjoyable place.  The floating market is located at Damnorn Saduak, just outside of  Bangkok.  You can get there by boat or by car.  I recommend that you ride the boat there.  This way, you can see both sides of Chao Phaya River of Bangkok and also you can go shopping easier once you get there.

Thai people are friendly people, nice and polite.  They are always smiling, maybe that is why they call Thailand-The Land of Smiles.  Tourists love to visit Thailand because they feel welcome.  It is easy to communicate with Thai people because the majority of them speak English.  Thai people love to speak to them too because they want to practice their English also.  There are many interesting places to see and visit.  I recommend two places to see.  One of them is Wat Pha Klew ( Wat means Temple ).  This temple has an Emerald Buddha and has a good history behind it.  The temple is one of the most fascinating architectural sights.  The temple wall is full of a Thai Epic mural.  The painting is so good in detail. This painting on the wall has been repainted since it was constructed about 200-300 years ago ( older than U.S.A.).  The other place to visit is the Royal Grand Palace which is located next to Wat Pha Klew.  This Royal Grand Palace is the welcome place for the high rank foreign visitor nowadays.  When you visit Bangkok, you should take a dinner cruise along Chao Phaya River.  The food on the cruise is excellent and  has a reasonable price.  The shrimps are as big as the lobsters.  There is a tour guide on the cruise to tell you the history of each building or temple in English.  It is a very enjoyable cruise.  There are many things to see and do in Bangkok.  What I just told you are only a few suggestions.

Next you should make a trip to the northern part of Thailand-Chiengmai.  Chiengmai is one of the provinces that has a lot of Thai hand crafted products.  They have many hand crafted teak wood pieces of  furniture.  It is a very detailed hand craft, very delicate and beautiful. Teak wood is a very hard wood and heavy.  This hand crafted teak wood furniture  will last for many generations to come.  By the way the price of the furniture is very reasonable compared to American or European prices.  The most beautiful Thai silk is from Chiengmai also.  You should visit a Thai silk factory when you go there.  They do have men tailor made suits  and women tailor made dresses at the Thai silk factory.  What ever you want to purchase, you need to bargain the price.  Don’t buy the merchandise at the price they tell you on the first quote.  Always bargain and start at half of what they ask for.  For instance, if they start asking for a price of $10, bargain them for $5.  It is the way that Thai people buy and sell.  Wow! I did not realize how long this article was.  Well let me tell you some more next time.

Mana

I would like to tell you about my drinking at early age.  In Thailand they didn’t have the liquor law like in America.  The legal age in U.S. is 21 yrs. old.  Papa’ gave me some money to buy a bottle of whiskey in the neighborhood.  I was only seven years old.  They sold it to me.  When I was four years old, I was running late for my school bus that morning.  Mama’ was calling me  because the school bus had arrived.  Hurry up the school bus is waiting, she said.  I ran to her to say goodbye and I grabbed her drink.  I drank it in one swallow and ran to catch the school bus.  Next thing I know, my Mama’ ran after me and checked to see if I am o.k. or not.  She told the teacher on the bus to keep an eye on me because I just drank her whole glass of whiskey.  Mama’ always drank  a glass of Chinese tea with her meal.  But this morning she felt like she needed a shot of whiskey.  I tell you what all the teachers at my school kept asking me how I felt all day.

Bangkok is one of the best entertaining cities in the world.  Most of the military service men decided to stay in Bangkok instead of coming home to U.S..  They really like the easy life and fun time.  Thai people always smile and are happy.  Americans call Thailand the land of smiles.  Thai people always Sanook ( means Happy Fun in Thai ).  There are many night clubs, massage parlors and bars in Bangkok.  It is very easy for Thai teenagers to get in because there is no one to check their i.d..  It is a very bad influence for Thai teenagers, but it is one of the big tourism businesses of Thailand.  Some foreign businesses prefer to have a business conference in Bangkok.  I know because one of my brothers always partied a lot with his friends.  I will tell you more about Bangkok and other cities in Thailand later.  Let me tell you more about my drinking at an early age.   One day when I was eleven years old, I went with my Papa’ to the U.S. commercial liner.  He went to see the captain and first engineer to have them sign the invoice.  The captain gave my Papa’ two cases of beer for a job well done.  My Papa’ accepted with delight and told me to take them home.  Papa’ told me to put some beer in refrigerator to keep them cold and to have them some day when he comes home from work.  Three weeks later, he asked me to get some beer from the refrigerator. ” What beers are you talking about?”  I asked.  He said that we got them from the U.S. ship a few week ago.  That is the beer, well they are gone, I said.  What do you mean gone?  I told him that I drank them all.  He was shocked and told me not to do it again.  I told him that I just wanted to try it first to see what it tasted like.  The next thing I knew, I finished them all.  He told me that it is o.k. to try it when Mama’ or him is there.  He didn’t want me to get into trouble and to get hooked on it.  That is my drinking story at an early age.  I will tell you about Thailand later on.  Goodbye for now.

Mana

I love and respect my Papa’ ( father or dad ) a lot.  When I was a little boy and woke up in the middle of the night.  I saw my Papa’ at his desk using English to Chinese  dictionary to read his English book.  My Papa’ had completed only third grade.  My grandparents had eleven children and my Papa’ was the  fifth child.  My grandfather was a carpenter and he did not make much money to feed his family.  My Papa’ ran away from home when he was eleven years old, so that his brothers and sisters would have more to eat.  Maybe that is why my Papa’ sent me over here to have a better education.  I will have a good life later on.  He ran away from home to my grandfather’s ( my Mama’ s dad ) shipyard.  My grandfather had a kind heart, he took care of a lot of the runaway children.  He put them to work as a trainee to learn how to be a welder, carpenter, lathe operator, mechanic, etc.  He provided a dormitory for them to sleep and had an old cook to prepare meals for them.  They learned and earned some money.  My Papa’ was one of them.  He was the most hard working and aggressive boy.  He didn’t learn just one skill.  When he completed the training to be a mechanic,  he asked to go to another department to learn another skill.  All the children moved on to be promoted to be the master of the skill they had learned because they made more money.  My Papa’ wanted to stay on as a trainee to learn the other skills.  Many years went by, he finished all the training in every department.  My grandfather had been observing my Papa’ all along.  My grandfather knew that my Papa’ was a hard worker, intelligent, had a nice personality, and  cared for his family.  My grandfather promoted him to be the manager of the shipyard.  The English book that he read at night was about how to repair the commercial liner or ship.  He tried to keep himself up with the new tech.

One day when I was a little boy, Papa’ came home from work.  He saw me watching our new black and white television with rabbit ears.  He asked me if  I finished my homework? Yes sir, I told him.  Did you do all your chores around the house? Yes sir, I did.  You don’t have anything else to do?  No sir.  In that case, you follow me to the ship yard.  When we got to the ship yard, he told me to walk around the place.  I did as he told.  I got back to him.  He asked me what I would like to be a welder, a mechanic or whatever I like to work after school.  Well Papa’, you didn’t tell me that, please let me walk again one more round.  After I finished my observation in every department,  I decided to be a welder.  Papa’, I would like to learn how to be a welder, it looked interesting to put two pieces of metal to become one.  You will report to the welding foreman that you are going to start working there tomorrow as a trainee.  I tell you what.  It is not easy at all in the beginning.  I burned my eyes because my welding hood did not cover my eyes fast enough.  You have to have a good coordination of your neck and your hand.  Before you stroke the welding rod, you need to snap your head to bring your welding hood down.  It took me a few days to accomplish it, but that caused my eyes to burn and start watering.  It hurt  very bad, so don’t watch the welding without a welding hood.

I was the youngest ever at the shipyard.  There is one incident I  would like to share with you.  One morning the house phone rang at 2 a.m., Papa’ woke me up and told me to get dressed to go to work.  He told me that two ships had an accident by head on collision.  One of them was a Panamanian ship severely damaged.  I went with Papa’ on that ship.  The head of the ship had a big hole but only a small boy like me could go to it easier.  They put the big steel plate to seal the head of the ship with me inside to weld by myself.  Outside, they got three welders to weld.  It took 3 days and 2 nights to finish the job with no sleep.   Papa’ told all of his staff at the shipyard that if my son can perform this kind of job, you all can do it too.  Papa’ was very proud of me.

Well I better say goodbye for now.  I will tell you some more later next time.

Mana

What would you do if you want to drink a glass of frozen margarita today?  It is a very simple thing to make it nowadays, but it was not when I grew up.  You have a blender to help you making it.  In the past, we had to buy a big rock of ice and then you shaved the ice by hand.  This is one example to show how difficult our life was.  Mama’ got up early in the morning to go to the open market.  Mama’ started fire with wooden sticks and newspaper to burn the charcoal on the stove. She put five cups of rice in the cooking pot.  She measured water with her index finger about one and one half inch above the rice.  She let the rice cook while she cut up the meat and vegetables on the hard and heavy cutting block.  When the water was boiling down to the same level with the rice,  she reduced the heat by taking some red hot charcoals out to another stove for stir fry cooking and also for boiling water.  She boiled water to make a big pot of Chinese tea and for washing clothes.  Mama’ washed our clothes by hand and hanged on the cloth lines.  I picked them up when I came home from my school.  Mama’ gave me three bahts (about 15 cents in American currency) for my daily allowance. This was my lunch and drink.  I walked two miles to my high school everyday.  The choice of public transportation at that times were SAM RAW ( human labor tricycles ), ROD RANG ( electric tram ), bus and taxi.  SAM RAW and ROD RANG had been banned in Bangkok.  SAM RAW had been replaced by TUK TUK ( motor tricycles ), because SAM RAW was too slow.  Bangkok was growing fast and modern.  I will get lost in Bangkok if I travel alone by myself.  Bangkok today has Free way, Sky train, Sub way and Sky Scrapers.  Back to my high school day, I had to wear the school uniform, white short sleeves shirt and blue knee high short.  On my left side of the shirt above my shirt packet is my first name and my high school identification number.  Both of them are hand embroidery stitches and my mama’ did them for me.  I got five white school shirts to wear to school, the same as my two brothers.  Mama’ did them all by hand.  The sewing machine operated by foot pedal,  the pedal spun the wheel, and the wheel got the belt to make the sewing machine moving for stitches.  Life in general consumed a lot of time in making things.  I forgot to tell you when mama’ and I prepared the meal in the kitchen.  Mama’ had to have a wet stone right beside her when she was cutting up the meat.  They didn’t have the knife sharpening, we used the wet stone to sharp the knife with.  Some of the Chinese dishes required ground meat, mama’ cut up meat in small pieces, then she beat them up with pestle and stone.  She beat it until the meat was fine and ground.  I write this post because I  realize how much my mama’ was giving such an unconditional love to her family.  We should be happy and cherish what we have now.  You don’t miss them until they are gone.

I appreciate the comments that I have received. Please share with me about your own life if you have grown up like me. Good-bye for now.

Mana

Chinese culture is a very unique and nice one.  Every culture is very interesting to learn.  I was born and grew up with Chinese life and traditions.  I would like to tell you about Chinese traditions when I grew up.  Some of the traditions I like and some of them I don’t agree with.  In America, most children are always looking for Christmas holiday.  At that time, they are expecting their wishes to come true.  They want to see what they get inside of their presents.  They ask Santa Claus for their wishes.  For Chinese children around the world, they wait for Chinese New Year to come.  On Chinese New year, their families will help each other to clean the whole house, they believe to get rid of the bad luck.  Their mother will prepare all delicious meals.  My Mama’ always prepare a lot of authentic good Chinese food.  We always have the whole table full of Chinese food, my mouth is watering now.  Chinese children are not only looking for the great meal of the year.  They are looking for a lot of red envelope, inside the red envelope is money.  Red envelope ( Ang Pao in Hokkien and Lai See in Cantonese ) is a monetary gift which is given during holidays of special occasions.  The red color of the envelope symbolizes good luck and is supposed to ward off evil spirits.  Red envelopes are typically given to the unmarried by the married.  All Chinese children are feeling rich on Lunar Chinese New Year.  They get the red envelopes from the grand parents, their uncles, aunts, etc.  The sound of drum, the dragon dance, the tiger dance, and the sound of fire crackers everywhere.  This is the sound of happiness by all the Chinese.

The wedding tea ceremony is one of the beautiful and touching traditions.  The bride and groom are wearing red wardrobes.  The red color symbolizes good luck and is supposed to ward off evil spirits.  The bride and groom have to light candles, incense and offer foods for their ancestors ( most of them are written name tablets ).  They have to be on their knees and bow three times to be accept into the families and show their respects also.  Then the bride and groom serve each other a cup of tea and bow to each other to show their commitment and respect to each other.  After that the bride and groom are to be kneeling down in front of groom’ parents.  They serve a cup of tea to groom mother and father and ask them to accept a cup of tea.  They will say ” Mama’ yum cha and Papa’ yum cha “.  Once the parents take the cup of tea and drink, it means they are accept the bride into their families.  They will then give the bride and groom the red envelope and jeweleries as the gift.  The bride and groom bow three times and accept the gifts.  This Chinese wedding tea ceremony is still going on today.  It has been carry on thousand of years.

The Chinese parents love to have a son more than a daughter.  They want their sons to carry on their last names and for the daughters will belong to other families once they married.  When the Chinese families have a first borned daughter, they will keep trying to have a son to carry their last name.  That is why the Chinese government permit only one child per family.  They already have high population problem, other wise those families will keep having children to have a son.  I can understand this tradition, but I can not understand about their feeling toward their daughters.  They give their daughters to another families like a piece of furniture.  If they die, they will not leave anything for their daughter at all.  They think their daughter carry somebody else last names, they are not their family anymore.  What  a tragedy!  You treat your own flesh and blood that way.  I don’t agree with this Chinese traditions at all.  My grandfather did not leave anything for my Mama’ at all when he passed away.  Same thing happened to my sister, my Papa’ did not give my sister anything at all.  It is sad!  I will not do that to my daughter.  I will give her love, support and when I die she will inherit some of my belongings.  This is some of Chinese traditions I want to share with you today.

Hope you enjoy this post, I see you later.

Mana

When I was growing up, my Mama’ taught me not to waste anything including food.  My parents always encouraged us to eat a lot, but do not waste the food.  Rice was one of them, if we were still hungry, do get a  second serving but just get only what you can finish.  Mama’ explained to me that rice farmers worked very hard to grow rice and they were low income people.  They used  their blood, sweat and tears to grow rice.  All the Chinese family will tell their children the same, because rice is playing a big part of Chinese culture.  Mama’ did not waste anything at all, she saved all the Chinese newspapers so that we could use them to start the charcoal to cook.  I was growing up with the left over food.  When we finished the meal and had left over, Mama’ always saved them in refrigerator.  She would add one or two more new dishes to go with the left over.  When we had a lot of left over rice, she would make a fried rice dish.  In case you did not know that this is the history of fried rice- the left over meal.

Mama’ showed me to love and care about the other people.  She got a busy schedule at home, but she always made the time to visit our relatives on both side of the family.  She would buy oranges or tangerines to give to our relatives.  Mama’ told me that we should  not wait until they got sick to see them.  You should make the effort to see them while they are healthy and cherish the time of happiness with them.  My Mama’ is a loving and caring person.  She was always giving, not taking.  She was a kind of person that anyone will feel love  and care whenever they meet her.  One day, she took me to the thai temple to worship.  She gave money to a few beggars in front of the temple.  I said to her ” Mama’ don’ t give the money to the young beggar, he is young and strong enough to find job and make money.  I think that he is a fake to make an easy money.”  Mama’ said to me that ” we are here to do a good deed, we are not here to judge people.  You don’t really know about him.  He might fall in a hardship right now.  Look at his clothes how dirty it is.  Do you think people will hire him the way he look?  Of course not, they probably scold him and beat him up with a stick.  You always help the other people if they need the help.”  I will never forget what she taught me.

At home, I saw how much my Mama’ really love my Papa’.  She didn’t have to tell anyone about that, it showed.  When Papa’ came home from work, she would  greet him with a smiling face and asked how the day go.  She would bring him something to drink and took his socks and shoes off.  At the dinning table, she put food on his rice bowl from different dishes with her chopsticks.  She said to him that I want you to taste this dish to see if you like it.  When Papa’ ate it, she would give him more without his asking.  She served the meal to him with love.  When Papa’ worked around the house.  She always wiped his face with a cold towel.  She always took care of him.  Today some Oriental ladies are still doing it.  You can see this kind of love only in ancient Chinese movie.  In today society we should give more unconditional love and understanding of each other.

Goodbye for now,

Mana

I would like to tell you about my parents this time.  Before I tell you about them.  I would like to bring up my stock Bank Of Ireland (IRE $11.00).  If you buy the day I wrote the Investing article (May 27).  You would have made the profit of 30%.  That is a very good profit indeed.  I haven’t sell it yet.  It is still having some leg to go.  The government of Ireland injected 4 billion into the Bank Of Ireland to buy back bad debt.  Also this stock was $97 on February 2007 before the recession hit around the globe.  I keep this stock for awhile longer.

I am a lucky guy in the world,I got great parents.  I learned a lot from both of them.  They gave an unconditional love.  I called my father-Papa’, it means Dad in Chinese.  In Thai, it says Kun Paw.  I called my mother-Mama’, it means Mom in Chinese.  In Thai, it says Kun Mae.  Papa’ was the one who did all the disciplines.  Mama’ was the one who always gave love and care.  Mama’ was the housewife, she got up real early every morning to cook breakfast.  She woke all of us up when the breakfast was done.  I got one sister and two brothers.  My grandmother (my dad’s mother) was living with us also.  Mama’ helped me get ready before the school bus showed up.  After we finished eating our breakfast, she washed the dishes.  Then she washed all our clothes.  We washed every things by hands  in Thailand at that time.  I forgot to tell you that we used charcoal for cooking and boiling the water.  We got three stoves, one for cooking the rice, one for stir fry and the other for boiling the water.  Today living is so very convenient, you have rice cooker, you have dish washer and washing machine.  Mama’ took me to the market a lot of time, especially on the week end and summer time.  She taught me how to buy chickens, fishes and shrimps, which they were still alive in the open market.  You can take the live chicken home and kill the chicken by yourself or you can pay the merchant an extra money to process for you.  We bought enough for all three meals a day.  Mama’ was a great cook, she could cook all kind of Chinese foods.  She never let us bore with our meals.  She always had different dishes on each meal, some was stir fry, some was deep fry and some was soup.  Every dishes were delicious.  I learned how to cook from her.  I had been carried the baskets for her.  One day, she tested me to see how much I know how to prepare a meal.  She gave some money to buy grocery.  She said “I gave you enough money to buy grocery for three meals.  You have to think what the combination of meat and vegetables to make a dish.  Whatever you want to eat buy it.  If you like it, I’m sure everybody in the family will like it also.”  Boye of boye, it was tough, I bought enough to make only two dishes.  It took three or four dishes to make a meal.  I didn’t even get enough for a meal.  She smiled and said that it takes time to learn, just keep watching me every day and it will sink in.  I had been help her to prepare the meal all the time, but never actually cooked by myself.  The first trip back to visit from America, I cooked for my parents.  My mama’ said to me you are a good cook.  You develope to be a great chef, you have your own style.  I told her that I learned from her and changed a little bit due to lack of ingredients where I lived.

I helped my mama’ doing shore around the house.  I remember that the first time I learned how to iron the clothes with the old charcoal iron.  You had to get the fire start first.  You had to have a bucket of water so that you can splash it on your clothes.  I swept and scrubbed the floor.  I was on my knee to scrub and moped by hand.  We didn’ t have the kind of mop that they use in U.S.A.  My life growing up was a busy one.  Mama’ said to me that you have to plan your daily life and then just do it.  If you are just thinking about it, it will never get done.  She is my inspiration.

It is quiet long article this time, I will continue the story next time.

Goodbye for now,

Mana

When I came to America, I weighed only 95 lbs.  After 6 months I gained to 170 lbs.  It must the good food in U.S. or I ate too much.  How can you blame me?  When you can eat all you want for free all three meals.  You work for Century Plaza Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA, they let you eat all you want, as long as you wear uniforms.  Some of the staffs came on their time off to eat their free meals.  I didn’t do that.  But the master chef of the hotel like me a lot.  He fed me all the great food, including the same dishes our President Nixon ate.  My first job at the hotel was a dish washer.  I tell you what I had been washing millions and millions of dishes.  It was a hot and hard job.  You had to keep up with those waiters and waitress.  They served in the banquet room.  They picked up their dirty dishes on the trays and threw them in the   room windows.  I had to scrape the food off the plates before you put them in the dish washing machine.  It was a big machine, it was about 15 to 20 feet long.  You put in one end and it came out another end.  When the dishes came out, you had to wear gloves to pick them up.  It was very hot and steamy.  After you finished cleaning all your dishes, you have to sweep, mop the floor and emptied the trashes.  That was one of my hard job.  I never complained about it.  I worked hard and did the best I could.  Well the hard work paid off.  The Executive Manager was noticed me.  He called me to his office.  He said to me that ” Mana, you are a hard worker, you never complained and you always Nice to everybody.  I am going to put you to work at the swimming pool.  With your nice personality, our guests will like to have you serving them.”  I got a raise and promotion.  The first Thai staff ever worked as a pool man.  I loved this job a lot.  Majority of the guests were rich and famous.  They called me for reserving lounge chairs by the pool.  When they showed up, I gave them towels and took them to their chairs.  They tipped me sometimes 10 dollars, sometimes 20 dollars.  I was also a server.  The hotel served hamburgers, hot dogs, french fried and ice-cream.  I made a lot of money on the tips.  I also had so much fun with the guest’s children.  When they show up to buy ice-cream, I gave to them for free, because they behaved and had nice manners.  My supervisor approved to that.  He said that if the guess enjoyed them self.  They will come back again and again.  Ice cream was a less expensive items.  It is a great way to influence them to come back.  I made and saved a lot of money with this job for my trip to Texas.  This is the beginning.

Goodbye for now!

Mana