Growing up in Bangkok

Hi everyone,

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

Amazing Thailand

Hi everyone,

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