25 Years Life in Thailand

  Dr. Pizza. When I first came to Cho-Ho (Korat), in 2002, it was a small village with only a few people and almost no foreigners. Only 1 restaurant (a shop with a few wicker chairs and tables) which was also the local bar; A shop with a fax machine and a printer selling office items; A small shop selling food and drinks. In 2003, a Swiss guy came to live in Khorat, together with his Thai wife. I meet him and his wife at the local restaurant and his wife was talking opening a shop and make her own income. She was planning to open a "Massage" shop, a job she had been doing in Phuket where they had meet each other. A few days later, she opened her massage shop, obviously sponsored (paid) by her Swiss husband. Everything went well, except that the Thai people could not afford a message at the prices she was asking and the few foreigners were not interested in a massage which they could get for free from their own wife. After a few weeks, having no customers, she closed her ...

Thai Culture (1) When I moved to Nakhon Ratchasima, in 2002, it stroked me that many older woman were carrying a basket. My first thought was that they are "poor" farmers and were carrying a basket instead of a purse. One day, I was invited at a "House Blessing" party, and there were a lot of granny's with their basket. I looked at the baskets, and they had almost all the same contents: Betel leaves; Areca nuts; Limestone paste; A small Mortar and Pestle; A cutter; and some plastic bags. The granny's were grouped together and mixing these ingredients to a paste. Passing some ingredients to each other to try something new. When finished, they wrapped the paste in a small leaf and started chewing on it. Looking at their faces, they enjoyed it. But when they opened their mouth, their teeth had become red. Just like their gums were bleeding. The next day, at my home, I saw the same basket as they day before in the room where the mother of my wife had been sl...