Roon-ism

Roon-ism for the day to the airport:

Roon, I good road. (Then laughing at himself hysterically)

On the way to the airport today, Khun Roon did a D&W, Duck and Weave to avoid the traffic and end up where we needed to be, on the freeway. We ended up through the Big Echo and a bank then out to Wireless and through a double lane past the US Embassy.

Roon, you good road!!!

Save the Drama for your Mama!

You have an intern who looks like the little doll pictured here. You add in her Hi-So family and her attitude of not wanting to fit in to the corporate culture and you have the drama for the day.

When does bright red hair and contact lenses, which make your eyes bigger and blacker, fit in with a culture of conservatism?

We aren't a match, go save the drama for your mama!

Copper and Garlic

You won't know what I am referring to unless you live here but there is an overall bad breath problem in Thailand. The food is just amazing and as such everyone eats it all the time, breakfast, lunch and dinner. But with eating the basic food for all meals there is an overall bad breath problem in Thailand. Imagine sucking on a coin then a piece of garlic. That is what it smells like.

Scenario #1: The taxi driver had to get an air freshener as I think he was grossing himself out with his breath following his morning bowl of noodles.

Scenario #2: You sit in the chair getting your hair washed at the salon and even through they are using some very strong fragrance shampoo, the overwhelming power of the hair washer's breath breaks through and here comes the copper garlic smell.

I know its cultural but it's every where.

In Celebration of the 4th of July

As an American it's all about the July 4th BBQ. Ok, not really but on this one day we do indeed fire up the BBQ and grill a few steaks, burgers, breasts and perhaps a dog or two.

On this occasion here in Bangkok we don't just fire up the BBQ but we have our Housekeepers stand over the grill so we don't have get hot and smokey. That is the scene yesterday at a BBQ we were invited to attend. I expected the ex-pat men standing over the grill, beer in hand, asking everyone, "how do you like 'em?" but no, it was the housekeeper sweating and standing over the open flames, looking like "what the f#@k is this shit?".

So on this occasion of firing up the barbie, I guess the phrase is not "how do you like 'em?" but "mai pen rai!"

Roon-isms

In an adventure last night, we head to what is being sold to me as a romantic lake setting with a fantastic local Thai restaurant. It didn't start out that way. After two attempts of grabbing a taxi that we need to take us the 55 km to the restaurant, there is no one that will take us and they all tell us to get out of the car.

To the rescue...Khun Roon. My ever semi-faithful regular taxi driver who happens to be sitting in my driveway with an overheated engine. He looks at the map which is written in Thai and shouts, CAN! He slams in the last bottle of water to the engine, drops the hood down and off we go. After many stops to let the engine cool down, finally make to the restaurant on the lake.

Here come the isms.

"You call, I come, 2 hours"

"I found, Roon happy!"

"Roon good driver, practice go carts"

Just a few of them as our journey took us nearly two hours with the traffic. He waited until we were done, he fixed the car while we ate dinner then we were off again back to the city.