Excerpt from an email sent to a friend..... "Please tell me delicious stories of Canadian life. I'll call it Canadiana and hold it close to my heart..... I've been out here long enough where I'm fucking up English words... i.e. on the TV I saw written in English (on Thai dubbed Bugs Bunny yesterday)..... BOX OFFICE..... Because there is no real transliteration for Thai here, meaning, there is no standard spelling/use of the Roman Alphabet so people spell words however the fuck they feel like it... I read BOX OFFICE as... BOX OF FICE... meaning BOX OF RICE? BOX OF ICE? What is this they speak of?.... Haven't quite lost my mind, … [Read more...]
A Portrait Of Pear In Lamplaimat, Buriram, Thailand
This photo was captured on a clear, sunny afternoon in Lamplaimat, Buriram, Thailand. I made the trip to the small community from the city of Buriram with my friend and one of my muay thai trainers, Gai (Chicken). More about Gai here. Gai and I rode on his motorbike, from the city, to his parents' rural home where he grew up. It's customary for Thais to refer to home (baan) as not where they currently live, but where they grew up, and where their parents most likely still reside. For Gai, his home is in Lamplaimat and specifically, it's the dwelling you see pictured below. Upon our arrival on this particular day, Gai instructed me to go take a nap. I … [Read more...]
Understanding Isaan Weddings
Approximately one week after my post Muay Thai In Limbo, I found out that Gai, my trainer was getting married within two weeks. One of his oldest friends mentioned it to me and they had just found out that day. If what I've been told is correct, Gai had recently found out. Perhaps a few weeks prior, possibly a few months, no one I spoke to really knew. This, from what I've been told by a number of people is normal. Families and/or monks often deem that people are to marry and when, not the people dating. In addition, the people who are getting married aren't obligated to tell their friends. Many don't. I've learned to stop … [Read more...]
Sexuality in Thailand – Lolito
Standard swim gear for women out here in Buriram isn't on par with the West, nor with the tourist areas of Thailand. Country chicks tend to wear a t-shirt and shorts. The community pool in the city has a regulation against this, so most girls wear full piece swimsuits. Full piece swimsuits I couldn't imagine wearing when I'm sixty. Full piece swimsuits I couldn't imagine wearing if I was sixty in 1960. Bikinis seem to be out unless you're a hooker with the Farang-of-the-week-you-picked-up-in-Pattaya-and-brought-back-to-meet-your-family-to-prove-you-really-do-love-him. And even that's rare. They usually cover up too. So, I've taken to wearing a mock … [Read more...]
A Portrait of Yai in Lamplaimat, Thailand
Yai is the grandmother of one of my muay thai trainers and friends in the city of Buriram, Thailand. I had two trainers named Gai (Chicken), both working with me at the long defunct Tor Ratonakiat Gym. I was training at Tor Ratonakiat Gym as a lone nak muay (boxer) for approximately one year. (Please note, this post has been updated, meaning what you're currently reading is written retrospectively in 2014). Tor Ratonakiat Gym was, at one time, the home of Sam-A Kaiyanghadao. Here's more on Tor Ratonakiat Gym in Buriram. Essentially, when my main trainer Gai was unable to teach me, his friend Gai would come and fill his spot. What usually kept my main trainer Gai … [Read more...]