Thai Script & Other Thoughts
Make no mistake about it, Thailand is a third world country. But it is pretty impressive too! The highways go from incredible elevated turnpikes, to small twisting poorly paved lanes in a matter of a few miles. I’ve eaten out doors at almost every meal. And I don’t always mean some pleasant deck overlooking a pond either. At most meals my hosts stop you before eating to wash out the utensils and glasses – just to be safe!Turn in a road and suddenly towering over the trees will be another temple of majestic gold and trimmings. Every town seems to be trying to out do the next, but I don’t think that is really the Thai way.
These people are really very pleasant. In a stark contrast to Chinese, they constantly smile. They don’t move at a very fast pace, but in this heat, I don’t either! It is very hot here! As they say “It is hot, or it’s hotter!” They just move along at a steady pace and seem to be intent on enjoying the pleasures of life. You can tell they work to enjoy life, instead of any other option. When the time comes to go play, they go play, or at least relax comfortably!
Billboards are another special treat. You look at each and feel like you need a mirror to read the writing. You know the Thai language don’t ya? It’s that language that always looks like the letters are backwards. And most letters are r’s and n’s or close derivatives.
I just found out that most of the billboards at intersections are temples advertising the worship of a golden ball which should bring you good luck to attend the advertised fair and make a donation. These billboards are everywhere advertising these temple fairs.
And some of these billboards are huge. The space frame construction must be about 10 feet deep, 100 feet wide, and often over 100 feet tall. They could use a few less of those.
I want a sports shirt with the name of a Thai team on the back in that neat writing. But wouldn’t ya know it, store after store and all they have are English names! What is this? It’s the same in China. Look for Chinese characters on a shirt there, and all you get is English. In both countries, everyone wears the English names! I guess that is some kind of pride in that….. BUT I WANT A SPORT SHIRT WITH THAI WRITING!
posted by A Bryson (formerly) in China @ 3:04 PM
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