A Treat: A Journal Not Entered In My Book
The following blog is an email I wrote while touring Patong , Thailand for three days. I made this final ” chance of a lifetime trip”, with my husband. He would die ten months later. This trip gave me motivation to live in Nepal as a Widow.
My first trip to Asia was a fantastic experience. The shadow on the experience is my younger sister passed away shortly after our return from the Cruise. My sister and husband were seven years apart in age. Both born in 1964. They died seven months apart. My sister in March. My husband October. My experience of being a caretaker for my dying husband is in my book.
The following is an excerpt from a Journal I wrote while traveling. The journal is a collection of emails I sent to my friends and family. After receiving the short stories, many would reply ” YOU should write a book!”. Who would have thought…..
JOURNAL/EMAIL
2/2/2018
Subject:
DAY THREE ON THE ISLAND….OUR SHIP HAS COME IN…WE SAIL TONIGHT
Proud of myself, I mastered two words in Thai, and have the greeting down pretty good. ( holding palms of hands together near heart, and smiling). I can say ” hello” ( they seem to comprehend), and ” thank you”, followed by “no problem”.
Thai language is a challenge. One word can have four different meanings depending on the tone of the voice used. For example, the word ” MA”, can be translated to mean ” horse”, “town”,” milk” or “many”. ( not precise translations)
Our tour guide was encouraging, explaining Tai people are very appreciative of attempts to use the local language, adhere to the modest dress code and respect their culture. Our guide explained since we are Americans, the words ” hello” and ” thank you” will not be confused in translation. As an American, the verbage is almost identical. To a Thai person, completely different meaning.
Another interesting tidbit: females must end the word “thank you”, with ” kahn” Example, ” thank you , kahn”. ( mixed English Tai example). Males end the same word with “Kah”. The language is gender specific.
We just finished gorging on an elaborate international breakfast. ( soup for breakfast?). I had a comical experience trying to get the Thai Chef to reveal what type of cheese he used in preparing delicious omlettes. He kept smiling, enthusiastic, as I pointed to the bowl of cheese. He repeated the word “cheese”, as if I was tutoring him in the English language. I would return his smile , with a giggle, followed by the the question ” what type?”. He would reply with excited hand gestures exclaiming, ” CHEESE, YES, CHEESE”. After about five minutes of exchanging laughter, we abandoned the conversation. I never found out what type of cheese was used in the omlette.
The CHEESE condensed replies were examples of the simplicity of the language ( with the exception of the awkward use of vocal chords). For example, ” where is the toilet”, in English would be translated to the single word ” toilet” in Thai. Not much use for complete sentences.
Observing the roadways and traffic in the village of Patong is an experience worth the 22 hour flight to get here. Thai people have no safety laws for the amount of people that can be crammed into the bed of a small pick up truck. My head count was an average of twenty workers, including shovels.
Motorcycles and motorcycle accidents are abundant. Parking is difficult due to not enough parking spaces for the exhorbanent amount of vehicles on the road. Traffic makes L.A. freeway look like a country road in Nebraska. Hence, the popularity of motorcycles.
We were going to attempt ordering food from one of the various vendors lining the streets today. My limited research on U-tube revealed selecting cuisine from the tiny carts is a safe choice. Food is prepared to order due to storage being a challenge. Therefore, freshness is guaranteed out of necessity.
The vendors offer a wide variety of menu options. Fresh whole fish, seafood, vegetables, chicken and more than a few items we didn’t recognize. Everything is displayed on mounds of crushed ice. The standard routine is customers pick out a fish, the cook throws the entire fish on the BBQ grill, flips it a few times, within minutes removes the perfectly grilled delicacy from the charcoal, skillfully slices it down the middle to remove bones. The end product, mostly Snapper, looks mouth watering.
My husband disagrees. Wants no part of it. Our last night, we ended up going for Sushi. We don’t see much beef. The cows are too skinny for butchering. The thick steaks sold in restaurants are imported. Pigs and chickens are in abundance No oranges, just tangerines. Plenty of Pinneapples.
Lots of rubber trees. Forests with buckets hanging on them to collect liquid rubber. Most of the rubber is imported to Michegan to make automobile tires. The rubber is also used to make the bottoms of shoes and sneakers, such as Nike.
We will embark on our ship tonight, setting sail for a two week cruise up and down the coast of Thailand. Hopefully, our adventure will include sampling local Thai delicacies, since my husband refused to sample the local food prepared on the streets. More journals to follow.
Although…I think I will pass on the sautéed grasshoppers, spiders and snakes our guide insisted is the speciality of Thai cuisine.
More later….after we board ship.
Tina
