Lasting Thailandisms

I was remembering a few things about Thailand that made me laugh the other day and thought I'd share my last few "Thailandisms" for you!

1. At the dentist - this was funny. Taking off your shoes before going into the dentist chair! ONLY in Thailand! And it was a very thorough cleaning, to boot.
2. Parking attendents - I have the funniest experiences with these guys. They loved to blow their whistles, direct traffic, help you park, hold umbrellas for you in the rain, open your doors - it's great!! (if not annoying at times!) :)
3. The Chiang Mai Zoo - I* have pictures for you of the zoo trip I took with some friends recently that I'll add later. but the weirdest thing was that I actually felt like I was the exhibit, and NOT the animals!???! It was strange - I mean seriously, people would just walk by and stare or watch us or laugh...it was really weird. One guy actually mimicked my laugh after he heard me laugh about something!? I mean, "look at the giant giraffe and his long tongue practically eating your child!, not see what the tall blond american woman is doing"!? I could have been a celebrity or something?!
4. Muay Thai Kickboxing - you have to experience this once in your time in Thailand. It's really all you need. I thought it would be more exciting, but it was ok. Some white dudes beat out the Thai's and some kids were kicking butt! It was in a stadium down a sketchy alley. I swear i thought we were going to a cage match or cock fighting by the looks of it! There was a fence wall to keep the audience back, but the ring was pretty standard. Everyone had their beer - including the police (nice).

Also added for your pleasure:

"You know you're becoming Thai when":

• You use the word Toilet instead of bathroom.
• You exclaim when you're hungry that: "I need to get some corn". (a delicious treat of fresh off the cob shaved corn, in a white plastic cup, mixed with sugar and salt and sweetened condensed milk ("gummy items" can be added too, but me, no likey), and eaten with a little spoon!)
• You know that you need to 'water your car' in order for it to fun effectively. *ie: my car needed water to prevent it from overheating. I didn't realize this (know i do) that you needed to do this DAILY in order to not break down on the side of the road (i did)!? I said to the mechanic - "Why would i need to do this all the time - can't i use coolant or something"? he said, "Do you need water everyday? (yes) So does your car". Interesting.

And finally:

Likes:

Blended Thai iced tea with whipped cream

Watching Scrubs before I go to bed

Sleeping in on SaturdaysMassages whenever I want!

Dinner and a movie (alone or with friends)

Beaches at night under the moon and stars

Sun on my face in a cool breeze

Being engrossed in a good book

Children laughing and singing and dancing

A man holding a baby

Dislikes:

Rice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner…

Finishing a season of my favorite shows and missing new episodes

MorningsNot having time for a massage

Being too tired to do anything

Scorching sun on the beach with no shade (and sand everywhere!)

The heat of the summer in Thailand – wet all the time!?

Reading too many books at once that I can’t keep track of the details in each…?

Watching children work all night on the streets after a full day of school

Seeing an old white man with a young Asian girl on his arm…