Picture for "Friends" blog

Sorry everyone, the picture didn't upload.  So here we are.  From left to right:
Lezlie Scott, Tess Noble and Joyce Feder.

Linda

     Friends In Bangkok

                                           
   
     Hello Everyone!

It's been about 2 years since I've written on this blog.  I thought it was about time to get back into it.  I had stopped writing when things began to seem "normal" here in Bangkok.  I really thought that I couldn't find anything unusual anymore to tell you about.  But I'm willing to try again.

I have decided to begin again by describing 3 amazing women that I have met this year that I can truly call "friends".  They are all so different which makes our group really fun to be in.  They are from left to right:  Lezlie Scott, Tess Noble and Joyce Feder.  I met them through Mahjong and my movie club.  We all just clicked.  Lezli is from Oregon but has traveled the world.  Her husband is with the United Nations.  Tess has a British accent but is from Africa.  She too has traveled the world.  Joyce traveled the world with her Army Officer dad and then with her husband who was an executive with Ford.  I am the newbie to world traveling, but they are kind enough to overlook it.

So far we have been to a floating market, been on a walking tour which took us to an amazing Budhist temple, and been on spa days with lunch thrown in.

They have truly helped to make Bangkok home for me, at least for the time that I  will be here.

Thanks ladies!  You are the best!

Linda

The Strangest Shrine In Bangkok!

     Hi Everyone!     I am finally back to writing.  I know that it's been a long time, but I took 3 weeks off to go back to the states to visit my kids and family.  Then when I returned, I think  I had a combination of writers block and I started to see things here as "normal".  When I looked at the culture around me I wasn't looking at it with a newcomer's eye anymore.  So I knew that I had to do something . . . something out of the ordinary.  And boy did I do that! 

     My friend Bee and I decided to go see the Tuptin Shrine.  It's kind of a hush hush shrine.  Not one that you'll find in a lot of tourist books, and you'll  soon see why.  This shrine is tucked away behind the Swissotel (formerly the Nai Lert Hotel).  Bee and I had a very, very hard time even finding this thing.  We even asked a few of the employees if they knew where it was, they didn't have a clue!  That kind of shows how hush hush it is. 

     Before I show you the pictures and describe the shrine, there is something about this hotel that you need to know.  When it was called the Nai Lert Hotel it had a famous guest named David Carridine.  This is where he hung himself by a rope in his room after spending the night with a Thai ladyboy.  I found out about that after I had visited the shrine. 

     Ok . . . now for the Shrine.  It is said that years ago a woman came to pray at the shrine asking for help from Chao Tuptim to conceive a baby.  Nine months later she gave birth to a healthy child.  She was so happy that she came back to the shrine and left a large wooden carving in thanks.  Others have followed in her footsteps . . .

 

My first thought was, where are they getting all of these statues?  I haven't seen them sold anywhere on the street!  There must be some underground market for penis statues!!!

It is almost overwelming how many penis statues and carvings there are at this tiny shrine that is really only about 10 feet by 15 feet.

 

 I was amazed to see a picture of Jesus involved in all of this, but you know, he was a man, so . . .

 

This was the spirit house where food offerings were left.

 

A small table where other things were left.  There are 12 million people in this city, so this shrine must be working!!!

 
This dress and 2 others were left as offerings.

These statues of babies greet you as you enter the shrine grounds.  Very sweet, but the shrine itself is a little creepy if you ask me.  If my guests want to see it I will definitely take them here.

After Bee and I were finished photographing this area we went back to the hotel and had lunch by the hotel pool.  What an experience! 

Combined Womens' Luncheon

  

   Today was the biggest event that the American Womens' Club will put on all year.  It was their turn to host the combined womens' luncheon for all of the womens' clubs in Bangkok.  It was held at the Sofitel Hotel. 

The theme this year was the rip roaring twenties.  Women could dress as flappers or just in a nice dress if not as brave.  Most of my table (including me) chose to come in just a nice dress.  Here are some of my other friends in their amazing outfits :

The woman in black is Melanie, I work with her in the consignment shop, she is also the Vice-President of the Womens' Club.  The woman in blue is Naina, she is in my book club.  The lady in blue is Christy, I work with her in the orphanage, she is in our club and in the German Womens' Club!

The flapper on the right is Amy, she lives in my apartment building and is very nice.  The flapper on the left is Yevon, she also lives in my building and is Canadian, but also a member of the American Womens' Club (we'll let anyone in!! ha ha)

This is Bee Laughter.  She is one of the ladies that I go to the orphanage with.  She is very funny and nice.

These were the ladies that sat at our table.  Starting from the left:  Bee, Renee (in green), Vicki (in Black), A Japanese lady that I had just met but now I can't remember her name, me, Sonali, Nancy, and another lady that I had just met.  We had a very fun table, lots of laughter and fun!


     Soon they had a competition to see who had the best outfit.  The best dressed paraded out to the stage.  We clapped for our favorites!

 

 

The 2 ladies in black were from the Brazilian Club.  One of them got 2nd place.

 

The lady in pink is from New Zealand, she got first place.  I was told that she won best dressed 2 years in a row! 

 

Then it was time for the entertainment.  I really wasn't too impressed at first.  Here we are, a room full of women, watching 4 women on stage bumping and grinding.  THEN the Japanese woman next to me whispered in my ear (you know they are girly-boys don't you?)  WHAT???    I could not believe it.  They looked so real!!!  Check it out for yourself:

Then they invited our ladies to get out on the dance floor with them.  It is a sad thing when a real woman looks far worse than a girly-boy!!! 

 

So this is my life.  Think of me as you are going to your lovely jobs in Ohio, Kentucky, California, Washington State, or wherever you are in the world.  I am slaving away here in Bangkok having to go to these damn luncheons.  Oh the life we live . . . ha ha ha

                                                                         Linda

A New Volunteer At the National Museum !

   

  This week I went with some friends to a meeting at the beautiful Dusit Thani Hotel in Bangkok for the National Museum.  It was an informational meeting for people who were interested in being volunteers and for people who were interested in becoming new members.  Also a time for older members to catch up with others that they might not have seen in a while.

      I went because I love history and I had heard about all of the wonderful programs they had going on there, so I was definitely going to join.  When I told Steve that I was now a volunteer at the museum he asked, "How much is that going to cost?"  Well they do actually charge 1200 Baht to be a member but you get free admission and if you want to go to lectures it costs less than an outsider.  Also, what I am really excited about is that they have a 2 month class that is 2 days a week starting on January 29th which will train me to be a docent in the museum.  A docent is someone who will give a free tour to English speaking visitors.  There are also Japanese, German and French docents.  I will learn a lot about Thai history and culture, meet a lot of people, and at the end of the class, if I feel that being a docent is not for me, I don't have to commit.  I think it's pretty cool. 

     While I was at this open house, my friend Deb introduced me to a Budhist monk she knows.  He originally was American, grew up in Indiana, and by the age of 10 knew that he wanted to be a Budhist.  Kind of a tough thing to be in the middle of the cornfields of Indiana! 


     His original name is Karol, but most people called him Percy.  When he became a monk he took on the name Bhikkhu Kantasilo, but he asked us to call him Bante.  I think "Bhikkhu" is an honorific but I am not sure.  He has been a monk here in Thailand for 32 years and came here just after the Vietnam war ended, sometime around 1979.  He said that at that time white people were still pretty unusual to see and a lot of Thais would stop and stare and point at him.  I won't go into his whole story because he is quite a talker and very personable.  I hope one day to get to tour the Wat that he is at. 

     These children played traditional Thai music for us.  It's very hard for a Westerner to appreciate their music.  At first it sounded to me like my high school band as we were all warming up our instruments at the same time.  Then they played another song where one of the boys sang, and his voice was very sweet.  I suppose the music could grow on me if I heard it enough! 
                                    Linda 

Lost in Translation

     I had to go to the hospital today for a check-up with my doctor.  Last month I decided to try the doctors here since people had told me what great service they had gotten.  Well I have had migraines for well over 20 years and the medicine that my U.S. doctor had prescribed had run out.  The pharmacies here had never heard of that medicine, so that was the last straw . . . I headed to the Thai doctor. 

     My doctor's name is Dr. Theeraporn Thaichinda.  I call him Doctor.  He was educated in the United States and speaks very good English, but still there are many times I don't quite get the gist of what he is saying.  He prescribed a medicine and all was well and good. 

     Which brings me to today's check-up.  He wanted to make sure that the low dose he had given me was working well.  I told him that I was still having slight headaches and that I would like to try acupuncture.  I forgot that someone had told me to be careful about what you ask for because you get it right away.  I thought I would get an appointment to come back to see the accupuncturist.  Oh no, I was marched right up the steps to his door. I sat down opposite him and before I knew it, I had needles in my head!  Then he asked me how I wanted to pay - by the session or a cheaper way was by the package - I said probably the cheaper way.  But as I lay there in the dark with needles in my head, I thought maybe I want to pay each time I come.  So when the session was over I told the nurse at the desk that I wanted to pay by the session.  She marched me down the steps to pay.  I signed the credit card receipt - and low and behold - I had paid the "cheaper way" - by the package - something was definitely lost in translation.  My friends had told me it is too hard to make them give you the money back so I just gave up. 

     It's times like these that I really miss the U.S.!

                                                             Linda

A Shopping Adventure

     I believe that I have already told you about the "food police" - the store clerks that have followed me around the grocery store when I have taken too long to hold a product while trying to decipher what is in it -- I'm sorry -- I still can't read Thai, let alone Japanese, Chinese, or whatever other language these product labels might be written in.  I can barely speak "taxi Thai" -- that is just enough Thai to get you from one place to another around the city, or to say thank you or it was delicious!  But I digress . . .

     I have a new category, or a subcategory to talk about today.  I might have mentioned in the past how there is very little unemployment here in Thailand, they actually have to import people into the city to have enough workers for major building projects.  But in department stores they are way overstaffed.  During a weekday there are usually more staff in the stores than shoppers.  They try to stay busy by dusting or straightening their shelves.  But most of the girls seem to be putting on lipstick, eyeliner, mascara, looking at themselves in the mirror, primping their hair, or playing on their phones.  I have gotten so used to it now that it usually doesn't bother me, until it interfers with what I need to do.

     The other day I went into Boots drug store which is like CVS but a lot smaller.  I really needed some mascara.  I walked over to that area and all they had in one section was "VOLUME" "PLUMPING" "BIG LASHES".  I didn't want that!  I just wanted regular mascara.  Ah ha!  I spied it, but there was a problem.  It was hidden behind 3 clerks who were busy putting on their make-up!  They had no concern at all for customers, their boss or how it looked to be putting on make-up at work!  I shouldn't have been, but I was still amazed.  Anyway, I stood behind them for what seemed like a few minutes until they finally one by one moved away. 

     To top that off, I moved over to the nail polish.  There were 2 other girl clerks standing there just talking.  I said "sawatee Kha" and the tall one who was made up like a China doll said "sawatee Kha" back to me in a DEEP voice!  It was a girly-boy.  I was shocked but tried not to show it. 

     What a day of shopping !!