Party party!

The Thais love a party but more often than not in a very informal way. They don’t often celebrate the more ‘official’ occasions eg birthdays, anniversaries etc but rarely miss a trick when there is a chance to have a bit of fun and perhaps even make a bit of money in the process. So it was on 7th March when my birthday was celebrated in our restaurant/bar

and where, later in the evening, I was presented with the most fantastic Liverpool FC cake

made by one of the guests and which, I have to say, I was most reluctant to share!

On the occasions that Thais do mark their birthdays and when there is no ulterior commercial motive, such celebrations are often not only very muted but also very, very different from how we, in the west, celebrate such an occasion. Whereas in the west, such days are all about the birthday boy or girl, in Thailand – and especially in the country regions -almost the opposite is the case. It’s all about the parents who are thanked by the person whose anniversary it is for taking care of them until they were able to look after themselves. This is done in a simple and symbolic ceremony of feet washing of the mother and father and the giving of a token amount of money as way of saying ‘Thank You’.

As I said, very, very different and actually, quite humbling to witness.

Courtesy of Mr Covid and the Variants, we have, sadly, had few guests staying with us recently. So it was a delight when Nokky’s niece called and asked if she could take a break from Uni in Bangkok and come and stay with us for a few days with 3 mates. And what a super young bunch they were!

Courteous, respectful, polite and with very big appetites!

Even after so many year’s experience in this country, I am constantly encountering examples of the difference in cultures between East and West. The most recent was when we were invited to a select dinner to celebrate the birthday of a friend of mine. Said friend lives on the direct route between where we live and the party rendezvous. So , to me, it was quite natural that I offered to pick him up en route. WRONG! Apparently, this would be a clear indication that he couldn’t afford his own transport and thus endanger the conviviality of the entire evening!

I don’t think I have ‘gone native’ yet although, after a while here, there is a tendency to take everything for granted and treat what might seem strange to the westerner as normal. So I very nearly missed the big difference relating to the Thai armed forces. As Thailand is governed by a military junta, there is a big military presence here and especially in the province of Prachuap Kiri Khan of which Hua Hin sits at the northern end. Close to the provincial capital, there is a Thai air force base.

Nothing special about that except inside the base there is the most spectacular beach

which is completely open to the public and full of restaurants,beach shops

and even a goat farm!

Apart from a few smartly dressed guards at the two entrances to this base, there appears to be no military activity here at all. So being posted to Thaland’s Wing 5 air base would be a real treat for the lucky ones.

Closer to Hua Hin, there is an army base which includes a golf course that anyone can play on and in Hua Hin itself there is even a public driving range run by the military. All very strange. All very different!

It is said that, after the Vietnam war, the Thai government were so concerned about the prospect of losing shedloads of US$ income from the USA military who visited Thailand’s tourist hot spots for a bit of ‘relaxation’ that, when the Americans pulled out of Vietnam, Thailand’s sex industry was unofficially and quietly promoted as a way of recouping some of the dollars lost. This inevitably gave rise to Thailand’s image as being a country where more or less anything goes. Somewhat surprisingly, though, nothing could be further from the truth. For sure there are areas dedicated mainly to hedonistic pursuits (eg Pattaya, Phuket and some parts of Bangkok)

but these are the exceptions rather than the rule. The vast majority of Thais are conservative and surprisingly puritanical. Thus you will rarely see, for example, any public hand holding between two Thais and certainly any other outward show of affection (eg kissing and hugging) is definitely frowned upon! On our recent visit to Nokky’s home town, our arrival after an absence of more than 1 year was greeted merely with a nod from both father and mother as though we had just been away for the day! Similarly, when we departed, there were no fond farewells, so common in the west. Just another nod and we were off! It’s very, very different!

The Thai New Year (Songkran) is almost upon us so outdoor markets are popping up everywhere, dominated, inevitably, by food stalls.

each one offering their own speciality

including the sweetest of fattening deserts!

Oh, how the Thais love their food!

Until the next meal!

R.