Snow Flurries in Bangkok

What better way to start a birthday celebration than a massage and facial? I tried the reflexology massage and it was still less only like $20 for both! It was so relaxing I think I actually fell asleep for a bit. At one point during the facial, there was suddenly very cool air on my face. It was like I was sitting right in front of an air conditioner. But then I realized there was no air blowing. It was very interesting and it took me a moment to find a way to describe it. It actually felt like little snow flurries on my face. I’m honestly not sure what it was, but given the heat and humidity here, it was a nice treat.


Other Random Thoughts & Observations

1-The lack of cell phones here. You seldom see cell phones being used here. It’s actually quite refreshing.
2-The smoke is not as bad here as I expected. For some reason, I thought everyone here would smoke, but that doesn’t seem to be there case. What a nice surprise.
3-The Thai people are truly lovely. The have amazing patience and are so sweet and gracious. It’s quite inspiring.
4-Jack Fruit – I finally found out the name of the fruit I love so much.
5-The cars are much bigger than expected. I mean there aren’t SUVs everywhere, but there aren’t a bunch of those tiny little cars you see everywhere except the United States. Plus I think Toyota must have at leas 70% market share. Toyota’s are everywhere.
6-Dogs are everywhere. There are so many homeless dogs roaming the streets of Thailand. It makes me want to bring them all home.
7-There’s an odd disparity in this city.
---Where else can you get an hour massage for $10 and pay $30 bucks for a glass of wine? A cheap wine at that.
---There is such pretentiousness here. Given the graciousness and sweetness of the people, it seems to go against the culture.
---I just can’t seem to figure out the dress code here. A lot of bars and restaurants have a “smart casual” dress code, but that seems to mean something different at everyplace. Given the culture, I would think they would be more formal and maybe even more modest, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Jeans, t-shirts and sneakers are okay, but opened toes shoes aren’t. Short skirts are okay, but no dressy/long shorts. A strapless dress or spaghetti strap dress is fine, but not a sleeveless shirt. There are things I would wear to work in LA that you can’t wear even in the hotel’s restaurant. I understand the code for temples and such, but I just can’t figure out from day to day what “smart casual” means. At one place, they told my friend they didn’t allow plastic bags in the bar. They gave her a free “paper” bag to put her stuff in. She just had plastic bag with some stuff from the drugstore. So it seems to be okay to look like a hooker or homeless person as long as you’re in a dress or jeans, closed toed shoes and aren’t carry a plastic bag. Odd. Odd. Odd.