What I learned last night in Bangkok

(the last of the original postings - July 2010)

Don't take pictures at the Tiger show.
There is no Tiger at the Tiger show.
"Thai girl" sounds a lot like "tiger" in a loud bar
There may not even be a thai girl at the Thai girl show.
Plastic surgery is very advanced in Thailand
You can buy anything at a market in Bangkok
Yes, anything, and if it's not instock they will have it tomorrow for a low low price
Cold beer is worth the extra .33 cents.
The literal translation for "Thai Massage" is "...will leave bruises "
Thailand advil is just as effective as the stuff back home.

And now.... Thailand!

Originally published, July 15, 2010

 

So I learned a few things about China.
Facebook is banned, and the trick to get on isn't really all that worth it, so forgive me for the lack of updates so far. I'll add a few pictures shortly.

In the meantime, I'm in Bangkok. "the hottest city on earth" according to one guide book. That wasn't in the brochure when the boss asked me about this little trip. Not that it would have swayed me, I survived Louisianna in a moving truck in July, but that's another story. The heat kind of reminds me of New Orleans, as a writer once said, the heat kind of slaps you when you get off the plane. 30*C at 10 pm. (86 American) during a thunderstorm. Which cooled it off a lot the driver said. I am actually sitting on the deck trying to get a lightening picture.

One word from China that I used a lot was juxtaposition - the contrast between a truck load of migrant workers in downtown Beijing or a fancy car in a tiny mountain village. When I get the pic's up, maybe LL see what i mean. The word popped into my head when I checked into the hotel, mainly cause I went from crashing on the floor in my brothers apartment (which was great, don't get me wrong) to a very fine, longterm stay apartment hotel, owned by the people I am working with, and it's got all the bells and whistles including a bowl of Rambutan, a funky little fruit with long spiky hair. I've never seen those in Safeway.

Anyway, enough for now, much more to come, but wanted to get something up, now that the Chinese can't touch me.

D

And now for something completely different.....Asia!

(editors note, this was originally posted on Facebook July 2010, however I wanted to try and capture all the magic in one place.)

For those of you that have heard, the trip is finally on. For those of you who haven't or have forgot who I am and how we even became FB friends, it's a little work trip, out of the norm for me for sure.

You may know i work for DQ (dq.ca) and you may know we're not a sleepy little chain of treat and burger joints, but we have a pretty decent foothold in a lot of International markets. Well like tools loaned over the fence to a neighbor, I am off to Thailand for a month, on loan to the folks who look after that market. We've been in the market for many years, have a couple hundred of locations already, and I'm going to be working with a few in Bangkok and Pattaya. Definitely different than the prairies and foothills of Canada that I'm used to.

But first, a little side trip to visit my brother. Do you know my brother? He always said if I was in the neighborhood to look him up, so I'm going to drop in on him in Beijing. Yes I warned him, and yes, Beijing is in China. You can look him up and figure out why he's there over at his little blog Acton's Asian Adventures. And yes, Beijing is in the same neighborhood as Bangkok. At least it is to me when I look at google earth.

So, I promised a few people I'd post some pictures and updates here, and assuming they have the Internet over there, I'll do my best to post a couple updates.

D


Update #1 - Dateline - Beijing China

If that sounds like reporter speak, it's cause I spent the first night hanging in a Cowboy Bar with the media types. I don't want to jump too fast into the new culture so I limited myself to eating only a hot dog and drinking beer. Small steps, as I transition from Alberta boy to hapless Tourist.

Oh, and did you know that Facebook is banned in China? Huh, go figure. But the savvy media types always have a work around. More later, and I promise I'll try the cuisine - or as the Chinese people call Food - Food!

d


China Update # 2

Not much new to add, I did post a few more pic's, mainly a tour of some of the finer eateries in Beiljing. The food was actually quite good, we did the Szechwan think one night, no real idea as Barry ordered in a combination of Mandarin and finger pointing. I do know that Tsingtoa is pronunced - singdow - and they serve it cold, most places.

Overall, Beijing was good, easy to get around, lots to see, and manageable in english ( as long as the menu has pictures). the prounciation eluded me - some letters are silent, some sound best with a thick newfoundland accent. It's a clean city, with a lot of history. Hundreds of years of history. Think Peking man, and remember they used to call beijing - Peking.... see where I'm going here?

I still have a few pic's to go, the transportation and some shots around town, so maybe one more before we move on to the magical place called Bangkok.