This blog is by Paul Steinkraus, native of MI, USA and temporary resident of Bangkok. The word "Khun" in the Thai language is a respectful title assigned by Thais to every other person (essentially equivalent to "Mr." or "Mrs." in English). It always precedes the person's first name and is routinely used in everyday conversation. So, while it sounded strange at first, it already seems perfectly normal...much like how I expect to view most of Thai culture as time goes by.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Let's Talk Toilets
I haven't yet encountered the public toilet facilities that most westerners characterize as crude and very difficult to deal with, but I'm sure that's because I haven't yet strayed far outside the protective "bubble" of nearby Western-style malls, restaurants and office buildings. The mall within walking distance of our apartment, for example, has public bathrooms very similar to those one would find in the West. I'm sure we eventually will have some squalid "squatting" incident to share on this blog---well, on second thought, probably not---but for the time being, it's worth noting, especially for friends and family who might come for a visit, that even the most Western-style toilets are just a bit different than what we're used to.
The typical Western-style toilet here sports a rather intimidating-looking hose that's about four feet long - - see the photo. Every toilet in our apartment has one, and it clips to a holder mounted on the wall when not in use. Having puzzled over this for some time, I finally consulted the internet. I’ve now read articles describing this device variously as a “water jet,” “water gun,” or “power washer,” and pointing out the intended use in place of toilet paper. One entry confidently proclaims, “After a few practice runs [poor choice of words], you'll probably wonder why American bathrooms don't offer this more civilized feature.” Maybe, but personally, I’m inclined to wait until I find myself somewhere where toilet paper isn’t available as an alternative. And for adventurous friends/family who visit us, let me just provide a gentle warning. While the water pressure is adjustable to suit your preference, the force of the water coming out of the hose at its present setting seems capable of stripping the paint off your sun deck.
I realize it's easy to form false impressions of a culture if you make very limited observations, so after having written my comments last week about Thais and escalators, I began wondering whether I had leapt to the wrong conclusion. Based on two further experiences I had yesterday, though, I don't think so. I visited a huge electronics shopping complex to buy some computer supplies. As usual, the place was swimming in people, and two incidents made my jaw drop:
In the first, people were deftly sidestepping, adroitly maneuvering or clumsily stumbling (me) to avoid injuring anyone upon exiting an up escalator. The reason for the significant number of immobile Thais standing in the way of my graceful exit? A store was distributing flyers, right at the top of the escalator, to shoppers, who were stopping calmly to read them!
In the second incident, I encountered a Thai woman who came to a complete halt, and remained there for perhaps 15 seconds, just a step away from entering a down escalator. Escalators aren't as wide as they are in the States, so her blocking action presented a considerable obstacle for others trying to get on. She evidently was so engrossed in her mobile phone conversation that everything else became secondary, even though she was standing directly in front of an escalator. (Given how calm and patient Thais are, I don't think those American "Just Hang Up and Drive!" bumper stickers would sell over here.)
Well, I've been here in Bangkok for a little over four weeks now, and in order to focus on something other than missing Doris (she's finally due to arrive in 3-1/2 weeks!), I've made a few observations:
Thais seem to be incredibly patient and peaceful. I haven't seen one hostile motorist in traffic---quite a feat, given how jammed the roads are with cars---or one angry person, period!
A quality that perhaps goes hand-in-hand with their patience is their relaxed, unhurried attitude in general. They meander through the very crowded store aisles with no apparent objective in mind. This generally doesn't pose a problem for me, except when they completely stop and calmly look around immediately after getting off an escalator. I've experienced this numerous times already. You certainly have to be ready to dodge the clusters of people who simply stop at the bottom or top of escalators, so you don't plow into them and start some awful domino effect.
This relaxed approach to life is reflected in the Thai language as well. Having had only five 90-minute lessons, I'm obviously no expert, but my tutor has confirmed something I read a couple of weeks ago: there is no punctuation in written Thai. There is no such thing as a sentence, for example. Written text just keeps right on going and going, with no indication of when you're supposed to come up for breath. In conversation, a speaker indicates the end of a thought by saying "ka," if you're a woman, or "khrab," if you're a man. I suppose it's like saying "over" in a radio transmission, to indicate it's time for the other person to jump into the conversation!
Bangkok has a well-deserved reputation for being polluted, but it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be. It helps to be ferried around most of the time in an air-conditioned car, of course, but even when I've taken a walk along one of the main streets, I don't see rotting garbage out in the street or anything of the sort. Instead, there are food vendors practically everywhere. At every hour of the day, someone is cooking chickens, frying vegetables, cutting fruit, etc.
...which brings me to the large, brown rat I encountered today on the sidewalk of perhaps the best-known street in Bangkok---Sukhumvit Road---which is lined with five-star hotels, fancy restaurants, first-class shopping malls and the like. He was rather large and slow-moving. At first glance, I thought I must be seeing things. Could this be someone's large gerbil that escaped from his cage? Then I saw his very long tail. He moved slightly away from me as I approached him on the sidewalk but for the most part stood his ground. I walked a little faster as I passed him. No one else seemed to pay him any mind, so I decided not to yell something like, "Look out! A rat!" In any event, this took the shine right off my hunt for a restaurant in which to have lunch.
