Matt Fong’s Blog

Mumbai is one of these super densely populated cities where way too many people live in such a small area. I think the official count is 13 million but other estimates put the number at 20 million.

Mumbaikars get around on a rail network that connects the suburbs (New Mumbai or Navi Mumbai, in my case) to the city center. Trains run frequently, often every 5 to 10 minutes, but are almost always packed. “Packed” though is an understatement by western standards of the word.

Last Sunday afternoon I took the train into town and for the first few stops things were okay. Then loads of people started cramming into the train, pushing and shoving like I’ve never seen before. On my 45 minute trip to Victoria Terminus, two scuffles broke out and its pretty clear locals dislike the crowds as much as I. There are separate compartments for woman because at its peak there is literally no space between bodies. The only thing I can compare it with is the Mexico City subway during rush hour, but the Mumbai Suburban Train Network is definitely worse.

Okay, so I realize I am in India writing this, and this experience happened in Thailand, but I’ve been really busy and haven’t had time to update this blog.

It’s been getting noticeably chilly here in Thailand, almost uncomfortably so. It?’s also the high season so many tourists are about. For me, it isn’t the most enjoyable time to be in Thailand, especially away from my home and family during the holiday season.

Anyway, I decided to take two vacations, one to Koh Chang (on the eastern coast) and also to Phuket. Both places I had never been to before and both were famous beach getaways. Post-tsunami Phuket I found to be a pleasant international island. Everything along the waterfront had been rebuilt in a manner that reminded me of the Hawaiian island of Maui. This was aided by the fact that most of the tourists were families, with few of the Pattayaian type. Hands down Phuket wins as my favorite beach resort in Thailand.

I decided after having worked 5 months at the beach resort, that I’ve had enough luxury and turned in my air-conditioned office job for a job harvesting rice. I can pretty safely tell you I won’t be making a career out of harvesting rice in this lifetime. With my sai in hand and encouraged by Ben, I set off for two back breaking days of helping my friend’s family harvest their rice fields. Under the hot midday heat, I needed a break more often than not, and by the end of the day I was exhausted, and an hour after that (like 6 o’clock in the evening), I felt like I needed to sleep. Needless to say, it was really hard work and I’ll never take another grain of rice for granted, ever again.

A typical rice farmer in rural northeastern Thailand can expect to be paid 150 baht a day (less than $3.75 USD) for eight hours of work. That’s eight hours of manually cutting rice stocks with little to no breaks in the hot Thai sun. Children start helping when they are young, and some of the grandmas were 50+ years, both groups of whom probably cut 20 times more rice than I managed, at my prime age of 23. Anyway, at least almost everyone got a laugh out of watching the foreigners look like fools.

Coincidentally, my friend Ben whom I attended University arrived in Thailand just as I was getting sick of my old job and as my Thai friend was heading home to Nongkhai. Anyway, our short home stay in rural Thailand was a blast, I’m sure there will be pictures soon.

Last week Pattaya celebrated the Vegetarian Food festival which has its roots dating back to the Chinese living in Phuket. I didn’t know much about it, other than catching the tailwind of a parade that marched through Pattaya but apparently in Phuket they celebrate by putting swords and sticks through their cheeks and mouths (nothing like that in Pattaya, tho). I found this website with more background information and photos. Many Thais as a way to cleanse their body practiced vegetarianism for 10-days. Food stalls selling products without meat can be seen through the city displaying small yellow and red flags. Next year, I’m going to Phuket for sure!

Yesterday was Election Day in Thailand and nothing struck me as all that different, except one thing. Apparently Thai law forbids the selling of alcohol on Election Day and the night before, presumably to prevent people from voting intoxicated. I don’t know if it’s just me and the ideas of individual freedom American culture has instilled upon me, but I don’t need a government telling me when I can and cannot drink, and if I want to vote intoxicated, its my damn right! Anyway, I don’t really care, just found it wonderfully peaceful last night.

I took a short (but long airplane ride) trip back to the States last week and it was okay, but now its back to work in Thailand.

Last weekend Bangkok hosted the Thailand Open tennis tournament. I’m not a big tennis fan but it was interesting observing my Thai foot masseur and her friends watch the match on television. It’s heartening seeing the patriotism that rallies Thais behind other Thais competing at the international level. Sort of like the feeling I get watching an American win an Olympic sporting event. I wrote similarly in a previous post about a Thai actor gaining international fame and society’s reaction. It was also funny watching my friends comically laugh at the farang tennis opponent as he mouthed profanities into the camera after losing some crucial matches, a big no-no in Thai culture if you’re trying to preserve “face”.

Sunday night I treated (maybe this isn’t the right word) myself to an evening at the Thappasit Boxing Stadium for a few rounds of Muay Thai Boxing. At 600 baht a head (almost certainly the foreigner price) I can positively say I’ll never go again. All I really wanted was some traditional Thai boxing apart from the staged fights most tourists observe on Pattaya’s famed Walking Street. I got what I wanted and a little too much of what I didn’t. Muay Thai is a raw and rather vicious form of boxing that allows the use of kicking, kneeing, and elbowing, an unprotected opponent (competitors do wear boxing gloves). There’s a referee that is alert and shows authority, and sportsmanship and respect for Buddha traditions amongst the competitors. There was even active betting amongst many of the local Thais who were happily engaged in the night’s entertainment. What I didn’t like seeing was the ten, twelve, and fourteen year-olds (girls too) being put center stage in front of drunk foreigners intent on encouraging children to harm their opponents, but what’s new in Pattaya.

I posted a while ago about a visit I made to the Sri Racha Tiger Zoo and I wanted to compare it with the Khao Kheow Open Zoo.

I visited the Khao Kheow Open Zoo a month or two ago, but my blogging habits haven’t been the best lately. The zoo is only 15 minutes north in Chonburi by car from the tiger zoo but is miles apart in terms of its facilities and goals. The Khao Kheow Zoo is an “Open Zoo” and is essentially a huge parkland where animals can roam free. The wide-open atmosphere creates a pseudo-safari experience. It’s best to have a car otherwise (like me) you are stuck on the park’s tram. There’s a section where monkeys and weird camel look-alikes approach your vehicle, a section for cheetahs and cats, an enclosed bird sanctuary, and of course an assortment of Asian tigers. I’d say about 40% of the animals I saw were new to my eyes.

The day trip reminded me of an African safari (I spent 2 months in Southern Africa only 2 years ago) and it’s probably the closest thing most Thai’s will ever come to a real safari. Interestingly, in Africa while camping on a safari travelers weren’t allowed to wonder from the campsite and were escorted to the restroom by a guide for fears of lions attacking during the night. I’m told that 30 years ago in the Northern Provinces it was unsafe for locals to wonder outside their own houses for fear of tiger attacks.

Anyway, unlike the Sri Racha Tiger Zoo, the Khao Kheow Open Zoo is geared more towards Thais than foreign visitors to Thailand. The open zoo is run by a government sponsored agency and only charges 50 baht per person compared to the privately run 300 baht admission to the Sri Ratcha Tiger Zoo (they actually utilize a double pricing scheme and charge 100 baht for Thais). More importantly, the setting and environment for the animals at the KK Open Zoo is significantly better than those at the Tiger Zoo. While you can dangle dead chickens above hungry alligators and watch a woman put hundreds of deadly scorpions on her bare skin at the Tiger Zoo the Open Zoo has a much larger array of unique Southeast Asian animals in a pleasantly natural environment.

The only negative aspect of the Khao Kheow Open Zoo: it’s difficult to get to without a car and is more easily enjoyed with a car.

Yesterday was the Queen’s Birthday and by that virtue was also the nation’s Mother’s Day, a holiday for most, except for people who work in the hospitality business like myself . Interestingly, the King’s Birthday in December is also Thailand’s Father’s Day. The queen made a televised speech and almost every newspaper paid tribute to her with front, almost-full page coverage. This is yet another piece of culture missed by the wondering backpacker.

On a similar note, on Wednesday I had a slight problem communicating with the hairdresser and I ended up with a shaved head. My hair hasn’t been this short since swimming in college and with my receding hairline, I’m not sure I’ll ever enjoy long hair again! Note to barbers: if you can’t understand what a customer is saying, DON’T START OFF SHAVING THEIR HEAD! To add insult in injury the “trim” cost me 150 baht, double the going rate.

I also watched a Thai movie the other day called Tom Yum Goong starring this Jet Li type action actor named Tony Jaa. He’s Thai and this is his second blockbuster motion picture. His new movie is the hype in Thailand and has been the talk around town. The movie has an underlying theme of Thais helping Thais fight criminal gangs of other Asian nationalities. To a certain extent the movie and its star is sort of a national icon, they’re proud of a Thai receiving international stardom. Anyway, the theater was packed like I’ve never seen before. Interestingly, the police were searching purses and bags for camcorders and video recording equipment to prevent illegal copies. It’s nice to see Thai’s protecting intellectual property, albeit it only for their own films!