Tag Archives: Thailand

Chili Sauce – Medan, Sumatra, Indonesia

Chili Sauce - Medan, Sumatra, Indonesia

Chili Sauce – Medan, Sumatra, Indonesia

I would have thought it was ketchup. But it’s not. In many countries in SE Asia, when you see a push-pump out in the condiments section, it doesn’t contain ketchup, it contains chili sauce. Ketchup you have to ask for. So is the chili sauce hot? You’re kidding, right? You’re asking me if the chili sauce is hot in places like Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia where you can’t get bland food? Yes, it’s hot. I usually cover my nachos in jalapenos back home, but I’ve had a couple of situations in SE Asia when I really regretted taking a bite of food, because it contained some of the hottest chili peppers I’ve ever had the displeasure of tasting.

Fish Massage – Thailand

Fish Massage - Thailand

Fish Massage – Thailand

This is a picture of the fish massage tank with patrons that can be found all over Thailand. Apparently, the fish eat the dead skin from your feet, giving a massage effect. I’m not sure what else to say abut it except that I didn’t try it.

Ronald Can Wai

Ronald Can Wai

Ronald Can Wai

The Wai is a prayer-like gesture that is done when a person puts their hand together under their chin and bows slightly. It is seen as a gesture of respect and gratitude. It takes the place of the handshake. People in Thailand do it when they meet, when they say "Thanks" and when they separate. Ronald does it, too.

Etrexing About

Etrexing About

Etrexing About

Okay, it’s called an Etrex and I take it overseas every time I go. It’s a GPS and it keeps me out of trouble. When I go somewhere, I set the coordinates of the hotel where I’m staying (and anything else I want to find later on) and, if I ever need to, I can retrieve the coordinates, push a couple of buttons and press "GoTo" on my little menu and it will tell me how far the point is from where I am and in what direction I need to travel to get back there. In cities where there are no street signs and I have a bad map, I can just go out and wander and wander and wander, never having to worry that I have to rely on anyone to help me get back to my hotel or point of reference. Cost? About $100. Cheap for a security blanket.

Chiang Mai Moat

Chiang Mai Moat

Chiang Mai Moat

This is the moat that surrounded the wall that surrounded the city of Chiang Mai at one time about 600 years ago. The old town was around a mile square. The moat is all still intact and is now the border of what is called the Old Town. The town has grown and is quite interesting. It’s easy to rent a bike or a scooter and see it, but most of the tourist stuff is within the Old Town and can be easily accessed.

Chiang Mai Gate

Chiang Mai Gate

Chiang Mai Gate

This is a gate that was once used for entrance into Chiang Mai. The city had once been a walled city some 600 years ago. The history of the area is one of tribal assimilations and warfare. Chiang Mai is one of the order cities in Thailand. It was a city of about 1.5 million people and the wall that surrounded the old town is mostly gone, but they have preserved some of it for the tourists.

Super Bowl in Asia

Super Bowl in Asia

Super Bowl in Asia

In Thailand, the Super Bowl was on live at 6 AM on a Monday morning. This made for a lot of drunken ex-patriots really early in the morning in the places that catered to foreigners and had a TV station that carried the game. All I can say was that some of the places got kinda rowdy. I didn’t watch the game, but I did cruise around to see what the Super Bowl situation was in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It was interesting.

Night Festival, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Night Festival, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Night Festival, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Chiang Mai had a pretty nice night festival. The whole thing was called the Fetival of Flowers and it lasted about 3 days. The last day they have a street festival and everyone comes out and sells lots of stuff. It was huge. I walked and walked and walked until I couldn’t walk anymore and I don’t think I even started to cover all the area where they were selling everything under the sun.