No, Size Isn't Everything, But Still...

A Micro 7-Eleven

On this last trip I saw a 7-Eleven store that may well be the record holder for being the smallest in all of Thailand. Located in the Mo Chit BTS station - as of today the Northern end of the Sukhumvit line, near the Jatujak Weekend Market - you might miss it if you blinked while walking by.

It was late in the evening, and I was on my way back to my room in Nonthaburi. The cheapest way to do that was to take the BTS to the end of the line and then catch a taxi for the rest of the ride.  Since it was such a gorgeously balmy evening I stopped to wander around the station before heading down to street level and my ride "home".

The sliding door was next to the candy shelf

Normally it's pretty frantic in the station when I'm passing through to or from the weekend market, but - as many stations can be after the evening commute - it was relatively peaceful and inviting. I was ready for something to drink, and was pleased to see the familiar orange and green stripes flanking the 7-11 logo, but something seemed odd about the place at my very first glance: it looked very small.

It was.

Upon stepping inside I was almost immediately nose to nose with a guy cleaning the soda dispensing machine.  As you can see by the photos, this place wasn't much over nine feet deep, at best - and maybe 15 feet long, tops.  There was almost more space behind the register than there was in front of it for the customers to queue up. Not being fond of being packed like a sardine I shuddered to think what it must be like during busy times.

Looking to the left, just inside the door

As you can see in the picture above there was just barely room for one person to get down to the magazine rack and the drinks further down the refrigerated case. My wide angle lens really couldn't do the place justice, and even one additional customer made it impossible to get a decent view of it, so these will have to do.  If you're in the station sometime, check it out.

At lease there isn't much floor to keep mopped.

Visiting Thailand: Travel Reference Links

Upstairs airline lounge area at Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei

In the post a couple of weeks ago about finding cheap flights to Thailand I mentioned following up with some links I've found helpful for travelling, so here they are today. I'll update and add to these again as I remember others, but this is a start.  Mainly gleaned from my own experience, but some also recommended by friends and other travelers I've met while on the road. Feel free to suggest others.

Travel Insurance
Purchasing trip insurance is a choice, naturally, but with life being the unexpected ride it is I think it's more than just prudent to have some; it really falls under the "common sense" heading. Insurance is all about "the transference of risk"  (in insurance lingo), and a comfort level with that is a personal choice. I urge you to explore and compare between at least two different companies.

I've used a few companies over the years, but the last couple have been Patriot Travel Medical Insurance , a part of IMG/International Medical Group and Travel Guard, a part of the Chartis Group. Both offer varying levels of coverage for both medical and other eventualities.

Your regular home insurance policy may cover you, but be sure. While there is reasonably priced and competent medical care in Thailand you don't want to be stuck with the bills. Some credit cards also provide coverage, also - worth checking out before you book your trip.

One rainy night in Bangkok

Worldwide Weather Sites
There are many weather sites. Many I know like the Weather Channel's site, but if you don't already have a favorite, I'd suggest Weather Underground - the cleanest I've found so far. Rather than just getting a report for, say, Bangkok, you can specify several different areas within the city, i.e. Suvarnabhumi International airport, Don Muang airport, etc. Naturally, no one site fits all, but I'd suggest starting with this one.

International Time / Clocks
A simple site with a convenient alphabetical table of the current time city by city is here: The World Clock. There are a variety of layouts available, and you can customize it to your needs, too.

Screen capture of the site

Flight and Airport Information
Naturally, you'd think the airline you booked with would have the best source of airline and airport information, and many times that's true. If you plan to hold someone responsible for the times, they're the logical sources. I still browse a couple of others, though, if for nothing else than the additional info available. One of the newer ones (to me, anyway) I've found handy is iFly.com.

We'll cover other reference links again soon. Feel free to alert us to any of your favorites.

Since You've Asked - Some Questions Answered

OK... what.  I'm listening. Go ahead.

Those of you of a certain age will remember the old Perry Como TV show, something my parents watched regularly in the late 1950s. One of the regular features was a segment preceded by some of his cast singing "Letters... we get letters... we get stacks and stacks of letters" with requests for him to sing a song they wanted to hear.

That snippet of song lives on today as a dust bunny that skitters around my aging brain when I read email with questions in them. While I do my best to be prompt with replies, only a couple of them have been noted here.  I thought I'd reply to a few I've received over the past six months or so, hoping that maybe they may be of interest to you all. It may be a fool's errand, but I run enough of those in my everyday life, so why not add another to the list?

I've paraphrased the questions, in the interest of time.

What's with the watermark on all of your photos? I don't like them.

A couple of attorney friends advised me to add those if I didn't want my pictures pinched and used on other - mainly commercial travel and/or "for profit" - sites. While they'd help pro bono if I was getting used too blatantly they (naturally) don't want to do so if it's not absolutely necessary. I used to put the watermark closer to the center to avoid them merely being cropped out, but I know if someone's hell-bent to use them, they will. I don't care to see watermarks on other sites, myself, so I moved them down. So far it's worked.

You used to post seven days a week. What happened?

Life happened, I guess.  Although I was fortunate enough to have retired rather early I've found a wide range of things to happily occupy my days - and that doesn't always allow me the time to post as I'd like, but I try.  Yes, I could just Google some fluff up - God knows others do - but that doesn't show much respect for you regulars, so I choose not to do that.

Do you really take all the photos on your blog?

Yes. Naturally, maps, brochure scans and a few rare exceptions appear, but I make an honest effort to credit the source. Far too many other blogs borrow pictures, but with close to 50,000 images of my own I have plenty to work with. I've posted just under 2,000 so far, so I've got a ways to go. I'll leave that "borrowed" grey area for others to lurk around in.

Do you have permission to post pictures of the people in your photos on your blog?

Not if you mean "do you have a model's release form?", no. Not a one. If I'm in close proximity or can make eye contact with the subject I almost always ask - usually just by pantomiming taking the picture and asking "OK?", and 99% (by my guesstimate) smile and say yes.  If someone shakes their head or waves their hand, I respect their privacy.  People in public, in parks, markets or on the street are fair game, I feel.  It's really a matter of intent, I believe.

The two folks who've criticized me for taking people's pictures and posting them without true permission regularly do it themselves, oddly enough. Strange world we live in, isn't it?

I've said often enough that people seen in photos around places like Soi Twilight or other spots where an insinuation could be made about their personal lives should not be judged by the reader - that's the most unfair of all. If readers choose to do so, though, that's on them.

I have photos of all of the club folks I've interviewed, for example, but I wouldn't identify them as such without their approval, even if I did use them. Identifiable photos of my personal friends aren't posted, either. They wish their personal lives to remain private.

What I hope you will notice is that I don't pull "racy" photos taken in clubs or by individuals in private from other sites and re-post them. I find it difficult to believe people's iPhone photos were intended to be spread around, for example, and I have little respect for sites that do that.  That brings me to another often-asked question...

Why don't you show more nude/semi-nude photos of sexy young men or women? You must have them.

Yes, I have some, but nothing pornographic - that's just not my style, nor the tone of the blog.  I appreciate the adult male figure, and sometimes the opportunity arises to take shots some might call "artsy," but I don't take anything I couldn't show my family or anyone else while coming through US Customs. 

Bao-Bao's Blog has always been my place to share stories, pictures, travel tips and ideas and tell others about my experiences in Thailand. I don't post anything that I would feel uncomfortable with my family seeing or reading.

There are plenty of other sites that feature erotic stories and pictures. I don't condemn any of them (other than as mentioned in the previous question) but that's their stock in trade, not mine.  I wish them all the best of luck, and hope they enjoy counting their page views.

My stories about go go or bar boys have never been posted for prurient interest; they're just glimpses into the lives of people I've come to know over the years. Some I'm still friends with, some have drifted away - as people do throughout life.

Do you speak Thai?

Nope. My usual reply is "just enough to get myself into or out of trouble". I think it's a sign of respect to know some things in the language of any country we visit, but if you at least make an attempt (and keep a sense of humor about you) it works in your favor, I've found. You may disagree, but I've had many entertaining "conversations" with locals using a small phrase book or cheat sheet I sometimes carry with me.

Are the stories you post really true?

The short answer is yes. Completely.  I do, however, reserve the right to make the occasional change of a name, place or other identifiable information to throw off the trolls and one or two loonies I hear from occasionally.

You say "email me with questions", but do you actually reply?

Yes... to every single one, unless it's obviously spam of some sort. Email me and see. If you give me permission I'll even reply here on the blog, if you wish.  Comments are public, but email is not.

So, there you have it.  Figuratively killed a small flock of birds with one stone. Thank you for asking!

Flowers, Part 19: Dendrobium And Other Friday Flowers

Dendrobium cream/violet colored orchids in Chantaburi, Thailand

Being up to my neck in a photo project the past few days I've been too distracted (OK, let's just be honest and say lazy) to sit and write a post of any length, so again today I'm falling back on the floral familiars and posting some images of plant life I've enjoyed seeing while in Thailand. I figure it's only fair for those of you who regularly check in - something I'm most grateful for.

This was one BIG hibiscus bloom - nearly seven inches wide

I don't often check statistics for the blog here, but I was pleasantly surprised to see it's nearly doubled in the three months since I last looked. Again, my thanks to you all. There have been enough questions received via email to warrant some answers here, and I'll get to those next week - promise.

I was told this was the bloom of a Thai fruit, but I don't know which one. Any guesses?

Until then - and unless you've made plans for something different - have a great weekend. See you on Monday.

These pansy-type flowers covered a shrub over two meters high

Ghosts, Ghouls And Goblins: It's Halloween

Some of my nieces and nephews, making the rounds of their neighborhood when they were younger

As a small child I didn't stray far from our own home without an adult with me very often, so I anticipated the night of All Hallow's Eve almost as much as I did Christmas. The opportunity to run with my friends from door to door in the neighborhood and collect treats from people in houses nearby seemed almost surreal to this little piggy.

Although you could buy costumes in a few stores, many of the costumes we wore were of the home-made variety; ghosts and hobos were favored attire for many boys, since they didn't involve a lot of effort. Being a hobo meant borrowing some older clothes from an older male relative, rolling up the sleeves and pant legs and dirtying your face with ashes from the fireplace to give our peach fuzz faces the illusion of not having shaved for a week. 

Impersonating a ghost was as easy as taking an old sheet and cutting holes for eyes. Keeping those eye holes in place while you hurried about was another thing altogether, however.  Every so often you'd see some kid trip over their ghostly train and go ass over tea kettle, splaying themselves onto the sidewalk and spraying their "loot" out of the pillowcase often used as a treat bag onto the ground.  

My mother used to make her own treats to hand out: carmel-dipped apples, small bags of home made candied popcorn, cookies and the likes. With time (and repeated reports of razor blades in apples and other tampered-with treats) came the era of pre-packaged candy and things. It's sad to know there are more and more looneys out there with each passing year, but so it goes. Most kids (by my personal observations from the front porch) are now accompanied by at least one adult, tagging along to supervise and say such adult things as "did you say 'thank you?'" and "no running across the street... wait for us".

Today Halloween is Big Business, with stores chock-a-block full of aisles of pre-made costumes for at least a month in advance. Bags of candy to hand out to the kids who come to your door appear in grocery and warehouse stores, too, and I'm guessing that the makers of diabetic medications hold celebratory gatherings of their own around the same time.

I've given up on handing out candy to the little ones, but the front of the house still gets decorated and illuminated with colored lights. The past five or six years kids showing up at my door receive some small toy novelty instead of candy, and that's seemed to be fine with them.  

Glow in the dark items have been a hit, as have any other items that blink, flash or make some sort of noise.  More than a few times I've heard kids back out on the sidewalk on their way to the next house saying things like "this house is the BEST," and that makes it worth the extra expense for something other than candy.

I know a few of you reading this may have to resort to a web search to figure out what the holiday is all about, but most of you will understand. Either way... Happy Halloween!

Book Report 7: Bangkok Boy - Story Of A Stolen Childhood

Front cover and the spine image
stitched together, for those
who browse used book stores

The man credited with writing the book "Bangkok Boy - The Story of a Stolen Childhood" is - despite all he's been through, including several instances where he by all rights ought to have died - is still alive.

Now somewhere in his mid-40s I've heard he works days as a tour guide and and can often be found on Soi Twilight, one of the main gay bar areas of Bangkok by night where he (I'm told) is a manager at the Scorpion bar. He's said to be married now, with two children.

I say "credited with writing," because in the acknowledgements he thanks one Soshan Itsarachon with making the book happen, and I'm going to stick my neck out and assume that Soshan actually ghost wrote the book for him.  The rumor is it was written by an Englishman, but it's of no real consequence who told the story; the fact that it appeared in print is what counts, I suppose.

In his mid-teens he was molested by a neighbor and given 100 baht, and that was his introduction to the world of prostitution. At the urging of some of his friends at he was swept away at the age of 23 by the lure of relatively fast money in the sex clubs of Bangkok, which is the real start of his story. His path then followed one familiar to most who fall into that quagmire of sex, drugs and violence, and parts of it are heartbreaking, so be warned.  He was lucky to escape from the alcohol and other addictions that overtook him, and his is actually a success story, as odd as that may sound here.

Nevertheless, it's a story anyone who dabbles in the "pay for play" world of rented admirers ought to find enlightening, especially if you're ready to take off the rose-colored glasses and see the truths (for many, anyway) of the World's Oldest Profession - for bar boys and bar girls alike. There have been several other books published that claim to illustrate the world of females in the business, but this is without a doubt one of the best I've found on the life of the bar boys/males many find entertainment with, comfort from, or both.

I bought my copy at Asia Books a handful of years ago and read it over a couple of long, lazy afternoons in Bangkok, but it's still in wide circulation and available from many places besides Thailand.

It's a disturbing but entertaining and reasonably easy read, and one I highly recommend.

Bangkok Boy: The story of a stolen childhood
Maverick Books, 2008   ISBN: 978-905379-51-4
Amazon: $12USD, Kindle $7.50, Asia Books: 525Bt

Trip Report, Part 28: Student Blockade At Kung Krabaen

Uh-oh...The car was off in the distance, past this school group.

When we'd arrived at Kung Krabaen Nature Center the parking lots were nearly empty; it was only mid-morning, and we'd only seen a single group of school kids within the park itself as we took our time walking through it - as one should, I'd say. Figuring we'd exit from where we'd entered the park we'd parked in a small lot near the main entrance, pleasantly surprised at our good fortune to find such a convenient spot.

It wasn't quite as lucky as we'd thought.

The walkway where we came out of the park ended up being a short ways from the car, and the narrow bridge leading to the car was blocked by a student group seated on the ground, listening to one of their instructors giving them an introductory talk about the place.  When the group of folks in the top image passed by, the instructor stopped to wait for them as they walked in front of her. She stood, microphone in hand, and waited for them to go by, and then began speaking again.

"So, what do we do?" I asked my friend. "Let's wait and see if they get up and move," my friend replied "unless you want to interrupt them again."  Swell.  Had I understood a word she was saying it may well have been interesting, but I didn't.

We stood there for about 10 minutes as the students listened, took notes and occasionally glanced over at us. Finally my friend said "I guess we just do like that last group did."  I know enough people in the teaching profession that I felt sort of strange doing so, but we began to walk through the blockade, trying to be inconspicuous as we went between the students and their teacher.

I figured, though, as long as we were going to interrupt them anyway, why not have some fun with it, so I put my hand up to my mouth and began to "talk" silently as we walked along, facing the kids who were now watching us more intently than they were their teacher.  They erupted with giggles and laughter as they saw me mimicking the woman, and that earned me a look from her we in the West might call "shooting daggers".  

The talk went on after we passed, and we stood at the car and again waited, our path to drive out still filled with blue shirts.  At that point there was nothing else to do but wait, and wait we did, some in the group still glancing over at us and smiling at my prank. 

Almost 15 minutes later they got up and began filing past the entry sign, returning my waves and laughing among themselves about the farang who'd interrupted the lecture.

I motioned for some of them near the end of the parade to stop for a picture, and they (naturally) grouped together and posed. It probably belongs in one of the "Smiles" posts, but it fits with today's follow-up post, so here it is.

Trip Report, Part 27: Kung Krabaen Bay Nature Center

Mangrove trees (Sonneratia alba) from the walkway of Kung Krabaen forest

Along the Gulf of Thailand in Chanthaburi, Kung Krabaen Bay - also known as "Stingray Bay" to the locals because of its shape - is home to a huge area of mangrove forest: the Kung Krabaen Mangrove Forest and Nature Center.

A wooden bridge spans one of the open areas in the forest

While there are many many other mangrove swamp areas around the gulf, this park is, I'm told, about the largest and more visitor- and education-friendly of them all.  At a little over 500 acres (1,300 rai) it's difficult to get a big picture of it because it's so dense you can't see the forest for, well, for the trees.  Literally, in this case.

Over a mile of raised wooden walkways wind through the forest

It's like stepping back into prehistoric times when you enter the forest, if you you can forgive a little over a mile of raised wooden walkways that meander through the place. The open waterway in the lead photo today is one of a precious few I saw as I made my way through beneath the dense canopy of mangrove branches and leaves.

For height reference, here are
people climbing up to an
observation tower, above
the tree tops

The mangrove trees that dominate the area are classified as Sonneratia alba (of the family Sonneratiaceae). Their extensive root systems, both above and below ground, filter salt from the water, making the brackish mix of salt water from the gulf and fresh water from the rivers usable where it couldn't sustain many other varieties of plant life.

There was very little air movement in the forest, even though you could see movement in the tree tops high overhead, and I was lucky it wasn't a hot day; the humidity in the area might have been overwhelming otherwise.

Birds sang out with a variety of calls around me, and every so often you could catch a glimpse of wildlife - if you were taking your time and being observant.  Butterflies were visible near the edges of the forest, but I saw very few beneath the canopy itself.

What you could see were several varieties of small crabs, skittering over and around the tree roots. Most were in the three inch wide category; blues, greens and reds being their predominant colors.  The light under the trees was low enough that I got quite a few blurry pictures, but not many worth sharing here.  Here's one:

Another unexpected creature were the freshwater rays that rested on the surface of the mud in some of the shallow areas.  These two were either snuggling or mating; perhaps both.

The park is open from early morning to dusk most every day, and because of the educational value of the place it's a regular stop for school outings. It's not far from the area I stayed in the Laem Sing area for my long weekend holiday. On the map below the park is on the bay with the purple dot, and Laem Sing is indicated with a green one.

Image from Google Maps

Even if you don't make the five hour drive from Bangkok to visit here, try looking up other similar areas and check them out. I've seen photos posted by a friend of another park like this near Hua Hin. It's worth the effort.

A common tiger butterfly near the edge of the mangrove forest

Trip Report, Part 26: Walking Laem Sing Beach

A young man jumps for joy (or his wife, anyway) as his picture is taken along Laem Sing Beach

It was after lunch and our stop at Bud's Ice Cream that we finally got out onto Laem Sing Beach itself to walk along the surf line, people watch and just meander along for a couple of hours or so. Although it was a warm afternoon the sun wasn't too harsh, and the locals were out to enjoy the day, too.

The Thai being modest overall (and not being tan fanatics many are in other parts of the world) most were wearing shirts in addition to their swimming suits or shorts, as you can see in the picture of people in the water below.

These eight people (one was underwater) were enjoying the mild afternoon temperature

Sea shells of all kinds were
the only "litter" on this beach.
What a nice change!

The beach itself was cleaner than you'd normally see in Pattaya or Jomtien, and it was nice not to have to be quite as careful about stepping on glass, metal shards and other trash. A cut on the bottom of your foot can be more than an inconvenience when you're on holiday, as can the infection that can come soon after; sewage treatment in the Land of Smiles can be nothing more than releasing it into the sea a little too close to shore for my liking. Here there were precious few hotels, so that possibility was far slimmer than other more concentrated tourist areas.

The locals also appeared to be more conscious about keeping "their" beach clean, and I was pleased that there wasn't the usual assortment of wrappers, plastic bags, bottles, cans and other assorted litter floating up onto the beach at the water's edge. Another plus in my book.

The walk brought back memories from my youth of walking along a beach and seeing sea shells all along the way; small treasures when we're children, and still a pleasant sight when they're sprinkled along as far as the eye can see.

A Mother watched as her three young kids played in the small, gentle waves that lapped along the shore of the sandy beach; the little ones edging their way closer and closer to the water and shrieking with happy surprise as it washed over their tiny toes, sending them running back towards Mom before they'd again creep nearer.  Two of the boys repeatedly picked up stones and shells and hurled them with great zeal as far as they could out into the surf.

A message in the sand, left by a local

I got a laugh out of the message above, left in the sand by a local. Unless you've never been to Thailand you've heard someone - at one point or another - defer a choice to you by saying "Up to you!".  Here the tables had been turned, and as you can see above the message was "up to me... becoose up to me"!  Both the sentiment and their spelling of "because" were amusing, I thought.

It's a phrase heard so often along Soi Twilight and Soi Cowboy from club workers trying to encourage an off with a customer, and thinking it might have been left by one of them away for a holiday themselves I went over after I'd taken the picture and added "you go, girl" below the original message, figuring it'd apply to workers of either variety.

Dried and freshly barbecued squid at a cart on the sand

The shells crunching beneath my sandals (worn without socks, if there are any from the Fashion Police reading this) I was lost in thought and didn't notice my friend stopping as the breeze changed direction. He'd caught the smell of BBQ drifting towards us, and exclaimed "squid!". He made a turn and headed back up across the dry sand to a cart selling dried and BBQ squid. I was still full from lunch and our ice cream stop, but had a sample of the piece he bought to snack on as we went back down to walk along the waterline.

The sun was beginning to set as we reached the farthest end of the beach, and we turned to head back to where we'd left the car. In Hawaii (and other tropical tourist areas) you're likely to see tee shirts emblazoned with the phrase "Just another shitty day in paradise", and that thought came to me as we made our way slowly back along the sand. 

Goose barnacles growing on a piece of wooden handle that had washed up onto the shore

It had indeed been a fine afternoon, and one of the nicer walks of my trip.

Finding Cheap Flights To Thailand: Reference Links

The coast of Northern California on a flight home one trip

There are so many sites where you can do due diligence and - with luck - find cheap air fares and hotel rooms I hesitate to begin listing them, but since they're important to note as references, I'll put some up here today. These don't take the place of agencies and other brick-and-mortar places for everyone, but for the adventurous they're definitely worth a look.

This isn't anything like a comprehensive list, but it might save you re-creating the wheel, if you know what I mean.  Take them as my preferences (like my preference for EVA Air), and with a grain or ten of salt... then do the legwork and make up your own mind. No penalty, no foul from this referee, that's for sure.

 Kayak was recommended to me by a forum friend some years back, and overall they've been my site of choice.  I invariably start here, and if I don't find what I'm happy with I add others.  Truth be told I usually check the others before clicking "confirm", anyway - and as we covered Friday I often find decent deals by going through the airline I'm considering.

I have two friends who think very highly of Orbitz, and one that doesn't. I've not found much there that I couldn't find for within a few dollars elsewhere, myself. Don't forget to check sites like Travelocity and Hotwire, either; they (like Orbitz) handle so many bookings that they have enormous buying power in some cases.

More and more companies are popping up, though, and checking a travel forum or two can alert you to them. I've had Priceline recommended to me, but I've heard tales of folks being locked into flights (possibly because they weren't paying close enough attention) and I'm leery of that "name your own price" deal. Just be aware.  Again, suggestions on sites you've found to be handy (or hellish) are welcome.

Kind of a short post today, sorry. Family obligations, but joyous ones.

Next: peripheral reference links.