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BangkokDan's blog "is an other, more subtle take on lifestyle, travel, food & events in Bangkok. An insider's take on this wildly exotic city, which deep in its heart remains a wildly charming village."
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Gor’s words of wisdom, taken from his book, Thailand Life.
“Thai people believe that when they die they will go to paradise by holding on to a monk’s robe.”
“Choices you make as a teenager will affect you for the rest of your life.”
“Why is the world not fair?”
“… we have to take the risk sometimes to get something special.”
“I’ll never get bored with it, it’s one of my hobbies now.” (about his website)
“A 100% man must fight, and must not give up easily.”
“Everything you do has consequences.”
“I think the best way for me to learn about Thai history is to visit the real places and not sit down and study in the classroom.”
“If we worry too much about what might happen we will be too scared to leave out homes.”
“In Buddhism we believe that giving food to monks is a way to make merit.”
“Teenagers like challenges and teenagers love to be with friends. We might do lots of crazy things in adult’s eyes but really we just want to find something fun to do with friends. I wish they would understand us.”
“Everyone tried not to cry because Thai people believe that if you tears drop on the dead person, you will make them worried and they will have to swim through your tears to reach heaven.”
“You won’t understand how difficult it is to be a teacher if you haven’t done it yourself.”
“I know that every student loves kind teachers but now I also know that teachers love students that know when it is time to learn and time to play. If the teacher is too kind or too friendly with the students then they won’t listen to the teacher when it is time to work. So, most teachers choose to be strict and let students be scared of them even though that will make some students not like them. But it’s easier for the teachers to teach when it is like this.”
“Nothing can really stop the power of love.”
“Love really can make you blind.”
“If you listen to the teachers and have respect for them, one day in the future you will be successful.”
Read more quotes here!
Because I couldn’t take one more session of blabbering in Thai about “interactive reading” I spent about two hours roaming the halls full of books at Queen Sirikit Convention Center where, beginning October 17, The Publishers and Booksellers Association of Thailand (PUBAT) organized the 12th Book Expo Thailand 2007.
There were many interesting books that I would have liked to buy, but, from various reasons, I decided to buy only one: Ten Simple Steps to Meditation by Kawee Sri-Vesara. The author has also published three other interesting titles (One Thousand & One Things about Thailand, Travel in Thailand, and Museums in Thailand), but they were not available. .jpg)
The Book Expo will be open until October 28, so you guys out there living in Bangkok have two more days to go and buy some books, if you haven’t already. This is the last book fair of the year! The next one will be in March-April 2008.A few weeks ago I placed an order for some pirated DVDs, and today I got them. All in all, 6 DVDs, worth 420 baht. That makes one DVD 70 baht . They were a bit expensive compared to the ones that I bought not too long ago, which cost me only 120 baht for 4 DVDs. I'll place another order as soon as the second school term starts.
In my native country polygamy has never been a practiced form of marriage. Thus, I was raised to believe that men should marry just one woman, in the best case their soul mate. But, sometimes men cheat on their wives, so they’re guilty of committing adultery. Although in Europe it is not punished by law, adultery is frowned upon by many people, both men and women. In Thailand things are a bit different, and the practice of having a mia noi (minor wife) or pua noi (minor husband) are quite widespread and socially accepted.
Usually, in any relationship, everything starts on a more enthusiastic pace than when the love story ends. You might think that you have found the right person, just to realize that after a certain period of time (which might extend even to a couple of years) you feel entrapped into something that you cannot get out. Of course, by that time, profound feelings and memories have already been imprinted into the partners’ souls and minds.
When the time comes to face the demons within ourselves, we all try to remember the nice moments that we had spent together with our partner and decide to give it another try. This might be a big mistake. People have to let go. It is at this point when frustrations start taking control of your life, and you start feeling like a puppet whose strings are being drawn by your partner.
Some people think that the best way to escape from the strings of a suffocating relationship is to indulge themselves into another, adultery, relationship. Usually kept secret from the eyes of the world, the second partner gives you the feeling of freedom. It proves that there is nobody else controlling your life, except you and maybe a divine force that we cannot see.
But soon the awkward situation of adultery will cause unrest and feelings of remorse. At this point, the biggest mistake people do is confessing their sins, hoping for forgiveness. But the price they pay for it is too big. They become even more tied into a relationship that now they feel obliged to continue due to the partner’s willingness to forgive.
What goes through our minds when we gaze up at the star-filled sky on a clear night? This was the question that persisted in my mind one night while I was staring at the few stars in the Bangkok sky from my balcony. And indeed, what? So, I started thinking and I came up with these questions and ideas.
How do I feel while looking at a sky filled with stars? Do I feel ignorant, confused or maybe humble? Do I think about my place in the universe? Are we really alone? Are there any other entities or life forms living in a remote corner of the universe?
What can I see up there? Can I see or at least perceive a greater force that guides us? Can I see God? And if I see God, is he infinite, endless, miraculous, vast, and immense? Then, what about me? Am I just a tiny moving thing that tries to find his own way in a fast world? In fact while I am looking at the stars do I perceive the world as being fast? I see it moving at a slower pace, but, in fact, time flies!
I might even be overwhelmed by the hugeness of our universe. Is it really ours? Is it really mine? Can I decide what to do with it? Can I abandon it? Or even worse, can the universe abandon me? What then? Nothing. There’ll be nothing left. No universe means no stars. No stars means no dreams. No dreams means no life. No life means…
So, look, it just came up: the stars symbolize for me the dreams that I long for. Looking at the stars, and maybe trying to find a falling one, is like dreaming with open eyes: I think about my career, my friends, my wife, my family, my home. I think of all the things that I lost, and of all the new things that I found. I regret or I feel proud of my past and present deeds. But, in the end, I go to sleep with a smile on my face. Why? Because I will never forget the lyrics of my favourite band Red Hot Chili Peppers: “It’s better to regret something you did than something you didn’t do.”
When I gaze at the stars on a clear night I feel that I’m ALIVE.
Read here about American who decided to become an expat and move from his home country, the United States, to Bangkok. Follow his adventure as he details the process of applying for necessary documents (passports, visas, permits); his research on Thai culture and the large city of Bangkok; and anything else involved in moving and working abroad.
His website, http://www.movingtobangkok.com/, is now listed in Life in Thailand Blogs and the link is mention in "Link to us" on both Stories from Thailand and Teacher in Thailand.
Good luck mate!
Later edit: I wanted to leave a comment on your blog, but I had to log in to be able to do that. As I don't have an account in wordpress... I couldn't do it. I think it's better if you do not restrict who can or cannot comment on your blog. Cheers.
On my 29th birthday I went with my wife to Chatuchak Weekend Market from Bangkok where I bought myself a nice birthday present: 4 books about Thailand.
1) Eight periods in the history of Thailand (published by Soma Nimit Co., Ltd.)
2) His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej – Compassionate Monarch of Thailand (by Thanin Kraivixien)
3) Thailand (published by Mantana Satapat)
4) Thailand (by Jacques Dumas)
In the evening, we went to an outdoor restaurant where we boiled and barbequed live giant shrimps (songsan mak mak!).
Some time ago I read Kicking Dogs by Collin Piprell. If you see this book in any bookstore, DON’T buy it. It’s the worst book (fiction) I have ever read about Thailand.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial- No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
