Factoids and  Thai-izms



  • The customary Thai greeting is the Wai.  The wai is performed by pressing your palms together as if praying and then bowing.

  • The Thai currency is the "Baht".  In November of 2007, there were about 30 Baht to 1 US Dollar.

  • The ever popular phrase "Me love you long time" indicates that you are paying a prostitute to come home or back to your room with you for the entire night (or longer). By contrast, "short time" is just renting the girl's "services" for the duration of the deed or deed(s).

  • Most Thais are Buddhists.  Their Buddha is the skinny version that wears a pointy hat not to be confused with the fat laughing Chinese Buddha.

  • The Thais love their king.  Pictures of him decorate everything.  Richard M. Daley only wishes he could have his name and picture in so many places.

  • Per our own observations, it is quite possible that Thailand has the most 7-Eleven stores per capita of any other nation.  While standing in the doorway of one in Pattaya, you could actually see 2 more in opposite directions.

  • Like most places Thailand has Mosquitos, and we observed two types.  The first type bites you and leaves a small typical sized welt that doesn't itch but over the next couple days erupts like a miniature volcano oozing puss. The second type, leaves huge red swollen welts that itch like crazy and look like a golf balls embedded under the skin.

  • The Thais practice a severe and ruthless form of torture known as "Traditional Thai Massage".  It does not come with a happy ending but may require the assistance of a good chiropractor if allowed to run unchecked.

  • English and Thai are vastly different languages potentially driven by vastly different mind sets.  Hypothetically, if a Thai waitress were to say to you something to the effect of "It's a little bit spicey." when you order a dish, the proper english translation would actually be, "It's like smearing your tounge in habanero jam and washing it down with a little napalm."

  • Beware of pretty girls with Adam's apples.  Sure they've got boobs, but they tend to have other, um, surprises.  ...unless of course their surprises have been surgically removed, in which case one might never really know for sure.
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