Meanwhile, in Bangkok…The Smallest Tuk-Tuk Ever

Tuk-tuks and Bangkok go together like spaghetti and meatballs. So much so that even those who haven’t been to Bangkok can probably tell you the size and shape of your standard tuk-tuk. I thought it was a pretty easy too, until I was stuck in the back of a taxi and this tiny little beast roared by.

I mean, what is it? Is it like…a specially constructed tuk-tuk for navigating particularly narrow sois? A home-made one-off that some guy built in his garage?

It’s easily half the width of a real tuk-tuk, especially the newer ones with a roomier passenger compartment. And […]

2017-11-22T15:44:43+00:00Bangkok, Meanwhile in Bangkok..., Thailand|0 Comments
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Meanwhile, in Bangkok…Sticky Rice in your Dairy Queen Blizzard?

Thailand is rightly known for its amazing food, a categorization that also applies to its many snacks and desserts. But what often gets overlooked is just how experimental Thailand is when it comes to recipes. Often times you'll have two or more ingredients thrown together that make no sense at all - but somehow work. I've written about this before with Thailand's version of an ice cream sandwich, but the other day I found something that topped it - the Double Mango Sticky Rice Blizzard at Dairy Queen.

2017-05-27T13:05:55+00:00Bangkok, Meanwhile in Bangkok...|0 Comments
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Meanwhile, in Bangkok: Elevator Phone

A few days ago I realized I had a low-level eye infection. Nothing serious, but I clearly needed to get my eyes checked out, so I headed to the hospital. In Canada, you only go to the hospital when you have a serious problem because there are little clinics of all types all over the place, but in Thailand, you just generally go to the hospital for any ol' thing.

2016-11-20T14:41:47+00:00Meanwhile in Bangkok...|0 Comments
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Meanwhile, in Bangkok: The Cutting Edge of Coconut Technology

As the world’s 9th-largest exporter of coconuts, it’s no surprise that they’re available pretty much everywhere in Thailand. But recently I’ve noticed something interesting – it seems that the resourceful Thai coconut industry has melded the humble drupe (I looked it up, it’s a drupe, not a nut) with some pretty crazy technology to produce some very weird and unique consumption possibilities. […]

2016-11-21T04:21:03+00:00Food, Meanwhile in Bangkok..., Thailand|0 Comments
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Meanwhile, in Bangkok…Starbucks Duvet

It will come of no surprise to most that Thailand is a land of contrasts – an ancient temple next to a brand new shopping mall? Check. Ladies of the night leaving offerings at shrines on their way to work? Check. So it goes with heat and cold as well – often you’ll be sweating and panting form a short walk only to step inside the BTS or a coffee shop and suddenly you have sweatsicles forming off the end of your nose.  […]

2016-11-17T15:47:50+00:00Meanwhile in Bangkok...|0 Comments
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Meanwhile, in Bangkok: Sports Shirts for Perverts

If you’ve been following the recent spate of Nazi-themed controversies in Thailand, you’ll understand when I say that the Land of Smiles often has a less-than-firm grip on the concept of political correctness. Not that that’s always a bad thing – sometimes it’s downright hilarious. Often, the best canvas for this horrifying/brilliant mashup of ideas is t-shirts, such as the one I covered in a previous post about “wiping love on her face”. My friend today spotted another classic one while wandering through Central Rama 9. […]

2016-11-17T15:47:54+00:00Meanwhile in Bangkok...|0 Comments
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Meanwhile, in Bangkok: Those Are Some Hairy Legs, Ma’am

I don’t think there’s any way I can write this without sounding slightly sexist, but I’m going to throw it out there anyway for discussion. It’s probably more of a cultural issue, come to think of it, but let me pose a query: do you think women should shave their legs? It’s an open-ended one, for sure, and one’s answer will probably take on shades of culture, femininity, pride, sexual politics and even religion, depending on who answers. Be that as it may – the culture I grew up in was one where a woman with hairy legs […]

2016-11-17T15:47:55+00:00Asia, Bangkok, Culture, Meanwhile in Bangkok...|15 Comments
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Meanwhile in Bangkok: Harry Potter Bureaucracy

I’ll never forget the first time I walked into a Thai government office. It was the tax office on Sukhumvit 11, and I was told to go upstairs to some processing room. I was shocked when it was nothing more than bureaucratic peons sitting amid shoulder-high piles of foolscap paper, bound by plastic rope into thick-ass bundles. There were hundreds of them (piles of paper – there were only a dozen or so peons) and I wondered how the hell anyone managed to recover any data without searching through a mountain of paper first. […]

2016-11-17T15:47:56+00:00Meanwhile in Bangkok...|2 Comments
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Meanwhile, in Bangkok: Put Your Ass

I happened to be strolling through the campus of Chulalongkorn University the other day, recalling the halcyon days of yore when I managed to completely avoid the traditional university experience and instead start working. At any rate, it really is a beautiful campus, with lots of trees, plenty of green space, and students in their black and white uniforms hustling to classes or lectures or...whatever it is that students do in Thailand. It seems to be a much different experience than we have in universities in Canada. It seems somehow from a more quaint time, where the students are less jaded and bitter - I half expeected to see pep rallies and cheerleaders. Anyway, as I was strolling I stopped to get some coffee and have a seat, and saw this sign on the bench. 

2016-11-17T15:47:58+00:00Meanwhile in Bangkok...|0 Comments
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