a case of fake monk
Have you ever seen a monk on the BTS skytrain system? Chances are he is not the monk that you perceive him to be, but rather he is a local dressed as one in order to dupe foreigners into giving him cash. Yesterday, after a breakfast on wooden skewers consisting of fried fish, wonton wrapped quail eggs, and some other meat item, we met up with Hac’s friend Matt who was staying in the area at his grandmother’s. He explained to us that these travelling ‘monks’ frequently seen on public transport and in the malls were depised by the locals. If they were monks, what reason would they have going out to buy movies, games, and porn? Adding to the humor, sometimes these people would ‘bless’ foreigners for a bit of cash.
The other day we had explored the shops of Siam Square and adjacent MBK. Great area for spending cash really–the teenage after-school crowd in their uniforms are commonplace here. In the middle of Siam Square that day was a promotion for a coffee drink with girls dressed in gold outfits and dudes in gold full body suits handing out flyers and talking into microphones. Hilariously, I was approached by one of the marketing girls who put the microphone to me expecting a response, to which I said ‘No Thai’. We spent the day in this area purchasing t-shirts and whatnot. Likewise, I had a fried wanton dish at Nooddi for breakfast and a green chicken curry dish for lunch two hours later at another place.
Back to yesterday, Matt took us around town via BTS. We hit several shopping plazas including one called Pantip Plaza. After purchasing several cheap things that may or may not be useless, we headed over to the Saphan Taksin BTS stop to go on a city tour boat ride. The boat ride included a stop at a floating market, views of the city, and a stop at Thonburi snake farm. At the snake farm presentation, I had a boa put on my shoulders. Later on, we ate dinner near Asok at a place selling Thai-style steak with sticky rice. Good as hell, but too much sauce burns your tongue. That was soon amended with some bottled soymilk from Seven Eleven. After a brief stop over at Matt’s place, we headed to the bar nearby where the beers were pricey and Westerners were common. The band played some Thai rock music along with an Eric Clapton song. The girls who worked there were a plenty, yet not much of a sight. What made me laugh though was seeing an old balding white man making out with a lady boy.
Afterwards, the night continued with a stop at McDonalds–I know I said I wouldn’t eat that here, but soberness was not with us. The menu special of the area was the Samurai burger; basically it is a piece of pork lathered with teriyaki sauce and lettuce.
This morning the CIEE director, Brian, actually called to discuss visa matters. The information he relayed could have been easily e-mailed, but oh well.
Sabai dee mai, did you get some sauce in your eye from that ill-named Samurai burger haha? I thought you got to handle that boa, Hac missed your snake charming moment? Overall some very nice shots of the cityscape. You seem to be missing a pic of the said ‘false’ monk on the BTS system or even better seeing a phony one in a shop skimming through a porn ahahah. Until your next post from the beaches of Ko Samut have fun nong chai.
Hiep
August 9, 2006 at 6:29 pm
Hi Hao, just like anywhere there are always people trying to scam you out of money. All u can do is be aware and be on your alert. Nice pictures. Have fun and lots of good eats. Until next posting, take care and stay safe.
Chu duong
August 9, 2006 at 6:56 pm
Dear Hao:
Nice pictures collected. Be enjoyable and controllable, both of you, in spending your money and health in Thailand, reserve energy back to school soon. OK. Advise Hac sent email to Mon at home. His 2nd check is not received by his school rep.
Love and take care,
Bac Son
Vanson Tran
August 10, 2006 at 12:19 am
Hao thuong,
Where are you guys now? We did’nt get any e-mail from since yesterday .Are you going the beach of Ko samut yet?Don’t foget to post for us, so We’ll know where you stay,ok.If you go to the beach , how long do you plan to stay there?How is the weather over there?Remember to put your sunblock on you guys, so you don’t get any sunburns like youHAD in Nha trang.Be sure not spend too much money,because you still have to stay six more months in Ha noi.Enjoy your stay there, eat alot of seafood and spicy food, too.Remember to take some nice pictures and also record your camcorder too.Don’t eat anymore chicken over there,because on the news on the radio they still HAVE the “cum ga” (BIRD FLU)IN THAILAND.TRY NOT TO EAT ANY CHICKEN OR ANY OTHER BIRDS.BE SURE TO WASH YOUR HANDS BEFORE YOU EAT. DID YOU GUYS WACTH THE NEWS ON CNN,TODAY? THERE WERE THE TERROR ALARM ABOUT TERRORISM IN ENGLAND.THEY ARE FROM AL QEADA, TOGETHER THEY’RE FIFTY OF THEM.SO THEY DIVIDE SOME OF THEM TO GO DIFFERENT AIRLINES AND TRIED TO CARRY SOME CHEMICALS THEY ALREADY BEEN MIXED,AND BROUGTH ON THE AIRCRAFT. JUST LIKE THE SODA,IN DIFFERENT COLORS.BUT,TOO BAD THE SECURITY POLICES IN THE AIRPORT WERE SUSPECTED AND CAPTURED THEM, BEFORE THEY WERE BOARDING.THEY PLANED TO BLOW OFF EACH AIRCRAFT ON THE WAY TO THE UNITED STATES.ANYWAY, THEY STILL HAD TWENTY EIGHT ON THE LOOSE. SO WE ARE OUT OF THE WOODS,YET. SO IT’S STILL VERY DANGEROUS TO FLY ANYWHERE IN THE STATES.SECURITIES ARE VERY TIGHTED AT THE AIRPORT.SO WE HAVE TO WATCH CAREFULLY WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPENE IN THE FEW DAYS,WE STILL DON’T KWOW YET.HOPEFULLY, BY THE TIME WHEN YOU GUYS GET BACK TO THE U.S EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE NORMAL AGAIN.UNTIL NEXT POSTING,TAKE CARE AND STAY SAFE.LOVE ME CUA HAO AND CO HOAN.
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