FoodZealot.com

A few loosely threaded ideas - I haven't run into any food that's too spicy yet. Thais seem to be identifying me as a Japanese national, and many start speaking Japanese to me right off. They're surprised when I'm not, and they're doubly surprised when I put on extra chili and vinegar or roasted chili flake on my food, since the Japanese idea of spicyness doesn't even register at the bottom of the Thai scale.

Just to keep things interesting, I decided to change my standard goatee to a variation I like to call "The Spaniard" which has the mustache with moderately downturned ends, but separated from the chin rather than connected like the goatee. It just reminds me of musketeering and swordfights and Inigo Montoya and...

[adding in, for the sake of comedy:

I forgot to specify earlier, when you say it, it should be the Ehs-paniard, as if you were from Ehs-pain. And now Thais definitely think I'm either Thai or Lao. Another opportunity for one of my favorite links. ~Tad]

I finally got my BlackBerry to work, and I also have a phone to use here at a much better rate. The international roaming rate for a phone call on my BlackBerry is $1.50 per minute. By comparison, the other phone is 5 baht per minute, which is 12.5 cents per minute. The place I went to get it is called MBK, a giant indoor bazaar/mall monstrosity. One floor is pretty much all cell phones, with at least a hundred different booths, and several larger stores, all selling the same stuff, mostly Nokia by a wide margin, and interestingly, used phones are commonly available. I guess people trade in when they upgrade, unlike the US where there's not much to do with an old phone but donate it to a charity. BTW, all my text messages and email on the BlackBerry are included in a flat rate which I've already paid for, so feel free to contact me by text, email or IM.

The band in the club next door just finished a 15 minute jam on the JJ Cale classic, "Cocaine" (Eric Clapton made a well known cover of it as well).

Sorry about the lack of pictures - my guesthouse room doesn't have an electrical outlet, and it would take too long to compose it all while at the Internet cafe. I'll figure something out soon. I'll say that it's definitely easier to find Internet access here than in Tokyo. There are four cafes in a two block stretch. I guess if the Internet is an equalizing force, less developed countries get more benefits from using the Internet than more developed countries. Plus, this area is full of backpackers who need to keep in touch.