03.28.06

Thailand: WTF moments

Posted in Travels at 12:38 pm by Leopoldo

The closest thing I have to a personal credo is this: ‘every day try to taste, see, hear, smell or do something you have never experienced before’. Working an 8 to 5 job that requires a bit of effort to accomplish. Traveling in a foreign continent all you have to do is step out the door. Thailand is full of new flavors, sights and experiences for the Western traveler, some are expected like tasty Curries everywhere while others make you stop and stare. These are the What The Fuck moments of the trip and they are a daily occurrence. WTF moments come out of the blue and catch you completely unawares. They are unique, circumstantial and nearly impossible to describe (you really have to be there). One of those moments was being in the middle of Bangkok with thousands of people bustling around to get to their destinations when the national anthem starts playing on loudspeakers and the crowd all suddenly comes to a communal halt. Another came walking down Convent street when Nick pointed out a baby elephant across the street and I realized with all the sights, noise and commotion I had completely failed to notice it! An Elephant, on the street and I DID NOT SEE IT! Some WTF moments lend themselves to photography:

Take for example this plastic Ronald McDonald greeting tourirsts with a traditional Thai bow on Sukhumvit road:

Or this Thai girl decked out in a German outfit at a ‘German’ restaurant in Pattaya:

Or this row of computers dressed up to look like cute little Penguins in Koh Samui:

My favorite of the bunch is a DVD cover for a (one assumes pirated) DVD of ‘Good Night and Good Luck’ being sold by a street vendor in Bangkok

For anyone who has seen the movie (or has the slightest inkling what it is about), say it with me: WTF!

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