Thai and Markets

This morning we immersed ourselves in Thai as we took a private crash course from a lovely young Thai woman who teaches at the school where Brock studies Thai. We started by learning how to pronounce the 12 (?) vowels, the many-more-than-we-have consonants, and the numbers. After that we worked on the typical language dialogs -- introductions, asking about things, bargaining in the market. It was a fast paced 3 hours that at least prepared us to start listening to this very different language.

Then we took the sky train to the local market, reputed to be the largest in SE Asia. It was actually mind-boggling big. You could buy gorgeous orchid plants for $1.50, a miniature sewing machine for the same amount, or any variety of flip-flop for just $3.



Lunch was a variety of Essan dishes at a restaurant near Brock's apartment, where he is obviously a valued customer. Our favorites were roasted chicken and green mango salad. Everything was hot enough to make your lips tingle, but not too hot to savor.

We took our afternoon coffee at Brock's place, where we could finally see his balcony kitchen. It's not a huge place, but a very efficient use of space. A few details like the wall between the bedrooms that doesn't go to the ceiling make you scratch your head, but the rent is so low and the view so good that nothing else much matters.

To round out the afternoon, we toured China town on foot. It is so large that it makes the DC China town look like a joke.



There may be karaoke tonight, or we may just rest up for our first cooking class tomorrow morning.

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Location:Bangkok