From Golf to Gulf

Lynne, Kristin, Jennifer and I spent a lovely day on Ko Semed Island yesterday. Mike hung out at the hotel in Rayong. Our day off buzzed by so quickly! The ladies chartered a speed boat to Ko Semed. First stop was a fish farm to feed giant turtles, nurse sharks and other bright fishes, then we snorkeled in two separate spots around the island and finally we were dropped on a white sandy beach to spend a few hours and be picked up later. It was sooo beautiful. We lounged under umbrellas and did some shopping. At dinner time we were picked up by a local Rotarian named Kolkit and his co-worker, Pichai. They took us out to a great meal at an outdoor seafood restaurant. We watched the meal swimming just moments before it was on our plates. After much food and conversation, Kolkit showed us his home on the sea and then treated us to live entertainment at a club known as 'Rayong Brew'. The music was loud and the energy of the patrons was high.

I have some time, so I'd like to share some of the random observations I've been writing down in my journal.

Jessica's Random Thai Culture Factoids

1. Traffic lights have countdowns. Mostly this was noticed in Bangkok, where the traffic is heavy to say the least.

2. Waiters and Waitresses are on top of their games! In most establishments, they wait behind us, filling our plates with rice and keeping glasses full. One wave of a hand and they are table side ready to serve. The real kicker is they don't even get tipped! Although some restaurants charge a service fee.

3. Motorcycles. Ahhh motorcycles. .. Of course, being a rider, I take notice of all things scooter. Helmet laws are in effect in Thailand. Motorcycles and scooters are an important means of transportation, they have the right of way, we were told every household has at least one, sometimes they are a family vehicle. ..yes, I have seen up to 4 people on one scooter. Some of the other things seen on scooters- babies, a man with a leg cast and crutches, televisions, pizza and flower delivery, cases of glass Pepsi bottles and propane tanks. Women passengers ride side saddle in skirts and scooters do not obey any lane restrictions.

4. The day of the week you were born on matters. Each day has a color and we're figuring out how this is linked historically. We were told it is astrological, not a religious thing.
Monday- yellow (the King's day, because of his birth)
Tuesday - pink
Wednesday - green
Thursday - orange
Friday - blue (the Queen's day because of her birth)
Saturday - purple (the Princess' day)
Sunday - red
Thai citizens really get into the color days. Polo shirts with the royal emblem are sold in every day's color.

5. Pop culture images recognized - Hello Kitty, of course, the Playboy bunny logo (not sure why) and Blythe dolls. I was told a genuine Blythe doll can sell for 10,000 baht. Images of the dolls are on tee shirts, earrings and bags at every street market.