Bangkok Expat Mama

It's Raining Pink M&Ms!

My Aussie friend Julia, mum of Nathan's best mate at school, sent me two excellent emails today. One email touted M&Ms' promotion for breast cancer awareness, and the other email was to do with how she spent last night. In her car, in the rain -- by her seven-months-pregnant self. When she had been trying to join us for an all-too-rare mum's night out for dinner and "The Devil Wears Prada".

Poor babe!

Actually, both emails tie together in that those of us lucky enough to slog succesfully to the cinema nonetheless had no joy at the concession stand on the way in, where our quest for M&Ms "show trash" came up cold. Yep, Siam Paragon's otherwise fine theatres carry no chocolate treats for moviegoers to feast upon during the show. But then today I learned that M&Ms are more than simply delicious candies that never melt in my hot little paw. These are candies with a conscience!

First, as for the M&Ms email. Anything that raises funds for breast cancer research resounds with me because my mum is a survivor, going on seven years since beating the monster. She was diagnosed when my first son was two weeks old.

Julia's email included some endearing Aussie-centric terms. But checking M&Ms' official site reassured me that the company is running the promotion globally. Here 'tis:

"The maker of M&M candies has teamed up with the Susan G. Komen Women Breast Cancer Foundation to raise funds through the sale of their new "pink & white" M&M candies. For each 8-ounce bag of the special candies sold, the makers of M&M (Masterfoods) will donate AUS50cents to the foundation. The next time you want a treat, please pick up a bag (now sold in stores nationwide) -- you will be donating to a great cause and satisfying your sweet tooth. Just think...If each of us buy one bag or two...How much will be donated. Buy a bag for a friend...Please pass on to all your family and friends. Also any pink finger buns from Bakers Delight for AUS$1.20 -- the whole AUS$1.20 goes straight into a donation tin for breast cancer research."

Right. "Pink finger buns". Something about that sounds so...erm, wrong, to me. I guess that's just my hopelessly prurient mind projecting onto a harmless pastry. But if sales of "pink finger buns" raises funds for breast cancer research -- well, then, indulge in as many "pink finger buns" as you can, by all means!

The next email described how the rain gridlocked Bangkok's traffic and thwarted Julia's efforts to join us. Unfortunately stories like hers are all too common. Always having lived near a Skytrain, however, I've never experienced such a nightmare myself. Rolled up my trousers and stumbled barefoot through dirty, slimy floodwaters, sure -- but never sat through the infamous hours-long, rainy rot-dtit. Here is her ghastly tale of woe; it might help you remember, the next time you have the choice to hoof it, take the Skytrain, or ride in a car during a torrential Bangkok downpour, that the car option is just NOT ON.

"Well, at least I had an eventful evening, I guess. Being relatively new to Bangkok I didn't realise how bad the traffic could get in the rain. I should have caught the BTS [Skytrain] but I've been avoiding it since about 25 weeks along [in the pregnancy]. Last night I just wanted to hop out of the car and walk!

I left home at about 6pm as I wanted to get there a bit earlier to buy a black tie for Damien as he is at a funeral tonight. One of his staff at the embassy died two days ago but that's another story. Anyhow when i pulled out of my driveway, Soi Lang Suan was pretty flooded and I had a fleeting thought to turn back but the traffic didn't seem too bad and after all I had a 4WD so I thought I would be fine. Well, as I got closer to Siam the traffic and roads were horrendous. I hoped for the best but I thought I might have to bail. At 8pm when I texted you to say i wouldn't make it, was on the corner debating whether to turn left to Siam or right toward Central. I decided to turn right . Little did I know I would be stuck there for another three hours.

Well, by the time it got to 8:30pm I decided to call Damien as I was in walking distance from our place and at that point I'd been in the car for two and a half hours. I was hungry, dehydrated and hot because the aircon wasn't working properly whilst i was idling. I decided to turn the engine off for a while just before Damien arrived as the cars temperature was getting pretty hot. Big mistake!! When I tried to start it up again it wouldn't start of course.

Anyway Damien arrived to me being a total mess and he hadn't had the best day either because he was the one that had to tell most of the staff in his office about the passing of their colleague so you can imagine what mood he was in by the time he got to me. Luckily some lovely Thai guards helped us push the car eventually when the traffic started moving into a hotel car park and we organised to have it towed throughout the night. We got home at about 11pm and they towed the car once traffic cleared at about 2am. Thank God we didn't have to wait around for it."

May my friend's nightmare serve as a vivid reminder the next time we're tempted to seek refuge from the rain in a cosy ol' taxi!

Siam on Celluloid

(The following will appear in the Friday, 4 August, issue of Guru magazine, which runs inside the Bangkok Post.)

If you lived in New York City, and an old friend of yours called you up one day to announce that -- hooray! -- her job is moving her from a tiny hometown to the Big Apple, you might offer some suggestions on how to prepare for such a major move.

In addition to reading material such as The New Yorker, The New York Times, “Bonfire of the Vanities” and “The Nanny Diaries”, you might recommend she watch certain films that capture the City’s unique flavor and tempo. But where to start? Your pal would be spoilt for choice; should she start with films by Woody Allen, Spike Lee, or Martin Scorcese? “Crossing Delancey”, “Working Girl”, and even “Raising Helen” would be required viewing. Without a doubt, she must see “When Harry Met Sally”, and not just for the, erm, “I’ll have what she’s having” scene at Katz’s Deli. And don’t forget “Wall Street”.

Would such cinema research show your friend an accurate depiction of NYC life? Not quite, but at least she’d feel less shocked by the City’s dizzying diversity and impossibly high cost of living -- not to mention the charming penchant of many of its inhabitants for self-dramatization (see Woody’s “Deconstructing Harry”).

Now let’s pretend you live in Bangkok, and an old khon farang friend of yours calls you up one day to announce that -- hooray! -- her job is moving her from a tiny hometown to the Big Mango...what suggestions might you give her to prepare for such a major move?

Start reading The Bangkok Post and The Big Chilli online: check. Order “Very Thai: Everyday Popfular Culture”, “Jasmine Nights”, and “The Thai & I” series from Asiabooks.com: check. Find movies set in Bangkok, or at least Thailand: check...uh, hang on a tick, it’s slim pickin’s. There aren’t many to choose from. Apparently mainstream Hollywood hasn’t devoted much screen time to the Land of Smiles. At a typical Blockbusters outlet in Florida (yes, I’m still in the state whose confusing chads led to Dubya being in charge; how about that massage he gave the German chancellor at the G-8?! Oh, the humanity!), these are the options she could rent:

“Brokedown Palace” with Claire Danes and Kate Beckinsale. Suspenseful story, believable acting, admirable accuracy in depicting the Thai justice system and, ahem, prisons. In other words, a great movie that might scare the pants off of young khon farang women considering a sojourn in Thailand. I beg of you, my sisters in holiday-seeking: Beware of charming mysterious strangers!

“Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason” with Renee Zellweger, Colin Firth, and Hugh “I’m with Jemima” Grant. Again, welcome to Thailand, where ubiquitous baddies can’t wait to tuck contraband into clueless tourists’ luggage. The movie is just a light-hearted romp, for sure, but even Bridget’s endearing sing-along of “Like a Virgin” while languishing in Thai jail doesn’t distract us from the fact that she, the innocent victim of a set-up, is in jail. In other words, it’s a mediocre movie that might scare the pants off of a young khon farang woman considering hooking up with a cad ex-beau who also happen to be her boss while on a work junket in the Land of Smiles (actually only Bridget would fall for that scenario).

“The Beach” with Leonardo DiCaprio and Tilda Swinton. If this were the only film she saw before moving here, your hypothetical friend might think Bangkok is awash in snake blood-drinkers and seedy backpacker hostels -- well, in certain barrios that wouldn’t be off the mark -- and that the islands are over-flowing with meadows of marijuana, foreigners who favour herb-fueled bacchanals, and vindictive locals wielding extrajudicial justice -- well, again, in certain barrios...perhaps it’s best not to finish that sentence. Although many newbies might find the islands’ first two alleged traits appealing...

“Kickboxer” with Jean-Claude “Hot but Short” Van Damme and Michel Qissi. Vicious underworld crimes (rape, streetfights, killing an enemy’s dog, etc.) offset “Karate Kid”-like montages of martial arts in the Thai countryside. Mob rule and rough justice define the mean streets of Bangkok in this flick. Hmm, how far from the truth would such themes be?

“The King and I” with Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner. Nope! Shaved heads might be uber-trendy these days, but the saccharine score (“Getting to kno-o-ow you!”), wildly inaccurate characterization of King Mongkut, and dated story line of a western governess seeming to rescue Siam from barbarism earns this flick a mighty miss.

“Anna and the King” with Jodie Foster and Chow Yun Fat. At least this time they managed to hire a real Asian actor to play the King, but much as I adore the star of “Hardboiled”, “A Better Tomorrow”, “Bulletproof Monk”, and so on (seriously, he ranks among the few men living for whom I would leave my husband!), I couldn’t recommend this. The writers spruced up the plot with some politically correct tweaks but the film remains fundamentally flawed in its protrayal of the King and his relationship with the governess. Besides, it’s hopelessly archaic -- no one wears hoop skirts anymore in the Fashion Hub of Asia.

“Bridge on the River Kwai” with Alec Guinness and Sessue Hayakawa. Excellent movie. But the movie’s only evidence of being set in Thailand is when a Thai family rescues an escaped American POW. The rest explores the dynamic between Japanese captors and their Allied prisoners. Because the film is more fiction than history, people who want to understand what happened would be better off visiting Hellfire Pass in Kanchanaburi.

If your friend moving here were unbelievably lucky, her local Blockbuster might carry “Beautiful Boxer”, “Tropical Malady”, “Ong Bak”, “Tom Yung Goong”, “Syriothai”, “Jiew”, or “The Overture” in the Foreign section. The mood of these Thai-produced films varies from mysterious to violent, from dreamy to slapstick. At least a semblance of authentic Thai culture shines through the flying bullets and fight scenes.

Notice a pattern here? All of the Hollywood films (except “Bridge”) feature drugs, violence, crime, jail, and/or khon farang folks either meddling with local culture or getting hurt by it. On the few occasions that Hollywood types deign to film in Thailand, and if they insist on juxtaposing foreigners against Thai culture, why can’t they set an “Along Came Polly”-ish romantic comedy among the backpacker set of Khao San Road? Or how about “The Terminal: The Sequel”, in which an undocumented foreigner a la Tom Hanks turns Suvarnabhumi Airport into his temporary home? Guffaws and heart-warming moments surely would ensue. And, God forbid, perhaps some cross-cultural learning.

Clearly, the West is missing something. Maybe Hollywood is too lazy to look past the dependable themes of drugs, crime, whitey-gets-into-trouble, and whitey-saves-the-day. What about the tales arising from the adventures of foreign charity workers, restaurateurs, retirees, students, diplomats, businesspeople, teachers, models and so on? A movie needn’t include corruption, swindling, drug trafficking, or cultural sterotypes to show it’s set in Thailand. I mean, sometimes several days might pass before yet another sneaky stranger tries to slip a packet of controlled substances into my purse. Kidding!

Hollywood probably won’t wise up to Thailand’s untapped supply of compelling stories just waiting to be depicted on screen. My best advice for your hypothetical friend moving to Thailand would be to read what she can, see the Thai movies listed above if possible, and wait until she gets here to learn more. Also, it’s important for her to realize that not being real might cause her some trouble when trying to obtain a Skytrain pass.

I Voted for Him in 2000, and Never Stopped Loving the Big Lug

The following was forwarded by an old, old Danish friend (who's actually not old; I mean, I've known her for, like, 12 or 13 years), who first forwarded this to everyone she knows, from her old, old, American friend. This dude used to work for the Republicans on Capitol Hill (during the "Contract on America" days -- oops, that should be "for" America, n'est-ce pas?).

---------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 22:15:01 -0700
Subject: "An Inconvenient Truth"

Hello,

First, I want to say that I never expected to write this email. 

Second, I have never made a blanket endorsement to spend 90 minutes of anyone's free time to do any one thing.

Third, I never expected to find the following -- "An Inconvenient Truth", which is a documentary, narrated by Al Gore, about global warming -- to be so incredibly compelling. Like a lightning bolt.

Yet, here I am, at my kitchen table on a Tuesday night, and I feel it is imperative to tell everyone I care about that they must see this film. I am a strong believer in allowing everyone to make up their own mind at their own pace -- in time everything will turn out for the better.  Yet, with global warming, you can't wait.  Global warming is real, is here, and we may reach a tipping point in our lifetime from which our ecology cannot recover.  Ignoring this problem is not an option; it affects all
of us.  Pretending, like smoking, that it is a debate wastes time needed to implement solutions.   

And, there are solutions.  The film clearly states what can be done.

So, how to end this email I never expected to write?  Here's an idea -- I promise to never make a request like this again of you.  For that, could you please set aside 90 minutes of your time  and see "An Inconvenient Truth"?  I promise you -- the film is as amusing as it is informative.  It is not a downer.  But, you may spend one night urging friends and family to see it too. 

Best regards, Jeff
To read other reviews, click here -
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/inconvenient_truth/

You heard him, boys and girls. Let's see this movie and then, after we've digested it all, DO SOMETHING: vote accordingly, recycle, trade in gas-guzzling SUVs for fuel-efficient or alternative fuel vehicles, take public transportation more often (and, oh yes, walking and bicycling still work, too), stop wasting water, and so on. If your community lacks a recycling program, lobby for one. We must do what we can. This flick will help us understand exactly what we must and can do.

Cape A-Lot-Happens-in-15-Years

"Cape Fear" is on UBC right now. Watching it now is weird for me cuz it came out in 1991, the year I finished at U.Va. and was dating the angry depressed guy dubbed "The Fish" by my clever friends (including one who later fathered my offspring and whose job turned me into a Bangkok Expat Mama from a Washington, D.C. Mama). So the first time, I watched this flick sitting next to someone so disturbed that he once chastised me for "laughing too loud; people will look!"

At that time I had zero idea what kind of film buff I would evolve into -- one that, in Brooklilne, Mass., would become rather a groupie at Pacific Coast Video and constantly would pester my colleagues at work to list their top 10 fave movies, and one that, later in D.C., would become such a regular at the Cleveland Park branch of Potomac Video that the manager, Vas, let me keep a pack of nappies behind the counter in case then-toddler Nathan needed a change during my daily film-discussion salons in his store. Back when "Cape Fear" first came out, I had no idea that Martin Scorcese is, like, a GENIUS.

Neither had I any idea what a brilliant cast this flick features. Now I know. But where are they now?

Nick Nolte: Arrested a couple years ago for DUI and several other petty offences. Crazed mug shot with extremely bad hair released to the press. Made comeback as Eric Bana's evil dad in "The Hulk".

Jessica Lange: Aging gracefully in Albemarle County, Va. When not occasionally acting, she takes care of the farm and her husband, hottie playwright Sam Shepard.

Juliette Lewis: Lead singer of peripatetic rock band Juliette and the Licks. No joke.

Robert De Niro: Co-founded the Tribeca Film Festival and contributed mightily to resurrection of NYC after 9/11.

Robert Mitchum: Passed over to the other side, where he can solve crimes and woo the ladies with his fellow departed Hollywood hunks.

Gregory Peck: Also passed over the rainbow bridge (as they say at Best Friends). Farewell, Atticus!

Fred Thompson: Left acting. Elected as Republican U.S. Senator from Tennessee. Retired from politics. Returned to acting! In what, I forget.

Ileana Douglas: Went on to supporting and starring roles in countless indie flicks as well as a hilarious turn as a hooker with the mind of a Hollywood agent in "Action", a tragically under-rated Fox TV comedy that died after only one season. R.I.P. "Action"! (What's up with Jay Mohr?)

Director Martin Scorcese: Where could I start and where could I end? The man is BRILLIANT. For recent oeuvre, see "Gangs of New York". Then see "The Aviator". He is master of the saga. He can twist your guts with suspense. He evokes a sense of place so palpable, you can feel it and smell it. He brings the best out of his actors. And he likes to tap dance. (Kidding!)

Are You Scary?

The Bangkok Post is running theatre adverts for "Scared", Thailand's hottest horror flick, with the following tag-line: "Bloody Moment!! This is a horrific orientation that will scare you."

What, scare me as much as the advert's obtuse English? Not bloody likely. (I know, I know, who am I to joke about someone's English when quite often my attempts to say things like, "What time are we meeting?" turn out like, "Whose fish was he throwing?" But I'm joking about a film production company that supposedly budgets for people to write this stuff properly.)

Regardless, "Scared"'s marketing style is in fact rather charming. Check out the official site as well as Major Cineplex's description. Sounds like a cross between "Friday the 13th" and "Scary Movie" -- the latter not because of its slapstick, which "Scared" lacks, but due to its college social politics angle.

Quite a few of my Thai friends have seen "Scared" already and enjoyed it immensely. Most of them haven't gone to university, so despite not harboring chips on their shoulders, perhaps some of these ladies enjoyed, in an eensy weensy perverse way, seeing smug, ambitious uni students getting pulverized and slashed to death.

I still can't figure out why the writer and/or producers decided to call this flick "Scared". The word is one of countless adjectives that many speakers of English as a second language, not just Thai people, get mixed up when modifying things. To wit: "My friend was scared, because the movie was scary" becomes, "My friend was scary, because the movie was scary." A-ha.

The same flip-flop also happens with the word "bored" (i.e., "I am boring because this class is too long"). The result is rather endearing, when pleasant people walk around declaring themselves to be scary creatures or boring dullards.

So when it comes to "Scared", not only are people announcing how scary they are while they stream out of the theatre, but also they are routinely changing the film's title.

"Have you seen 'Scary' yet?"

"Oooh, yes, I was so scary that sometimes I had to close my eyes!"

Now before sending me self-righteous email reminding me that at least these people's English is miles better than my command of Thai, allow me to say: I know that and I'm not poking fun as much as I'm bemused by the whimsical results of their twist on English. Hats off to the millions of people around this planet who are studying English, which must be murder to learn as a second language. I'm incredibly lucky to have grown up with English, learning it without being aware of doing so. I'm keenly aware everyday of unintentionally mangling the beautiful Thai language, and I'm grateful for the patience and encouragement most Thai people show to students of their tongue.

Oop! (That was me hopping down from the soapbox.) Stay tuned for photos of hilarious safety guidelines posted at a construction site near my pad. I hope to snap them some time during the next few days. Meanwhile, consider this: If you're really scary, how can you hide from yourself?

Long-haul Travel Primer Part II

Circumstances That Can Mitigate Stress on Long-haul International Flights

1. Remember the earnest, chatty American dude that I had pegged as some sort of zealot? Well, he turned out to be merely friendly (either that or he sensed my fear) and, after the initial conversational phantasmagoria, settled himself into his own movies and reading material for the (16-hour) remainder of the journey. Thank Brahma.

2. Let me describe Thai Airways' (hereafter referred to as TG) jet for their new non-stop service between Bangkok and New York's JFK. First, the plane is new and scrupulously maintained. Boarding this bird, passengers probably feel the same giddy reverse-schadenfreude one feels when entering a brand-spankin'-new car: oh, the possibilities! I mean, it even smells new.

And don't get me started on TG's Economy Class service on this route. It was superb. It was my most comfortable, least torturous international long-haul flight EVER. Not only do the seats tip back a little bit more than any economy seat my tushie has ever graced, but also the seat part slides forward a bit. Until you sit in a seat that performs this small wonder you might not realize how truly sadistic and rapacious are the airline executives who toss ergonomics research into the circular file for the sake of squeezing three more rows onto a plane. I say, let the seats tip back, dammit!

Also, the food and entertainment options are better than not bad. More on that below.

3. Satisfying grub. The chow in economy was uniformly scrumptious, at least the options I tried. I've forgotten by now most of what I ate during the trip to the States and back; all that's left is the memory of my delight at tucking into some gorgeous meals and gratitude not to be treated like a cretin for -- gasp! -- slumming it back in economy. Often the food looks unappetizing or, worse, looks OK but then tastes horrible. Not the case on these TG flights. Dining well during a 17-hour trip boosts one's morale a great deal.

4. Due to TG's abysmal marketing techniques (read: apparently consisting solely of billboards in Bangkok), this express flight between Bangkok and JFK is often not full. To savvy travelers, that means potentially snagging a neighboring seat for stretching out during the flight. Well, durned if BEM didn't manage to do just that, there AND back. (I was particularly crafty on the return: My 4-seat row already included three men; the row in front of mine had only one woman, next to the far aisle. I moved to the empty aisle seat ahead of mine and when it turned out no one else was seated there, the free neighboring seat was mine, all mine, ha HA! That, my friends, was a key snag.) Omigod, what a difference that made. What long-haul heaven to feel even remotely horizontal for hours at a time. It shouldn't feel like luxury to promote healthy blood circulation to your brain, man. It should be a right of all long-haul economy passengers everywhere.

4. I flew equipped with copious amounts of moisturizer. Lots of it. Slathered it on at frequent intervals during the looong flight. Saves your face from feeling like it's gonna fall off by the time you arrive 12 time zones away from your origin.

5. I came armed with loads of magazines, ranging from political and cultural commentary to utter rubbish, i.e., the New Yorker, the Economist, the International Herald Tribune, "O", Australian Women's Weekly, Hello!, New Idea, Star, and OK!. How could anyone get bored with such literary yumsters lying about?

6. Well, occasionally my eyes did weary of reading. And when that happened, there was TG's trusty in-flight video entertainment, which even to us lowly economy passengers was offered on-demand (major score!) and covered an impressive array of genres. Me, I chose "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants", which was a real tickle and proved to be even better than expected (I read the book after my hip niece Michaela, age 13, recommended it), and 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", which was a must-see as it stars Mos Def, Sam Rockwell, and "The Office" alum Martin Freeman. Well, the film suited my half-crazed state of mind at the time. I loved it! On the return, I went for golden oldies: "West Side Story" and "Saturday Night Fever". The music selection is also diverse. I listened to mesmerizing Arabic songs, trying to pick out the words I could recall from studying it 13 years ago.

See, that's all we beleagured long-haul travelers need: neighbors who mind their own business; yummy vittles; two seats for sleeping and overall health; moisturizer; good reads; fabulous flicks, and enchanting tunes. Is that so much to ask?             

I Am a Bad Person...

...because I buy pirated DVDs and CDs.

You know the mean little advert many theatres are running these days, the one interspersing scenes of people just like me (in fact, I'd swear that's my hand sifting through DVD covers in one shot), browsing DVDS and CDs atop rickety card-tables and sheets spread out on icky sidewalks, with scenes of grafitti that pronounce, "You wouldn't rob a store...You wouldn't rob a bank...Would you buy a pirated DVD?! Because piracy is STEALING, you evil little cretin, who do you think you ARE?!"

(Please excuse my embroidering a bit at the end of the advert; in fact, the message ends tastefully with a clash of blood pressure-raising cymbals, but zero epithets.)

If the suits who made the advert are correct, then I guess I'm a thief. But who can blame me? Our cable TV package includes BBC, CNN, HBO Asia (which is worse than the back of Ange's balls -- relax, it's just a St. Alban's saying), Star Movies (ibid.), UBC Series (which runs mainly cancelled US sitcoms and ancient seasons of popular shows), MTV out of Singapore (useless), Discovery Channel (occasionally interesting, I'll grant that -- like the documentary on Pompeii), and many Thai channels. So decent TV is thin on the ground.

When good movies make it to Thai theatres, they often seem to evaporate before Pedro and I (or a band of mates) can coordinate an evening to go. And compact discs from a store -- well, let's just say that when you have a music acquisition habit like mine and Pedro's, picking the option of cheapies off the street seems like a no-brainer.

So, a dearth of legitimate choice: That's what drove me to a life of crime. A life which I've embraced with a nearly unsavory enthusiasm, I might add. Meaning that not only do I buy pirated copies, but frequently, and with glee -- my shriek of triumph at finding "Supertroopers" in a pile of oldies-but-not-that-goodies" could be heard throughout the market, even down past the lady who sells boiled sweet corn. OK, not that far, but I was REALLY delighted.

Outrageous ticket prices for concerts and cinemas, and recording contracts that quadruple the GDP of certain small industrialized nations, help me rationalize my crimes. But I admit to feeling a twinge of guilt when buying a copy of an indie or sleeper film/album whose sales ideally should reflect all the customers out there enjoying the performers' work. In those cases, buying through the pirate market, in a word, sucks. But it doesn't happen often. At Bangkok's sidewalk "shops", there is one Lisa Ono CD for every five Britney Spears-ish ones.

Readers not familiar with Bangkok's consumerist phantasmagoria, are you sitting down? Typical DVD price: 120-200 baht, depending on quality and whether it includes film's extras; typical CD price: 100 baht each, buy 5 get one free! (Forty baht equal about $1.) Hot dang!

For anyone concerned that I've turned a morality corner, never to return, I promise to kick this entertainment theft addiction upon returning to the States. Scout's honor. 

Following is the booty from today's "heist" at the market behind the Thai Airways headquarters. (Thanks, Bron, for introducing Rachel and me to that area. I can't wait to roll up my sleeves and dive back in for more!)

--"Back to Bedlam", James Blunt

--"Hotel", Moby

--"It's Time", Michael Buble

--"Devils & Dust", the Boss

--"Los Boleros al Estilo de Bossanova", Lisa Ono

--"Rebirth", J.Lo (for a friend, honest!)