Q and A

Thanks to everyone who leaves comments on my blog entries. I have been keeping track of questions and will now give some answers in a Q and A format. Hope this helps satisfy the curiosity that abounds.

(Pictured: tuk-tuk, a three-wheeled, 2 person taxi)

Q from Denise: Is potable water a problem there? I bet y'all don't see many suburbans.
A: Nope, not many Suburbans, haha. Actually, no SUVs at all that I've noticed. They have the regular brands of cars: Toyota, Honda, Ford, Chevy, Mazda, etc, but all cars and pick up trucks. No big rigs (you can't get around on these streets) and a ton of scooters and motorcycles, like I have mentioned previously. As for potable water, we have heard that you're not to drink the water though I haven't heard much else about it. All restaurants and hotels provide bottled water (free in our hotel room, you have to pay for it at a restaurant). We brush our teeth with the sink water, and shower in it (of course), but that's about it. Don't know if we would get sick, but not gonna try it.

Q from Jane: Are we supposed to keep our comments relevant to your journal enties, or do we add ordinary "conversational" news as well? Are you still able to receive e-mail? If so, is that where we should leave "news" so as not to bore the rest of your readers?
A: I still have my regular email and I check it daily. Feel free to email me anytime. The comments are typically related to the post that you are commenting on, but they don't need to be. Comment on anything you want, email me with anything else.

Q from Dad: So, do you ever ask for milk with any meals? Would they think that is bizarre or do they drink/offer milk there?
A: I have never asked for milk with dinner, I don't ever ask for it in the US either. Since you posed this question, I have looked on menus to see if milk is listed under the beverage choices and I haven't seen it. I know they have it because they put it in other things like tea and coffee, but I'm not sure if it would be weird to just order it plain. They would probably humor me, at least at the tourist-oriented places.

Q from Jeff: Also, is the food very hot?
A: Most of the food that we have ordered has not been spicy, save the tofu from the previous blog entry. Some restaurants designate spicy dishes, and I don't order those ones. I thought it would be far more prevalent than we've experienced. It might just be something that locals know where to find and they keep the tourist places mild - I don't know.

Q from Denise: Have y'all had much trouble figuring out the money?
A: At first we didn't know which of the coins were which amount, but fortunately their numbers are the same as ours, so it didn't take long to figure it out. The conversion is 33 Baht to $1, which makes 100 Baht equal to $3, which is easy. So if something is 500 baht, just multiply the 5 by 3 to get the amount in dollars: $15. Haven't had much problem.

Q from Rhonda: What is the general mode of transportation, the pollution index...how are you doing with water? Are there many American's who have made it a permanent home? Lots of tourists this time of year?
A: Perhaps Wikipedia would answer better than I would for the pollution index...I don't even know what that means. People generally do the scooters or motorcycles and lots of people also have cars. Tourists travel by tuk-tuk or these other trucks that have bench seats along bed (I don't know what they're called) that act somewhere between buses and taxis. For longer travel, most locals use the bus or train, very few can seem to afford a flight. I don't think normal people travel much, it's a relatively poor country. It's very polluted in Bangkok, it's actually known for it, though I didn't notice much. Chaing Mai is too small to be that polluted, less than 200,000 people in the city proper.
I think a good amount of Americans have made it a permanent home, though it's hard for us to know. There are lots of tourists, it's high season and this is a tourist area. Tons of tour book toting folks abound.

Q from Eric: Do they at least have lizards of any type to help out with the infestation?
A: Yes, they have the same cute geckos that they have in Hawaii to help with the roaches. At least to help cancel them out in my mind, if they don't actually eat them. The geckos are infinitely cuter and less obtrusive. Also, fortunately, far more common to see than the roaches.

Q from Rhonda: What do the Thai's consider traditional Thai [food]? ...sounds like it is hot and humid. Do they use traditional Thai healing?? Every time I pictured the hundreds of collisions that must occur on those tiny scooters packed with humanity...I wondered how the locals treated themselves medically. Are there traditional healers that you know of?
A: As for food, I'm not sure what's totally traditional. We see mostly noodles, rice dishes, meat dishes, and curries, in addition to soups and salads that are not really similar to those in the US. We intend to take a cooking class at some point, maybe we'll learn more about the food then.
It was hot and humid and no doubt continues to be in Bangkok. The past few days have been getting colder though. Not much humidity at all. I would venture to say that even you would like it, Rhonda. Probably 75 or 80 in the day and 60s at night. Freezing to me, of course.
I know they do traditional healing, but I've only really read about it in my tour book. I assume that most cannot afford proper medical care, and I'm not even sure it is offered. I am basically not educated about this at all - sorry. It is an interesting question though...

Q from Dad: If you haven't already, try to get some pics of one of the families riding around on those little scooters and blog or email it. That would be very interesting to see. Must look like a dogpile of people with 2 wheels under them. Probably can't even see the scooter underneath them all.
A: Haha, you forget that these people are tiny! It would be like taking me when I was about 12 and putting 3 of me on a scooter. The girls and women are probably 80-100 pounds and the men are surely smaller than 130 pounds. (typically) ROAR! ME 140 POUNDS! I EAT YOU! Still a funny sight to see just because I know how precarious it must feel to have that little butt space on a scooter, even with that little of a butt. I'll try to get a pic of it. Maybe I can just have Kane go into the street and stop one of them head-on, Superman style, to get a good picture. IT'S A BIRD, A PLANE, A HUGE WHITE TOURIST, AHHHH! RUNNNNN!

So, those are the questions that I've racked up, hope I didn't miss any. I'll try to keep gathering and answer in bunches like this.