Farang Farang

Another video from the fine folks at Uncornered Market. This one shows some interesting views of river life in Thailand, including a floating market and riverside houses. This is not a tourist area or a place created for show. This is real-life stuff – a view into everyday life on the river. The water is dirty and the people are often poor.

My own time in klongs and on rivers in Thailand showed me that the same source is used for numerous purposes – cleaning, laundry, toilet and bathing. It made me appreciate my own water supply and the fact that it is separate from the sewer and septic systems. Take a look:

Audrey and Daniel of Uncornered Market produced this short video showing food vendors in Bangkok. It’s interesting to see that the street food vendors use small, rolling carts that are outfitted with gas burners and anything else you might need to cook a meal. They simply find a spot, set up their apparatus and go to work. Often they have small plastic stools and folding tables as well. Prices are cheap, even for Thailand standards, and the food is all made to order.

Some guide books warn of poor sanitary conditions at these roadside stalls but I have never heard of others getting sick, although some of the food handling practices look sketchy and likely would not pass most states’ standards here in the US. On the other hand, those are some pretty high temperature they use to cook the food, so any beasties are pretty well guaranteed to be cooked away. Delicious stuff. Bon Appetit!

Cockfighting, terrible as it is, is rather common in Thailand. This, however, is uncommon. This rooster has been fighting his own reflection in the window for quite some time. He attacks, howls, and eventually tires of the competition and struts off.

It’s like volleyball, but the ball is wicker and the size of a softball and you can’t use your hands. Otherwise, it’s a whole lot like volleyball. Setters, spikers, serving – the whole nine yards. I think it’s still up for debate which hurts worse when you catch it with your face, though.

This video, although in Thai, gives a really good look at architecture in Thailand. It shows both the large-scale design and also does a close-up of details, such as carvings and finials.

I love this video because it shows what many of the kitchens in Thailand are like, at least in my experience. They are often outdoors, like this one, with no refrigeration to speak of, and a small gas burner. The reason many kitchens are outside should be evident if you have ever tried to cook anything during the heat of the summer. It’s just too hot to keep fire indoors!

Because of the high cost of refrigeration, you really have to shop every day for fresh food. This may seem inconvenient but it sure does provide the freshest foods possible and the best tastes as well, in my opinion.

It’s almost mesmerizing to see the expert hands of this crepe maker create such a simple, yet delicious treat.

I am charmed yet again by Yui, who this time shows nature’s local supermarket right there in the woods.

This is a great example of traditional music from Isaan, which is a general term for northeast Thailand. I got to see people playing this instrument, called a Kaen, when I was there four years ago. It is a wind instrument with air holes for fingering and internal reeds, from what I can tell. It certainly sounds like there are some reeds inside there.

I have really enjoyed James Quilty’s videos on Vimeo. I will likely not put all his videos on this site, so be sure to go there to check out his others.

Loei is a town in north-central Thailand. The video below shows a number of interesting things – an innovative business funded by microcredit, a strange temple that seems to be both Buddhist and Hindu, and an army of blyth monkeys, among other things. Enjoy!