Saturday, October 18, 2014

Going Bananas


Lately, I've been noticing a lot of bananas setting in back windows and on dashboards in Bangkok taxis. One driver told me that they are an offering to the gods. Another cabbie explained how they attract more customers and compared his passengers to monkeys. Then one taxi driver told me that they were ripening in the sun and that he couldn't wait to eat one. And finally another cabbie informed me that they were there to provide protection. As he recklessly swerved in and out of traffic, I prayed that his bananas were working.
   

Saturday, October 11, 2014

The Yin and the Yang

As I sat in a taxi staring at a sticker in the form of an eight-sided Chinese bagua with a yin yang symbol in the center, I wondered if the driver was trying to provide a sense of well-being and balance for his passengers in the backseat. Certainly, I, myself, could use some of the positive energy that this feng shui diagram is supposed to impart. Yet, the placement seemed odd. These symbols are typically found on doorways, at dead-ends, in offices, and in homes. The few times that I've seen them inside cabs, they were in the front of the vehicle. My curiosity finally got the best of me and I decided to ask the taxi driver why he put this sticker on the back of the front seat. It turns out that it's covering up a hole in the vinyl upholstery.