Saturday, July 30, 2016

Hello, Again.


 
Hello Kitty, the kawaii feline character, has long made a guest appearance in Bangkok cabs. In the past week alone, I spotted this Sanrio-brand cat in seven different taxis. Why is this character so popular among Thai cabbies you ask? Considering that Hello Kitty has no mouth and is expressionless, maybe the drivers are hinting to their passengers that they should keep quiet and remain calm while riding in their vehicles.        

Saturday, July 23, 2016

It is better to conquer yourself
 than to win a thousand battles. 
Then the victory is yours. 
It cannot be taken from you, 
not by angels or by demons, 
heaven or hell.

 - The Buddha

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Bugging Out in a Bangkok Cab

You never know what you're going to find in a Bangkok cab. It most often involves a pleasant surprise, but occasionally it turns out to be a disturbing affair. When I hopped into this taxi, the first thing I noticed were the exoskeletons from a certain kind of critter affixed to the ceiling in a marching formation. After the driver told me what kind of insects they were in Thai, I did a bit of searching on my smartphone and figured out that they were cicadas, the type of bug that makes loud buzzing noises. I've definitely heard them at certain times of the year here in Thailand, but I had never been so close to them before. Despite a long conversation with this cabby about bugs, I'm still not clear why he collects and displays them in his cab. All I know is that it made my skin crawl for the rest of the day.