Miscellaneous B-sides

Here are some miscellaneous Thailand snippets that I may or maybe not get a chance to cover in greater detail later:

• News: The Bangkok Post is the most enjoyable newspaper I've ever read. Quirky is probably the best word. It seems to blend the Opinion page with the News page in a way that totally works. Page 2 today had an article about Miss International Queen Miss Tanyarat Jirapatpakon, who "bested 23 stunning transsexuals" to capture the diamond crown. It news stories are complete, but always seem to have some bizare quote or line in them. And most stories are on one page, so you don't have to seek out the rest of the story somewhere else. If it wasn't for the glaring absence of Cal Sports stories, I'd totally cancel the Chronicle.
• Food: Is awesome. Only hit or miss because I don't know where to go or what to order, but when it's a hit, it's a hit. I just had far-and-away the best Pad Thai of my life (and a totally decent diet Pepsi) for dinner and it cost me $1.25. Mmm cheap yummy foood.
• Dogs: There are dogs everywhere on the street, but they are perfectly well behaved. I don't think I've seen a single one bark, run into the street, bite anyone, chase a cat (which are also everywhere), or anything. Why is that? All they seem to do is sleep in the middle of the sidewalk and not-to-aggressively beg for food. American dogs are so aggressive when out in public. Must be on the violence on TV.
• The King: These guys are WAY into the King. It's cult-like, but without the creepy edge. If you really want to see the news and opinion pages blur in the Bangkok Post, read an article about the King. There would be no other way to describe it except propaganda, except that is really does seem sincere. They are not trying to convince everyone the King is great. It seems to be just be part of the public conscience that the King is great. Such a foreign concept for a jaded and irony-addicted American. I don't think I've ever even voted for (let alone have had elected) a leader that I had had 1/2 as much respect for as people seem to have for the King. The King is 80 now, has been on the thrown for approximately 50 years and is in poor health (he just got out of the hospital after a 25 day stay around the time I arrived). Will be pretty tough on the Thais when he is gone. On my last day or two in Thailand, there is a national holiday for the Kings birthday that is suppose to be a big event. I can imagine.
• Body-Image: While Thais are very modest in general (expect for all the prostitutes: this really is a land of contradictions) they seem to not have as many physical hangups as Westerners. For example, strangers seem to have no problem commenting on things about my body they find interesting. Ok, that sounded strange: Let me explain. I've had more than one massage where the masseuse commented that I have lady-sized breasts. (Damn, this is sounding stranger...) But, while this was partially an attempt a humor (Thais seem to love to tease), it is also an indication of a lack of taboo about topics such as this. I've also had several people ask me what happened to my ear. (My favorite was "What happened? Lady bite?" That was awesome and is now the story I'm using...) It took alot for me to use that example so please nobody be an silly Westerner make fun of my chest. In any case, I think the comments where at least as much about how big and well developed my pects are as much as anything about them being flabby. Of God, I'd better just stop...