Random Reflections on Bangkok

Nanglet

• "One can never eat too many nanglet," says Elisheva.  These brown puffed rice cakes with a nice caramel swirl on top are officially Eli's favorite Thai snack.  They also may be the only gluten free vegetarian snack that exists in Bangkok (or at least that we've discovered thus far).  Okay, there's also bubble tea and sticky rice, but these are just not as addictive...
• Yet another quote: "YOU DIDN'T KNOW I WAS A NANGLET MONSTER."
• Nanglet will not make it back to the States because they become stale very fast (hence, one needs to be a nanglet monster to properly eat nanglet).

Ex-Pat Community

• There is quite a large and diverse ex-pat community here
• Americans
• Bangkok is home to the largest US embassy in the world.  Yeah, crazy.  So it's probably not fair to call the workers here ex-pats, because they're on more of temporary assignment, but there are a lot of them.
• Others have simply chosen to live in Bangkok.  Their multinationals bring them here, or it's just the incredibly inexpensive live-in help?
• They almost all congregate inside of one part of Bangkok, known as Sukumhvit.  Fancy apartment towers and not-so-fancy girlie bars follow suit.
• We've met some incredibly awesome ex-pats, who have been very hospitable and invited for dinner both in their home and out at fun restaurants.  It's been interesting to see how disconnected they can choose to be from the US, or how very connected they continue to be (with even monthly visits back state-side).
• Israelis
• Lots of Israelis seem to be in the gem business here, or the tech business.
• Many many Israelis are backpacking around on their post-army tour and often it's hard to find a menu or sign not in Hebrew (depending on where you are).  We actually haven't encountered this too much, mostly because we're living by the hospital.

• Many others...Awesome Brits, many others.

Atlanta Hotel & the Sex-Pat Community

• Sexual tourism is unfortunately very real in Bangkok. Even the 5-star hotels are filled with (well-dressed) prostitutes. Not that we would know. We don't hang out in 5-star hotels. 
• The Atlanta hotel is a very unique place run by a Thai-British family. Our guidebook suggests their restaurant as it has a huge vegetarian menu. However, you can't get in if you don't stay there. The reason is that they have an anti-"Sex-pat" policy.  It's really a great policy, and they present in an almost hilarious manner.
• Well, we got in, thanks to a random connection.  It was a great place to eat dinner (authentic Thai vegetarian food - Dave had his first morning glory curry...amazing) with super reasonable prices, and no, well, sex-pats present. 

Tailoring/Suit-Making

• Thanks to the pressures of Eli, Dave has given in to buying a tailored suit here in Bangkok (he figures owning one suit is perfectly fine).  This was not an easy one.  The fabric is from the UK and the labor is at least being done in a nice shop with a good reputation.

Dress-Making

• Eli found an awesome silk vendor in Chinatown thanks to a friend.  She then found an awesome seamstress thanks to the same friend.  We'll see what comes of it.  She might end up with a Victorian-era hoop dress. Hopefully not.

Elevator Etiquette

• Thais (as a generalization) are quite polite and quite impatient in elevators.
• When you walk in, someone will always be pressing the door hold button and as soon as you step in, they will immediately press the door close button so as to speed the elevator to the next floor.  We mention this only because we have yet to see it not happen :-).