1. unnecessary car park attendents - these guys really used to tick me off. Even THE assumption that I need help parking was enough to annoy me... and the fact that they stood in the way of the reversing car whilst blowing their whistle and waving their hands about made them fair game as roadkill.
Now: I love these people. If they are not there when I pull up I get nervous.
2. M150 - just an insane amount of sugar... Knocks redbull into a hat... ... I drink this stuff everyday now, to such an extent, it's worrying.
3. toilet bum gun - I thought this thing was just absolutely awful on first experience... three years down the line... I can't live without them. Toilet roll is for dirty people.
4. real Thai restaurants - Dirty grey buildings, breeze blocks, metal tables and plastic chairs, who could possibly enjoy eating in one of these places...! You'd surely die?? Wrong. Great food, unbeatable value.
5. Chang beer - Never liked this when I first arrived.. I remember thinking the taste wasn't a patch on a pint of stella or kronenberg.. How times have changed. It' gorgeous.
How about those Thai guys that work in the bathrooms in clubs that want to crack your back while you're taking a piss? I guess I could still live without those. I agree with number 3, but maybe that's only because I eat so much Thai food. Over here we call it an 'Ass Jet.' I also have a bit of a modification of your number 5, I never drank Whiskey before I came to Thailand, and now that's all that I drink.
Posted by: Lawrence Michaels | July 01, 2011 at 04:08 PM
Haha quite right Lawrence the back crackers deserve to be on the podium. First time one of those fellas came up to me I thought he wanted to touch me up lol. I haven't got to the whiskey yet, I guess it's only a matter of time :)
Posted by: Ben Shingleton | July 01, 2011 at 04:18 PM
What the hell is a Toilet Bum Gun? It sounds horrible
Posted by: Colin | July 01, 2011 at 10:15 PM
@Colin - a Toilet Bum Gun, aka. Ass Jet, is like a hand held Bidet that you will find in every Thai bathroom. It's basically a hose that you use in the bathroom instead of or in addition to toilet paper.
Posted by: Lawrence Michaels | July 02, 2011 at 05:58 AM
Ben,I was with you up to #5...has all the spicy Thai food killed your taste buds?
Posted by: Talen | July 05, 2011 at 08:10 PM
Talen, yep! a looooong time ago :D I have fallen in love with Chang... I think the thai's penny watching ways have also rubbed off on me - & now you are living such a frugal life Talen, surely you have also become a chang drinker haha :D
Posted by: Ben Shingleton | July 06, 2011 at 12:41 AM
I use to drink Chang all the time, but it is a completely unpredictable drink. A friend of mine use to check the kegs that came into his bar. He said that from keg to keg Chang could be as little as 4% alcohol to as much as 10%. I guess there is no such thing as quality control at the Chang bottling plant.
Posted by: Lawrence Michaels | July 10, 2011 at 07:48 AM
1 and 3 - I'm developing an appreciation for.
5 - Lawrence is right and it gives me a headache.
2 and 4 - No and maybe.
Posted by: Snap | July 13, 2011 at 12:53 PM
:) Thanks Snap - Re: Chang, that is interesting Lawrence, I usually drink from the cans now and the quality seems pretty standard, but I could quite believe it with the bottled stuff, some of those have knocked me sideways so I wonder if that's why! Will buy bottles from now.
Posted by: Ben Shingleton | July 13, 2011 at 12:58 PM
Also Snap, I think 2 & 4 are the best on the list!!! ;)
Posted by: Ben Shingleton | July 13, 2011 at 01:00 PM
Haha, so funny. Many people don't like Thai toilet system and easy restaurant at first. But after they try again and again they start to like it. :-)
M150? Be careful, is like baby yaba haha
Posted by: Tookta the Thai Tour Guide | July 18, 2011 at 05:43 PM
baby yaba, quality - I enjoy a baby yaba every morning, and before meeting important people... I am hooked.. oh dear !
Posted by: Ben Shingleton | July 18, 2011 at 05:50 PM
It's interesting to see that you have been converted to the Thai beer! and other thai products! Although it seems so much more thought out, and cleaner!
Posted by: Samui Villa | July 27, 2011 at 12:01 PM
When I first got here I thought of Chang as a poor man's drink - nasty taste, nasty Changover. I don't know what happened, but I recently noticed it's become my beer of choice.
Posted by: Keith Taylor | September 26, 2011 at 09:42 PM
Same here Keith.... What changes? Our tastes? I don't even really like any of the other beers now !! :)
Posted by: Ben Shingleton | September 26, 2011 at 09:46 PM
Oh god, what's with number 3! I am moving to Bangkok in a couple of months and number 3 makes me nervous!!
Posted by: an expat wife | September 27, 2011 at 04:23 AM
Expat wife, it's the hose you'll find running from the wall beside many toilets that you can use to clean yourself apres poo. It's much more hygienic than toilet paper as it gets you completely clean rather than just wipes away the worst, but it can be a little unusual your first few times :)
Don't worry, toilet paper is still widely used in Bangkok and you'll find it in most places (though you should get into the habit of always carrying an emergency supply just in case - there's never a guarantee of paper in BKK).
Ben, I really do think your tastes change over time. I've been in Asia since sometime around 2009, and for the first year or so I desperately craved Laughing Cow cheese triangles all the time (you can get it here in Chiang Mai, but it costs about £4 a tub in my shop). Yesterday I decided to treat myself, and I found it doesn't taste of anything. I suspect the Thai food has something to do with it - you begin to expect certain flavours.
Posted by: Keith Taylor | September 27, 2011 at 07:18 AM
Expat wife - As Keith says, I think most ladies prefer it, after a while, you'll probably favour it over toilet paper.
Keith - Laughing Cow - That's hilarious, I don't buy it in Thailand funnily enough, but when I go back I eat a tonne of it. I can easily put on 1/2 stone in 3 weeks, and lose it again on returning. Maybe that's a 'climate thing?', but defo with the chang, I think its the stronger taste that attracts, as after a while, the others just don't 'do it' (....isn't that what homeless folk say about tennents super? ;)
Posted by: Ben Shingleton | September 27, 2011 at 04:12 PM
I expect that's more to do with the favourable cost:unconsciousness ratio than anything else, but far be it from me to question the taste buds of the homeless :P
I'll be testing out my theories when I move back to Mongolia for a while at the end of next month. The food is bland and the temperature will be heading towards -40. I can safely predict my tastes will move towards vodka and blankets.
Posted by: Keith Taylor | September 27, 2011 at 04:47 PM
oh my god,your right never thought about it.
Posted by: brent noe | January 11, 2012 at 03:58 PM