Vicki with the Sanook rabbit
"Sanook," Benjamas explained "is when you are with a
friend, or seeing a good movie, or celebrating New
Years. Sanook..." I watched her concentrate on
sanook as she hunted for the right word. "It's a
feeling, hard to describe..." Maybe joy, I asked, or
fun? "Yes, joy. And fun too."
Thais love to laugh and fill their lives with fun. In
fact, they measure an activity on a sanook scale. And
if an activity lacks sanook - forget it - do something
else. Festivals score high on the sanook scale so
Thai's constantly find something to celebrate. Chiang
Mai just finished a three day Mardi Gras celebration.
Wrong dates for Mardi Gras - but hey - Buddhism reigns
in Thailand. And, what's a 'date' when you can have a
festive, fun, sanook filled street party.
Closed to traffic for three nights, the half-mile
long, shopper's bargain paradise of Chiang Mai, the
night market, bustled with Thai Mardi Gras revelers.
Popular music - mostly western style rock - filled the
air. And even Elvis appeared on the main stage!
Darling Thai girls perched on high platform shoes,
dressed in tight outfits, glowing with wide smiles and
twinkling eyes with just a hint of both shyness and
'hamness,' handed out free tastes of sweet mixed
drinks. And everyone grazed at one or more of the
eateries lining the street. Many popular restaurants
had set up booths and tables so one could try their
tasty fare. More traditional Thai food stalls also
served Thai favorites. Choices included deep fat
fried squid, noodles, sweet baked goods, BBQ chicken
and my all time favorite: fresh mango and sticky rice
with coconut cream! We jostled along the entertaining
street among the many Thais. Everyone moved slowly.
Everyone smiled. Great sanook.
Thais can even make having a medical procedure fun.
While in Chiang Mai I took advantage of their
excellent, yet cheap, medical care. I decide to have
a complete check up for my hearing and inner ears.
One particular test I needed sounded like it wouldn't
even rate on the sanook scale. But no, the joyful
Thais actually made the hour-plus procedure fun!
I checked into the hospital "ear" clinic a little
nervous but familiar with the routine as it was my
second visit. "Do you speak Thai?" No. "A little
bit of Thai?" No, not even a little bit. (Luckily, I
already knew that the doctor spoke English.) A
nurse ushered me into a room and told me to lie down
on the examining table. She chatted with the
technician. Neither spoke much English. We smiled
encouragingly at one another. We waited. Soon the
door opens and a young, male nurse walks in to
translate for me. It turns out that the doctor
doesn't perform this particular test. Oh - OK.
The translator explained in simple English some of the
procedure. I congratulated him on his well spoken
English. He was easy to understand. I spoke slowly
and enunciated. I was easy to understand. We all
relaxed. They smiled. I smiled and from there we
laughed and smiled all during the long procedure.
And we chatted during the 'down' times while the
machine I was connected to processed information from
the electrodes pasted on my head. I felt among joyful
friends. The translator left about 3/4s of the way
through the test. He had other duties. Besides, my
two companions and I had worked out a patter and were
clearly communicating. And smiling and laughing. I
left the hospital in a great mood. Ahhhh, sanook.
Christmas hovers on the horizon, and just to make sure
this Christmas will be jolly and joyful, our
guesthouse put up a small, decorated, twinkling
Christmas tree with puffs of cotton masquerading as
snow. I smile and my heart warms every time I walk
past the tree. A sanook generator!
Wishing you and yours the happiest of holidays and a
sanook filled 2003.
Love, Vicki
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