Shopping and Bargaining

Welcome back to John's World.  Right now John's World is in Thailand, but it really could be anywhere... No matter where you go, you always bring your mind with you. 
    A lot of readers may be wondering exactly who I am and why I am here.  Briefly, I can tell you that I am a dropout from the career rat-race in America.  I was a computer programmer for eleven years, thinking it would make me lots of money and bring me happiness. But the money wasn't enough, and the job satisfaction was very poor.  I went back to college in my early forties, about five years ago, and finished my degree, hoping this would open the door to a new life.  I came to Thailand in 1995 for two months, and returned at the beginning of 1996, hoping to stay for at least one year.  
      So far I have been here for ten months. I am teaching English at the university, and at various schools around town.  I don't make much money, but my life is a lot more interesting than it was before.  In my spare time, I try to learn to speak, read and write Thai.  I am in my middle forties, never married, and almost completely broke. I can't say I'm happy about that, but at least I'm not doing something that I don't believe in.  I think that only by experimenting can I find the right kind of life for myself.  

Okay, ready for the quiz?  Remember, I promised you one in my last newsletter.  Here goes.  

This is just to test and see if you remember anything you've read  (I usually don't).  
1.  What is a farang?  
2.  What is it like being a foreigner in Thailand? 
3.  What is Thai food like? 
4.  What do Thai people think of farangs? 

  Answers are at the end of this newsletter.  

What are Thai nicknames?  Almost everyone in Thailand has a nickname, and they invite others to use that name in addressing them.  Most of these names are from nature, and are taken as children.  There is Nok (bird), Gai (chicken), Gop (frog), Peung (bee), Meo (cat), and Moo (pig).  There is Daeng (red), Lek (small), Noi (small), Dao (star), and Gung (shrimp).  Nobody is named Ma (dog), for that would be an insult.  There are shortened versions of real names, like Pon for Ponpimon.  There are nicknames whose meaning I don't know, and ones with no consanants, like Oo, Oi, and A.  Some Thais have western sounding nicknames like Art or Judy.  One of my students was nicknamed Beer because her father liked beer.  
  
What is it like to bargain in Thailand?  When I went to buy a warm jacket, for those cool Chiang Mai nights on my motorbike, they told me the jacket I wanted was 360 baht - about $18.  I offered 280 baht, a shamefully low counter-offer.  The man came down to 320 right away, and then I asked for 300.  He resisted for a minute, but I persisted, in a friendly manner, and he finally agreed.  I got the jacket for about $12, and we were both happy.  
In some kinds of stores and for certain products they won't bargain; other places they do.  Also, some people are just more flexible than others.  One job I have as a farang is to prove that I am not a naive tourist - it usually helps if I can speak to them in Thai.  In places like the night bazaar, they may drop their price fifty percent after a little bit of talking.  

What is the night bazaar?  The night bazaar is mostly for tourists.  It consists of small vendors selling a lot of fake name brand clothes like Polo, Nike, Armani, and the like, t-shirts that say "Chiang Mai" or "Golden Triangle" or "Coke" (in Thai letters), endless knicknacks, Thai silk cloth, and some really interesting tunic style jackets designed in the local hilltribe fashions.  These latter jackets look a lot like some South or Central American garments - loose fitting, with lots of decorative embroidery.  When I first came to Chiang Mai, I liked these jackets so much I bought two of them.  
      The night bazaar runs along two or three streets, but the main area is concentrated in one block.  During the high tourist season (November to March), it is so crowded that it is difficult to walk down the streets here.  There is a section of outdoor stalls, and there are also a couple of big building with shops.  For those so inclined, there is a series of bars along the side wall of one of the indoor buildings.  Across the street is MacDonalds, and a couple of German and Italian restaurants, complete with prices that will make every farang feel quite at home.  In the interior of one block, there is a food court that serves mostly Thai food, which is a lot cheaper, and more satisfying.  

Do you have a car?  Well, actually, I have half a car.  I have a Honda Dream 100 cc motorbike, and it gets me where I want to go.  It's completely air-conditioned, day and night, winter and summer, rain or shine.  It's a lot of fun to ride, easy to park, and gets great gas mileage.  Sometimes, when I get a woman to ride on the back, it can be even more fun, but that depends on the woman.  And, yes, I wear a helmet.  

    Answers to the quiz. 

  1.  A westerner, (usually) a person of European ancestry.  
2.  It's like extreme fascination combined with extreme deprivation and    extreme awkwardness. 
3.  It's less fattening, has more natural ingredients, and uses different    flavorings than western food.  
4.  They think we're good-looking, smart, wealthy, and very complicated.  
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Okay, that's all for today.  Next time we'll take a geography tour of southeast Asia.