Thai Markets

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuJ4hbkLiY0

I am not trying to be Tony Robbins or be all preachy and seem like my life is 100% amazing all the time and so much better than your own. It really is not but, I do try and stay positive and realise how lucky I am to be able to have the freedom to do what I do and enjoy life. I found a fairly inspirational video on Youtube from The Terminator himself so I thought I would share it.

Ok now to the real stuff. I do not believe that I have told you anything about Thai Markets yet. In my little town everyday they have an outdoor market (it is Thailand's version of Walmart just a little more "fresh" and outdoors lol) Once a week on Thursday they have the BIG market where they sell everything you can imagine. I went with Noong today even though it was raining. It has been raining for three days straight already! It is making me crazy and I feel like a prisoner trapped indoors all the time! Here when it rains it REALLY rains! I mean it pours down hard! Normally it doesn't last all that long but, you had better hope to be indoors when it starts because you will be soaked haha. It is not even the rainy season yet!

Anyway, back to the markets. In Thailand there are very few "traditional" grocery stores like what we would have back at home. At home you can go to Walmart 24 hours a day and shop in sanitized air conditioned comfort for things at regulated prices. You have no idea how or where these things came from you just know you can go to the cash register after waiting in a long line and pay for your goods with cash,credit,debit,check or other. Walmart is an enormous corporation that employees more people that the US Army and from what I have heard generally does not treat their employees all that awesome. But 98% of Americans don't give a shit about any of that they just want their stuff available to them now!

In Thailand you go to the market and its outdoors, rain or shine. It is basically a bunch of tables and tarps set up in the middle of a random big field somewhere. People will have live animals,dead animals,fish (live and dead) toys,clothes,food and fruit and veggies of all kinds, guns,knives,power tools,candy,shoes,Viagra and anything else you can imagine for sell. Immediately when you walk in you are assaulted visually by the sights and smells of the market. Most of the time the smells are pleasant from the food being cooked fresh in front of you. Sometimes though on a hot day you get a real bad "fishy" smell from the fish just sitting there in the hot sun (Thais are not big on refrigeration and their bodies are used to it). You also here the squeals of the various animals being killed and butchered for their meat. Kids are laughing, adults are bargaining,people are begging for money. All of this is going on and you are just walking around shopping!

Needless to say that is completely different from Walmart haha. But, that being said I like it. I like knowing where my food comes from and I like knowing it is fresh. I like paying with cash (the only way you can pay here) I like being able to haggle. I also enjoy supporting the local economy and I enjoy trying new crazy foods I can't get at home. This experience won't be to everyone's liking but I sure do like it. I prefer this to shopping at Walmart. Totally unrelated but, I wanted to share that Noong (my housemate) and I have recently found all the seasons of Macgyver on the Internet and we have been watching quite a few. This brings back good memories for me because this was one of the first shows I remember watching with my dad when it would come on. It is like going back in time haha. Such a classic show but man his mullet looks terrible lol.

On Saturday I am taking a weekend trip to the largest major city close to me called Hua Hin. It is my first time to go there and I am excited to get away for a weekend. I am so sick of this rain and I hope it lets up soon! I have made a few new friends here so that is good (haven't seen them much due to this weather!) I also have a good friend of mine who just arrived in Thailand today and I am really excited to see her again soon for the first time in two years! It should be fun! I have just a few more weeks of school left and then it is summer time :) I guess that is all I have for you now. Sorry my life has been so boring lately haha.

Yall take care as always,Tyler