Fast Lane

Jip hasn’t been outside Thailand since we returned here more than three years ago. At that time I thought she’d never use her passport again. But she announced recently that we should make sure all her travel documents were up to date.

We don’t have any solid plans to take a trip. She was simply thinking about an open invitation we have to visit Australia, where several old friends of ours are living. It’s another measure of how stable her condition has become that she would consider taking on the challenges of an international journey.

I was happy about the idea of renewing her passport, but nervous about the process itself. I expected several long queues, based on my experiences at the Thai government office that handles foreigners’ visas.

No sweat. Three employees collaborated on the paperwork and the photography, not even flinching when they realized Jip couldn’t see, stand, or sign. The whole thing took less time than it took a taxi to drive there. Maybe sometime in 2009 we’ll go down under.

Out of the Kitchen

The solution to the problem of what to do about the puppet prime minister was very Thai. The Christian Science Monitor’s headline may have said it best:

As a TV chef, Thai P.M. cooked his own goose: Prime Minister Samak was forced to quit Tuesday, after a court ruled he'd broken the law by hosting two TV cooking shows while in office.

The story went on to say that “Mr. Samak's fiery rhetoric on TV and in office has often landed him in hot water. But it may be his fiery curries that finally burned him.”

Moonlighting seems to me a pretty minor charge against a high government official, but it has the advantage of allowing a face saving exit, always an important consideration here. Samak apparently is accused of more serious offenses, but they will probably now be forgotten in exchange for his going quietly.

The quest for Thai-style democracy appears not to be any closer to its goal, however. Politicians chose a brother-in-law of Thaksin Shinawatra as the new prime minister. In response, protesters announced they’d be stepping up their efforts to prevent “Thaksinocracy.” Most of them represent the country’s elite and so would have the country move away from a one-man one-vote voting system, which favors the relatively less educated folks upcountry.

Those people waiting for the king to step in probably will be disappointed. He seems to want to stay out of this particular kitchen.

Queen's Birthday Present

Last month, to honor the queen on her 76th birthday, ethnic Chinese Thais invited 11,111 monks to receive alms along a main street through the center of Bangkok’s Chinatown.

Evidently if one is good, 11,111 is better. Remarkable photographs of the event have been making the rounds. Anything like this happen lately in the major metropolitan area where you live?

Golden Rule

In a conversation with my Thai language teacher, somehow the subject of the Golden Rule came up. She argued that it was a foreign concept, not relevant in Thailand.

I asked a few friends at work what they thought about the idea that people should treat others as they would like to be treated. One guy, thinking of the recent protests, said bluntly, “Thailand doesn’t have golden rule. We’re too used to iron rule.”

Thailand Takes to the Streets

Speaking of uniting and dividing, the political tug of war in Bangkok has ramped up. While the protesters’ goals remain vague, their numbers and volume grow day by day. They have occupied (and done their laundry outside) the prime minister’s office for the last week or so. Yet nearly every Thai who talks to me about the protests feels embarrassed by them.

Passions, in other words, are hardly running high. Emotions flare occasionally, but most of the protest moves happen slowly. My safety isn’t an issue. Unless one tries hard to join the front lines, the biggest danger on the streets (and sidewalks) here remains the unpredictable driving of motorcyclists.

I used to think that no matter which faction emerged strongest, life for the average person here wouldn’t change appreciably. But the recent headlines have been terrible for tourism. We heard stories and saw evidence of the effect on that major part of the Thai economy last week when my office held a retreat at a nearly empty beach resort a few hours from the capital.

My guess is that politicians, some of whom own hotels and feel the economic pressure, will soon find a uniquely Thai fix to this round of problems.