One of the true delights in Thailand is the food!! Like all great centers of cuisine the answer is so blindingly simply as to why food tastes great….FRESH PRODUCE. Take Italy, the provinces in France and any really famous center for good food and you will find a lack of HUGE refrigerators, an abundance of fresh veggies, fresh caught fish with bright eyes and meat that is red and glowing……Thailand is just awesome in its fresh sea food. The restaurants actually have the fish swimming around in large basins, king prawns prancing with waving antenna, veggies that in the morning had roots buried in the soil…it’s a gourmands paradise… you walk around the restaurant picking “those three prawns”, “that flopping fish”, “those stalks of celery” and I have not even mentioned the Tom Yang Gung…but that’s another story for another day.

Bobby of “RAJA” the Tailor….a more charming memorable man it is difficult to imagine. He has the amazing ability to remember a million names for every time I walk through his door he remembers me instantly …by name!! For years now I have had my jackets, shirts etc made by Bobby, he is worth visiting if you are ever in Bangkok, he is at shop #1/16 Sukhumvit Soi Nana 4, opposite the Nana hotel…..trust me on this.. you will not regret a visit. He makes you look good!

Thai Gods are everywhere in Bangkok and clearly revered. Draped with flowers, a table set before her, with food, water, white table cloth, in other words…..”the works” This Goddess Mae Thorani is a Thai and Laotian Buddhist goddess and brings good fortune and protection to all who seek her help She is recognized as the Goddess of the Earth. She is often shown wringing the waters of detachment out of her hair. The water drowns the forces of temptation sent by Mara (demon) to distract the Buddha as he meditated under the Bodhi tree, (and I have to thank Wickepedia for this) But more relevant to me was the reminder the Gods. I know that in Muslim countries the constant call to prayers that start at around 5 am and basically last all day…are a constant affirmation or at least a reminder of faith. In Thailand it is a passive reminder but a very colorful one….I guess church bells every Sunday was/is my heritage, as always, faith has many faces….

Leaving Jakarta and not a romantic or even particularly colorful picture, but what I hope is a “pithy” comment. Why do people feel compelled to paint graffiti everywhere? It all looks the same world over, Gothic letters, heavily outlined, various colors but it isn’t art, it isn’t social commentary it isn’t vandalism any more its just ugly and tacky. In the early ’70’s I think graffiti was considered radical and chic…40 years on its simply a way of defacing a building. A much better radical platform would be “twitter” or “Facebook” or maybe even a blog….OK, I am hopping down from my soapbox, I just wanted to share a few thoughts with you….as I left Jakarta…

As the workers cleared the tree away it became clear why the tree fell over it was because it was hollow in the middle….I looked at the collapsed tree, then I looked at the tree waving above my lounger and decided to move.