FAR EASTERN PERSPECTIVE: Trip to Thailand sheds light on a wildly different culture
FAR EASTERN PERSPECTIVE: Trip to Thailand sheds light on a wildly different culture
BANGKOK, THAILAND -- The epic 21-hour flight to Bangkok notwithstanding, the trip to Thailand was an incredible experience and opened my eyes in many ways. Never having been to Asia, I knew not what to expect, but was filled with excitement and apprehension based on second-hand anecdotes and some Internet research.
But our group, which consisted of two importers from Chicago who specialize in Asian produce items, two members of the U.S. government's Department of Agriculture and Department of Customs & Border Protection, and two produce trade journalists, was in the capable hands of a team from the Thai government's Department of Export Promotion. And that was a good thing, because while I could somewhat get by in Mexico and other Spanish-speaking nations with my limited Spanish, Thai language and culture are about as exotic as it gets for a Westerner.
In Bangkok, a city of about 10 million people, organized chaos rules the day. Getting from one part of the city to another is an adventure, but cabdrivers navigate the crowded streets teeming with pedestrians, bicyclists and motor scooters with aplomb. The many near misses are shrugged off as ordinary occurrences, and nary a horn is blown or an obscene gesture made. This despite the frustration that mounts as what should be a quick trip turns into an hours-long journey. Local people are rife with tales about how their normal 45-minute commute one day took four hours due to congestion or flooding. Yet they tell the tale with a gentle tone and a smile in pure Thai fashion. I suppose that makes sense for a person from the country whose name translates to "Land of Smiles."
One of the things that left a lasting impression on me is the visit to the wholesale market outside Bangkok - an amazing place for many reasons, not the least of which is the sheer number of vendors. The market is divided into three sections -- fruits, vegetables and flowers -- and within those divisions, there are subdivisions.
For example, watermelons occupy an area all to themselves, and rows and rows of stalls are piled high with pyramids of small round melons - the "personal size" kind that has taken off in recent years in the United States, but which has been grown here for many years. Deeper into the market are many rows filled with stalls of vendors selling many types and varieties of fruits. It is literally an explosion of color with rambutan, mangosteen, durian, jackfruit, melon, Dragon Fruit, rose apples and pineapple. It is similar on the vegetable side, with the color palette led by peppers, tomatoes, greens and potatoes. Vendors toting small clipboards write orders for customers, with seemingly little haggling taking place.
Another highlight of the trip was a journey several hours east of Bangkok, where we visited the Charoen Perawat Fruit Orchard that is classified as an agri-tourism destination, meaning it is a commercial producer but also gives tours of its facility. We rode on a tram pulled by a tractor -- not unlike the hayrides common in the Northeast during the apple and pumpkin season in autumn -- only this trek led us through 160 hectares, or just under 400 acres, of tropical fruits.
Here, we got to see fruits in various stages of growth, including the Medusa-like Dragon Fruit plant with its gangly tentacles and the imposing durian and its razor-sharp spiky spines and putrid aroma. And of course the furry and beautiful rambutan, of which I sampled more than my fair share right off the tree courtesy of two young Thai women from the orchard who accompanied our party and who were most intrigued at the sight of a Westerner like me eating Thai fruit. Though remote, Charoen Perawat is a sophisticated operation that is fully irrigated.
Other fruits produced at the orchard are longan, pomelo, rose apple, carambola, papaya and egg banana. According to the orchard's owner, the single-largest expense of operating the orchard is fertilizer and not labor, which is handled by 60 workers who meticulously maintain the orchard.
A long ride back to Bangkok brought us to the Good Health Spa, an expansive facility where we were to be given traditional Thai massages. I wasn't sure just what to expect, but after being assured that it was nothing that I would have to hide from my wife, I decided to go with the flow.
After all, 21 hours on a plane and many hours on the government-sponsored van during the course of two days had wreaked havoc on my body. I could have used a little TLC.
What I got was something between a massage and a demonstration of professional wrestling moves, courtesy of a slight Thai woman with the strongest hands in the world. Before the massage started, we were given a code word to say -- "bow bow" - - in case the pain was too great to endure. At one point I came close to blurting it out (I didn't know my leg could bend THAT far), but I didn't want to appear weak to the other three people from my group in the room and so I simply bit my lip a little harder.
All in all, the Thailand experience for me was one that I will not soon forget as I had the opportunity to sample a culture that existed only in the abstract. The Buddhist way of life is a refreshing change from the demanding pace that exists in most of the Western world. The Thai people live in a peaceful harmony that belies the crowded and bustling streets. I hope to take some of what I experienced back with me to my everyday life, but I can't say that I'll ever be a fan of durian.
***
As an aside, some readers of The Produce News may remember Alice Gordenker, our Washington correspondent for about a decade ending in 2000. Alice, her husband and their two sons moved to Tokyo in 2000 for what was to be a five-year stint. That stint has been extended indefinitely, as the Gordenkers have become well established and are enjoying life in Tokyo.
In the six years that Alice has been there, she has undertaken various writing projects. For several years, she wrote a column for the Japan Times (an English-language newspaper) called "A Matter of Course" based on her experience of enrolling her American children in the Japanese public school system (most foreigners send their children to international schools). That series ended recently, and she now writes a column for the paper called "What the Heck is That," which addresses readers' questions about odd sightings in Tokyo.
I had the good fortune to catch up with Alice and her family on my way back from Bangkok and got to spend three days with them as a Tokyo local. It was a wonderful experience for which I am forever grateful.
But our group, which consisted of two importers from Chicago who specialize in Asian produce items, two members of the U.S. government's Department of Agriculture and Department of Customs & Border Protection, and two produce trade journalists, was in the capable hands of a team from the Thai government's Department of Export Promotion. And that was a good thing, because while I could somewhat get by in Mexico and other Spanish-speaking nations with my limited Spanish, Thai language and culture are about as exotic as it gets for a Westerner.
In Bangkok, a city of about 10 million people, organized chaos rules the day. Getting from one part of the city to another is an adventure, but cabdrivers navigate the crowded streets teeming with pedestrians, bicyclists and motor scooters with aplomb. The many near misses are shrugged off as ordinary occurrences, and nary a horn is blown or an obscene gesture made. This despite the frustration that mounts as what should be a quick trip turns into an hours-long journey. Local people are rife with tales about how their normal 45-minute commute one day took four hours due to congestion or flooding. Yet they tell the tale with a gentle tone and a smile in pure Thai fashion. I suppose that makes sense for a person from the country whose name translates to "Land of Smiles."
One of the things that left a lasting impression on me is the visit to the wholesale market outside Bangkok - an amazing place for many reasons, not the least of which is the sheer number of vendors. The market is divided into three sections -- fruits, vegetables and flowers -- and within those divisions, there are subdivisions.
For example, watermelons occupy an area all to themselves, and rows and rows of stalls are piled high with pyramids of small round melons - the "personal size" kind that has taken off in recent years in the United States, but which has been grown here for many years. Deeper into the market are many rows filled with stalls of vendors selling many types and varieties of fruits. It is literally an explosion of color with rambutan, mangosteen, durian, jackfruit, melon, Dragon Fruit, rose apples and pineapple. It is similar on the vegetable side, with the color palette led by peppers, tomatoes, greens and potatoes. Vendors toting small clipboards write orders for customers, with seemingly little haggling taking place.
Another highlight of the trip was a journey several hours east of Bangkok, where we visited the Charoen Perawat Fruit Orchard that is classified as an agri-tourism destination, meaning it is a commercial producer but also gives tours of its facility. We rode on a tram pulled by a tractor -- not unlike the hayrides common in the Northeast during the apple and pumpkin season in autumn -- only this trek led us through 160 hectares, or just under 400 acres, of tropical fruits.
Here, we got to see fruits in various stages of growth, including the Medusa-like Dragon Fruit plant with its gangly tentacles and the imposing durian and its razor-sharp spiky spines and putrid aroma. And of course the furry and beautiful rambutan, of which I sampled more than my fair share right off the tree courtesy of two young Thai women from the orchard who accompanied our party and who were most intrigued at the sight of a Westerner like me eating Thai fruit. Though remote, Charoen Perawat is a sophisticated operation that is fully irrigated.
Other fruits produced at the orchard are longan, pomelo, rose apple, carambola, papaya and egg banana. According to the orchard's owner, the single-largest expense of operating the orchard is fertilizer and not labor, which is handled by 60 workers who meticulously maintain the orchard.
A long ride back to Bangkok brought us to the Good Health Spa, an expansive facility where we were to be given traditional Thai massages. I wasn't sure just what to expect, but after being assured that it was nothing that I would have to hide from my wife, I decided to go with the flow.
After all, 21 hours on a plane and many hours on the government-sponsored van during the course of two days had wreaked havoc on my body. I could have used a little TLC.
What I got was something between a massage and a demonstration of professional wrestling moves, courtesy of a slight Thai woman with the strongest hands in the world. Before the massage started, we were given a code word to say -- "bow bow" - - in case the pain was too great to endure. At one point I came close to blurting it out (I didn't know my leg could bend THAT far), but I didn't want to appear weak to the other three people from my group in the room and so I simply bit my lip a little harder.
All in all, the Thailand experience for me was one that I will not soon forget as I had the opportunity to sample a culture that existed only in the abstract. The Buddhist way of life is a refreshing change from the demanding pace that exists in most of the Western world. The Thai people live in a peaceful harmony that belies the crowded and bustling streets. I hope to take some of what I experienced back with me to my everyday life, but I can't say that I'll ever be a fan of durian.
***
As an aside, some readers of The Produce News may remember Alice Gordenker, our Washington correspondent for about a decade ending in 2000. Alice, her husband and their two sons moved to Tokyo in 2000 for what was to be a five-year stint. That stint has been extended indefinitely, as the Gordenkers have become well established and are enjoying life in Tokyo.
In the six years that Alice has been there, she has undertaken various writing projects. For several years, she wrote a column for the Japan Times (an English-language newspaper) called "A Matter of Course" based on her experience of enrolling her American children in the Japanese public school system (most foreigners send their children to international schools). That series ended recently, and she now writes a column for the paper called "What the Heck is That," which addresses readers' questions about odd sightings in Tokyo.
I had the good fortune to catch up with Alice and her family on my way back from Bangkok and got to spend three days with them as a Tokyo local. It was a wonderful experience for which I am forever grateful.
