1. The ground floor is called the 1st, and the 1st floor is called the 2nd
2. When speaking any Thai words, tone of voice is everything – it can change a word from meaning dog to horse!
3. Most restaurants add VAT and service charge onto all list prices
4. The bread is sweet, and the toothpaste is salty
5. The women look ten years younger than they really are, or ten years older
6. Motorcycle-taxis are the only way to travel on the roads at 5pm, the city traffic completely grinds to a halt
After teaching in Thailand for a couple of months, I’d heard a lot about the infamous ‘Songkran’ from my students. They explained to me that Songkran was the Thai New Year, and that it was in fact a water festival, whereby everyone across the country (and some other parts of SE Asia) would participate in a huge water fight. Songkran takes place in the hottest, driest month of the year (April) and the water actually represents the washing away of anything negative that occurred in the previous year. Whilst I was intrigued and could tell that Songkran was something to be very excited about, the sheer extremities of the occasion hadn’t fully dawned on me – until I witnessed it.
Ben (left) getting into the spirit of things…
Two One-Way Flights 