Thailand II

Thailand:

Children’s day was celebrated in Thailand last weekend. Due to travel I was not able to write about it. I did however research the country. Children’s day is celebrated in many nations around the world, but many of these fall on different days. In Thailand, it is always the second Saturday of January. It is a day to remember the wellbeing of children around the world. In Thailand, many people take their kids out to have fun. There is a Thai saying that goes, "Children are the future of the nation, if the children are intelligent, the country will be prosperous."(http://www.swp.in.th/childday.html).

Current Events:

There has been much protest in Thailand in the last few months, resulting in violence and rioting. The protests are aimed against government corruption. In particular, the people want to, “rid Thailand of the influence of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the older brother of Yingluck”, who is the current prime minister. Many people believe that she is a puppet for her brother (Olarn).  

Movie:

The movie that I watched was “Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior”.  It is a martial arts moving which highlights Tony Jaa’s Muay Thai kick boxing skills. The plot: After a special budha head (or Ong-Bak) and the villages poor box is stolen from the Ting’s village, Nong Pradu. The protagonist himself has promised his master never to actually use the Muay Thai skills that were taught to him. The village decides that they must have the amulet back.

The thief is the Don, who serves a gang. Ting works with two others: Humlae, a man who is in a lot of debt with the wrong crowd and a young woman who races motor cycles. Together they go into the Onk-Bak underworld, where they discover drugs, underground fighting, and much more theft of priceless Thai artifacts. Though hesitant, Ting is forced to his Muay Thai skills to defeat the gang.

Food:

I had very little time to prepare a Thai dinner, and there are really no good Thai restaurants here in Peoria. I made Thai TV dinners. One was a green curry and the other a red curry. I could hardly taste the difference between the two. Honestly it would have been better if I had gotten Thai noodle soup from Noodles and Company here in Peoria.  

To drink, I had Sigha, a Thai lager that is brewed in Bangkok. If you have ever been to a Thai restaurant with a liquor license, you have most likely seen this beer. I am not a connoisseur of beer, so unfortunately, my description of the beer will most likely lack substance. In my humble opinion the beer was very simple, slightly more robust than the typical American style lager, with subtle flavor.

Work Cited:

Mohsin, Saima. Mullen, Jethro. Olarn, Kocha. “Thailand anti-government protesters continue effort to 'shut down' Bangkok”. CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/14/world/asia/thailand-protests/. Published: January 14, 2014. Retrieved: January 14, 2014

 Pinkaew, Prachya. “Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior”. 2003.  

 “Thailand Festivals”. http://www.swp.in.th/childday.html. Retrieved: January 11, 2014