Tailor of Thailand

Perhaps several of you have heard us liken Australia to Canada. Thailand, we have agreed, reminds us of the Dominican Republic. In all fairness we have only been in Bangkok so our opinion could change over the next few days.
Our Thai experiences thus far have been, in a word, refreshing. I wondered how the language barrier would affect us but up to this point our meager attempts have been, at worst, effective and, at best, comical. My particular favorite was this morning when Erick was attempting to direct our taxi driver to the travel agency and he kept saying, "I have no idea what this guy is saying." We laughed as the driver impressed us with his own collection of English phrases including "Lock and Loll" (rock and roll), and "Tlaffeek Yam" (Traffic Jam). Rest assured, communication is much more than simply talking.

Another Thai highlight is the Tak Tak . We soon discovered that our driver's definition of 'city tour' was different than ours. We had two options, with consequences we would realize too late. The first was to pay 10 baht <50 cents> for a guided tour of the city and the second was a free ride around the city with a few stops. Naturally, being the dutchies that we are, we opted for the second choice. We must have stopped at 10 shops with vendors eagerly waiting to sell us a wide variety of rings, knives, silk, watches, carved works, sunglasses, and much more. Our driver would then receive 5 litres of gas for every shop we spent at least 10 minutes in. It was quite an effective plan and made for a different, yet enjoyable, morning.




Apparently, Thai tailors are the rage. It did not take long to catch the guys interest, especially with several weddings in the near future. Hilko has ordered a pin-stripe black suit and Erick is getting one black and one grey. They took measurements yesterday morning and by 8 that evening, their suits were ready for fitting. Impressive....



Thai ethics are noteworthy. In each circumstance we have encountered respect for your time, genuine interest in your comfort, and pursuit of customer preference.
They bow when they greet you and serve you with dignity and humility. They have a greatness that I have seldom seen or experienced. Needless to say, Thailand has left a great impression on us. For all of you travelers, this is a country you have to check out~*