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Time & Temperature

Column no. 90 - 81

You will see columns in the past; what I noticed about/in Thailand, about differences between Thailand and Japan and so on.
I'm wondering how long I can continue writing a column... :D


190-181 180-171 170-161 160-151 150-141 140-131 130-121 120-111 110-101
100-91 90-81 80-71 70-61 60-51 50-41 40-31 30-21 20-11 10-1


no.90 - Rama 9 The Sixtieth Anniversary 3

19/Jun/2006
The present king of Thailand is Rama 9.
(King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) the Great)
 This year 2006 marks the 60th Anniversary of His Majesty's Accession to the Throne and various events almost finished. I guess a lot of people joined the events, taking days off. How about you ? :)

 Talking about kings of Thailand, do you know how people do when they meet the king or royal family ?
 In Japan also, long time ago, in Samurai periods, people would sit with their legs tucked under them and put their heads down to the ground (so-called "Dogeza") when they met a general (Shogun) or high ranked people. Even now, people do like that in Thailand when they meet their king. A little difference is, they sit on the floor with their legs bent and they place their hands together uplifted

 You can see what it looks like in a news clip of CNN.... Hmmm, but you can not now. CNN says it's already more than 7 days ago. Too sad !
 If you are interested, check this out: CNN.com - Free Video (04:03 pm, Jun 13, 2006)

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no.89 - Rama 9 The Sixtieth Anniversary 2

11/Jun/2006
 The present king of Thailand is Rama 9.
(King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) the Great)
 This year 2006 marks the 60th Anniversary of His Majesty's Accession to the Throne and various events are going on. Splendid 20,000 fireworks were provided around Menam Chao Phraya (Chao Phraya river) by the Japanese private sector. Not only yesterday, but fireworks is going to be held today (11.June) and also on 17, June.

 Talking about fireworks, in Japan, after a lot of sets, the last ones will be displayed the most colorful and beautiful all at once, right ? It makes you feel like, "Oh, beautiful.... but it's going to be over...", and we expected the same this time but it suddenly stopped. We were wondering what was going on, but the fireworks were over while we didn't notice. Why ? Weren't they from Japan ???? :D
 I'm wondering if this is the difference between Japanese and Thai; Japanese who place importance on turning points (they like ceremonies. :D ) and Thai of Mai Pen Rai (easy-going). Maybe or maybe not. :)

 They are going to have a dinner party for His Majesty the King, inviting foreign monarchs and their representatives. Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress from Japan also are going to join the party.

 The events still goes on.

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no.88 - Rama 9 The Sixtieth Anniversary 1

04/Jun/2006
 The present king of Thailand is Rama 9.
(King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) the Great)
(The photo right is from the factory in Ayuttaya that Queen Sirikit manages.)

 This year 2006 marks the 60th Anniversary of His Majesty's Accession to the Throne and various events are going to be held.

  • 9 June 2006
    - A royal ceremony of merit-making dedicated to past kings and a ceremony to pay tribute to His Majesty.
  • 12 June 2006
    - A ceremony to pay tribute to His Majesty the King by foreign monarchs and their representatives (including their Majesties the Emperor and Empress from Japan)
    - Royal Barge Procession
    (About Royal Barges, see this page (Royal Barges National Museum).)
  • 17 June 2006
    - Spectacular Performance and Fireworks Display in Honor of His Majesty the King

 His Majesty The King is highly worshipped as a great father for all people in Thailand and it seems that the presence of him is spread wide and deep in the daily life of the people.
(My wife and her family often talk about the kind or the royal family.)
 The King has carried out various projects ,especially of agriculture, and acted by himself to abolish poverty and develop the country.
 This year marks the sixtieth year of His Majesty The King's reign, the longest in the world, and I really wish the King is in good health forever.

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no.87 - Overtime work

31/May/2006
If you have a job, do you work overtime ?

 I know it depends on people or the policy of a company but mostly people in Thailand come back home btwn around 6 and 8 in the evening. (Sounds great !) In my case, I often come back very late at night, like btwn 10 to 12 p.m. or over that time at night.
(This doesn't mean at all that I drop by somewhere such as a bar and a pub on the way back home. :D )

 This is why I almost didn't see my wife's family when they visited Japan and stayed at my home. (This is not a joke....)
 On the first day they stayed at my home, they got to know I had come back home around midnight, and they guessed I was still sleeping the next morning and told their kids, " Don't make loud noise because Lung xxx (Lung: uncle ) is still in bed ! ". Then my wife told them, " He has already gone to the office." They "tohk-chai mark (astounded) all at once.

 Don't work too much, everyone. :D

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no.86 - The exchange between Thailand and Japan

21/May/2006
Since the Japanese village in Ayuttaya period, the exchange btwn Thailand and Japan has been for 600 years. (How long ! :) )
 Thailand and Japan established diplomatic relations in 1887 by the Declaration of Amity and Commerce between Japan and Siam (Thailand) when both of the countries were being modernized.
 Eighty nine percent of Thai people recognize Japan as a friend by the ASEAN (six countries) opinion polls about Japan. (Great ! :D)

 I didn't know that but there are four sister or exchange cities of Thailand in Japan.
  • Uozu city in Toyama prefecture - Chiang Mai city in Chiang Mai province
  • Chichibu city in Saitama prefecture - Yasothon city in Yasothon province
  • Fukuoka prefecture - Bangkok
  • Okuizumo town in Shimane prefecture - Roi Et province
    (Oh, I see...)
 What's more, I heard that the number of Japanese people live in Thailand around is around thirty two thousand (Oct.2004), and thirty six thousand Thai people live in Japan (The end of 2004). Almost the same number.

 If you are interested in the relationship btwn Thailand and Japan, check the page bellow.
 Japan-Thailand Relations (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan)

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no.85 - Gifts and the feelings of Kids

14/May/2006
 Kids love gifts in any countries, right ?

 When my wife goes back to her home country, Thailand, one of her pleasures is to take gifts with her for her family, especially for kids of her bother and sister. Her travelling bag is every time full of gifts for them !
 After getting back home in Bangkok, her bag sometimes let everyone down because it is full of toys, only for kids !
 When the day is coming of her back to Thailand, she often tells the kids on the phone, "I'll come back with a lot of toys if you are a good boy/girl, okay ? :D "

 It was very funny last time. She talked to kids, a primary school boy and girl, " Gifts for you will be the most this time.", she told her. The girl was really glad to hear that and was proud of it, and told about it to her older brother. The boy grabbed the phone and talked to my wife at that moment. He almost complained about it but my wife was a good talker. " A gift for you this time will be the most expensive." It looked like he understood, like, "Okay, okay", smile and smile. :D

 The responses of the kids and how my wife talked to them made me smile. :)

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no.84 - Don't believe a Thai wife !?

9/May/2006
 It was when I was having dinner with my wife's family in Bangkok.
 While talking about something, my wife talked to one of her cousins who was married,
 " My husband (it's me !) comes back home very late, and the other day, one of his male friends at work asked him to have dinner on the way back when they were going to leave the office. But he didn't go, saying, " My wife is waiting for me at home, cooked dinner for me, so,..." He should go for dinner in that case, right ?"

 Then, her cousin told to me at the moment, " No, no, no, no. Don't believe a Thai wife, DON'T, okay ? If you believe what she is telling now and really go, she will get awfully mad ! This is true ! Got it ? " :D

 Everyone laughed and laughed.
 So now, which one should I believe ? :)
(This can be said in any countries... ? What do you think ?)

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no.83 - Wearing a suit

23/Apr/2006
In Japan, except for very warm days in summer, you can see people in a suit on the street, right ? Come to think of it, in Thailand, I feel like people wearing a suit can not be seen on the street so often. I thought this is because, to begin with, it is very warm outside in Thailand, but looks like this is not the only reason.

 Basically, wearing a suit is for a formal occasion and people don't walk out in a suit so often, and wearing a suit shows a high ranked status in a sense. Hmmmm...
 It seems that it is very unusual to Thai people when they see drunken persons in a suite tottering here and there on the street in Japan.

 Be careful not to do the same like in Japan when you go to Thailand on business. :D

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no.82 - Stray dogs, great job !

11/Apr/2006
 If you know about Thailand very well or love dogs very much, you have already known this, but I found the story the other day.

 It says, in the tsunami disaster by the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake in 2004 happened in Thailand, search-and-rescue dogs rushed in from other countries but came down with the heat, but Thailand former stray dogs, "Maklua", "Makok" and "Bua Daeng" did a great job for search-and-rescue operations. (I'm impressed !)

 If you have been to Thailand, you know this but there are a lot of dogs here and there. It looks like people had a hard time about stray dogs but now they vaccinate dogs and train smart dogs in military service to contribute something to the world, advised by the king of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) the Great. (I'm moved more.)

 In Japan, this story was featured in a TV program. I'm afraid I missed it ! (cry)
 My lovely dog have moved by this news ? :D

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no.81 - Feeling seasons

04/Apr/2006
I was born and grew up in Japan, and because of this, so-called " four seasons " is just normal to me. Spring comes, Hot summer arrives, then cool autumn appears, and cold winter drops in. Since long time ago, people have felt the transition from one season to the next naturally and various arts have been born.

 By the way, one of what I sometimes wonder about is how people feel changing seasons or passage of time in countries where it's warm or cold all year long. (This is a trivial matter, though. :D )
 I told my wife who are from Thailand (warm though the year) about my wonder. She dropped into deep thought for a while and replied, " Well, I guess people feel current of the times like " oh, ya, some festivals or national holidays are coming next month ", or by some events." Hmmmm...

 Not so related to this, but when I watch a Thai drama on TV, characters normally wear in summer clothes. (This might be natural, though.)
 Is it only me to feel this is something unusual ? :)

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190-181 180-171 170-161 160-151 150-141 140-131 130-121 120-111 110-101
100-91 90-81 80-71 70-61 60-51 50-41 40-31 30-21 20-11 10-1