Eat, Sleep, Breathe, Travel

Crazy Valentine’s Day contest in Thailand

In case you haven’t gotten enough Valentine’s Day hype, I thought I’d direct you to this entertaining bit of Valentine’s Day news from Thailand.

Seven couples are competing in a kissing marathon to see who can stay kissing the longest. To win, couples must remain lip-locked continuously, no exceptions—that includes when going to the bathroom and while eating. They use straws to get food and drink into their mouths.

Incredibly, the current record for this contest is more than two days (set last year by a woman named Lakkana Tiranarat and her husband). 46 hours, 24 minutes and nine seconds to be exact. Now, I like kissing as much as anyone else, but I can think of a lot of other ways I’d rather spend two days. On the other hand, the winning couple gets a diamond ring worth $3,333 and a hotel gift voucher. On the other hand, they may never want to kiss each other again.

The contest started yesterday, and will presumably run through the big day tomorrow, when one lucky couple will be crowned champion. Happy Valentine’s Day.

Photo: rogoyski via Flickr (CC)

A new water fight record in Thailand

The Thai New Year is a very wet occasion. The holiday festival, called Songkran, takes place over three days in the middle of April, and it involves a very specific tradition: water fights. This year in Bangkok they’ve taken this tradition to a new level; they’ve set a new Guinness World Record for biggest water gun fight, with 3,477 people involved.

April is the hottest month in Thailand. Maybe not the best month to take a trip to Thailand, but definitely a perfect time to have a water fight. We’re on Day 2 of the Thai New Year right now. People are probably shooting each other with water as we speak. The fun tradition originated from a more serious custom; in the old days, people would pour small amounts of Buddha-blessed water on the shoulders of elders and family members as a way of showing respect. Today they instead drench each other with water guns, balloons and hoses. They say it’s symbolic of washing away the sins from the last year.

According to the article, the Guinness Record for biggest water fight had previously been held by one in Spain in 2007. Well, the record now sits in Thailand. How will Spain respond?

Photo: Mickey Bo via Flickr (CC)

Thailand’s great monkey feast

Having recently enjoyed a feast of my own (thanks, Thanksgiving), I felt a special kinship to the macaque monkeys of Lopburi, Thailand, when I heard about yesterday’s annual monkey feast.

Lopburi is about 90 miles from Bangkok (you can get there by bus or train). The city is famous for its ancient temples and its large population of long-tailed macaque monkeys. According to legend, the city itself was created with the help of Hanuman the Monkey King; hence all the monkeys. Many locals consider the feisty creatures the descendents of the Monkey King himself.

I love monkeys. And so I think I would love Lopburi. And I would definitely love to witness the biggest feast of the year, which takes place annually on the last Sunday of November. On this special day, about 9,000 pounds of food is put out in the city, and the monkeys of Lopburi gorge themselves silly. The event draws thousands of visitors to witness the carnage.

While the monkey feast is indeed a special day, the monkeys are the center of attention here all year round. So there’s no bad time to go to Lopburi. As you would expect from little primates, the macaques like to get up in everybody’s business, pulling on hair and plucking loose objects from people’s heads and clothing. It all reminds me of Caps for Sale, one of my favorite children’s books.

Photo: leadenhall via Flickr (CC)

Thai senators do some kickboxing in Bangkok

I wish our senators did this.

In Bangkok, two Thai senators went two rounds in a Thai kickboxing match in an effort to promote the sport internationally. Fifty-nine-year-old Payap Tongchuen fought against Direk Tungfang (64 years old) in a boxing ring set up in front of the Thai parliament building. The referee declared the match a draw, but spectators thought Direk was the better fighter.

Thai kickboxing (known as Muay Thai) is the national sport of Thailand, and it’s gaining popularity around the world. Though I have never Thai kickboxed myself, I did write about it once for the EF College Break Eye on Bangkok newsletter, so the sport has a special place in my heart. (I also loved Jean-Claude Van Damme in Kickboxer.)

Muay Thai is known as the Art of Eight Limbs, because competitors can use their hands, shins, elbows, and knees (two of each). In Bangkok, there are several places to catch a match in person, the most well-known being Ratchadamnoen and Lumphini Stadiums. Sounds to me like a great way to spend some free time—I like sports and I like culture, so when I’m in another country I always like to attend a local sporting event. After a lively introduction, live music, and the placing of bets, the match begins, and opponents try to knock each other out by punching, elbowing, kicking, kneeing and foot-thrusting.

In Monday’s senatorial showdown at the parliament building, there was no knockout. But judging by the fact that I’m writing this and you’re reading it, it seems the senators’ plan was a success. We are indeed spreading the word about Thai’s national sport.

Photo: chem7 via Flickr (CC license)

The power of Thai amulets

One great thing about traveling is picking up souvenirs. And in Thailand, you can bring home something much more significant than a snow globe or a key chain. I’m talking about Thai amulets. Here's an informative article about them.

You can buy Thai amulets all over Thailand. The markets are full of them. They can be made of metal, wood, bone or plaster, and come in all kinds of designs and shapes. Many depict the Buddha (though the Buddha himself did not encourage the wearing of amulets), while others represent famous monks or mythical creatures.

Though they come in many shapes and sizes, all amulets have one thing in common: they bring some kind of benefit to the wearer. Love, luck, money, career advancement, protection from danger, avoidance of backstabbers, improved charisma—these are all to gain from the right amulet.

I can’t say for sure whether these amulets actually have magical powers. It’s possible, of course, but I can’t guarantee that they will bring you love, luck, or money. I am convinced, however, that they all have the magical power of reminding you of your trip to Thailand.

Photo: munir via Flickr (CC license)

Getting wet on the Thai New Year

Happy Thai New Year.

Every year from April 13 to 15, Thai people celebrate their New Year in a festival known as Songkran. Like all New Year’s celebrations around the world, the Thai’s have their own special customs. The most notable is the throwing of water.

Basically, people carry around water guns or containers of water and drench everyone they see. Some people even hide around corners with garden hoses, ready to attack. April is the hottest time of year in Thailand, so the water-drenching tradition is particularly appropriate and welcome. And, by all accounts, it's a whole lot of fun.

There are other traditional elements of the Thai New Year besides water-throwing. Communities hold parades, beauty contests, parties and concerts. Also, it's customary to clean your house and sweep out the old, in preparation for the coming year. Some people go to wats (Buddhist monasteries) to pray and to give food to monks. These traditions are nice, though not as flashy as throwing water at strangers.

The Thai New Year’s water tradition wasn’t always about recklessly drenching people, though. It originated as something much more serious; one would pour small amounts of Buddha-blessed water on the shoulders of elders and family members as a way of showing respect. Over time, young people adapted this custom into their own brand of fun: water fights.

Photo: LeeLeFever via Flickr (CC license)

Foot-nibbling fish are all the rage in Bangkok

Over the years, there have been a number of things I’ve hoped to do when I eventually visit Bangkok, and now there’s one more to add to the list: I want dozens of small fish to nibble on my feet.

It’s the latest craze in the world of Bangkok spas. You put your bare feet in a tank full of hundreds of Garra rufa fish, and the hungry little guys nibble away at your dry dead skin, leaving your feet feeling smooth and healthy. The treatment is called ichthyotherapy, and it originated in Turkey.

And now it’s seemingly everywhere in Bangkok. According to this article, you can find these fish-nibbling spa treatments all over the Thai capital. The treatment is apparently illegal in 14 American states, because it hasn’t been proven to be entirely sanitary. That's okay, neither have my feet.

People who have experienced the treatment say it feels kind of tickly and weird (not surprising), but that it doesn’t hurt. I've never had a pedicure before, and I don't see myself getting one anytime soon. But having fish nibble on my feet in Bangkok is an experience I would not refuse. If nothing else, I like the idea of providing a school of Garra rufa fish with a good meal.

Photo: weegolo via Flickr (CC license)

50 reasons to love Bangkok

I have just come across a cool corner of CNN’s website. It’s called CnnGo, and its purpose seems to be to get us all excited about their six favorite Asian cities: Hong Kong, Shanghai, Bangkok, Tokyo, Mumbai and Singapore. Consider me excited.

I just stumbled upon this microsite by landing on a page called World's Greatest City: 50 reasons why Bangkok is No. 1.

It’s a good list. It touts everything from Bangkok’s long name (apparently the original official name of Bangkok was Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Phiman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit) to the city’s endless variety of street food (barbecued duck tongues and pig brain soup are highlights).

The list is informative, interesting, and entertaining. Some of the items are real reasons to love and/or visit the city (4. Most ornate palace). Others are there more for comedy’s sake (7. See a sunburned British college kid dance in the street with a tipsy African businesswoman while downing a falafel sandwich and a Laotian beer). Either way, it makes me want to get on the next plane to Bangkok. I’ve never been.

And that’s not all. CnnGo is not afraid to hedge their bets. In addition to World's Greatest City: 50 reasons why Bangkok is No. 1, they also have World's Greatest City: 50 reasons why Tokyo is No. 1, World's Greatest City: 50 reasons why Hong Kong is No. 1 and World's Greatest City: 50 reasons why Shanghai is No. 1.

Of course, they can’t all be the world’s greatest city. Only one can be the world’s greatest. But each list is definitely a fun and entertaining read, and certainly a helpful primer for anyone heading to any of these prime Asian destinations.

Photo: telmo32 via Flickr (CC license)