Pattaya

For an urbanite like me, going to the beach is something I cherish, as it means a parallel world diametrically opposite to the one I'm living in. Pattaya is more so than any other place when it comes to this. Life in this small seaside town in Thailand is so majestically unreal and whenever I go back there I always feel differently towards it.

I used to hate Pattaya, for all its go-go bars and sex industry, preferring to go to Krabi, which is more rustic and primitive. But as I'm getting a bit older and less precocious I feel like Pattaya is perhaps a town where at least people are frank with their needs and where the level of tolerance is sky-high. Last week when I went there for the umpteenth time (though it's the first time for Mat) I was quite surprised learning how I grow to love Pattaya more than before. Sex tourists, prostitutes, transsexuals, transvestites, etc. are no longer stereotypes waiting to be condemned, but humans who have complexes and needs, normal just like the rest of us (well, if we're so sure that the rest of us are sane!).

We went to stay right on Dongtarn Beach, Pattaya's gay beach, but we saw that heterosexual couples (especially honeymooners) went there too and the crowd was pretty mixed. No one cares whether you're gay or straight (as long as you've money, I'd say). There by the beach and by the pool I've finished a novel about parallel universes and it did seem like I was the protagonist myself being transported to a parallel universe where relaxation was just in the air. I meant it -- once we drove into Pattaya, we just felt really calm and relaxed, out of the hustle bustle of crazy Bangkok life.

The resort where we stayed was pretty secluded and I just adored the pool. You can go to Mat's blog to see the pic -- I just can't be bothered to upload it. The owner walked around the breakfast area in the morning giving away minute rabbit tealights to her guests. This may sound a bit weird but it's a adorable gesture nonetheless. (Or maybe I'm from the city so I'm not used to people giving you things!)

Da Vinci Code in Bangkok

Mat and I just went to see the Da Vinci Code at the Scala in Siam Square. Today is the first day of its screening here in Thailand. There has been a series of debate whether its screening here wouldn't affect Christian people. What I heard from the news was that some of the Christians actually launched a petition for the censorship of some parts of the film, especially the last ten minutes when it reveals what the Holy Grail actually is. Columbia Pictures did appeal and won so we had a chance to see the 'whole' film.

My first reaction after watching it was that the film and the novel didn't quite correspond in many points and that several sensitive issues are still left untouched or slightly implied, i.e. the relationship between Neveu and Sauniere and how the Priory of Sion 'keepers' actually keep the 'rose line' or the 'blood line' alive. We saw the scene whereby Sauniere had sex with a woman in some sort of ritual but they never explained why this old man was still at it! I guess this will probably incense more people so the filmmakers have decided to downplay these. Apart from this, I also couldn't quite understand some parts of the film. Two questions, for example. When they were at the Temple Church, why did Teabing's assistant need to kill both Langdon and Neveu, even though Teabing still needed Neveu to tell him the code to open the cryptex? Also why did Captain Fache arrest only Teabing, and not Langdon and Neveu even though they're believed to be suspects?

I've read the novel and I must confess that reading it is more enjoyable than watching it. But watching it helps my reading as some of the details of the novel are based on 'real' settings. My personal pleasure is to learn that Dan Brown uses 'apple' as a clue to the cryptex. 'Apple' can mean many things (not just i-pod, mind you!) and what it reminds me straight away is the apple of knowledge. Both Langdon and Neveu have tasted it but refused to let others know it, apart of me and the rest of the people who have seen the film of course (in addition to just several millions who have read it). Now we need to keep quiet and don't tell anyone else ok? Shhhhhhhh...

Aliens

Those of you who live in Thailand would have probably heard by now the news about an alien from the sky in the shape of an almost transparent worm-like cone. The moment the media knew about it, they rushed to the scene and the rest is history. The owner appeared on TV and tried to safeguard her new treasure, believing that it was something given by gods to cure her illness. Loads of people rushed to her place, some with incense sticks and candles, asking for "divine numbers" for the next lottery draw.

However, soon after, it turned out that the alien was just a cool-aid pad left in the water. The chemicals in the pad will naturally form an ice-like layer around the pad. Now loads of people, especially those in the city, stormed into their nearest 7-elevens to get these pads (which are now being sold like hot cake) and enjoy their new home-made aliens.

I've found this event rather amusing and thought-provoking. It shows how differently people in the country and the city approach the same object of mystery. The former group, still holding a deep faith in pre-Buddhist paganism, reluctantly submits this object for scientific inspection, whereas the latter group, with a rather alarmingly high level of irreverence, does not seem to take this event seriously or question why almost every popular newspaper choose to give space to this type of news. They rather think that this is an opportunity for a new toy and not a situation showcasing gullibility and sheer nonsense. Maybe it's just that the culture of serious criticism has yet to be formulated, especially among those middle-class kids heading towards their nearest convenience stores to get these pads.

Saying that, I think I'll go to buy one of these pads tomorrow and make my own little alien. I think my colleagues would love to see it! :)

Dechito's World

Welcome to Dechito's World. It is destined to be a website where I'll collect trivia, interesting thoughts and events (sometimes weird, sometimes so banal it's extraordinary) occurring here in the amazing country of Thailand. I also plan to publish snippets that I sometimes receive from friends and feel too guilty to press delete.

Thanks Mat for providing his brand-new notebook for me to experiment with my latest whim! Who knows whether this first entry will also be the last?