Book Review: The Thai and I - Thai Culture and Society

by Lang Reid

Thai Culture and Society (ISBN 974-8303-83-7, Asia Books 2004) is a reprinting of part of Roger Welty’s The Thai and I work first published in 1996. This current impression is posthumous, printed after Roger Welty died in 2003, and the holders of the copyright (Asia Books) decided to split the work into two books, this one and another entitled Successful Living in Thailand.

Roger Welty was a long term expat, who described himself as “By accident of birth, Northern Californian. By choice, Southeast Asian.” Having been in Thailand for more than 30 years, and a keen student of human nature, with a quick wit and very literate, made him the ideal choice for the Community Services in Bangkok to author a book to be an ‘assist’ manual for expats in this (very) foreign country. He was also well qualified having wandered all over SE Asia, and Thailand in particular, often on foot. His company Eastern Horizons took people around Thailand to experience its country and its peoples, but always slowly, so that assimilation and understanding could take place, but never by plane. “Going by plane is the most expensive way to experience the least,” he is reputed to have said.

The book is divided into six broad sections covering Thai history, Thai government(s), the language and arts, religion and superstition, understanding our hosts and a polyglot final chapter covering everything from phones to squat toilets!

Part of the book’s attraction is the Welty style of writing, a very tongue in cheek, but a supremely detailed discourse on the selected topics. For example, it is not really common knowledge that Thailand was the third largest contributor of troops to the Korean war, rather commonly forgotten. The book covers the bipartite approach by Thailand’s wielders of power in WWII very succinctly, and pulls no punches as regards the quelling of the democracy demonstrations in the ‘70’s and ‘90’s. Other wonderful historical snippets include the legislation that Thais should use tables and chairs instead of eating on the floor on mats. Unfortunately the decree still has not quite made it through to the far reaches if Isaan!

Being a teacher of Thai, Welty had an excellent grasp of the intricacies of the language, which he then extended to literature, music, Thai dance and theatre.

In the section describing Thai temperament and societal mores he goes through the Five S’s, some of which may be known to you. They are Sa-at, Suphap, Samruam, Sanuk and Saduak.

Finally, for those who have failed Squat Toilet 101, the three pages devoted to this would make the book worthwhile, just on their own.

This is a ‘timeless’ publication, and Asia Books obviously recognized the fact that this book was similar to the SE Asian classic My Pen Rai Means Never Mind, written by Carol Hollinger, a volume that is still as pertinent to today’s world as it was when it was first printed. Thai Culture and Society is a book that you will pick up many times, and enjoy it as much every time. Available from good bookstores for B. 695.

Mott's CD Reviews: Cirith Ungol - Paradise Lost

1 Star for effort and nice cover
Screamed by Mott The Dog
Muffled by Ella Crew
Before you immediately rip this piece into little shreds, not wanting to hear another word about the Lord of the Rings, Frodo, Bilbo, or that ‘orrible green thing with a lisp, feel like passing out if you have to view more hoards of Orcs majestically sweeping down from the mountains in all their computerized glory, then just hold on a minute. Anyway, if Gandalf was so clever why didn’t he take the ring and chuck it down the gorge himself instead of making that poor little hairy footed thing trudge miles over all that treacherous terrain?

Mott the Dog is still a music column and these boys from California probably thought it was bit of a wizzo idea to take their name from Tolkien’s masterpiece for your up and coming heavy metal rock band. (The gates of Cirith Ungol are in some Tower or other that the little hobbits and their bunch of reject mates had to cross before reaching their destiny. I don’t really know as I’d fallen asleep after the first hour or so, and used to skip all the funny names when I read the books.)

How were they to know that by the end of the Millennium this Jackson bloke was going to turn New Zealand into a film lot, use every actor presently out of work and turn them into stars, employ every Kiwi left in New Zealand as an extra, and take up half a decade making three movies of massive length and change the history of the cinema forever? He probably didn’t even mention the gates of Cirith Ungol or its tower in the filming to give the boys at least a bit of exposure. Surprisingly they don’t sue. Well, by looking at the album cover they might be thinking about it.

It was 1991 by the time Cirith Ungol released this, their little masterpiece, of ‘Paradise Lost’ to the world of heavy metal music. As with all bands of their ilk, they had been through a few lineup changes while on the way to this moment of stability. Way too many to mention, but suffice to say that some, if not all, escaped the nasty gardening accidents, or being trapped in cocoons (no, no, I’m not on about Fellowships of Rings again), or could find their way to the stage, either were or are going to be in Spinal Tap.

The album opens up with ‘Join The Legion’, which hurtles fairly out of the speakers. Your woofers and tweeters better be in pretty good shape to take this kind of battering, I can tell you. The band has been kind enough to inform us of their intentions by displaying the lyrics on the inside sleeve of the cover.

“Our comrades in arms lying dead in the streets,
from choking on metal that’s spineless and weak.
The jackals are gloating with victory in hand,
but the last true believers rise up from the land.”
All good stirring stuff as you can see.

The band carries on in pretty similar fashion over the next eight songs, including a stunning version of the Crazy World of Arthur Brown’s ‘Fire’, which, if Arthur’s not crazy about now, I expect he is furious.

‘Before the Lash’ I think is some kind of political statement from the boys, whilst ‘Chaos Rising’ certainly proves that not only can they play their instruments very loudly, but very quickly too. In fact, I think you hear the poor old drummer fall off his drum seat at the end.

If very heavy rockin’ is your bag, then Cirith Ungol will be the band you have been waiting for all your life. Upon buying this album it is always a kindness to soundproof the dog house. Remember canines can hear things many humans cannot. Good luck to Cirith Ungol. At least they don’t go on as long as the movies.

Those responsible for this noise are
Tim Baker - Vocals
Jim Barraza - Guitars
Vernon Green - Bass
Robert Graven – Drums
Titles
Join The Legion
The Troll
Fire
Heaven Help Us
Before The Lash
Go It Alone
Chaos Rising
Fallen Idols
Paradise Lost

To contact Mott the Dog email: review@mott-the-dog.com
Website: http://www.mott-the-dog.com

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