clothes shopping in Thailand is not for those with hips

I had to share this story because it is all, sadly enough true, but so funny. I had gotten to the point where my wardrobe was no longer attractive to say the least. I could buy tops cheaply from local vendors, who had no dressing rooms available. Just pop it on over what i was wearing. Pants were a different matter. I needed a proper dressing room. SoIi found out where the AC shopping center was, a big plus when it hits 100. I went into Central which is a huge very middle class Department store. One whole floor was just womens clothing. The sales girl cold not understand my request for capri pants so she called for a translator. She knew minimal english but i did get across I want pants on sale since some of their prices were much higher than I would have paid in the states. I knew right off after a quick survey of the sales racks i was in trouble sizewise. Totally different sizing system. So the translator, I shall henceforth refer to her as T, and I agreed we would start w/ a 28 waist. Well the Thais have very skinny legs, i have thunder thighs. I could not get them past my knees. So we tryed different styles & progessively larger sizes. Finally she had the other sales girls helping her look as i could tell I was a real challenge for her. Like get this foreigner fitted & make the sale.

It was not easy. Imagine a huge department store floor. You have about 6 very small women running around yelling lage, then exta lage. At this point i mentioned to T, not that she cared or probably even understood that I, of course had never been a large or certainly not an extra large in the U.S. I guess she understood a little as she eyeballed my hips and said you no lage, you no exta lage, you exta, exta lage. Needless to say i had no response. Looking around the huge floor filled with very tiny thai women I was the largest woman on it.

Unfortunately I never found anything that fit there. I did find a pair at another store. It was marked LL. I can only assume it meant larger than large. It fit, i took it. The pitying eyes of the staff was beneath the drive to make a sale. No one cared that i wear size 10 petite in the US. No one cared i was under 130lbs. In the land of no hips, skinny pencil thin legs & thighs, you are lucky to find a LL.

Eventually i found, as I was leaving the Mall hidden in the basement a store for LARGE folks. I guess i know where i will start my cloths shopping next time in thailand.

Thailand is an elegant country

There was a long lull in my blog postings. I had many, business, family, and social matters to tend to. I flew back to Denver and had to find a new renter for my house. Lots of other stuff to take care of there. Then my daughter had a major life change and as i had not visited in almost 2 years, I flew out to help her out for a week in S. Carolina. Then off to Sacramento to see if my sis Sue need any help with clearing out my moms belongs or with any home or yard work that might need to be done.. She said she didn't need any help so I spent some great moments with my dear friend Mirea, my cousin Linda and her family and my cousin Carol. Got a few visits in with other loved ones as well. Then off to Thailand which was my first visit to S.E. Asia. Some friends i had met in Panama convinced me that Thailand was a great place to find work as an ESL teacher. Since they said the Thais were wonderful folks to visit and the cost of living was so very low i thought it was a good idea to go.

I arrived in Bangkok exhausted after a 30 hour all night er from the time I had left Sacramento. Bangkok is a city of extremes. So many very poor and traditional folks. I believe the Red Shirts are make up of this group in large part. The Thais respect their right to descent and the demonstrations took almost 4 weeks before getting more violent. There are also a lot of very educated cultured folks that are very Western in their attitudes. Anyone anywhere near middle class has their children study English. Unfortunately for me, they also want the teacher to be young & pretty. One online add even stated their school hired no one over 50. So my very dedicated job search in N. Thailand has not been very fruitful. I believe as it gets closer to the semester starting in early May I may be getting more offers. A few schools have been interested that have women over 50 running them. We old gals have to stick together. I really like the town of Chiang Rai the best. I put in at least a dozen resumes there.

I came back to Chiang Mai, a much larger town, to finish up my job search here. The old part of town, like in the 1300's it was laid out, is where i am staying in a great guest house. The old town still has part of the brick defense wall and the 4 gates, one in each direction. A wide moat goes all around the outside of the partially restored wall. Fountains, lilly pads, and kids swimming in it.

Since i am still unemployed I thought why not visit & job hunt in Vietnam as well. I heard they need teachers more than in Thailand and they paid better. So i got an online visa, a real hassle, and i am off to Vietnam in 2 days. It also has a very low cost of living. I figure after 2+ weeks there if i have not landed a job I will return here & take the best offer i can get. Its also a good time to leave Thai as this is the beginning of a big holiday week for them. Everyone runs around shooting water pistols, dumping tubs of water off roof tops etc. Its what they may have added to the water that concerns me.

I was able to visit 2 awesome sight before my 3 day limit on Bangkok was up. (self impossed). The National Museum huge, & a great view of Thai through the ages. I think The King & I was not too far off . Also the Emerald Palace complex was sooo large. I took me hours just to walk around part of it. Since leaving Bangkok I have visited a few sites in these 2 northern towns but there is much to see. Being a history & archeology buff I hope to see some of those sites especially upon my return. To be a tourist and say you have seen Thai in 2 weeks would be like saying you could be seeing most of Colorado that quickly. I now know that most cultures have so much more to offer and show us than we can ever dream of.

Well I have more to share including a very funny story. Hope to keep this blog more current now that i am on the road again abroad.

It's been a very Siam experience inThailand