Asia-Pacific, Headlines

/ARTS WEEKLY/BOOKS-THAILAND: Of ‘Lady Boys’ and Men in Hair Bands

Kimberly Shen

BANGKOK, May 16 2005 (IPS) - The glossy cover greets you with a loud splash of neon pink and yellow, with photographs symbolising the very epitome of Thailand emblazoned on the book that entices one into flipping the pages of this pop art-inspired coffee table book.

But unlike your standard coffee table fare that shows many postcard-pretty photos touting lush tourist destinations, ‘Very Thai’ delves into the mundane: the day-to-day sights, smells, rituals, and idiosyncrasies that define exactly what it means to be Thai.

Celebrating Thai pop and folk culture, British-born Philip Cornwel-Smith, a freelance writer and resident of Thailand for over a decade partnered U.S. artist John Goss to produce the 256-page compilation of Thailand at its best and most colourful.

So what goes on behind the heavily coiffed hair-do of the ‘khunings’ (ladies with official titles)? Or the constant stuffing of nose inhalers into hairy nostrils? Why the coin in the ear and undying obsession with uniforms, salt induced fruit juice and men in hair bands?

‘Very Thai’ explains everything Thai; from the familiarity of road side food stalls with oil sizzling in the midst and tangy food smells lingering in the air, wafting into your nostrils to the colour coded eight day week, the intriguing ‘porn gem’ stores and the haphazard taxi shrines. As Alex Kerr, author of ‘Lost Japan’ confessed, ”This is the book I wish I’d had when I first came to Thailand.”

What occurred as seemingly strange was how it took two ‘farangs’ (Caucasians as they known in Thai) to produce a book on authentic Thai culture. So one would wonder how accurate is the book in the eyes of a foreigner?

Although the book has otherwise, shown a fresh new perspective on the South-east Asian country, it surprises with its myriad of quirky photographs by Goss and Cornwel-Smith’s observations of the Thai idiosyncrasies. But what these ‘farangs’ find funny may seem normal to many Asians.

Drinks in plastic bags have always been around Asia. For this correspondent having lived in Singapore for most of her life, bag drinks filled with crushed ice, tottering precariously in one’s hand is a common sight, so she wasn’t exactly amused with their supposed “shocking” observation.

However, under much scrutiny, Cornwel-Smith managed to pick out some of the most essentially Thai eccentricities. In fact, one never pays much attention to the simple blue pipe that lines almost every household, every wall and practically most parts of the country. It was only after reading about the infamous pipes that this correspondent was sub-consciously counting the numerous blue pipelines that snake their way around Thailand and beyond.

With the running commentary speed of the book and Cornwel-Smith’s good sense of humour, reading ‘Very Thai’ is a laugh. One example was how pork floss buns were aptly described as resembling a hairy armpit. Or how the beauty contests of today ”aren’t only for women; men out-beautify men to win Mr. titles, while Thai ‘lady boys’ (transsexuals) out-beautify everybody.”

To the Thais, irony isn’t funny, humour has to be slapped right in your face and jabbed straight into your funny bone.

Midgets are seen dancing in glaringly bright costumes, while ‘kathoeys’ (lady boys) jest in ”deliberately hideous make-up” in Thai comedies ‘talok’, where corny, outright blasphemous jokes are a staple diet.

In everyday life, the stark contrast and the obvious metaphors are typically Thai.

Even if you do not understand Thai, watch their formulaic drama serials on TV and observe how roles are blatantly cast for the evil ‘nang rai’ (bitchy ex) as the thickly-made up, gaudily dressed female in contrast to the demure ‘nang ek’ (leading lady) in paler colours and softer make up. As Cornwel-Smith has noted about their drama serials, ”The brew is leavened by the slapstick cameos from the obligatory uppity servant, fat hanger-on and screaming queen.”

Motorised pedicabs or ‘tuk tuks’, ‘Muay Thai’ boxing and perhaps embarrassingly, ‘kathoeys’, have become ambassadors of Thailand – as they form the country’s national identity. They’re the key to Thailand’s present and past.

Despite being ‘Very Thai’, Thailand often has Western influences and infuses vaguely similar aspects in their lifestyle.

Even Ronald McDonalds welcomes you into the fast food restaurant, palms pressed together in the ever-familiar ‘wai’, which resonates with that quintessential Thai charm but is still essentially American.

Thailand has never been subjected to colonisation unlike its neighbours, Malaysia and Singapore, so its culture is still very much Thai; “keeping its ancient ways, imbued by Buddhism, hierarchy and spirit beliefs”.

But to compromise with the Western giants, Thailand has taken on their culture with arms wide open, allowing it to permeate into their own. So much so, Thailand’s mixed up culture has become their identity. Where else, like the book stated, do you ”order spicy spaghetti, green tea cake, durian milkshake, ketchup on pizza, beer on the rocks, or red wine served from an ice bucket”?

Suchart, a U.S.-educated Thai resident claimed that he found the book a delight but said only if one knows or had been to Thailand would they understand the jokes.

”I found it really, really funny, but you have to have been here some time to get it,” he said. ”I was laughing and laughing but my (North American) wife, who has lived here for more than 13 years, didn’t find it all that funny.”