Day Eight: Hunting for Cubans (cigars)

We had class this morning at 8.  We talked about the observations we made in the park and Bill told us more about the upcoming elections.  Our assignment for today was to eat lunch and dinner at restaurants on Thanon Rang Nam.  I was probably going to do this anyway, but the point was to observe how people act in restaurants.

I ate lunch with Shane and Alex at a place called Grandmom's Noodles.  It was empty when we arrived.  I ordered pork and noodles with fish balls (think non-fried fish sticks).  It was quite good.

Within about 15 minutes of our arrival, the place was packed.  Young adults that looked like they were on their lunch break from work came in to eat.  Thais almost always share food.  They order a few things , put them in the middle of the table, and eat off of service plates.  One girl came in alone to eat and sat alone at a two top.  Another girl came in a few minutes later and there were no other seats available so she was sat right across from the first girl.  I did not see whether or not they were having a conversation.

Later in the day, I set off to find some Cuban cigars with Erica, Rachael, and Lauren.  We walked to Siam Paragon, a Siam shopping mall.  On the way a train crossed a busy street.  A uniformed guard pulled retractable gates on wheels out to stop traffic.  A steady stream of motorcycles passed between the gates until the train was about 100 meters away.

We also crossed a canal.

The cigar shop was part of a wine shop and was quite swanky.  Instead of a crusty old man suggesting cigars to me like at a Tinder Box, a young Thai woman told me which Cuban was most like an Arturo Fuente.  We left Siam Paragon and crossed the street to MBK where Lauren got her nose pierced at a tattoo parlor.  Nearby, this young Thai was tearing it up at a drum video game.

We then went back to the apartment and I ate with Shane and Nidia at the place where I had my best meal.  Shane ordered the fluffy catfish and I ate some.  I ordered spicy papaya salad with shrimp.  It was delicious and I had memorized the phrase "a roy mahk" from a phrasebook to tell the waitress this.

I smoked one of my cigars at VP Tower that night while we played cards.