This
guide to life in Thailand has been around since 2005, but has had
progressive reprints since then. It is not the usual “which bus to catch”
and “don’t mess with the servants”, but a hard-cover guide to the everyday,
oft unfathomable, life and times in Thailand. Written by Philip Cornwel-Smith,
a writer with much experience in this country, and photographed by John
Goss, Very Thai - Everyday Popular Culture (ISBN 978-974-9863-67-1)
is published by River Books in Bangkok.
In Alex Kerr’s preface to the book, he writes, “A hundred
things which had intrigued me for decades became clear on reading it (the
book). Such as where the statue of the beckoning lady came from, or why the
alphabet always appears with pictures.” That introduction alone was, for me,
the ‘beckoning lady’ to look further!
Let’s begin with the beckoning lady who is called Nang
Kwak, and her overseas cousin, the Japanese Maneki-Neko, the beckoning cat.
Page 165 will unravel this mystery, and even extend this into the shamanic
practices of carrying certain herbs as love amulets. Have you ever wondered
about discarded spirit houses? I always have, and on page 184, it is
covered.
The attraction in this book is the liberal use of
excellent photographs in conjunction with Cornwel-Smith’s well researched
words. There are ‘amazing’ facts within the covers, including such bizarre
items as a temple in Bangkok which has a gold sculpture of David Beckham in
its altar. It appears that even Buddhism became caught up in the football
frenzy, in this particular temple at least!
The book is divided into four general sections - Street,
Personal, Ritual and Sanuk. Each main section is then divided into around 20
items under the general umbrella. I found this a trifle confusing at times,
feeling that perhaps an alphabetic approach could have been easier, but this
is a minor complaint, as there is a good alphabetic index at the back.
The book has also managed to highlight and explain many
of the ‘everyday’ features of life in Thailand, to which the expat eye
becomes inured after a while, but which still have most interesting stories.
For example, the street cats with the knobbly truncated tails have not all
had their appendages caught in the door, as I had always imagined. It is a
genetic deformity! A fact that was noted by the eminent Charles Darwin, but
was missed by me.
Even the ubiquitous motorcycle taxis (“motorcy”) are
explored in depth. Were you aware that the collecting point was known as a
‘win’ and the jackets are ‘seua win’? These jackets cost anything between
4,000 -100,000 baht, like a regular taxi license in the west, but are part
of the underground economy in Thailand. This continues despite a government
heralded national registration policy in 2003.
The book has a Bibliography and an extensive Index, which
alone would make for good reason to be published in hard-cover. It really is
a reference book, no matter how beguiling are Cornwel-Smith’s words or
attractive Goss’ photographs. I have reviewed this book again, as I believe
at B. 1,030 it is an excellent Xmas present.
