McDonalds Thailand - A Big Mac in Pattaya

When you’re a tourist / traveller visiting Thailand, you’re not supposed to eat at McDonalds. It’s just not ‘cool’. You’re a stranger in foreign exotic lands. And you’re supposed to dive on in and absorb the tastes of Thai culture, challenging your taste buds with the types of authentic Thai cuisine that you just can’t find back home.

Which is all well and good. And it’s true that a visit to the land of smiles without at the very least trying a Pad-Thai (a fried noodle dish popular with tourists and Thais alike) is a visit wasted. Sometimes, when you find yourself alone in alien lands, and feeling a little disorientated, a little taste of something familiar, served-up somewhere familiar, can go a long long way!

And should you find yourself craving a Mc’ something-or-other, in the main tourist areas at least, a McDonalds is never too far away.

Mid way down Khao San Road, or inside the Royal Garden Plaza, Pattaya. McDonalds, in Thailand, offers up most of the foods and beverages, you’ll be familiar with back home. And, if the currency exchange rate is balanced in your favor, Big Macs and Mc’Chicken Nuggets, can be purchased at a fraction of the price you might pay back home. And while I’ve heard that McDonalds in other parts of Asia might serve up treats more targeted towards the native palate. Such as ‘green tea and red bean ice cream sundaes’ in Hong Kong, and the ‘Mc’ Chicken Porridge’ offered in Malaysia. In Thailand, the fare was fairly standard. With the only variants from the UK menu I noticed being the inclusion of the ‘Samurai Pork Burger’, a Pork patty, served with teriyaki sauce and pickles. And that Mc’Chicken Nuggets in Thailand came with (in addition to barbecue sauce) a sachet of Thai Sweet Chilli sauce (which quickly became my dip of choice).

And, while eating at McDonalds may be seen as something of a travellers faux-pas among your backpacking buddies. Among the Thais themselves, eating at McDonalds (so I’ve heard) still retains most of the prestige, and excitement, that eating at McDonalds at home lost a long time ago. And while a McDonalds in Thailand is a cheap option for most Falang visiting the country - with the wide variety of far cheaper local cuisine available for feasting on, eating at McDonalds is still something of an ‘experience’ for many native Thais. With a meal out at the world's most popular hamburger eatery, still being seen as something of a special treat.  And why not?  Because during those brief moments of isolation felt by every traveler alone in foreign lands, a BIg Mac, with large fries, and large Coke, was just the re-centering, and re-energizing non-adventure I needed.  

Before getting right back out there...

For more information, you can visit the official McDonalds Thailand website: HERE

Thai Women and Skin Whitening Cream

If you’ve visited Thailand, and especially if you’ve formed any kind of relationship with a Thai woman while there, you may well be aware of the ironic phenomenon that exists there. When compared to the current beauty regimes of women from the West. And the ‘ironic phenomenon’ I speak of, is the popularity of ‘whitening creams’ with Thailand’s female population.

That’s right. While women back home are spending ever more time, and money chasing that sun-bronzed look, both from travel to sunny climates, and/or achieved artificially, Thailand’s coffee skinned Goddesses appear to be doing all that they can, to achieve the exact same opposite. Talk about the grass always being greener on the other side! In fact; whitening creams in Thailand, are as commonly found on the shelves of stores in Thailand, as shower-gel would be here back home. With everything from face masks, and deodorant, through to foot-cream containing whitening agents.

But why?

As with the tanning of Western women, the process is to some degree fashion based, and born from the desire to appear more attractive to potential mates. Especially with the current (at time of writing) popularity of Korean, and Japanese culture (such as television soap operas) within Thailand (places where women tend to be of a more porcelain complexion). Thai women seek to imitate them.

However, arguably the most powerful incentives to appear white of skin; for Thai women, are based on social status. Being white of skin in appearance separates and elevates paler Thai women from, and above Thailand’s rural laborers, and farmers, who toil all day under the scorching sun. As in most countries, and arguably - especially in Asia, class, and ‘face’ (how others perceive you) is incredibly important in Thailand. So being, or appearing to be, of a higher ‘caste’, for Thai women, increases both desirability, but also, can even go as far as opening up social, and employment opportunities, that would not be open to those of darker skin.