Lop Buri - Days 2, 3 and 4 (3/10-3/12)

Monday night’s dinner really started things off with a bang, but things have simmered down considerably since.  Before I go into all the details, I want to start off by saying how awesome the plant employees have been.  Despite the fact that we have a very tough time understanding each other, they still continue to make this experience a rewarding one.  I have especially enjoyed going around with the Quarry Manager Tiitunmick (total guess on spelling).  He was one of the managers that went to the big dinner on Monday, and has now taken me around twice to show how his operation runs.  It is neat to see how much passion he has for his job as a mining engineer….he takes great pride in running a safe practice and being environmentally conscious.  He also likes to joke around a lot, so when we do understand each other, we usually have a pretty good laugh.  I could go on and on about how nice these people are….I can’t thank them enough.

Now, onto the other aspects of the week……the first two lunches (Monday and Tuesday) were at an outdoor place that I would guess to be the nicest spot within 30 minutes of the plant (lunch was still only 500 baut, or $15, for three people).  The managers made sure none of us foreigners (myself and the insurance consultants) had ice in our drinks (water issues here), and ordered fairly conservatively (none of us could order because the whole menu is in Thai).  Overall, not bad….I mainly stuck to the chicken and white rice, but also had some of the deep fried fish (whole fish with eyes and all). 

Wednesday’s lunch was a whole new experience all together.   I had been told by everyone at the plant that I needed to bring my own lunch from the hotel because their cafeteria probably wouldn’t serve things I could handle.  So, I just brought the 3 cans of Pringles, granola bars and dried fruit that I had bought back in Bangkok as a reserve (I have been eating these snacks now for two days, because despite the fact that the hotel does have a restaurant, I am beginning to lose faith in its quality…..I haven’t had a real meal since Monday).  I assumed I would just eat my snacks for lunch, but then the environmental quality manager said I should join him for lunch at a local Chinese place with a “Thai” flare.  I agreed, so we jumped in the company bus and made the 15 minute drive to the restaurant.  Once again, an outdoor restaurant…but this time it didn’t look so nice.  The first thing I noticed was that about 5 soi dogs (street dogs…imagine a diseased ridden, rabid looking dog) were scattered throughout the restaurant (Thailand seems to have a huge problem with their dog population).  My attention was drawn from the dogs when I noticed that our waitress was a ladyboy (transvestite)….and then there were the flies.  This place rivals a dairy farm in terms of their fly population.  Oh, I also saw a rat scurry across the floor in the back, and the sugar at the table had a small ant farm in it.   Anyways, I instantly lost my appetite (and all I had eaten that day was a granola bar).  I did not want to seem rude, so I still let the guys order for me (menus were in Thai), and he said he ordered some type of soup…..so Im like “great, another bowl of mystery meat soup”.  It came out, and sure enough, I had no idea what was in it.  If I were to guess, it looked like pork, chicken, and some sort of fish or squid….but not really sure.  I tried a bite of the meat and almost lost it right then.  I then asked for a Pepsi because I could tell I was going to need a chaser if I was going to get through this meal.  I did not touch anymore of the meat, and just stuck to the noodles that tasted like lawn grass, and chased each bite with some Pepsi.  What was so funny was the engineer across from me seemed to be in heaven with the exact same dish.  Anyways, as soon as he was finished slurping down the last of his soup, I said I was done as well….using the “I had a large breakfast” as the excuse for my small appetite.  The check came, and the two engineers insisted on paying the tab of 110 Baut ($3 US)….I still think we over paid, but it didn’t cost me anything, so whatever.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that I don’t get sick, but that still remains to be seen.  My only regret of the experience was that I didn’t get pictures of the whole ordeal…I guess I was too overwhelmed by the ambiance to remember.  It was a truly awful meal, possibly the most disgusting lunch I have ever had.  Enough said though….I start to get nauseated just thinking about it.

I want to thank my Aunt Merrie for insisting that I bring some snacks with me in case things got a little dicey in the food department….because THEY DID.  If it weren’t for the Pringles, Natural Valley Granola Bars, dried fruit snacks and Singha Beer, I am really not sure I would have made it through these past couple of days.

Tuesday night was low key….I spent most of the evening hanging out in my hotel room, watching TV, etc.  I did end up walking to the 711 to buy some water and a couple Singhas, and on the way back, a couple of soi dogs starting running towards me and barking…..so I very gingerly made my way across the street and back to the hotel.  Not a huge scare, but I really can’t say enough about how bad some of these dogs look.  If you are an animal lover, you would probably be very disturbed by the condition most of these dogs are in.  With the exception of these two that chased me, most seem very tame and not aggressive…..I also went to the hotel restaurant and took in the crowd of people singing Karaoke. 

Wednesday night was on pace to be about the same as Tuesday night….most of the evening I was lounging in my hotel room, eating a few Pringles and watching Thai TV shows.  I decided I wanted to give the restaurant another chance, so I went down there with the idea that I might order dinner, but for some reason, the smell of the restaurant seemed to instantly kill my appetite (might have been the lingering affects of that lunch).  So,  I ordered a Singha and took in the Karaoke crowd once again.  I have to say, after 3 nights of seeing these people sing Karaoke, I just don’t get it…..not only the words, but the music itself seems like a broken record….they seemed to be singing the same song over and over and over again….still very entertaining to watch.  I noticed another guy sitting by himself, and he appeared to be an American, so I went over to introduce myself and hoped I could strike up some sort 

conversation.  He introduced himself as Carter from Chicago, is 44, works for the US military and it turns out he lives in Bangkok and is married to a Thai girl.  We had a great conversation (I was just excited to talk with someone that could understand me clearly).  After a couple beers, Carter proposed that we go into town and check out a bar.  He also said he speaks a little Thai, so I was comfortable with the plan.  We asked our waitress where to go and to also get us a taxi.  About 5 minutes later, a guy pulled up in a truck and indicated he was the taxi.  If I were to guess, he was probably just a friend of the waitress and just wanted to make some extra money.  He took us through the town of Lop Buri, and dropped us off at some bar the seemed to be a very popular local hang out.  We went in side, and the bar was packed….but we were the only two white guys there.  Everyone one was dancing to the music of some Thai Rock band, which actually sounded decent (at least compared to the Karaoke I had heard the past 3 days).  We had a beer and tried conversing with a couple of different people, but had little success.  After one beer, we decided to head back to the hotel, and on the way, we tried to talk our driver into showing us the monkeys of the town (apparently, the main park in Lop Buri is home to hundreds of Monkeys, which helps explain why my hotel had a monkey theme).  He said they were all sleeping in the trees….damn, could have gotten some pretty good footage.  We made it back to the hotel safely and called it a night.

I am going to head back to Bangkok on Thursday, and can’t wait to have a familiar meal.  Also, this weekend should be fun because a friend of ours from Texas, May Chen, is going to fly in from Taipei to tour the city with us.  I also understand that Trey has made a few friends in the Deloitte office, and said we would probably be meeting up with them as well…..so, should be a good time. 

sbt