MangoZeen

My mother wanted a daughter for her second child and bought tons of girl’s clothing for my birth. Sadly I turned out with the wrong plumbing, however this gender disappointment didn’t shortcircuit my mother’s proudly dressing her new-born boy as a girl.

People raised in the Great Depression understood the value of money and buying new baby […]

The environment of Pattaya Bay is getting a lot of attention these days. A sewer system and water treatment plant has decreased the amount of raw human waste entering the bay and the boat Mafia have to take their reckless crafts out of the water every night. In addition to the beach expansion project the […]

Ten years ago Pattaya was a forgotten resort. Its name was synonymous with fat German tourists frequenting go-go bars. Somehow in the last three years they city has shucked that image and property developers invested big money into housing estates aimed at the foreign retiree market. Only they forgot one thing.

Foreigners can’t own land in […]

 
Most recently magician David Blaine tried a Houdini trick in NYC’s Lincoln Center. He was encapsulated in a water bubble one week. This was training for escaping from chains after holding his breath for 9 minutes. He punked out in the end, saying his fingers were too waterlogged to work the illusion.

A Thai waiter saw […]

If the greatest compliment is plagiarism, then the Thais are the best complimenters in the world. Fake watches, fake bags, fake love. Fake top 40 bands at beer bars cranking out dinosaur rock for those stuck in the 70s. Copies of your favorite meals. Even the soap operas follow the scripts of DALLAS , but I often […]

The Songkran celebration ushers in the Thai New Year as well as the coming of the rains ending the hot season. The festival is focused on Wan Parg-bpee April 15, when homage is paid to ancestors, elders and other persons deserving respect because of age or position. Younger people poured scented water into the palm of an […]

Like most farangs I had a hard time learning Thai. It has taken years and only those Thais who know me well can decipher what I’m trying to say with a Bostonian accent.
Conversely most of what is said to me is too fast for my ears to catch the meaning, but one day I was […]