Oops. Wrong Order.

A funny thing happened when I was trying to learn to speak Thai. I tried to order one of my favorite Thai dishes, and it came out all wrong. I wanted to order Pad Khee Mao. Instead I said Pad Khee Moo. There is a big difference. The latter means-- well how I can I put this delicately--- pig s***. Oops. Of course this caused the restaurant owners to crack up. My Thai friends who were dining with me were hysterical as well. One of them told me what I had said. I was just trying to make sure that I was ordering pork which is moo in Thai. The correct way to say what I wanted would have been Pad Khee Mao Sai Moo. Obviously, I can't just make those kinds of substitutions. I'm glad they didn't give me what I asked for.

I went to the Grand Palace on Saturday. I almost don't want to post pictures of it because I really think you just have to go see it yourself to appreciate it. There were many areas that I couldn't take pictures of because it is forbidden.

People are football (or soccer) crazy over here. Right now you may not be aware of it, but there is a huge soccer tournament going on called Euro 2004 in Portugal. Unfortunately the games are shown at very bad times over here. Thai time 11 pm. 1 am etc. I haven't watched any on school nights. But I've been reading about them in the papers. It's a big deal. There was a big game between France and England yesterday. France won 2-1. David Beckham missed a penalty kick. If I were in America, I don't know if I would even be aware of this going on. I'd probably be watching the NBA Finals. I haven't been able to watch any of those games, but I'm glad that the Lakers are trailing 3-1 to the Pistons.

Speaking of Thai sports... I really want to go to a Muay Thai match. Muay Thai is Thai kickboxing. You may have heard of the Jean Claude Van-Damme movie "The Kickboxer," which by the way was filmed in Thailand. I want to see a real match. Some argue Muay Thai is the best hand-to-hand combat martial arts in the world. I've gotta go see it myself. Later.