wowpow
September 4th, 2006, 08:03
Having just made a cut 'n paste of an article about the huge numbers of refugees in Thailand from it's neigbours with poor regimes - Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos - I was amazed to see that Thai workers have spread as far as Mongolia and they seem to always take two major exports - Thai food and Thai massage.
Bangkok Post today
MONGOLIA OVERSEAS WORKERS Thais face extreme weather, unfamiliar food and loneliness SIRIKUL BUNNAG
Ulaanbaatar _ The word 'Mongolia' for globe trotters conjures up images of Genghis Khan, the Gobi Desert and the great blue sky. But life for some Thai workers living there is not what they had imagined.
The extreme weather and meat-based diet are among the many challenges they have encountered. According to the Thai embassy in the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar, the 15 Thai workers in total are mostly cooks, masseurs, government officials and employees of foreign firms.
Somboon Kaewchingduang, 33, said he has been cooking at the Bangkok Restaurant, the only Thai eatery in Mongolia, for the past four years. He took the job in the hope of reaching out from a restaurant in Nonthaburi to an international setting, with little knowledge of Mongolia. ''I imagined an easy adjustment to a tourist town, only to find the city, food and lifestyle totally different,'' he said. The Mongolian diet is heavy on meat and dairy products, which arises from the need to stave off the cold and long winters. Food such as goat meat, dried cheese and horse milk, with less fruit and vegetables, is a culture shock for Thai tongues. Chicken, fish, pork and shrimps which must be imported into the country are pricey. The Mongolian-owned restaurant where Mr Somboon works has to import most raw materials such as chillies and fish sauce from Thailand.
''Besides this, the winter is bone-chilling. I cannot venture out of an apartment in the freezing temperatures,'' he said. Mongolian winters are bitterly cold, with nighttime temperatures often as low as -25C. From June to September, daytime temperatures are in the low 20 degrees Celsius. Loneliness is also a serious, threatening condition, Mr Somboon said, with few Thais around and a slim chance of be-friending Mongolian-speaking locals. He said he would return home after making enough savings from his $300 (11,300 baht) monthly salary.
Tinmanee Rabkaew, a 35-year-old masseur in the capital's Kobi Sauna shop, could not agree more about the food. ''After two months here, I can't wait to go home. I can barely eat the local food. I miss the spicy food back home,'' she said. ''But I want to stay a bit longer to get a good record in my passport, to pave the way to work in other countries.''
Besides the food, the fierce winter and lack of other Thais around are factors behind her decision not to renew her six-month contract. Adisak Darasorn, a slot machine technician, said he had been posted in Mongolia for two months to fix machines in bars and nightclubs. ''Mongolia is ideal for eco-travellers who look for unspoiled and exotic nature, but not for me,'' he said. ''There is nothing out there but the vast steppes. I just can't wait to leave.''
Thai Ambassador Jullapong Nonsrichai cited the weather as a reason for the absence of Thai investment in Mongolia. Businesses can operate only during the tourist season in the summer, which lasts from July to September. But most tourists are out camping in the desert and spend a limited amount of time in the city. Annual trade between Thailand and Mongolia amounted to $980,000 (about 36.8 million baht) last year, with $780,000 (29.3 million baht) in Thai exports including car parts, cosmetics, machinery, furniture and processed foods. Imports from Mongolia, valued at $200,000 (7.5 million baht), comprise garments, footwear, raw minerals, gems, steel and processed timber
Bangkok Post today
MONGOLIA OVERSEAS WORKERS Thais face extreme weather, unfamiliar food and loneliness SIRIKUL BUNNAG
Ulaanbaatar _ The word 'Mongolia' for globe trotters conjures up images of Genghis Khan, the Gobi Desert and the great blue sky. But life for some Thai workers living there is not what they had imagined.
The extreme weather and meat-based diet are among the many challenges they have encountered. According to the Thai embassy in the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar, the 15 Thai workers in total are mostly cooks, masseurs, government officials and employees of foreign firms.
Somboon Kaewchingduang, 33, said he has been cooking at the Bangkok Restaurant, the only Thai eatery in Mongolia, for the past four years. He took the job in the hope of reaching out from a restaurant in Nonthaburi to an international setting, with little knowledge of Mongolia. ''I imagined an easy adjustment to a tourist town, only to find the city, food and lifestyle totally different,'' he said. The Mongolian diet is heavy on meat and dairy products, which arises from the need to stave off the cold and long winters. Food such as goat meat, dried cheese and horse milk, with less fruit and vegetables, is a culture shock for Thai tongues. Chicken, fish, pork and shrimps which must be imported into the country are pricey. The Mongolian-owned restaurant where Mr Somboon works has to import most raw materials such as chillies and fish sauce from Thailand.
''Besides this, the winter is bone-chilling. I cannot venture out of an apartment in the freezing temperatures,'' he said. Mongolian winters are bitterly cold, with nighttime temperatures often as low as -25C. From June to September, daytime temperatures are in the low 20 degrees Celsius. Loneliness is also a serious, threatening condition, Mr Somboon said, with few Thais around and a slim chance of be-friending Mongolian-speaking locals. He said he would return home after making enough savings from his $300 (11,300 baht) monthly salary.
Tinmanee Rabkaew, a 35-year-old masseur in the capital's Kobi Sauna shop, could not agree more about the food. ''After two months here, I can't wait to go home. I can barely eat the local food. I miss the spicy food back home,'' she said. ''But I want to stay a bit longer to get a good record in my passport, to pave the way to work in other countries.''
Besides the food, the fierce winter and lack of other Thais around are factors behind her decision not to renew her six-month contract. Adisak Darasorn, a slot machine technician, said he had been posted in Mongolia for two months to fix machines in bars and nightclubs. ''Mongolia is ideal for eco-travellers who look for unspoiled and exotic nature, but not for me,'' he said. ''There is nothing out there but the vast steppes. I just can't wait to leave.''
Thai Ambassador Jullapong Nonsrichai cited the weather as a reason for the absence of Thai investment in Mongolia. Businesses can operate only during the tourist season in the summer, which lasts from July to September. But most tourists are out camping in the desert and spend a limited amount of time in the city. Annual trade between Thailand and Mongolia amounted to $980,000 (about 36.8 million baht) last year, with $780,000 (29.3 million baht) in Thai exports including car parts, cosmetics, machinery, furniture and processed foods. Imports from Mongolia, valued at $200,000 (7.5 million baht), comprise garments, footwear, raw minerals, gems, steel and processed timber