The FARANG Speaks 2 Much

When we first started the bar both us did not really know what we were getting into but that was part of the reason for starting the Big Mango to begin with - a total change of pace. There are no books on how to start a beer bar(I got a lot of notes), the how-to small business books about Thailand are either too light or too complicated, and neither of us could truly prepare for the task at hand anyway. Despite everyone telling us not too we pushed forward and opened the Big Mango Bar.

Along the way though we have seen some pretty funny stuff, learned a lot and have no regrets. Sure I may not be pulling down my old salary, racking up the frequent flier miles like I used to but I am gathering plenty of material(deep down I am a writer) and experiences that will surely impact my future career possibilities. So given this I wanted to start a new category on the mango blog that will feature from time to time a little of the behind the scenes action that happens at the Big Mango. I wanted to do this from day one but just did not have the - well balls so to speak but no time like the present I guess.

Here we go.

Anytime you open a new bar, restaurant or business in Thailand it is customary to have a Monk come and bless the new business before you open. You are suppose to consult a Monk to help you pick which day to bless the bar, which day to open and what time to open. Frankly speaking we both knew that our opening was going to be somewhat of a soft opening given that we did not have enough staff yet and we had not really publicized which day we would be opening. Hell - we never even had a grand opening so be ready for our 1 year anniversary since we will be making up for not having a grand opening.

Monk consulted we now knew which day we would be opening and it happened to coincide with our approval for our Thai Work Permits(another interesting story). Yes - we are trying to actually run a legal business in Thailand if you can imagine that. Day picked the next order of business was to plan to have the same Monk come early on our opening day to perform a ceremony at the bar. Yes. We are a beer bar. We have girls working in our bar. So right away it just seemed odd to me that a Monk was going to come to a bar in Nana Plaza but this is the Buddhist way, this is Thailand and we are in the Twilight Zone.

We worked late the night before getting things ready so arriving at the bar early in the morning to greet the Monk was not my idea of a good time but this is important stuff and armed with a large iced coffee I was ready to go. I won’t get into the ceremony much but it is fun stuff given the water being thrown around, the Monk commenting on the items in the bar and applauding us for not opening a go go bar but none of this is really that interesting unless you were there. What kills me is the overall paradox of the situation - a sexually abstaining Buddhist Monk blessing a bar in Nana Plaza. What really killed me though was his satchel.

Each Monk usually carries his meager belongings in a satchel. Some satchels are the requisite bright orange bag that matches the clothing of the Monk. Other Monks might carry a real backpack or briefcase like contraption but still others use something that they either picked up or were given as a gift. Our Monk was carrying a black satchel that looked just a little too hip but contrasted well with his bright orange outfit. One side of the satchel was a logo for Schering, a pharmaceutical company - on the other side of the satchel was another logo - Diane 35. Diane 35 is the leading birth control pill used in Thailand. All I could do was grin and remind myself that I wasn’t in Kansas anymore.