Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large.

Don't do it!

Recently my uncle asked me what's a good car to buy these days. To which I replied: "None?" Now is absolutely not a good time to buy a car if you absolutely do not need one (my uncle definitely does not). Interest rates are still (relatively) very high. One look at an amortization table is enough to scare me away from committing. I already have a car, and it is paid off. Not being indebted for a car is a great feeling.

But even if you can pay all cash - thereby bypassing any interest concerns, inflation is the next problem. The average price for a new car sold is ~$48,000. That is a thick chunk of change. I detest people who counter with, "Well, if you adjust for inflation, it's actually not that bad." That may pass the math test, but it certainly does not pass the vibe test (as the kids say these days.) Nobody is walking around looking at these inflated prices with a mental inflation calculator. All we see is a high number the only a few years ago was significantly smaller.

Sure, the lucky some of us received raises to compensate. For the plenty that didn't: inflation really sucks.

And it's not like the high prices are ever going back down. The Fed may say inflation is under control, but that doesn't mean prices have gone back down! They've only stopped increasing as quickly. What is now expensive remains expensive. That birthday cake for your kid will forever now be $50 (and above). If I had kids, I'd bake the car myself. A penny saved is a dollar earned, especially if it's in an index fund held for multiple decades.

I think my uncle was disappointed with my answer. Who am I to get in between someone wanting to spend money? So long as you have some saved for emergencies, have at it. Just don't be like the tech workers in this article where getting laid off was immediately catastrophic. We all should have (or start saving up for right now) at least a year's worth of money runway socked away. Hopefully in a high-yield savings account, and not under a mattress.

Bangkok, part 9

Thailand was the first destination I’ve ever travel to that I did not know or understand the language. China and Korea, I know the languages. I only took Japanese for one year back in high school, but there’s a ton of Chinese characters in the Japanese text. In contrast, the Thai written script is completely foreign to me. Without romanization (like written Vietnamese), I can’t even begin to memorize anything.

Obviously, it’s not detrimental to not understand Thai. The country sees plenty of tourist every year, so English - the lingua franca of the world - suffices just fine. However, not knowing any Thai means I couldn’t get too deep into the super local stuff. Imagine going to a restaurant and the menu is only in Thai script - no pictures, no translations. In China and Korea, I can easily go where foreigners don’t.

Speaking of foreigners: there are indeed quite a few older white guys with much younger Thai female “companions” in Bangkok. I encountered at least a couple every single day I was there. This is not a judgement, simply a statement of what I saw. So long as both parties are consenting adults, it’s cool. Are the power dynamics skewed - white guy with money and a poor Thai girl that needs it for survival? Probably. But perhaps it’s hugely assumptive of me to automatically look at the situation that way.

On that other hand, Thailand is indeed notorious for being a destination for pocket-heavy foreign men seeking sex thrills. I was in Soi Cowboy - a street full of bars, clubs, and other things, and it was the largest concentration of white guys in Bangkok I’ve seen. An older white guy was literally shoving his hands down the string bikini of a hostess at the table next to ours. Pretty wild stuff.

Again, no judgement. Consenting adults. Hopefully.

It’s probably good that pictures can’t transmit smell.

We did it!

What I want to know is how is everybody affording these (illegal) fireworks? From what I can gather, a stash of them can easily go into the many hundreds of dollars. Those who have lit 4th of July fireworks since the start of the week is almost literally lighting a ton of money on fire. In this economy?

Or, put it another way: is there anything more American than going into (long-term) debt for some momentary fun?

Frequent readers of this blog (shout-out to the dozens of you) knows that I am hugely price-elastic. The high inflation of recent years has completely taken me out of the dining-out market. Even though I can afford it, I simply cannot in good conscience pay $12 for a meal at McDonald’s. We indeed have food at home, kids.

It seems there are a lot more than a dozen of us price-elastic consumers. I’ve started to see McDonald’s advertising a $5 meal deal: your choice of two sandwiches, four nuggets, a drink, and fries. The only explanation for this new strategy is there’s enough customers balking at the high menu prices. Me the customer do not care about your labor and material costs. If your price is above a certain emotional and rational threshold, we will simply go elsewhere.

Restaurants should at least do two out of these three: cheap, fast, and quality. McDonald’s is not quality (we can all agree), so it must deliver cheap and fast. With the recent outrageous menu prices, the company has failed at being cheap. No wonder people are choosing other options.

It’s too bad that just as this $5 meal thing arrives, my local McDonald’s has shut its doors. Sad!

Bangkok, part 8

If you’re a fan of Korean and Japanese cuisine, but you find yourself in Bangkok, Thailand: you’re in luck! For whatever reason, there’s a ton of Korean and Japanese restaurants there. So if your home country is in closer proximity to Thailand than either Korea and Japan, I reckon going to Bangkok for you is a good enough substitute - food wise. It’s probably cheaper, too (in the non wagyu category).

One of my evenings in Bangkok I was in the Thonglor district. A hip and trendy area for you night life party enthusiasts. As I was walking on the main thoroughfare towards the bar where my friend is having his post-wedding party, I noticed an endless parade of Japanese restaurants. There was at least one on every block. I adore sushi (raw fish on a thing of rice) as much as the next person, but this many Japanese restaurants in such a tiny area seems highly excessive for a place that isn’t Japan.

Good news for people like me, though. I’m not all that enamored with Thai food, so having other Asian options so readily available is a plus. Every morning in Bangkok I ate two 7-Eleven onigiris to start my day. You may think that’s crazy: going all the way to Thailand just to eat convenience store snacks, but I don’t think so. The 7-Elevens in the States do not sell onigiri (never mind the seedy and dangerous reputation). So whenever I am in Asia, I can’t get enough of those things.

Word on the street is that will be changing: American 7-Eleven is trying become more like the super awesome version they have in Japan. There’s a 7-Eleven less than a mile from where I live, so we shall see.

Bangkok, part 7

A negative about traveling solo is the inability to sample as much food as you would like. When traveling with others, you each get to pick a different item on the menu. Therefore you are able to taste a variety more food without wasting any. It is not feasible for me to order five things off a menu and eating only a portion of each. That is not how I was raised.

In the Chinese culture, we are taught to never ever waste food. Our parents and grandparents’ generation suffered through the disastrous Great Leap Forward and the subsequent Great Chinese Famine. Food scarcity is deeply embedded in our DNA. That is why Chinese people like to greet each other with: “Have you eaten?” The only time my father ate eggs when he was a child was on his birthday. Meanwhile, I am chowing down at least two eggs every single day. Hashtag protein.

Because of this upbringing, I did not sample as much variety as I would have liked in Bangkok. I buy only one menu item, I eat it entirely. The fridge back at the hotel is too filled with beverages they want to charge me money for to store any leftovers anyways.

It would be seriously remiss of you to go to Thailand and not eat the local tropical fruits. Fruits stands are everywhere. They’re cheap, buy a bag, get your daily fiber intake. As a lover of mango, I was practically in paradise. I particularly enjoyed eating mango sticky rice. For some reason, I never had it back in the States. It’s easily a top three dessert dish on my list now.

I just wish I ate more of it whilst in Bangkok. Traveling with others would have helped…

Bangkok, part 6

People who reckon that I went to Thailand for the food would be wrong. Of all the major Asian cuisines, I am probably least enthusiastic about Thai food. The opportunities just weren’t there. Besides, given the option, I’d pick Korean or Japanese food over Thai ten times out of ten.

Not to say Thai food isn’t great, of course. I like a good plate of pad thai as much as anybody. Fried rice placed inside of a half-sliced pineapple? I can’t ever hate fried rice. Tom yum though I am actually not a fan. I would happily drink Thai iced tea by the gallons if I didn’t care an ounce about my health.

But that’s about it as far as my experience with Thai cuisine. Therefore, my list of must-eat foods while I was in Bangkok was relatively short.

Pad thai is easy enough: they’re available practically everywhere. As a foreigner unaccustomed to the steamy Bangkok weather, I chickened out and went to an indoor sit-down restaurant with air-conditioning. I suppose the street stall pad thai is even more authentically delicious, but I didn’t want to eat a plate of hot food in the searing humidity. Verdict: it’s not overly better than what’s available in the States. Unlikes eating sushi in Japan, pad thai has not been ruined for me.

The two food items I most want to eat was banana roti and watermelon smoothie. This stems from watching lots of Korean-language variety shows. Whenever those shows travel to Bangkok, roti and watermelon smoothie make frequent appearances. Both can be found at any mall food court or night market. Roti is essentially crepe. Sliced banana is one of the many fillings you can choose. After finally tasting one, I can say it is indeed fantastic.

Bangkok, part 5

A thing that strikes you as you move about Bangkok is there are portraits of the reining Thai King Vajiralongkorn everywhere. Highways, schools, malls, municipal buildings, etc. As an American with a culture lacking in such obvious worship of high personality (granted, I do not live in the Bible Belt), it is definitely novel to see. Even as a kid in China, I don’t recall seeing as many portraits of Chairman Mao. Either the Thai people really love their monarch, or it is untamed royal propaganda.

Por qué no los dos? I’m sure plenty of Thai people genuinely revere the royal family. Apparently, Vajiralongkorn’s father - King Bhumibol - was beloved and super popular. He ruled Thailand (unlike the British royal family, the Thai monarchy is not simply ceremonial) for over 70 years. That said, it is against Thai law to say anything negative about the monarchy. Therefore, even if citizens don’t want to see the portrait of the king plastered everywhere, they can’t really do anything about it publicly.

I’ve been told that one can’t even step on Thai paper currency. Because the image of King Vajiralongkorn is on every denomination. (Similar to the Chinese RMB, where it’s all Chairman Maos.) Therefore, if you were to step on a 100 baht note to stop it from flying away, you’re essentially stepping on the face of the king. I guess you’re losing that 100 baht.

Upon further reading, it turns out King Vajiralongkorn doesn’t even reside in Thailand! The Thai King purportedly spends most of his time ruling from Germany. Now that I can fully understand. When you have the option between Bavaria and Bangkok (and the Thai monarchy is immensely wealthy indeed), the choice is with Deutsch. Actual four seasons of weather is way preferable than always hot and always humid. When you are kitted-up like a Thai King should, being outside Bangkok gets sweaty quick.