Bowling - A "Pool Hall'" By Another Name?

My son recently celebrated his birthday with a party at a Major Bowl venue here in Bangkok. A kids birthday party at a bowling ally would not be considered at all strange in the US - where bowling is considered sort of a family activity (if somewhat old fashioned now). The typical bowling alley caters to families during the day and on weekends and to leagues of armature (but still competitive) bowlers during some weeknights.

Most bowling alley's do serve beer and an assortment of typical American junk food - but they are never confused with a bar (or pub).

The first time we had my son's birthday party at Major Bowl here - I was surprised to learn that some parents where hesitant to let their kids join because they had always associated bowling allies with dark somewhat dangerous places that are not appropriate for children. [This would be how an American would view a pool hall]. When we convinced them to come with their child they were pleasantly surprised by how clean and light the place was. It is is interesting how different the perceptions of the same place can be - and how easy it was for me to project my view on the venue to everyone else. Fortunately, this year everyone was already familiar with the venue and new that I would not have my son's birthday in a dark and dangerous bar.

Food and Communications - a common denominator?

This last weekend I had the opportunity to go to an excellent buffet that was organized to celebrate the 23rd birthday of a restaurant that specializes in New Orleans style cuisine. I've been going to this restaurant on and off since 1996 and have always enjoyed the food and friendliness of the place.

This weekend I went with my wife and son at around lunch time. What I noticed was that as the place began to fill-up the amount and volume of the conversations increased as well. Further, people and groups of people who did not arrive together started conversations about the food and then about other topics. (The majority of the people at the event were long-term US expatriates and their families.)

Now this is not necessarily unique or even particularly interesting - but what struck me was that all cultures that I am familiar with, indicate that people enjoy talking and socializing over a meal. Thus, regardless of whether the operative culture is high or low context, individualistic or collective, high contact or low contact - people seem to like to get together to share food and drink. While there are differences in the mechanics of the serving/eating process and clearly important differences in the food itself - the core process of socializing and eating seem to be common to all.

Donut Positioning

It's funny how in different countries, the same basic product can be positioned and communicated so differently. Anyone who rides the skytrain in Bangkok will be familiar with the Mr Donut video where a group of hip teens sing and dance around pictures of tasty looking donuts. Interestingly the song is in Japanese.

From an American perspective this is curious because 1. we do not tend to associate donuts with the 'hip teen set' and 2. we do not associate donuts with Japan (or J culture). From our perspective donuts are for middle aged people who are not terribly interested in physical fitness and who like something sweet with their coffee. Of course we also have the cliche about the policemen on the beat enjoying the occasional donut break. There are no stereotypes of Asian people being fans of the donut.

Apparently the positioning in Thailand is radically different where the humble donut shop has become a teen hangout and the product itself has been remade into a Japanese delicacy. Perhaps the repositioning of the donut is easier in Thailand than in the US due to its relatively recent entry into the market (I believe the first franchised donut shop in Thailand - in Siam Square - is less than a generation old). Thus, its place in the mentality of the Thai consumer is not bound to a certain geography or lifestyle.

Interesting Commentary On Thai Culture

In the Sunday September 6, 2009 edition of the Bangkok Post there was an interesting commentary by Voranai Vanijaka entitled "That Which Nourishes Thailand May Destroy Thailand" in which he offered a critical evaluation of an aspect of Thai culture. Specifically, he wrote about how the 'greng jai' aspect of Thai culture seems to have led to a situation where young people hesitate to raise questions to their elders (teachers and other people in authority) while those same people in authority are not comfortable being questioned.

From this analysis he goes on to infer that Thai youth lack skills in critical thinking and problem solving. As a result of this element of the culture, Thailand is suffering from a range of problems, from social inequality and increased poverty domestically to falling economic competitiveness in the global market.

This is not the first time that this argument has been made, but it is one of the most approachable and persuasive discussions of the issue that I have seen recently. That said, it is interesting that a Thai columnist would make the case - and in some ways weaken his own argument - because by his logic the article itself is rather counter-cultural. Another thought that I had when reading the article was that the opposite might also be true in some Western cultures - where even when people have nothing to say they feel obligated to ask questions and/or critique the position of the speaker.