Word: baht
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...eyed over the frayed and faded garments. "All genuine." The market-stall's proprietor, however, is more guarded than giddy. Dabbing his face with a handkerchief, a flustered Mr. Udom isn't keen on strangers asking about his traffic in military surplus. He's delighted to talk prices (700 baht, which is $17, for said field shirts; 1,000 baht for a U.S. Air Force flight suit), but where he gets all the merchandise from, that's strictly confidential...
...since talk radio flourishes at the intersection of anonymity and outspokenness, even the shyest Asian can discuss anything from democracy to dildos without having to divulge his or her identity. "The people who had no voice before can now reach a whole city for the price of just one baht [the cost of a phone call]," says Kanok Ratwongsakul, host of an influential Thai political talk show...
...hundred baht. Take it or leave it," says Wiset Samsee. I've been negotiating with the 28-year-old driver for some time, but Wiset is unmoved. He seems more interested in the procession of jiggling, pierced, backpacker flesh parading down Bangkok's Khao San Road than in tackling the Friday-afternoon rush hour...
...That's nearly twice what a taxi would cost," I protest. He shrugs and takes a pull on his cigarette. "80 baht?" I venture. It's almost 6 p.m., and every minute wasted means another minute's worth of traffic backing up in the capital's sclerotic arteries. The hell with haggling, it's still less than $3. "Okay," I concede, "100 baht. And please, drive carefully." Wiset flicks a switch and the two-stroke engine explodes into life with a flatulent blast, filling the immediate vicinity with evil blue fumes...
...visit to the Grand Palace, a kickboxing match at Lumpini Stadium, shopping at Chatuchak weekend market and a longtail-boat ride to the Temple of the Dawn. Tourists get palpitations, incipient lung spots and bragging rights back home; in exchange, the smirking pilot gets a sweaty handful of baht and the chance to strike terror into visiting souls...