Cue the queue rage

So...just exactly what is a 'queue'?

Well, according to Wiki it's 'where a line of people wait' = first come, first served.

In Thai it's spelt คิว (kew) and sounds the same as the English word 'queue'. "French (out of Latin coda), from the French cue, a word originally meaning "tail", but evolving over time by the 1700s at least in French to also mean line." Askville Amazon

If you've frequented shops here, like 7-Elevens, you'll soon learn not to leave a gap more than half a (Thai) person deep, between you and the counter, or the person in front of you....in the queue, if there is one!

Don't get me wrong, there are pusher innerers in all countries, under the different pseudonyms: queue jumpers, butters, bargers, budgers, skippers and ditchers etc. And, I've even encountered (on two occasions here) where a gentleman actually moved aside for me, before his transaction had even finished.

* Waiting in line in Hong Kong airport and an Indian guy interrupts our hamburger order to ask 'What can I buy for?'...holding out a handful of coins.

* Waiting in front of an informal queue, in Australia, for the ticket dispenser to be filled (so we could officially queue), only to have my hand nailed and grazed by some bogan diving from the back of the group to collect her number.


*Standing in Barcelona airport, discussing with some German (I think) guys about what name they had for the people who'd just jumped our queue...'forward people'. 

* Just recently, waiting at Chiang Mai airport, when Air Asia decided (in its typical wisdom) to divert 2 small queues of individual travellers into one, to make way for a massive group who were travelling together...all would have been hunky dory, had it not been for the family of 8 causing some sort of half an hour hold up at the counter.

* In reverse, (Australia) having shopkeepers literally look over the top of the heads of children in front of me, in the queue...what? Anyone under your eye level is invisible?

* And, when some European guy blocked my way at immigration, shoving his passport under the nose of the lovely ticket dispenser man...'Is your name Snap?' dispenser man asks...'No' the guy says....'Well get back in line.'

Same guy had borrowed a pen from me earlier, when first arriving (at 7 a.m. in the morning!!!!), to put our names/number down in blue and white on a paper queue. I seriously thought he was going to have some sort of convulsion if I didn't lend him the pen first. He hovered over me as I rummaged around trying to retrieve it from my bag. I stood my ground  however, and passed it to him after I'd put my John Hancock on the list.

Strike me down if the same guy wasn't leaning on the counter, trying to get in front, when my number was called. Whatever! That's why we have numbers on our tickets.

No matter what country you're in, you encounter some people who haven't been educated in queuing etiquette, to some degree! And, if you're in that country for a while, you really start to *notice*.

...so, I'm in one of my semi regular 7-Elevens, once again (I know what the go is there...there is no go! Hug the counter, or the person in front of you, or someone will slink in from the side) and I'm second in line. The staff see me and start talking and joking, in Thai, about my usual order...another story.

I'm waiting behind three students buying Slurpee type drinks and microwaved goopy food, when I spot a small lady leaning in from the left. RIGHT! That's it! There is a time when one tires of being the invisible person in the line ... and farang are big, so she can't say she hasn't seen me.

She starts to lean in even more, so, ever so inconspicuously and slowly, I slide my foot forward between her and the students. The students eventually pick up there purchases and begin to move away from the counter.

The small lady goes for the kill, to plonk her stuff on the counter before me. I say "excuse me" (in Thai) politely *smiling* and look to the 7-Eleven boy, who is holding his hand out to ME in a 'your next' gesture...which is a rarity.

VICTORY!!!!!!...is that pathetic?

I return to my Thai friend's restaurant and ask her what the go is with queuing here? It's OK, she's used to farang asking rude questions. Apparently she has similar problems, so I'm relieved to know it's not just me. I was starting to get a complex. How does she deal with it? Usually the same way I do. Generally ignores the situation or says something to the person next to her, loud enough for the culprit to hear.

However, when you don't have language on your side it leaves one without the option of indirect verbal castigation, with only charades, facial expressions, tactical maneuvers or brute force remaining ;)...or there's always vipāka.

Cheers!

Snap's other blog Chiang Mai Thai

Fire! Fire!

Our good friends 'M' and 'J' arrived from Australia last week and after meeting them at the airport, we went to their hotel...the luxurious Holiday Inn. 'M' and I were standing outside and noticed a large wall of mist emanating from the side of the building, from a few stories high. We figure it's like those similarly used to cool down coffee shops and restaurants.

Shortly after the parking lot attendant starts blowing his whistle, directing cars away from a certain area. Sirens start blaring...from an ambulance, exiting the hospital directly across the road, which hurtles into the hotel car park and from a fire engine, which has over shot the hotel entrance and now needs to reverse in the busy street.

"It's a fire drill!" one of the management staff informs us, saying that all of the guest have been alerted.

Back home I've worked in offices and shops that have legally mandatory, regular fire drills. But ours never involve actual emergency services attending. Pre-nominated fire wardens (employees) have specified tasks...counting heads, ensuring allocated areas have been evacuated etc. Then we all take our merry time, returning to our offices.

So, I was surprised to see the fire truck not only arrive, but to engage the stabilising legs and set the cherry picker (AKA Skylift F32HDT) in motion.

Spray of mist in the background

Google Translatastic!

OK...you would be excused in believing I clearly have too much time on my hands, which I do not. I’m just biding time until we take off!

Part of writing a blog, and reading the blogs of others, is a journey of discovery. Usually a blog is born out of a purpose to share, educate and or entertain. While I’m pursuing my own interests I come across some remarkable and humorous material.

I (as many of us do) have a chuckle when I find those funny signs or menus written in Chinglish (to which whole websites have been dedicated like engrish.com), but it was refreshing and amusing to read about just the opposite on China Hush. Some very poor judgements made in choosing life lasting tattoos...written in, well, Englese! I won’t be listing them, but you may like to take a look.

http://www.chinahush.com/2010/08/06/foreigners-chinese-tattoos/

Brisbane’s China Town...and what about China Town? I sincerely hope that the Brisbane City Council, in its infinite wisdom, took the time and money to ensure we have not littered China Town with similarly ridiculous signs.

I’m really interested in what new comers to Australia think when they arrive. Are we hospitable as a nation? What do some people find odd about us or our customs?

Stray for Prime Minister

Click   Vote for Stray! 

Why didn't I think of this sooner?

Why Snap doesn't phone Stray