The plan, yes, I know what the plan was, to arrive in the LOS (Land of Smiles) and hit the books and the keys after hitting the ground. Only I couldn't get to it, I found myself sitting, or rather, trying to sit, in a lounge chair that had only one setting, flat back. Not at all condusive to using a powerbook, but I managed to get through 'Don't make me think' for a second time to stave off the guilt of not getting right down to the promised DWMX2004 manuals.

And how did I manage this position when I was supposed to be whizzing around Thailand with a gang of rock huggers, dipping into the DW on the inbetweens? Well, as all seasoned designers know, right before any holiday there's a huge push to get clients happy, resulting in a severe oversight as to how much sleep one actually needs. By the time I'd reached Bangkok, my world had shimmered around me into a bad rendition of Max Headroom, and it was apparent to all that I be best left at the first practical stop along the way, the Felix River Kwai resort, Kanchanaburi (highly recommended, btw}

Two days later after having been picked up, I was resting up while sitting in a riverside restaurant in Southern Thailand. Time was spent enjoying the feeling of being out of a vehicle that had been in motion since I stepped off the plane in Bangkok three days earlier. The conversation had just veered away from regional uplift to how spicy a ferang (foreigner, used to denote the French, now it covers everyone not Thai) could eat Thai food, when a shyly smiling local chap carrying a swinging stick loaded down with handmade grasshoppers moved close to the table. Now, one thing amongst many I've learned from coming to Thailand all these years is that the Thai's are extremely talented with bits and pieces others would normally ignore. So after paying what amounted to BN$.10, in my hands I held a beautifully handcrafted grasshopper made from roadside grasses. It was at that point that the idea for this months column was born.

For the rest of this journey I'd like to share with you a small taste of the various visuals I ran across while peeking out from the rear of a car. As you follow along on the journey, please excuse some of the photos as they are not meant to be picture perfect. A large number really HAVE taken while whizzing around at 100 km per hour, the others while waiting under some outcrop in the sizzling sun. It was fun trying to guess what the Thai posters and signs really meant, but became apparent that although everyone in the vehicle spoke English (some as a second language), we really weren't speaking the same English. For instance, while travelling through a deeply wooded area I asked "Is this the national park?" the reply came back "Triassic granite, meta morphic core complex". (HUH?) So you see, even with a common language we still had to depend on visuals to make our way. (grabbing the map away from those in front solved this problem for me). I cheated a bit with the Thai as I had a help with some of the explanations by my good friend Joe (Sopon Pongwapee), who was kind enough to fill in the holes.

On my first trip to Thailand I was a bit nervous about getting around without a driver, mainly because I had fears of unreadable foreign road signs. But Thailand's sinage is some of the best I've ran across of any non english speaking country. (Others have argued against this, but as they are not here and i'm telling the story, I'll proceed). For me, in part it's because they've graciously put their main road signs in Thai and English. Too bad if you're French, but, c'est lah vie! Other local sinage is clearly designed with the important information in red or deep saffron, for at-a-glance alerts. The sign at right is representative of a typical colour scheme you'll find around the country, yellow, saffron, red and blue. Joe tells me "A sign with a saffron, red and blue scheme indicates a local restaurant. It's easy to see outside of Bangkok. A red word usually means a popular food of that restaurant."

And as it's the season in Thailand for Flame Trees to flower, I couldn't but help wonder if, like Noel Coward, Thai designers were celebrating nature. Not with poetry, but by using the colours from a tree in bloom that are most vibrant against the green landscape.

Unless you can read Thai script, being able to pick out local sinage is pretty useless to know, so I'll after we deal with some of the promotions, I'll touch on a few symbols I've run across that have helped me in small but important ways.

The Happy Dprompt promotion is everywhere in the LOS. Driving around you can see the smiles acting like swings, with various people from all walks of life represented. But while it's clearly a clever design, is it original? I found the below colgate banner in a small town north east of Bangkok, a jewel of a find. It got me wondering, which promotion came first, the Happy Dprompt, or the Colgate ad? Joe's comment didn't answer this question but wasinteresting all the same. "Dprompt is one of the cell phone service lines for credit recharging. The smile means easy to talk and save. On the other hand, the Colgate ad means smile with healthy, white teeth."

The poster to your right is one of my favourites, and one we kept coming across all over Thailand. Guesses were made between the ferang in the vehicle, ranging from an imminent rock concert, to warnings about AIDS. The other occupants laughed in astonishment (in that lovely way only the Thais seem to share) before filling us in. In the past years road deaths have taken an alarming tole on the male youth of Thailand. Taking their anti-drunk driving campaign seriously Pouring cold water on road carnage, Thailand has instigated several high profile pushes to educate the public. Joe says "The Government anti drunk driving campaign touches on Thai careless thinking. Some of the cutouts show a man thinking that a safety belt is tight and uncomfortable, but you might die without one." (I haven't added that particular one in here, it's the same grapic, yet with a break in the white outline).

And now we come to the obvious Pepsi-Coke splash-out to win the pockets of the public. There are towns you drive through plastered with anything to do with both. You'll find them side by side on clocks, posters, fridges (shown left) and shop sinage. If it's stationary (and sometimes not), you name it, it's got a coke or pepsi logo plastered over the front back or centre.

I've selected a couple of the more eye catching posters to present below. My preference is for the Coke poster as it has far less clutter. In the Pepsi poster I can't decide where to settle my eyes! Joe injected "Energy drinks use popular, young superstars to promote their product, especially M-150. On the contrary, Red Bull uses the Thais spirit as hospitality presents a drink for Thais style. But the Pepsi and Coke promotions use a normal Thai superstar or foreigner."

Thai-style coke sinage

Coke promotion

Pepsi promotion (way too busy!)

The further you go into the countryside, the more often the coke-pepsi fest will be replaced by eye catching ads for M150 - an energy drink. And what energy the artwork evokes! I imagine that this was a fantastic project to be involved in for the designers.

M150 energy drink on the side of a building

M150 energy drink at a local gas station

I'll backtrack a bit with this next one - After alerting the occupants on our journey that I was on the lookout for local packaging, I plucked a container similar to the below and said "This is representative of bad marketing". Then went on to explain that it was because there's nothing on the package denoting what the product is. The way I was looking at it, by going with the design alone, I'd guess the product under all that plastic was derived by something made from flowers. A honey product perhaps? "Never!" pipes up the occupants, in there quiet Thai way. This is made by a very famous local brand, who's Thai name means flower. And that's why on each package you'll find various flowers instead of a project description. Mango fruit rolls are adorned with lilies, daisy's, sunflowers and orchids. Some are wrapped up in roses. But from childhood the Thais have been conditioned to associate the package design with a high quality product, and I'd advise you to do the same. What's in it is a surprise at first bite, but the taste sensation is outstanding. (And I stand corrected.)

And now to the Thai tips - Last year Joe passed on one of the handiest for searching out good restaurants. He pointed out that it's all down to the lights. Forget fancy dressings, forget parking lots with tarmac. If the restaurant has white lights instead of coloured surrounding, then there's a good chance it's dedicated to the art of thai cooking and not entertainment. In his own words "A Light and colorful restaurant means a night life with lots of noise generated by a performance & dance, or food & drink. A colorless restaurant concentrates on the food and environment of that shop. Moreover, a light and colorful restaurant outside of Bangkok with a normal style means you've found a karaoke restaurant." Another visual to look for when trying to stay clear of unsafe water, is the shape of your ice in drinks. If the ice is chopped up, then it's come from water that may not sit well on a long road trip. But if the ice is small and round with a hole clean though the middle, it's an easy bet that it's made with safe water. And lastly - if your car has broken down on the side of the road, no need for expensive neon triangles. Merely snap off the nearest tree branch and extend it from a window or bumper, or lay it on the ground in plain sight of oncoming vehicles. (Yeah, just try THAT one is the suburbs of L.A.!) This method is also used on the island of Borneo, where I live, but I'm told it's not done on peninsular Malaysia and I won't even ask about Singapore, even if they have lightened up on chewing gum.

Additional subjects I ran across just from reading the Bangkok post while sipping a cuppa:

Twin Lotus strives to eliminate 'prejudice'
Twin Lotus Co will spend more than 130 million baht to change Thai consumers' prejudice against dark colours similar to that of its toothpaste, and to re brand its herbal toothpaste for the younger generation.

Superbrands Council for Thailand
The Superbrands Thailand Organization officially announced the coming printing of a new reference book featuring success stories of the strongest Thai brands, both international and local.

And what mention about LOS doesn't have the obligatory photo of the wandering monks? This shot was taken in Changmai while shopping for digital cameras. Future designers of Thailand? Your guess is as good as mine. But a final word from Joe - "Monks in Thailand try to get technology to develop Buddha. But some against this say a monk should concentrate on a normal life, because our Lord Buddha said “Everything is nothing, you might touch but nonexistent”.

This is Cat signing off. Meet me back here next month for 'Graphic Designers in Borneo', and I promise you it'll be more than a 'drive by'.