A whole aisle in T21 is  devoted to shops selling models of people and of TV/cinema/cartoon characters.  And they aren't cheap; it's adults who buy them. Friendship Supermarket in Pattaya Tai has a large selection of craft accessories which my partner checks every time we go into Pattaya. This is to feed his hobby of making these models. On display at home I have monks, farmers, a fearsome -looking temple  guard  and even village scenes with houses. He takes enormous care when making them. The detail is impressive.

Why are  Thais and other Asians so attracted to  the miniature?  Is  the Japanese love of bonsai trees another example? 

I think the whole cute 'kawaii' thing originated in Japan.

Everything and every place in Japan seems to have its own character or mascot and there are speciality shops all over the place. There a Character Street inside Tokyo Station.

And the emphasis is solely on cuteness.

I think the attraction to miniature things comes from the small houses people live in. 

I think you're right. You recall "Kawaii" go-go bar in Boyztown? It took me months to work-out what it meant.

15 minutes ago, Londoner said:

Je crois que tu as raison. Tu te souviens du bar à hôtesses « Kawaii » dans Boyztown ? Il m'a fallu des mois pour comprendre ce que ça voulait dire.

I hate Thailand! THese people see you as walking wallet and Patong Beach in Phuket is absolutely disgusting!

6 minutes ago, BOYGEORGEANDMARILYN said:

I hate Thailand! THese people see you as walking wallet and Patong Beach in Phuket is absolutely disgusting!

You could always leave ASAP!

6 minutes ago, Keithambrose said:

Vous pourriez toujours partir au plus vite !

I will never put a single foot in that dirty country....and  more the guys are ugly!

43 minutes ago, Londoner said:

I think you're right. You recall "Kawaii" go-go bar in Boyztown? It took me months to work-out what it meant.

FirstI saw it I thought is misspelled "Hawai" 

13 minutes ago, BOYGEORGEANDMARILYN said:

I will never put a single foot in that dirty country....and  more the guys are ugly!

I see you changed your mind because now you got a girl

12 minutes ago, vinapu said:

Je vois que tu as changé d'avis, car maintenant tu as une fille.

No I prefer latinos!

I don't believe anyone is forcing you to visit.  If you don't care to visit a place, then don't.  There are many places in the world I have no desire to see or visit in person.  I don't go around bad mouthing them.  That is totally inappropriate.  If you don't want to visit Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia...or wherever.  That is your choice.  There is absolutely no reason to be nasty and mean about it.  We all have our preferences as to what we like and don't like...not just in regards to men, but people and places in general.  That is life.  Get over it.  My mother always told me...if you cannot say something nice about it, then perhaps you shouldn't say anything at all.  Maybe you should follow that advice.  

18 hours ago, jimmie50 said:

There is absolutely no reason to be nasty and mean about it.

Sounds and acts like he's French.... smelly rude, cheap French people  🤷‍♂️

4 hours ago, floridarob said:

Sounds and acts like he's French.... smelly rude, cheap French people  

No, just a troll... don't feed him

On 5/9/2026 at 6:18 PM, Londoner said:

A whole aisle in T21 is  devoted to shops selling models of people and of TV/cinema/cartoon characters.  And they aren't cheap; it's adults who buy them. Friendship Supermarket in Pattaya Tai has a large selection of craft accessories which my partner checks every time we go into Pattaya. This is to feed his hobby of making these models. On display at home I have monks, farmers, a fearsome -looking temple  guard  and even village scenes with houses. He takes enormous care when making them. The detail is impressive.

Why are  Thais and other Asians so attracted to  the miniature?  Is  the Japanese love of bonsai trees another example? 

Any pictures of your collection?

Love to see it

3 hours ago, Olddaddy said:

Any pictures of your collection?

Love to see it

ask Londoner to allow you to sleep on his balcony so you will have an access to collection

1 hour ago, vinapu said:

ask Londoner to allow you to sleep on his balcony so you will have an access to collection

No problem; my butler, Alfred, looks after all my guests.

On 5/9/2026 at 10:43 AM, a-447 said:

I think the whole cute 'kawaii' thing originated in Japan.

A final thought. I was discussing the word with P on LINE this morning in our usual Thinglish. Is the word used in Thailand? I enquired  Yes , he said. And there followed a conversation that ranged from the odd to the surreal.

Eventually, it all made sense.  "Kawaii" and "KY" (the lubricant) sound exactly  the same.

 

 

On 5/10/2026 at 4:55 AM, jimmie50 said:

I don't believe anyone is forcing you to visit.  If you don't care to visit a place, then don't.  There are many places in the world I have no desire to see or visit in person.  I don't go around bad mouthing them.  That is totally inappropriate.  If you don't want to visit Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia...or wherever.  That is your choice.  There is absolutely no reason to be nasty and mean about it.  We all have our preferences as to what we like and don't like...not just in regards to men, but people and places in general.  That is life.  Get over it.  My mother always told me...if you cannot say something nice about it, then perhaps you shouldn't say anything at all.  Maybe you should follow that advice.  

Oh because someone has a different opinion to you ...oh shock horror 😲

Get used to it ...it's a nasty world full of nasty people and not everyone will agree with you or say things nice 🍬🍭

In fact I relished at the time last year in Soi Bukhao standing outside the bar with a group of other drunken fools🍻🍺 as we shouted out names to the "farang faggots " walking past with their boyfriends or ladyboys 🗣️🗯️🗯️🗯️

One of my best times to be nasty ...and I will tell you what I felt great for days !!!😃

7 hours ago, Olddaddy said:

Oh because someone has a different opinion to you ...oh shock horror 😲

Get used to it ...it's a nasty world full of nasty people and not everyone will agree with you or say things nice 🍬🍭

In fact I relished at the time last year in Soi Bukhao standing outside the bar with a group of other drunken fools🍻🍺 as we shouted out names to the "farang faggots " walking past with their boyfriends or ladyboys 🗣️🗯️🗯️🗯️

One of my best times to be nasty ...and I will tell you what I felt great for days !!!😃

You forgot your meds again? 

On 5/13/2026 at 9:10 PM, Londoner said:

Eventually, it all made sense.  "Kawaii" and "KY" (the lubricant) sound exactly  the same.

They shouldn't. It means 'kawaii' is being mispronounced.

It's pronounced 'car-war-eeee', not 'kay-why'.

I was in the Supreme Court today, where 2 young Chinese guys are on trial for murder. One is 24 and the other is 30, but they look a lot younger.

OMG! They are super kawaii - I couldn't take my eyes off them! Butter wouldn't melt in their mouths.

If found guilty they are facing 25 years in prison - such a shame for someone so young.

If they were gay, they woukd have a great time, but unfortunately, they are straight so I hate to think what will be happening in the shower!

 

 

2 hours ago, a-447 said:

It means 'kawaii' is being mispronounced.

It's pronounced 'car-war-eeee',

Only if you think 'car' and 'war' rhyme 😈

The Thai word would probably be naarak (น่ารัก)

On 5/9/2026 at 3:42 AM, Londoner said:

I think you're right. You recall "Kawaii" go-go bar in Boyztown? It took me months to work-out what it meant.

It confused me as well. Coming from Hawaii, I thought it was a misspelling of the largest island (Hawaii) in our archipelago, or perhaps of the Garden Isle (Kau'ai). It was all very confusing until I learned the word was not Polynesian at all, but rather Japanese.

9 hours ago, a-447 said:

They shouldn't. It means 'kawaii' is being mispronounced.

Having lived in Japan for a number of years, I can confirm that @a-447 is correct.  Kawaii, the Japanese word for cute, is pronounced with three syllables, not two.  

10 hours ago, thaiophilus said:

Only if you think 'car' and 'war' rhyme 😈

The Thai word would probably be naarak (น่ารัก)

I later realised that I should have written 'waa' instead of 'war', but it was too late to change.

I was thinking in Japanese, not English, when I wrote that.

 

19 hours ago, a-447 said:

They shouldn't. It means 'kawaii' is being mispronounced.

 

 

 

 

But we  were speaking Thinglish! In my, personalised version, mistakes are common place; such as confusing the  Thai word for ice (kaeng) with that of the male genitals. 

On 5/9/2026 at 10:18 AM, Londoner said:

A whole aisle in T21 is  devoted to shops selling models of people and of TV/cinema/cartoon characters.  And they aren't cheap; it's adults who buy them. Friendship Supermarket in Pattaya Tai has a large selection of craft accessories which my partner checks every time we go into Pattaya. This is to feed his hobby of making these models. On display at home I have monks, farmers, a fearsome -looking temple  guard  and even village scenes with houses. He takes enormous care when making them. The detail is impressive.

Why are  Thais and other Asians so attracted to  the miniature?  Is  the Japanese love of bonsai trees another example? 

idk what you mean by models? Like Mega Plaza Saphan Lek? Anime figurines?

Edited May 15May 15 by mima_bk
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