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Thailights
Bright Spots in an American Fulbright Year

William E. Wormsley

As a Fulbright Scholar, Bill Wormsley taught anthropology at Thailand's Silpakorn University. Thailights recounts his experience of Thai culture and society, as enjoyed in the company of a diverse assortment of colleagues, students, taxi drivers and go-go dancers.

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This is an anecdotal account of the year an American anthropologist spent at Silpakorn University in Bangkok.

The author is to be commended for his engaging writing style that makes the reader want to complete the 200 page book in just one session. The experiences of the author are told in a vivid and entertaining manner. The audience for the book is clearly not academic but rather anyone with an interest in Thailand.

As you read the book, however, you are struck by its oddness. This is an American Fulbright scholar who has been invited to spend one year teaching and doing research in Thailand. His teaching load was extremely light – consisting of only one course each semester. The rest of the time he could dedicate to research. As you read this book it gradually becomes clear that the academic chose to spend most of this time observing the pondlife of Khao San Road and Patpong. His “research” hours were from the early evening until late night. His research tools would invariably include a regular barstool and ice cold Singha beers.

The author only really reveals his main interest throughout his Fulbright year in the very last pages of his book. The main bulk of the book covers his impressions of Silpakorn University and travels he made throughout Thailand.

I found it funny that the author only spent about 10 pages writing about his area of research – namely the migrants from Isarn now living in Bangkok, ie. tuk-tuk drivers, street food vendors and bargirls. Since these 3 groups of people were the ones he spent a lot of his spare time with they became his research subjects. I guess it would not have been as easy getting in touch with all the Isarn factory workers or maids of Bangkok who probably outnumber the combined forces of the 3 groups Dr. Wormsley dedicated his time to. I guess it would have been less comfortable seeking out these groups and it would not have allowed him easy access to his “indispensable” tool – the ice cold Singha beer.

Being a night-crawler he would spend most of his time in bars – so he would mainly “research” the lives of bargirls, but as he ventured out of the many bars he may chat with food vendors and on his way home with the tuk-tuk driver.

I find it peculiar that despite his claim to have visited every naughty bar in Bangkok several times and knowing all the regulars he does not really divulge anything substantial about his research results. The 10 pages he writes on the subject could probably have been written by anyone who was a regular at these places. He spends a lot of time ranting against moral crusaders and ends up concluding that everything about Patpong is good.

If it was not for the fact that Wormsley’s writing style is so engaging and sympathetic you might almost be led to believe that this could be an account of the demise of an American academic.

Upon his arrival in Thailand he was greeted by his academic colleagues who went out of their way to accommodate him and fit him into their social calendar. When he departed Thailand it became a mad, drunken dash to the airport with strings of bargirls in tow and none of his academic friends to be seen.

The author mentions his wife in the USA at the beginning of the book and at the very end. During his time in Thailand he never refers to her. He never refers to any doubting arguments they might have had about his “academic” interests.

Furthermore, every single person Wormsley refers to in the book who became a personal friend and would introduce him to Thai life and take him on tours was a young Thai female. He did not seem to spend much time with anyone else.

So is this a bar crawler who tries to hide behind academic legitimacy? Or is he just a voyeur intrigued by Bangkok’s naughty reputation? Is he simply a detached academic who made some fascinating observations about Thai culture, with a special focus on the naughty subculture that the rest of the world has come to associate with Thailand?

I find it hard to conclude that Wormsley would not have been motivated by all the above reasons – some more and some less. The oddness of him describing his year of hedonism while hiding behind academic legitimacy is either him taking the mickey or he is simply trying to avoid jeopardising his academic career. Anyways, it does not detract from the fact that the book is well-written and a pleasure to read.