Rabbit Card for Year of the Horse

Nok has a new Bangkok transit card…

Maew: A horse? Why has it got “rabbit” written underneath? 
Nok: It’s the Year of the Horse. Even people who are not Chinese know that.
Maew: Ah. Will my old rabbit card still work?
Nok: Course. But you’ll be out of style.
Maew: Maybe I just like to be Thai.
___________
Voice-over

Bangkok BTS cards (rabbit cards) are stored value commuter cards. You tap it when passing through the ticket-gate. Certainly saves time queuing. And with their different designs like limited-edition pop culture, seasonal themes or cartoon characters cards can become collectors items. 

Waking from a train nap

Meeting at the club after an absence...

Paul: Yeah, well, there’s been some hospital visits.

Olaf: Something major?

Paul: A bit. Radiotherapy.

Olaf: Oh. Sorry to hear that. Takes it out of you a bit?

Paul: Mornings are OK, pretty much a box of birds. But then there’s a train ride to the hospital, the treatment and then the ride back.

Olaf: Is it far?

Paul: Hour and a half. Each way.

Olaf: You can sit on the train?

Paul: It’s off-peak, so there are seats. Usually I fall asleep, but when I wake up the people sitting in the opposite seats seem like demons and devils.

Olaf: Radiation induced delusions?

Paul: I don’t think radiation causes delusions, it could be just sleepy brain or foggy eyes.

_________

Voice-over

 

Radiotherapy can cause fatigue and for some, a train ride can bring on a sudden nap and an abrupt wakening. And it might take a moment for the shapes of nearby passengers to reset.

Three Station Announcements

on the Central Line...

Three Hawks,
Kitsch George
Olive Oil

.
Announcement: Stopping now at Three Hawks. The doors on the right side will open. We will stop briefly to let an express train to pass. Those passengers wishing to arrive downtown quicker please transfer to the express on the opposite sided of the platform ... Doors closing.

Next station is Kitsch George. Change here for the Village Well Line. Doors on the right side will open. Mind the gap ... Doors closing. Next station is Olive Oil.

__________

Voice-over

Precise announcements in the manner of those admirable Japanese train services. Make allowances for the station names being personally rendered as direct translations and approximated English.

...

Train whistles

Marcus, steam train buff, and student of train whistles, instructs his nephew, Jerome.

...

Marcus: Whistles go back a way.

Jerome: I guess they signal something?

Marcus: Sure. You know what long-long-short-long means?

Jerome: Nope.

Marcus: Approaching a public crossing. Rule 14L.

Jerome: Hmm. Hoot. Hoot. Hoooooot. Hoot?

Marcus: You got it. But the system can do emotions too.

Jerome: Sad whistles as in Woody Guthrie?

Marcus: Can be a whole railroad folk song in one steam train whistle hoot. Like this. Listen.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­___________

Voiceover

Signaling systems have a limited lexicon. “Watch out! Coming through.”

Language systems have big refined lexicons and complicated syntactic systems. “See you downtown in the King George for a pint after I hand over 454 to maintenance?“

And yet the mechanistic signaling system early on was adapted to include emotional expression. Unsurprising really since emotions probably preceded lexis.

...