It
was an unforgettable journey I went to a land of happenings with my
family and my cousin’s way back in 2017. We had been thinking
about exploring Thailand and the day came in June. Going to the
airport to board a flight with my family would stay in my mind
forever. My little son, Bevan, who was about three years old, was
given a piggyback ride by me as we entered the airport. People
around, I still vividly remember, were waving and smiling with my
little fellow who had no idea where we were taking him.
As
we landed in Thailand, the excitement we had was something that
cannot be expressed or turned into words. The air, trees around and
almost everything seemed quite similar to ours but the appearance of
people between the two countries was so distinct. Most Thais looked
the same unlike us, Sri Lankans.
By
the time we got to our hotel we were knackered so thought of having a
nap before we ventured out to explore more about the area where we
were staying in Bangkok. Bangkok, as we had heard, was a very
exciting place with so many things happening. When we woke up in the
evening, the sight there in the street was unbelievable as so many
Thais pulled and pushed their carts and stalls on the kerb as if a
termitarium had been sprayed with some chemicals. It was heaving with
people getting ready to sell their day’s harvest. Meat items,
veggies, fruits, and all kinds of comestibles were available. It all
looked like a complete smorgasbord to me.
However,
I must say that I had to change the complete perception of this land
after I landed. Thailand is a Buddhist country which meant to me that
they refrain from killing and eating animals. It was truly not what I
saw. Believe it or not that many stalls had an image of a Buddhist
monk. In Buddhism, animal cruelty is discouraged but here in
Thailand, it sort of seemed that meat is the staple food of them.
Night
life was so active. It seemed that Bangkok never slept. Night clubs,
pubs, bars and massage parlors were so vibrantly open and thriving.
Women dressed with stunningly beautiful cloths looked femmes fetales
to me from every corner. This sight reminded me of British author
Stephan Leather’s ‘private dancer’ which I had read
a long time ago. The fate of these beautiful girls was something I
could imagine quite easily. It says in ‘private dancer’
that tourists visit this destination for their insatiable libido. Sex
is also for sale. They are pretty happy to get themselves sold as sex
objects to satisfy their sex customers who usually have flings with
them just for lust. You will never find a platonic love here.
Everything
was on sale in the streets. People were heaving, making it more like
a hornets’ nest has been stirred up. The man who was selling
fruits right in front of the hotel where we were staying was such a
generous man who I will never forget. His stall was so poor but not
his heart. He got a pretty good smile on his face all the time and
the excitement on his face when he spotted me in the street was
unbelievable. He kind of celebrated spotting me in the mornings with
a little bit of a twist of his body. We bought fruits from him every
morning during our stay there -mainly water melons and papayas. They
were crimson red and massive in size. This man was so generous that
he gave us some extras whenever we bought from him and never forgot
to say ‘bye’ to us. It seemed that he lived his life as
if he’s living his last few days.
Down
the street, beers and other beverages were on sale galore. It was
probably an uncommon sight for me as we never get to see people
selling alcoholic drinks on the kerb of the street in Sri Lanka. For
a moment, I thought this would be great if this kind of thing is
allowed in Sri Lanka. Oh…. but it would be rather chaotic and
eventually it would come to an end or would be banned.
People
selling shoes, clothes, food and many more items were so busy with
their work. There were streets that were completely filled with them
especially during evenings. In the afternoons, vehicles even public
transport plied on the very streets. That was a new and exciting
experience for us to see the same street being used for two different
purposes.
Bargaining
is possible but if you start nagging, Thais, especially, girls don’t
like it at all. I wanted to buy a shirt that looked stunning to me
but the price was little too dear to me so I approached the girl
behind the stall and offered her a price for it that made her so
livid with me. And she was furious as I started speaking fast English
which she couldn’t really latch on to. Another such incident
happened when we were walking down the street, a street vendor, a
girl with hats and caps had a pretty good collection. Among them, one
I wanted to buy but again it was so expensive for me. But I tried
negotiating and she got so angry because I was trying to put her
price down.
During
our short stay there, we could understand how much people struggle to
make ends meet. It also seemed that there’s no restriction when
it comes to business in this land of colours. Things that are illegal
or banned to sell on street in Sri Lanka were well on sale in the
streets of Thailand. For example, beers could be bought from a street
vendor. This was something surprising for me as I have never seen
such a thing in my home country. A scene many a Sri Lankans would
love to see and experience though.
Every
inch of land or space was occupied by businesses. Thailand is,
without any doubt, a hub for a battery of business activities.
I am
a Sri Lankan writer residing in the UK at the moment. But I have
never been published or paid for any of my works. This attached piece
of my writing is about a trip I went on in Thailand. I hope
that you'll like it.
(Unless
you
type
the
author's name
in
the subject
line
of the message
we
won't know where to send it.)
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