From Cambodia we continued on to Thailand. We had been there before, twice. Amazing Thailand, as the advertising slogan goes, is a feast for your senses. Most days are sunny and they have a refined cuisine. There are pristine white beaches, a rich marine life, limestone rocks that create a dramatic silhouette, and thousands of islands. But what really makes this one of our absolute favorite places on Earth is the Thai people. They are kind, helpful, honest and happy.
For two slightly existentialist Europeans the Thai conduct and outlook on life is a breath of fresh air. These people know how to go through an entire day in an upbeat mood. Communication starts with a big smile, one of those grins that goes from earlobe to earlobe, a smile that feels genuine and is so contagious it lets you forget your much grayer usual self. Being in Thailand makes you feel peaceful and more attuned to the sensuality that surrounds us all. Maybe it's just because Thailand is in the tropics or maybe it's because most of these people live according to the Buddhist dharma.
The Thai embrace the word sanuk, which means fun. The highest compliment one can receive is to be fun. To be considred suay, which means beautiful or good-looking, is also very positive. Thai people are very concerned about having fun and looking good. There are two more words that begin with the letter s that are equally important: sabai, which means comfortable, and saduak, which means convenient *). Although they haven�t received the official stamp, like France's Libert�, Egalit�, Fraternit�, there is definitely a foundation to social etiquette constructed on these four pillars: fun, beautiful, comfortable and convenient. On the other hand, if you are impolite, serious or, God bless you, boring, then you will be of little interest to the Thai. Boring activities, places and people are avoided like the plague. Superficial as it may sound, a society based on these principles make a very pleasant place to live or visit. It is very hard to argue against these likes and dislikes with people who are always smiling.
Unfortunately, we are not the only ones to have developed a romantic relationship with Thailand. The tourism industry is huge and growing every year. We wonder if Swedish is Thailand's second official language after the incomprehensible Thai (which is written by forming noodles into characters). All tailors advertise their skills at the Swedish language, restaurants serve Swedish Gevalia coffee and wherever you turn your head you here people going �ja, jaha ja, jod� as they inhale. Jonas gets to go to Sweden as a bonus every time we go to Thailand.
One of the highlights in Thailand was seeing Christian and Clear again. Remember them? See the page on Ladakh to refresh your memory. We met up on Railay Beach on the Andaman coast, not far from Phuket and Ko Phi Phi that we visited in 1999 and 2000 respectively. We rented kayaks with our new friends to paddle out to an island 5 km off the coast. The snorkeling was amazing, but we left the boat ready to kill each other. Christian explained very calmly that double kayaks are also called �divorce duckies� and that couples should never attempt to paddle together in synchronized movements.
Next time around we chose smaller kayaks, one each, and went on a magical tour through Ban Talen, a mangroved estuary in canyons and lagoons lined by 200-meter limestone cliffs. The monkeys were friendlier than in Vietnam. They jumped on to the kayaks for a free ride while eating our fresh fruit. Since the impressive lime stones have made Railay a rock climbing mecca, Jonas took a short course in this precarious sport. He now has scars on his knees to prove how brave he was.
Before leaving the south we spent a few Robinson Crusoe days on the almost deserted island Ko Poda. We thought we had finally avoided the tourist masses when we heard �Ja, ja� through the palm trees as 40 Swedes disembarked on the island. A question to all the Swedish readers: Are there any of you left in Sweden or have you all migrated to sunnier latitudes? |
