Depart Mental

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

I don't like leaving places. Even when I am leaving home to go on a journey, I get very emotional.

I have a lovely friend who insists on dropping me off and picking me up at the airport when I undertake these journeys, and more grateful I could not be. However, I don't think that she knows that tears well up in my eyes as I grab the baggage from her trunk and head off in to the unknown.

By the same token, I get very emotional when I leave a country. It is unlikely that I shall ever pass this way again and inevitably the place and the beautiful faces of all the people that I have met there race through my mind as I silently say goodbye. This was the case in Ghana and it is the case in Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Saying goodbye is very hard to do when you know that you shall never walk this ground again.

Such is the inherent nature of travel. On the upside an amazing new place awaits while you are on the journey, but eventually the next place is going back home.

Nonetheless, home is a pretty damn good place.

As I walk through customs I see two beautiful friends awaiting me, and all of a sudden it doesn't matter that my luggage is in Washington, D.C., promising to catch up with me.

In an instant I become aware that I haven't had a meaningful conversation in more than a month.

As we head to the car I light a smoke and look at my two friends, grateful to be home, but perplexed by the meaning of my journey.

Yeah, I saw a lot of things, but I have no idea what it means.

It is going to take some time to understand.

http://www.goyestoeverything.com

Tuk You, Buddy

Image via Wikipedia

Today I went to the apparently magnificent Grand Palace. I say apparently as I was refused entry because I was not wearing long pants. Never mind that the shorts were so long that they only revealed one inch of skin above my ankle and I did have on a long sleeve shirt.

Nonetheless, the guidebook did say appropriate dress, (long pants,long sleeve shirt) and I did fail to meet the criteria. I am a guest in this country and if I fail to meet clearly stated requirements that is my fault and nobody elses.

As I take the deserved walk of shame away from the gate of The Grand Palace I run into a tuk tuk driver ( a tuk tuk is a sort of motorcycle with a buck seat, like a motorised rickshaw offering to take me to a number of free sights around the city.

I ask him how much and he says whatever you want to pay. I'm leery, and I ask again, how much? Same response.

He takes me to three interesting sights, but sandwiched among them is five different stores. It seems he gets a petrol voucher by bringing tourists to these stores. I'm already hip to this, as someone at the first sight we visit fills me in and tells me I should pay only 10 - 20 baht, as he is going to be compensated for bringing me to these stores.

At some point he fesses up with a help a brother out kind of vibe. Fine.

At three of the five stores, I actually make some small purchases, while salespeople entice me to buy expensive jewelry. After store number five I'm getting exasperated.

We go on to the third tourist destination, The Temple of the Golden Mount. All three destinations have been magnificent, but I'm somewhat annoyed at the whole process.

Part of the deal is a ride back to my hotel, and we have both met our obligations, so it is time to end this odd charade. Before departing for my hotel he insists on being paid, which is fine. Given that I "helped a brother out", I take him at his word and give him about 350 baht ( about $10), far more than I was advised to.

We pull away from the temple and he drives about ten feet and pulls over and says "do you want to get out here?". Clearly he is not happy with his compensation, but I stand my ground, reminding him that I did him a favour and that he said I could pay whatever I wanted.

Reluctantly he drives me to my hotel.

Thailand is known as the Land of Smiles, but just because an individual is smiling and unflailingly polite, doesn't mean that they're not trying to screw you.

http://www.goyestoeverything.com

We, The Pamperazzi

Tonight as I left Khao San Road, I saw two Thai children of about four years old playing happily. Normally, this would be a scene that would bring a twinkle to my eye, but this image was different.

The children were playing with a pile of garbage. I thought briefly about taking a picture, but given that it was late in the evening, a flash would be required, and in addition, I am uncomfortable with the idea of taking such a picture without permission from the parents.

I turned away as my eyes began to well up at the sheer inequity of human existence.

When I had the privilege of seeing Bill Clinton speak this summer, the thing that struck me most was his statement that " if you were given any choice about what to do with your life, you are among an elite one or two percent of all the human beings who have ever walked this planet".

My guess is that those kids I saw tonight are not among that elite percentile.

I wish that I had been able to take that picture so that I could show it to myself and my fellow Canadians when we begin to whine because our petty little desires are not being met.

The more I travel, the more I realise what a petty bunch of self absorbed people many of us are.

So much to be grateful for, yet so little gratitude.

http://www.goyestoeverything.com

Yes Siam

Image via Wikipedia

Greetings from the Kingdom of Thailand It is Sunday, my second full day in Thailand, and I am starting to feel myself again after the long journey.

The flight was horrible, though less horrible than I had anticipated, given that I had moved the expectation bar to absolute zero. I was also blessed with seatmates who were cordial, but had no inclination to share their life story with me.

It turned out that I had a ninety minute layover in Tokyo, and I was eternally grateful to find a little bar with a smoking room inside the terminal. It was a refreshing change from the relentless march of behavioral fascism that permeates the gaping maw of North American "culture". Plus, I was really dying for a smoke.

After that, it was back on the plane for the "short" hop from Tokyo to Bangkok, only six hours or so.

From the airport I grab an overpriced limo to my hotel, aware of the taxi scam that "mistakenly" takes you to the wrong hotel to coerce you to stay at that location. I am simply too tired to play that game. I pay the extra and arrive at the White Orchid Hotel in the heart of Chinatown.

As I check in I glance at the hotel bar to my left. Loud music blares and a gaggle of young ladies dance and laugh among themselves. Strangely, they are the only people in the bar, save for one young man who seems to know them. Curious, I think to myself. I had specifically chosen a Chinatown location to avoid the annoyances of the infamous Bangkok sex trade. Easier said than done, apparently.

The next morning I wake up in a daze, unsure of where I am. After a few moments, my head begins to Grok my newfound reality. Oh thats right, I'm on the other side of the world for some reason.

I look at my watch, remembering that I have a breakfast voucher that expires at 10am. I had last changed the time in Japan, but having no idea of the time difference between Thailand and Japan, I was clueless. The only thing that I knew for sure was that I had missed breakfast in Japan.

I shake off the cobwebs, shower, and head off to the hotel dining room on spec, pink voucher clutched in hand. Luckily, I am golden with three minutes to spare. It is a pedestrian buffet, but I am grateful to be eating anything not served by a stewardess.

Now it is time to venture out into the great bustling unknown.

 http://www.goyestoeverything.com