THAI TRAVELS - LAND OF THE FREE

I was in Thailand last week. On my third trip there, in little over a decade.

The first time, I was a pink-behind-the-ears young manager, there for a national conference in the December of 2004. Part of a highly-enthused bunch of corporate rats, delighted to just get out of our hometowns and daily routine. We were looking forward to joys untold (the conference itself not being one of them). An annual team offsite, we didn’t do much during the first two days, besides getting drowned in corporate rhetoric being dunked by the top brass. Loads of spiel on business performance and the promise of good times to come. And the slew of absolutely exciting arsenal that would be at our disposal to decimate competition and kick ass in the market. Whew! Were we dying to get out of that conference hall or what!

We did this for two straight days, taking coffee-breaks to back-slap all the felicitated star-performers who were credited to have brought the rest of us – try-harder-next-time blokes – to the wonderful paradise that was Thailand. Of course, we hadn’t seen any evidence of the ‘paradise’ yet, in what seemed to be a beautiful country of fair beaches and equally fair women. We did eventually get a taste of it though on 3^rd and 4^th days (and nights) when a hundred of us were let loose on the streets of Bangkok. There was a lot of shopping, pubbing, eating, drinking and making merry. The nights ended with sun-rises, literally. When I look back on those memories, I see a montage of images of Bangkok from dusk-to-dawn and little else. It was a nice time but it may have just been anywhere else in the world that has a vibrant nightlife.

The next two trips were much later, within short periods of each other, in November 2014 and May 2016. These were family trips with Suni and our daughter, Baani. During these two holidays, I discovered not only a nation’s cultural DNA but was also amazed at the contradictions that the Thai people comfortably live with.

In 2014, we made our first stop at Pattaya, a mid-sized hamlet south of Bangkok, known for its beaches and naughty lifestyle. I still remember the first evening that the three of us stepped out to take a walk along the lovely, but crowded promenade along a beach that extended to over 3 miles. As we marvelled at the number of tourists, shops and eateries dotted along the promenade, I was surprised to see Thai women (and some non-Thai) under every alternate tree soliciting customers.

Did I not expect it? Was I being naïve in thinking this was a respectable area with such goings-on out-of-place? As I turned red with embarrassment at the overtness of it all, I glanced awkwardly at Suni and Baani. Suni seemed to be lost in similar thoughts and Baani appeared enamoured by some gleaming Turkish chandeliers across the road that had caught her attention. Instinctively, I huddled them closer to me, like someone expecting his companions to be kidnapped! However, as we walked a bit ahead, it was apparent to me that the activity below the trees, albeit in our face, was limited to just there. Even as we passed within a few feet of each of the women, some of whom were in deep negotiation with customers, there was no attempt to call out to me (I may seem immodest here, but a few of them did look at me admiringly but refrained from acting on it). Thankfully. Half hour later, we reached the end of the beach unhindered and it had become evident that the beach-side was a microcosm of Thai life. It belonged to everyone who was on it that evening. With no interference or claim from anyone else.

By the time we left Pattaya 3 days later, I didn’t have any apprehension of leaving Suni and Baani to walk by themselves along the beach, any time of the day or night (okay, maybe a bit at night). On the contrary, it was amusing to eavesdrop some of the interactions that would be taking place under the trees as we passed the people under it, during our evening sojourns.

Why is this memory one of my most vivid of Thailand? I have reflected sometimes over this query, because this story is one of my oft-repeated anecdotes about Thailand.

I think it may be so, because that promenade in Pattaya epitomizes a lot of what I have come to see in Thailand over the subsequent weeks. It is a country that is at peace with itself. The Thai people live many lives, all in complete and genuine harmony with each other. Bangkok, one of the most visited tourist destinations in South-East Asia, sees an influx of foreigners that many European capitals may never witness. Yet, all these people of different origins look like they belong there.

Bangkok is a city of abundance. Of everything. It has some of the biggest shopping arcades, rail & river public transport, high-rise condos & low-income ghettos, international hotel chains & hundreds of Airbnb rooms, massage parlours (I could see 6 of them right from our hotel room window), large cafes & street food corners, foreign cuisines & ethnic food joints, apparel & footwear being sold for the price of a Starbucks coffee, luxury brands from all over, sky-trains and bike taxis, gourmet food stores & floating vegetable markets on the river, scores of nightclubs and one Grand Palace! Heck, it has 3 temples, each of a standing, sitting and reclining Buddha, all within walking distances of each other (one of the best sights in Bangkok!). Across the country, the calm of Zen rubs shoulders (or trades punches may sound more like it!) with Muay Thai, one of the most popular (and violent) sports in Thailand.

What is it about Bangkok (and rest of Thailand) that endears it to the thousands of people who visit it every year? Is it something conscious on part of the Thai society or something intrinsic to their way of living? I have come slowly to the conclusion that it’s more of the latter.

This is a country rooted deep in age-old Buddhist culture. A phenomenon that transcends everything that the Thai do on a daily basis. On meeting, a Thai will greet you with a soft and genuine smile, folded hands and bowed head. ‘Sawadee kha’, the Thai way of saying hello, is one of the politest greetings around the world. It creates a climate of welcome and warmth that gently absorbs you into their daily life through the ensuing interaction. There is almost a feeling of being wanted, even though you are merely a visitor to their land.

One of the most common sights in Thailand is of ‘Ladyboys’. Most of us would turn to look a second time at them (some of them being so darn pretty, it’s not funny!) But for the Thai people, they are as integral to society as anyone else. Whether in nightclubs or malls, as performers or regular occupations that any of us work in, Ladyboys are visible everywhere. Their physical configuration is different, but that’s where the dissimilarity ends. When you interact with them, it is no different than talking to anyone else. Neither for them, neither for you. For a society that is centuries old, the Thai exhibit what can be considered true tolerance. In fact, they are not even being ‘tolerant’. It is something that nations with age-old customs and traditions, especially India, can learn a lot from. Diversity is a beautiful thing. If allowed to survive, it will eventually thrive. A society that is accepting, is a society that makes progress.

When I compare the Bangkok I visited 12 years ago to the one I see today, I see a bustling, modern and metropolitan city. One that many of us would aspire to work or live in, at least for some time. A city with lots to offer to singles or those with families, Bangkok has really grown in the last decade. While the luxuries of contemporary life have abundantly found their way into the Thai way of living, the temples, river markets and several palaces still serve as must-see sites for most people who visit Thailand. The grandeur of the Grand Palace, the ornate depictions in temples and the sheer sincerity of dedication in everything they’ve built, belies the simplicity that one sees in the Thai way of living. It raises the question – are the Thai exhibitionist or are they simply very devoted?

This is easily answered when you observe the Thai closely, from the way they conduct everything. Their strong approach of divinity-in-work is evident in everything that a visitor would come in touch with. The Thai are mostly Buddhist, with Christianity being a distant second in terms of the religion practised. As much as they differ in many customary ways, both these faiths find common ground too. And what one witnesses is a homogenously bonded social fabric that runs across the Thai milieu. From shady massage parlours to international F&B chains, from pubs dotted with pairs of old men and young Thai girls to Buddhist temples as oases of calm in a tirelessly fast-paced city, Bangkok is a melting pot that has something for everyone. And yet, if one were to look beneath the superficial perceptions of those who visit Bangkok (and rest of Thailand), I would wager that the impressions would be quite similar. Impressions comprising feelings of – pleasure, vibrancy, peace, excitement, novelty, warmth, modern & traditional, global & native.

As Bangkok continues to draw in the tourists, professionals and immigrants year after year, the transformation of this beautiful city and country will be a gradual but certain phenomenon. When I think about the strength of the social fabric of the Thai people, I am confident that the merging of several cultures will evolve Thailand into something even more appealing to the global traveller. I certainly look forward to my next visit to the land of the ‘free man’ – Thailand (The word Thai means "free man" in the Thai language, "differentiating the Thai from the natives encompassed in Thai society”). 

Ritto, June 1, 2016