Thailand…what a country!
I think I have fallen in love with another country. Despite the hot, humid summers I think that I would love to live there. The people are amazingly kind. Everyone smiles even if they do not know you and seem to always be willing to help out. The first time I really encountered anything Thai was with my students. My one student Gig would always write in his essays, “Thailand, a land of smiles.” I never knew what this meant and figured it was some type of slogan he applied to Thailand. This past week has shown me exactly what this “land of smiles” truly is. And it turns out “land of smiles” is an actual expression used for Thailand.
Bangkok is a wonderful and reminded much of home. It is just like any other large city that is full of concrete, large buildings, and traffic. The city is spread out quite far and it is hard to get to a centralized location. I arrived at 1am and I made it to YHA Hostel at 2am. What a better introduction to Thailand than to see a group of young Thais eating at a street vendor. Of course, you know one of them was a tranny! I also noticed a Western guy trying to “holla at a shawty” aka prostitute. If I were to see this in Los Angeles or New York I might be turned off, but there was a sense of charm in this as Thailand is known for many things and its diverse population is no exception.
Transportation:
Bangkok has a sky train that links from the airport through most of the major areas. There was a subway, but I did not have the chance to experience it. The subway system is not that extensive and not very handy. There were taxis, but not much needs to be mentioned there. The base fair is 35 Baht. Many of the taxis are hot pink or yellow and green. You can also get around by motorcycle taxis. This is very convenient if you don’t have bags or luggage. Last, there are tuktuks. No experience of Thailand is complete if you have not been on a tuktuk. I used a tuktuk a few times to get around when I was visiting the national palace and many of the temples around it. It is kind of hard to explain a tuktuk, so I will just add a picture. These little death on wheels are kind of like motorcycles that have a space in the back that can hold up to three people. They are small so they move quickly in and out of traffic. All I can say is…craziness!
The People:
Trannies, temples, and tuktuks, oh my! Thailand is such a diverse country. The skin complexions are all over the place. You have Thais who are lighter and maybe appear more “typical” to the Western eye. In the southern part of Thailand the skin complexions are much darker and some even resemble Filipinos or Samoans. I believe Austronesian peoples inhabited the southern part of the peninsula, which is why there is a drastic difference in appearance from those of northern Thailand.
The language is a tonal language and seems to be much more complicated than Chinese. In addition, the alphabet is quite extensive with many letters, which also include marks that detail sounds and tones.
One of the most stricking things about Thailand is how friendly everyone was. People actually smile. It is a great feeling when a stranger gives you a warm smile. People are very polite and generally do not push other people out of their way, a very stark contrast to China. I used to think certain manners were very Western in belief, but Thailand has made me believe differently.
Another thing that is different than much of the world is Thais are fairly tolerant. Regardless if they believe in something or not they are able to tolerate it. In Thai society you do not have people who gawk at those who are different than them. One of the most obvious examples of this are the lady boys. There are many gay in Thailand and there are always many men who live their lives as women. Many of them you may never know are women until they speak. Although, my first tranny experience was at 7-11 (there are a million in Thailand). The cashier was a feisty lady boy who was bossing everyone around. He, or she, had long hair and what must have been a bra because he had to small little mounds, which I assume were supposed to be boobs. To add a cherry to the whip cream he had…get ready…wait for it…stubble! The nerve of him/her to come to work as a lady, but not shave. It was a hot mess (for those who do not know this expression…He did not look put together). This is very common in Thai culture. Almost every shop, restaurant, hotel, or business had at least one gay guy, lesbian, or lady boy. I think there is a lot to be learned from Thai culture. Last note on lady boys, many of them are biologically men, but they live their lives as women and they do not wish to be eccentric and live on the fringe of society. They dress as women and function as women and do not try to be drag queens or on a float screaming down the street. They live in society as any other person would.
It is just an amazing culture and I recommend it to everyone. I am very happy that I took the opportunity to visit this country. It was also extra special because my student Gig took the time to show me around Bangkok. He told me, “Mr. Josh, just let me do all the talking because you look like Thai from the south. Thais don’t have to pay to get into the temples.” Unfortunately, this only worked a couple of times. I was not dressed appropriately most of the time when we went to the temples. I guess I did not get the memo about not wearing shorts to a Buddhist temple.
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