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Well, with a massive subscriber list of two people this is the beginning of the definitive account of my travels round Thailand and Cambodia.

All the regular stuff first: flight was long and boring, been in bangkok since I arrived, had two massages and one hangover (ongoing!) and a good time last night.

Bangkok is a crazy city - full of market stalls on about every street selling everything possible - from fruit shakes to fake jeans. The mix of people is as awesome as any Asian city - last night I spoke to a Nepalese businessman in transit between Guangzhou and Kathmandu, an American on holiday and spent the night drinking with a British vet student (who is to blame for my atrocious hangover!). Bars are everywhere and open all night, and range from tiny stalls selling cheap beer and liquor with a few tables set out on the street, to mock western bars which are almost as cheap. Nothing in this district (khao san) is expensive, it really does feel like the world's bargain basement bazaar.

Anyway, last night me and the vet student aforementioned were sitting on the street making are way to the bottom of a few bottles, when a kid approached us trying to sell roses. He challenged me to a thumb war - if I won I got all of the flowers for free and if I lost I would buy a rose from him for 20 baht (c. 30p). So with a few people from other tables looking on in amusement we battled it out. I swear I've never seen fingers move that fast before - it took him about 3 seconds to beat me and, obviously, I bought the flowers off him. He stayed and played with me for a few minutes (jokingly pretending to beat me up untili admitted that he was number one) and then skipped off. he seemed genuinely happy and was such a great kid that I couldn't help but think - he doesn't deserve this. His life is selling flowers to semi drunk foreigners late at night - most probably working for someone who gets all the profits and gives him some shitty food and shelter. When he grows up, he wont have the same appeal and this job will be lost - and what then, with no education and no real skills in a city like bangkok? I wonder whether its just my 'western values' that I'm imposing on the situation that make me feel this way - he was, seemingly, a happy little chap after all. Maybe he doesn't need good job prospects and an education? I can't fully believe, though, that my feeling that he deserves these things is enitrely unjustified.

Thailand is often called the 'kingdom of smiles'. And that kid had maybe one of the most beautiful and genuine smiles I've ever seen. It seems that no matter what future, what conditions or problems people have they are still fully capable of giving you a beaming smile and a bit of a chuckle. I wonder they really are as happy as this suggests - a genuine question which I don't believe I could find the answer to in few weeks. So for now, I guess the plan would be to keep smiling back and appreciating the general impression of happiness that this brings.

Anyway - I'm off to eat then sleep. Company seems to have alluded me tonight so I've not a lot to do, and anyway I have an early bus and am feeling a bit worn out. Photos online by the weekend, I hope!

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Comments

[suscriber]

In the kingdom of smiles...
Please keep smiling back, yours too is a genuinely beautiful smile, and I'm convinced that somehow smiles make this world a better place. Thank you for sharing!