December 4, 2003

Getting to Thailand

BANGKOK – Holy crap I’m in Thailand.

It’s nowhere near the last ‘holy crap’ feeling I’d had earlier this year. Getting here was like slipping on an old, broken-in pair of Levis recently pulled from the attic. The aroma, the people, the denseness, the controlled chaos. Forget the fact that this city is a mere 12 time zones away from where I’d started Tuesday morning, being in a major world city is a wonderful feeling.

But it’s Thailand.

The 27-hour journey started as the sun barely peeked over the horizon in Columbia. A clear sky welcomed the little CanadAir jet and we left a misty ground cover below.

Walking off the plane at Bangkok International Airport was a far cry from South Carolina. Aside from its sitting literally on the other side of the globe, it reminded me, for some reason, of Queen Alia Airport in Amman. The place is older, used. It’s yellowed as a week-old newspaper. The floors are swept, but grungy; counters clear, but worn.

The customs official brought Jordan to my mind once again. As with most widget-making civil servants – specifically, one who doesn’t like his job – none of them seem to enjoy being at work. There are some benefits to it (like the cool uniform, and decent health care in some countries), but there’s no satisfaction in stamping passports one after another like some Henry Ford flunky. The poor bastard didn’t even acknowledge my ‘thank you’ as I walked away.

But hopefully that’s the extent of the similarities between the two countries. The last thing I want to think of is some square, Middle Eastern culture whilst in Gomorrah.

So today starts the short, two-week adventure in Southeast Asia.

I’ll keep you posted.

- Rich