Seaview Everyday
It is 4:26 a.m in NYC. I’m in a hazy, groggy state. I’ve been back in the US for a couple days and I am severely jetlagged. Underneath all that, there is a yearning, a gnawing in my gut. I want to blame the present state of sleepyness and craving for Thai cuisine to which I have become accustomed, but it’s something more than that.
I want to go back to Thailand.
I’ve been dreaming of it from the moment I left. Wrong, I was plotting my return before I left. Not only because I miss the consistant 90 degrees of the sultry sun or the plenty of hot, spicy curries that tickled my belly every morning, I want to go back to that place because it has more of an understanding of me, than I do of myself. They get this “quality of life” thing I always talk about and have mastered it. Thailand has seduced me to the point where I can not concentrate much on anything else, so as I recall the path I have just taken, please take my words like they are coming from a young teenage girl who is in love head over heels for the first time in her life.
Phuket Horizon
The scene you encountered above is in Rawai, Phuket. Beautiful, yes? During the second half of my trip this is what I woke up to … every morning. An extraordinary sea view, nature and stillness (Stillness interrupted by the unintentional clanging of cups filled with green tea, thanks Michael, but you still get the point ). Birds chirping, palm trees swaying, and warm breezes are all what many people crave when they visit “exotic” locales such as this. But I am different and I am considered insane by many Thais when I say that I prefer the city. While I loved walking around half-naked on a private beach in Phuket everyday, it is the city of Bangkok that is stuck in my craw. I would sit on the beach wondering what was going on at my favorite night market or craving the smell of incense and lilies from Golden Mount. I missed walking past the ladyboys in the mist of night, we both sizing each other up with ultimate approval and understanding. I missed my 5 am morning jont through Silom, watching the vendors set up their one of many satay stalls getting ready for the breakfast rush.
HRH Welcomes you!
I missed the constant display and huge photographic billboards of the king gently raising he hand as if to say, “Welcome.” In Phuket, I was “trapped” at a luxury five-star resort… I know, tough life right? It was tucked away from the daily goings on of Thai life I was fortunate enough to witness in Bangkok. Sure, I needed a break from sightseeing but I also need to roam the city streets and people watch and old tourist guys with big pooch bellies in speedos are not what I’m looking for. Bangkok is one of the first places ever in my travels that I still can’t really tell you how to get from point A to point B by walking and following signs because I didn’t follow the signs (both in English and in Thai), I followed my heart.
Like her handsome and ultimately most powerful cousin, New York, I am smitten with Bangkok. Most people are afraid of her and actually ache for her less stressful immediate family members, Chiang Mai (popular with the locals) or Phuket (popular with the tourists). But I absolutely dig Bangkok, for like New York, she is the charismatic leader, the provider, the center of the Thai world. While “The real City of Angels” seems like she is sleeping after midnight, there is always something simmering somewhere inside her. Unlike New York, she is softer in approach but just as strong in spirit. She has a noble “raison d’être” accepted by all the people who both live and visit this amazing city. While Bangkok and Thailand overall seems to cater to men and their wills, it’s is run by the sensibilities of women. Don’t understand? I will explain more throughly as we progress further together.
Bangkok Bells
It’s not that I don’t dig Chiang Mai, Phuket, Koh Samet and other fabulous places in Thailand, for I do. I also need more time to explore them. You need at least a month in Thailand alone to feel somewhat full and satisfied. Chiang Mai is especially beloved by most Thais for it is peaceful, slower, and cheaper. Chiang Mai is the country to Bangkok’s city. Oh, and before I get ahead of myself, let me add that Thailand is the “first” country I have visited in Southeast Asia. I still have to visit Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Maldives, Singapore, Indonesia, and on and on and on, so I leave myself poetic justice to change my opinion however I don’t think I’m gonna. When you know, you know. FYI-I will be going back to Southeast Asia for the spring for a two month minimum to check out some of those countries I just quoted.
In her book, “Commited,” Elizabeth Gilbert quotes her husband’s Phillipe little saying that has big meaning for me, “Me da um camtinho,” which means in Brazilian, “Give me a little corner.” That has been my mantra for quite sometime. New York is my ultimate corner however I’m a universal square, meaning that I have a four corner requirement. Buenos Aires is another soft place for me to land. He is my secret South American lover. Most would think from the way to speak of Rio de Janiero, he would be the first runner-up in this category but alas Brazil and my birthplace Miami are almost cousins, too similar, too incestial in many cases but don’t get it twisted, I love Rio more. Unlike NYC, who is my boyfriend, Buenos Aires, who is my lover, Bangkok can be my best girlfriend. A relief, a resolve, a refuge. Quite safe and honorable, sometimes smiling through gritted teeth at my hereditary hot-headness but understanding and inviting me to learn what it is to be Thai. Cool, calm, collected.
So hopefully, you are relaxed by this scene and you can come on this journey with me. While my giddiness is still prevalent, I still can let you know what the real deal is here for it is not perfect. It’s pretty close though.
But for the most part, I think I’ve found my third corner. Let’s go back to Thailand, shall we?
