The Thailand Chronicle

My eyes opened to a pleasant voice over the PA system. My wrist watch showed a time of 2 in the afternoon although I had no idea of which time zone I was presently in. As my thoughts began to gather, I could feel a slight excitement building up. I stared out of the window to see a white thread-like coastline snaking itself on a sea of crystal clear turquoise. Small islands dotted the seas, like celestial lamps on a night sky. As the sun light filtered in through the layers of plexi-glass and ultra-cumulous clouds beside me, my clouded mind raced back to the recent past.



The crazy two trimesters had barely ended and dust was yet to settle on the once frequented corridors of the global village. The in-famous desert heat had begun to set in and had sent the mercury soaring. A week into the summer break saw me making plans for the three most adventurous months of my life. Here I was on a flight to the land of smiles, Thailand, with an internship in hand and a global mindset in my head. 

The otherwise uneventful flight over multiple time zones, opened up in to a swanky airport which did justice to its name of Suvarnabhumi; and it was just a step further in to the customs section when realization struck.

“Sawasdee Khraa”, said a pretty female officer in the immigrations department. “Yes please”, I was quick to reply.

“Yin dee thon ruph soo prated Thai” she retorted, a smile plastered across her face. Unsure of what was said, I handed over my passport, with an equally humongous smile, assuming that either of the two would meet her requirements.

Owing to either my non-responsive manners or to the large queue of travellers building up behind me, she did not proceed with the conversation any further, thankfully.

After collecting my luggage, the next big thing for me would be work my way out of the maze I was in and find the person who was supposedly waiting somewhere out side to receive me. Chaotic traffic, a sea of humans and beads of sweat all over my face- were the first few snapshots of this place which was set to be my home for the next three months. With a dysfunctional cell phone in my hand, and without any clue of where I could find the person, I was left wondering about my next step, when perhaps God answered my call in the form of a mortal.

“Khun Abhijit, Chan ma ruph khun pai soong ti bahn khun”, he said, grinning ear to ear.

“Beg your pardon”, I said, only making out my name from the sentence spoken to me.

“Chan ma ruph khun pai soong ti bahn khun”, he said.

The words sounded similar to the ones he had just spoken but the result was the same. All I managed to do was grin back, with a bigger smile. It was only after he pulled out a paper which had my picture and my name on it, did I realize that he had been more vigilant than me and had spotted me in this multitude of travellers to take me to my destination.

A pleasant drive through the country side followed with lush green meadows galloping alongside at break-neck speed for company.

The twelfth floor view from my apartment, with the sea on one side and hills on the other, built up quite a contrast. Clouds had gathered on the hill top and threatened to burst apart soon. The gentle breeze was gaining momentum and was shaking and sighing at the threats of a storm. The sea was a plate of shining silver, vivid sparkles chasing around on the crests of gentle waves. The contrast was in danger of deepening further when my platter which was used to, rather restricted to, vegetables and chicken was in danger of being replaced by mussels and squids. I owe it to the burger outlet round the corner, and I was never more thankful to Colonel Sanders for having set up this chain.

Between over-zealous vendors and common jaywalkers, it took great maneuverability on my part to make my way to the joint and equal maneuverability on the part of the commuters and the drivers to avoid running into me. It was a distant comparison to the empty side walks and the lifeless streets of Glendale.

“Sawasdee Khraa”, greeted me at the entrance. Guessing it was a welcoming gesture, I managed to blurt out something similar amid peals of stifled laughter from the people surrounding me. Sheepishly looking around, it did not take me long to apprehend that I had made a mess of my first attempt to speak Thai. The realization which had struck me upon entry had sunk in now; English was a big no-good and I was left with the options of either learning Thai or enhancing my knowledge in sign language.

“Khun ya kin arai?” asked a smiling face from behind the counter. By this time, my cheeks were beginning to hurt from constant smiling and my ears had become non-responsive to anything spoken to me. It was very imaginative on the part of the management of that food chain to have introduced pictorial descriptions along with the names of the items available.

“I could do with a bit of English please or else I need to see the menu card.”

A jab and a point later I had managed to covey my requirements.

By the time I stepped outside, the blue skies had turned gray. The sun was lost somewhere among the clouds. The wind had begun to pick up. As the dark clouds rolled in, the beautiful evening donned the look of dusk. Streaks of lightning scarred the dark skies followed by the boom of thunder reverberating in the distance. The wind now blew a real gale. The searing heat had begun to recede; the winds were perhaps messengers of the impending bliss.

The trees swayed in the wind, panes shattered and roofs creaked and groaned. Banners on the roadsides held onto their ground hard. Rains could be smelt in the distance. The pitter-patter started. The first few drops hit the dry ground and formed a perfect medley of light and dark. The pour increased. It turned into a drizzle. The surrounding concrete was beginning to lose its color. A steady downpour followed. And finally torrential rains swept across. The weather cooled down considerably; the mercury plummeted by quite a few degrees.

As I stood, drenching myself in my first rains in Thailand, I could feel a sense of relief surround me. The rains, I prayed, will clean the air around, settle the dust and drive away all the clouds that had gathered over the last few hours.



The occurrences through out the day are best described as a dream, a dream to a wannabe globe-trotter, a dream that borders itself succinctly on the realms of reality and disbelief. The two trimesters at Thunderbird had done its trick. The global mindset drug had begun its course of action. As I lay on my bed, staring into the ceiling above me, a smile hit my face.



“Sawasdee Khraap” I said to myself. My Thailand Chronicle had just begun.