Time to stop picking on Nepal

 

 

I wrote a whole additional post about the cultural differences between Nepal and Thailand, but re-reading it just feels like too much now.

The core quality that I love about Thailand and that made me feel so at home there is how deeply considerate the culture is. Before a city train even starts slowing for a stop people are examining their relationship to space in the train car and anticipating the flow of people on and off the train considering how they can make that process easier for everyone. Everyone does it, young and old.

I'm a big fat self-conscious monster and being in a culture of people who are also constantly considering their use of space and the needs of people around them made me feel normal in a crowd for the first time in memory. I loved it. 

I had a few days in Bangkok before I left for the jungle meditation retreat, so I ate some great food and visited some parks. The parks are models for other cities. Nearly free bicycle rentals, miles of trails, butterfly conservatories, amphitheaters, public fitness events, exercise fixtures, performances, flowers, curated gardens. It makes me sad to know I live in the richest nation on the planet and to see such direct evidence of how we have squandered our wealt
h so inappropriately. We could have these things America, we could.    

My favorite, uniquely Thai feature of these parks, are permanent seating fixtures in semi-circles surrounding a tree. They are designed for a group of friends to sit facing the tree, together in contemplation. You can sit in the shade of the tree, but you must also intentionally consider the tree itself, as a distinct being worthy of your focus and attention. 

I love Thailand so much. 

I also had a lovely karaoke night at a mid-west dive bar in Bangkok and had my first Durian which is basically Slurm from Futurama... your instinct is to think it's disgusting but you CAN'T STOP DRINKING IT.