April 19th, 2008. Just had the first rainstorm since I arrived here. I have a phone now, but don't be expecting any calls to Canada unless you're immediate family!! It's going to take me ages to memorize my number. My burn is actually fading already, thank god. This country's changed a lot. It's not quite the same place as it was before the coup. Duh, Alexis. There was a coup. What do you expect? Really, I wasn't excpecting anything. And things mostly still look the same. But the people- the people are different. There's a wariness- a suspicion that wasn't there before. It's not out in the open but even a stupid farang like me can tell that it's there. But am I really so stupid? I ask because no other foreigner I've come across(and believe me, in Bangkok you see a lot of foreigners in just 5 days) seems to notice this wariness. They go about their business, doing their touristy stuff, taking their pictures and posing with people in costumes. I want to tell them, "open your eyes, people!"
Things have definitely taken a turn, and not exactly for the better. When people look at me I see a lot more suspicion and even some well-concealed anger. Thailand is the land of smiles. But for how much longer? Everyone gets tired of smiling after a while. How much longer until the smile begins to fade?
I remember when the problems in the south first began to rear their ugly heads. I was in the coffee shop in NP with P'Lek, that day two years ago. The radio was tuned to an English station for the music when the music was interrupted by a news broadcast. Two people had been killed- I can't remember if they were Buddhist or Muslim. If they were Muslim, they'd been killed by Buddhist rebel groups; if Buddhist, by Muslim rebel groups. That was the first report of problems in the south that I'd heard of- and the other day on the news here, I saw footage on the news of a group of Muslim men beating the living daylights out of one or two Buddhist men in the south. The trip I was going to take to Pattaya with the G. family was cancelled- I expect for this very reason. People aren't taking too kindly to Indians or to foreigners in that area just now.
Funny thing is, everybody has theories on how the whole mess got started, but not a lot of people here seem to have definite answers.
Do I wish things were the way I saw them when I was here two years ago? Would I trade all this for what was then? Probably not. An experience is an experience, and whether good or bad, you've got to admit it changes you whether you like it or not. This country's different. Scarier, wilder, and not quite so free-feeling and wondrous. But at the end of the day, when I'm lying in bed and having a good think for myself, I'm glad I came back.
Even if I don't have my pickled pork to keep me company.
Things have definitely taken a turn, and not exactly for the better. When people look at me I see a lot more suspicion and even some well-concealed anger. Thailand is the land of smiles. But for how much longer? Everyone gets tired of smiling after a while. How much longer until the smile begins to fade?
I remember when the problems in the south first began to rear their ugly heads. I was in the coffee shop in NP with P'Lek, that day two years ago. The radio was tuned to an English station for the music when the music was interrupted by a news broadcast. Two people had been killed- I can't remember if they were Buddhist or Muslim. If they were Muslim, they'd been killed by Buddhist rebel groups; if Buddhist, by Muslim rebel groups. That was the first report of problems in the south that I'd heard of- and the other day on the news here, I saw footage on the news of a group of Muslim men beating the living daylights out of one or two Buddhist men in the south. The trip I was going to take to Pattaya with the G. family was cancelled- I expect for this very reason. People aren't taking too kindly to Indians or to foreigners in that area just now.
Funny thing is, everybody has theories on how the whole mess got started, but not a lot of people here seem to have definite answers.
Do I wish things were the way I saw them when I was here two years ago? Would I trade all this for what was then? Probably not. An experience is an experience, and whether good or bad, you've got to admit it changes you whether you like it or not. This country's different. Scarier, wilder, and not quite so free-feeling and wondrous. But at the end of the day, when I'm lying in bed and having a good think for myself, I'm glad I came back.
Even if I don't have my pickled pork to keep me company.
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