thailand et all...

And a post from 2010 that I never published: 

someone once warned me about getting used to living alone: "it's a habit that is very hard to kick". sometimes when people are in my space and i feel uncomfortable, i do see his point. but in times like this, when i am sitting alone at a hotel room in bangkok after spending the past 10 days with my mom and sister, i think that i will never get used to living alone. living so far away.

bangkok is the definition of hustle and bustle. the city is crowded and loud. there are carts selling random stuff in every sidewalk in every street. traffic is pretty bad and people have not so much regard for your personal space. the smell of food is abundant and it even smells spicy. when we arrived here, i avoided street food like cholera. but the past two days i figured that i don't want to be missing out on anything and i went all out.

the curries are so hot that my mouth would become numb after the first few bites. but there is also non-spicy bbq sea food which was my sister's favorite. the fish was stuffed with herbs, covered with sea salt and grilled on charcoal grills. papaya salad was covered with chili peppers and included those little dried shrimps.

there are buddhas everywhere. and i don't mean only in those large colorful temples with big big buddahs. there is a miniature temple at every corner, in every shopping mall and every hotel. passerbys bow for a second and pay their respect before they continue on their way. and some leave beautiful yellow flowers. somehow buddhism looks like a very laid back kind of a religion. they don't look like they need to convert everyone by telling them what happens when one dies if she doesn't join the masses. but it's quite possible that i don't know enough about the religion and i am just making this up.

but if buddhism is a way of life in thailand, i suppose it is working. i can't say that people are living a good life. poverty is apparent in every street corner. but aggression is curiously absent. there are smiles and inviting faces. everyone is trying to sell you what they are selling for three times as much as they should, but at least they do that in a way that you feel good about it. and about yourself.