It made me a fervent hand-wash devotee, but it also tested my ability to go several weeks without doing any laundry whatsoever.
John Burdett amazed me by his incredible rendition of the city that never sleeps, never stops and could not be more at odds with the ways of the Western world in Bangkok 8. His insight into the continuing presence of the Buddhist beliefs in an ever-modernizing Thai society amazed me and shed a tiny ray of light on the workings of this world that will always be a mystery...left behind as I constantly am amid a language I do not understand and people that I struggle to communicate with.
Bangkok taught me to be with myself and to treasure those times when, alone with my thoughts, I relfect on my small place in the world.
Bangkok gave me the alcohol-free time and space to be startled by the number of days that I have lost to hangovers of all kinds in the past 6 years, the precious time that has passed me by as I lay in bed all day trying to resist the urge to throw up the entirety of the previous night's consumption.
It has forced me to seriously question the alcohol-fuelled way I have interacted with some of the most important people in my life without ever realizing that my inebriation made it that much more difficult to create real bonds in a world where they are already so difficult to come by.
Bangkok made me understand how truly blessed I am to have people in my life with whom I am never bored and always entertained. It's also made me consider how many perceived-connections may have been just a figment of that atmosphere created by gregarious convening around a "few" drinks.
Bangkok made me realize that sometimes it's better to be alone than surrounded by people who do not amaze you every second you spend with them. Our free time is limited enough in the society we live in today without allotting it to people who will not fascinate you and imbue your life with wisdom, beauty and wit.
Life isn't about being surrounded by people all of the time. It's about knowing the few people that matter to you and being around them whenever you can, accepting that the rest of the time you will be alone, which is after all the inevitable human condition.
There's nothing wrong with being alone. On the contrary, il gives us the space to marvel at the people we meet, those we love, the things we experience, the places we see.
I can't say for sure if this stint in Bangkok will really change the way I live upon returning to my European safe haven, but I can only pray it does because life is too short to spend one whole day wallowing in bed...and for what??
Some illusion of life created by the simple chemistry of a drug on the human system.
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