10 October 2006 – Tuesday- 11:53 / Chaiyapum
Here we are, in Chaiyapum again! This place reminds me Parmenides of Ancient Greece. There is no change or basically change is an illusion for the people who come from changing world. Whenever I come to J’s village, I feel the static feeling of being, the heavy odor of things that remain the same for long time. Things stay the same here. The crazy momentum, which holds the dynamics of Bangkok, does not give even a small portion to this place. People are the same as if they were hiding behind the bushes when we were away and whenever we arrive here, they show up to say “jae ae” to us. I easily feel the oldness of the traditions, coldness of water in the bathroom and friendly hugs of my dirty dog. But this time, there is a difference. J’s grandmother is very sick and doctors sent her home so that she can live her last days peacefully with her children and grandchildren. Right now, I can see her from the place I am sitting. She lies on the floor and J is holding her hand. They both talk with very little voice. It is like once we die, our voice also dies and becomes extinct for the people we leave behind. The voice we like to listen and find comfort in hearing it will disappear one day. All the voices, all the faces, all the breaths are temporary and we are here just to prolong the process. Buddha is right! Suffering is inevitable. She lays there without a voice –I guess she only speaks when she needs water or food- and we, the younger people around her continue our daily lives without considering the treasure of this old voice, soon to be closed to all kinds of intrusions forever. I have just read Marquez’s last novel, “The Memoirs of My Melancholy Whores” and there the writer mentions about being an old person in a young society. Unfortunately, I left the book at my house in Bangkok so I can not quote from it.
Before starting to write about this place, I want to write my first day in Bangkok. Then, I can write journal of two days in each day and catch the present day after 3 days.
We arrived at the new airport Saturday afternoon. It was around 2 pm and both of us were excited with the new airport because like everyone, we have been bombarded by the news and advertisements about the size and facilities of the new airport. When the airplane approached to airport, I had a chance to look at it from the top. It looks beautiful with an extraordinary architecture and a large land it covers. I was imagining how beautiful the interior design could be before we enter the airport. However, it did not take long for me to notice the problems in the airport. First, there was shortage of toilets. I entered to one toilet and there were 6 guys waiting in front of me to answer the nature’s call. But the taps and lavatories were ultra-modern with both style and technology. I would rather to have simple taps after a quick pee. I gave up the queue to find another toilet but later I ended up in the same place because I could not find another one near to the place we were at that moment. After the toilet problem, we had another problem in luggage reclaim. The band was working with a constant speed but the bags were falling from a high level to a lower level with a great force of gravity that the sound created by the free fall was not comfortable. It is like you are waiting someone to throw you an egg and the ultimate end for the egg is being cracked. After a reasonable time, we got our luggage and went to find a taxi. Then real nightmare started. It was so crowded –even more crowded than Chatuchak Market on a Sunday afternoon- and there were luggage carts everywhere. They were left at the middle of corridors because one of the elevators does not work and people have to use the stairs to go down in order to find a taxi. I complained about the carts but soon later I did the same thing. I left my cart at a corner where it will not bother people walking and took my bags on my shoulders. I realized that it is not the only elevator, which is out of order. There were at least three elevators, which re not working and causing bottlenecks. Then we went to find an ATM to have some Thai Baht. There was one SCB machine and it refused to pay me money after my several trials. Then we used J’s card to withdraw money from her account. Somehow it worked and with a few thousands Baht, we started to look for a taxi. In the old airport, finding a taxi was as easy as washing hands in a small river but here it is challenging. There were so many people and a few taxis. They were charging 50 Baht from the passenger, which I consider as normal for an airport. We found a taxi without waiting long but I sensed the complaints in people’s faces.
Before 4 pm, we were at the hotel we reserved a week before. Either we were lucky or the airport was not that bad, I felt ok about the new airport as a passenger who only needs basic facilities. As this is Thailand, I can understand that look is more important than content. They construct a huge airport with magnificent architecture but they forgot to install enough toilets! It is same as constructing nice looking buildings for schools but not caring about the education! As I wrote above, I am a simple-minded person and do not think very complicated when it comes to my personal problems. However, if you are looking for a little bit more privacy and easiness, then there were many things to complain about new airport. Here is an example which complains a lot, thanks to Uli for sending me this article: http://www.asianewsnet.net/biz.php?aid=4999
I will continue writing about Saturday afternoon when I return from Khon Kaen. Now we have to go to buy some necessary things for grandmother.
10 October 2006 – Tuesday - 19:01
As soon as we got in the taxi, I felt that we are in Thailand. The driver was speaking a clear Thai version of English with a lot of laughter. He first complained about the new airport and then he started to talk about any other things he might have heard a few words about. When J said, she is from Chaiyapum he started to speak some Isan words. When he learnt that I am from Turkey, he mentioned Hakan Sukur. Then our conversation has traveled around “My peln rai” , “Ohh my Buddha!” and “Saturday afternoon traffic” Actually, there was no traffic until we get closed to Sukhumwit where we booked a small hotel by internet. It was so easy to find it since the address was clear and the driver knew the shortcuts. As soon as we checked in, we left the room to buy telephone credit and have an Isan-style lunch (Guy yung, kao neio and som tam). While we were having lunch at a small restaurant in Siam Square, I saw four students from my previous school. Two of them were smoking and the other two were trying to tell them something either about cigarette or about where to go next! I left the restaurant and went to say them hi. Whenever they see me, they threw their cigarettes. I pretended that I did not see them smoking. We exchanged a few words and I returned to the restaurant. I also told them I might come to visit their class if I have time on Monday.
After lunch, we went to another shopping place that we could not find in HCMC easily. MBK and Discovery Center are two of them. I don’t really enjoy browsing in these places but just because I want to feel the dynamism of Bangkok, I wandered there aimlessly. Then I saw two friends. C and E usually go everywhere together if they have chance. E bought a new phone for his friend. Both of them have good model of mobile phones in their pockets and they are simply proud of them. They usually show them to the people in any occasion just to make sure that people around can appreciate their choice of modern communication gadgets. If they see my mobile phone, I guess they both will not hide their disgust because my phone is at least 4 years old, has no color, relatively large and has no GPRS connection. Even if I want to sell my phone, the dealers pay 150 Baht only. But I am still using my phone. It works perfect. I can call and get called. I can send SMS and I can get SMS. What else do I need? I don’t have any reason to update it and I hope I will never have. Many of these technology gadgets make the things necessary in people’s eyes by changing the paradigms of fashion. This is how advertisement industry works. If you can make a tool, which can have access to Internet without a cable connection, then the first thing you have to do is to make people believe that it is very necessary for modern life. Then, you can sell it. This is very crucial especially for young people because they are the most vulnerable ones under the attacks of advertisements. They spend carelessly just to look cool. A few months later, the things they bought just to look cool become out of fashion and they need to update them again. At the end, this is a vicious circle with no end. Who wins? Those big bosses with big pockets are the real winners. How was the world before mobile phones, Internet or digital cameras? Were our parents missing something in their lives? Does Internet really help people learn something or is it more or less another entertainment tool? How many people in developing countries use Internet just to increase the volume of their knowledge and produce new knowledge? Basically, the question is does technology really serve people to make the life easier or it waits people to serve to it and make the life more miserable for the ones who can not afford to have it?
After leaving these two friends on BTS station, we went to see J’s friend. She used to work in a hospital before and now she works as a health consultant in a company. Actually, she is ex-girlfriend of my Scottish friend B. She tries to sell these new-fashion health products. One of the many ways of making people waste their money in the name of health. The contradiction in these companies is between what they say and what they sell. They claim that eating vegetables and fruits can prolong our lives and can enhance our life expectancies. Then one should ask why don’t you sell fruits and vegetables but a magical product which is supposed to have everything we need to be healthy? Then we have to pay very high amount of price for a bottle of fruit-vegetable juice.
After measuring our health scale, the salesgirls found that we both need this product immediately. What a surprise! They did this by a machine, which sends a blue light through my finger and gives me a point for my health status. I got something between 30-40 and this means unsatisfactory. After I said I would not buy it, we sat nearby and chatted about usual things. B asked me about her in his last e-mail and he wanted me to inform him about her well being. She was ok but apparently missed him a lot. Although she said she is ok, her face and eyes were saying a different story. I assured her that I would inform B about her health and her emotional turbulence that she passed through. I took her photo to send to B. J promised her to visit her place Sunday afternoon.
Leaving her behind, this time we went to see another friend with his girlfriend. We first went to Kinokuniya bookstore in Paragorn where I bought Marquez’s novel. Then, we went to play bowling. At the end of the first evening in Bangkok, we arrived at the hotel as exhausted. In one day we met many friends, ate a lot of Thai food and walked up down in shopping areas. Once we arrived at the room, I felt the silence of Bangkok one more time. It was quiet! Neither a motorcycle engine nor a car’s honk which are both indispensable (a sine qua non) for HCMC can be heard! I stopped breathing in the bed to listen the voice of the city but there was nothing coming. I felt happy one more time for having this silence at the middle of the city. A good sleep without any interruption was waiting for me…
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