A Precocious Child

So the morning began opening the curtains and really enjoying the views of the river below. It's so mesmerizing watching the boats going to and fro, and just watching the rhythms of the river below. And then we watched the TV for some rioting updates. We just wanted to know how it had progressed and if there was an area of town we should avoid today. But we learned that the military had really come down hard on the protesters yesterday and pushed them back to one specific area of town. Of course, we know that this little revolt is only one of many to come in this part of the world. Historically, when economies are down, revolutions brew. More regimes have been overthrown in times of economic upheaval or downturn than any other time. It's a recipe for disaster, and this part of the world is much more sensitive to those changes than other parts. I think this is because there is such a disparity between the rich and poor. There really is no middle class. You are either really poor or really rich. And the really poor here get squashed in economic downturns.

I have really been wanting to see Jim Thompson's House. Jim Thompson (James Thompson) was an American who came to Thailand in the 40s and revolutionized the silk industry--actually, he really revived it. He was trained as an architect, so his compound in Thailand was made up of imported traditional Thai houses--much of the home open air. According to Thai law, a foreigner can own 1 hecter or less of land in Thailand ONLY if their home state or country allows reciprocal ownership by a Thai person. Jim was from Delaware, so that worked to his advantage. He is most know, however, for his mysterious disappearance in 1969 at the age of 61. He went hiking in the Malay mountains and never returned. According to our tour guide, the most plausible explanation is that he fell into an animal trap set by tribesman, and probably when they found his body they had no idea who he was. Anyway, we went to the house today--which was really more an event in rounding up Declan than a tour of the house. I don't know what we think sometimes--trying to take a toddler to a place where he can't touch anything. We left for food as soon as we could sneak out of the tour. They did have a terrific cafe there, so we just stayed for lunch. We ordered Massamum curry, again. And I'm really stuck on these lime juice with syrup and soda drinks. They're super yummy.

Later in the afternoon we walked around an antique mall near the hotel and found an antiquarian map shop where we purchased a map of the East Indies from the German owner. Dave and I have always had a thing for old maps. And we love to collect maps from the places we've visited, so when we see them we always remember our vacation. And hunting down antique maps has proved to be a fun thing to do on trips. We talked with the owner and he said that his business had been down 50% in the last year--particularly with the unrest that beset Thailand about a year ago in the military coup which ousted their elected Prime Minister. He said tourism has been off, and like most of the world, Thailand is feeling the economic pinch. We walked around a bit more, and Declan saw this horse, or maybe it was a deer, made of stone in an antique shop and he ran in and asked "How much is this horse? $50 dollars?". It was really funny. The lady who owned the shop looked at him in amazement. But what's really funny is that he says unexpected things like this all the time. I need to write them all down so i don't forget them. They'll be a great source of laughter in my old age.

Well we didn't stay too long in the antique mall, as both Dave and I, and to a lesser extent Declan, have been dealing with a bout of "Montezuma's Revenge"--so we were eager to return to the hotel--if you know what I mean. We found it amusing that we went the whole trip without any troubles, and then the second day we were here we both started to feel some rumblings. I guess it had to happen at some point in this trip. If it's still around when we get home we'll know it wasn't just Montezuma, it was a parasite. Ick.


So being our last night we wanted to do dinner back at the Mandarin Oriental's Verandah restaurant. It was a perfect day and the breezes were picking up and we wanted to sit out on the river for our last meal. So we took our last boat ride over and had, well, Americanish food. We're pooping out on the ethnic thing, especially with Montezuma visiting. So we wanted to find something neutral to settle our stomachs. While we were enjoying our dinner a very nice old Asian lady, probably about 75, came over to our table and made mention of our kids as being wonderful and delightful. And, of course, our very precocious child chatted her up. We've come to expect this of him with strangers. He'll talk to anyone, anywhere, about anything. It's been really funny to see him interact with foreigners. I think they think he's a stitch. Anyway, the lady said her only regret in life was not having children herself, because now she has no grandchildren or greatgrandchildren, and she wishes she had them around her in her old age. It was a sweet and touching moment, and the sorrow on her face was enough to want to make me cry. But she took delight in our kids for a few moments before she strolled away.

Then we headed to the lobby to hear a quartet stringed orchestra play. It was like having our own personal performance because we were the only ones in there listening. We had fresh fruit juices, which I've gotten spoiled drinking every day in the Orient, and then we left for the hotel, to finish packing. I watched from our window as the tiny tug boats pulled 8 large barges behind them in the darkness, no lights to mark out their dimensions to other oncoming traffic. I marveled at the astuteness of the other boat drivers to steer clear of the barges in the blackness. I soaked up the city and the river at night, just one more time, thankful for such an unexpected gift as Thailand has been to me. Tomorrow comes too early, so that's it for now.