He was a man

I have never realized that I become blind even with a pair of good eyesight. But the two ladies who could barely speak English have concluded with a powerful post-mortem to prove it today. 

Sometimes, when I am drenched with the rain of busyness, I always find myself not in a proper shape to suit the usual routine. The cruel hands of either carelessness or embarrassment tend to hold me back despite my stern diligence. 

Today's encounter is nothing dissimilar. 

I was taking a race against time in search of a restroom. Since it was my first time to tread in that new place, finding a place to relieve myself from a biological phenomenon was taxing. Neither was I able to locate a spot compatible to camouflage me and put a big full-stop to that biological catastrophe. 

But eventually, by chance, I got into a small lavatory. Feeling relieved, I hastily logged on the buttons of my jeans to relieve the burdened muscular urinary bladder. 

However, no sooner my organic harvest was complete; I heard a feminine voice chattering in Thai. I heard them knocking on the door and speaking some words which I couldn't concentrate on at least for that moment. I remained mute because I have already started my first assignment. 

Then, I heard them roaring, "Hello". 

"Hello, Hello, ......... Hello, Hello..... continued for some more time. I was still silent, although their voice stole some share of my attention. 

They murmured again. A few moments later, I heard an interruption with a new voice. They talked in English. 

"The person might be a lady with a short haircut", said that new lady.

"No, he was a man", the other two replied. 

By then, I realized that I have entered into the wrong zone. I was blind to notice to which gender the restroom belonged. 

At once my mind was reluctant to come out. But, after gathering all the strings of my guts and confidence, I appeared as if I knew nothing about the incident. 

I immediately looked on the wall and found a pictogram of a lady. I smiled at them but saw their face muscles trying hard to position the mouth before it erupted into a burst of laughter. 

"Mr Gentleman, this is the ladies room. For gents, it's in the opposite" said one lady with huge joviality. 

I remained embarrassed, said Thank You and fled the scene. 

" Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans" - John Lennon

Small but presenting Big

Ancient Siam is a small park that presents Thailand in a bigger fashion. This park was a brainchild of Lek Viriyaphat, a celebrated culture patron, revered as Khun Lek in Thai today. It extends up to 200 acres out of the country’s total 514,000 square kilometres and shares the same shape with the country.

Formerly branded as an Ancient City, Ancient Siam is a segment of heaven in Thailand. Any visitor can log onto the details of the country simply by entering into this zone of ancientness.

The park offers the picture of a living history due to which it is dubbed as the world’s biggest outdoor museum. As many as 116 structures are still standing with glory to slogan its unique architectural configurations. While some are the reproduction of replicas that existed in the past or prevailing structures, there are also few that are scaled-down.   

A few of the many capturing items in the menu of the park are, a temple garden of god, a huge Garuda, a replica of the floating market and many to fill up the list.  

Located in the district of Samutprakarn, it is almost 40 minutes drive from Suvarnabhumi International Airport.  

Wanted to visit? Check this:  

By Car or Taxi

Take the Express Way as far as the Samrong-Samut Prakan Exit. Turn to the Samut Prakan Intersection. Turn left along the old Sukhumvit Road (towards Bangpoo) until you get to km. 33. The Ancient City is on the left.Getting to the Ancient City, Samut Prakan.

By Bus

Take air-conditioned bus No. 511 (Pinklao-Paknam) to the end of the line. From here, take the mini-bus No. 36. It passes the entrance to the Ancient City. (Courtesy: http://www.ancientcity.com/files/map-to-ancient-city.pdf retrieved on 26/01/2014). 

"History is representational, while time is abstract; both of these artifices may be found in museums, where they span everybody's own vacancy" -Robert Smithson

The Beauty of Death

Death is but a name of another place

Woven to be so beautiful and clear  

That when the time rolls at its pace

Shake the hands even with the crown without any fear

Death is but another sleeping bed

Crafted to be so warm and pleasant

Although nothing unusual is made

For all mortals to rest, be it king or a peasant

Dead is a sleeping bed for us. Courtesy: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tomb_of_Ouida.JPG

Death is but another mortal’s tongue

Designed to labour and speak

Where ‘Honesty’ has to be first sprung

Along with ‘Justice’ at the peak

Death is but a sentence

Punctuated to show the meaning

Of beauty and power having no essence

Which humans always keep greening

Death is but a last sleep

Or should it be a final awakening?

But in any case, the arms are opened to keep

A message that it is always waiting

“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” ― Mark Twain

Humans are funny

I am sipping the taste of the world differently each day. Today, it is my 10585^th day on this Blue Planet.

Not long ago, during my school days, I was so fascinated to learn that humans are shelved at a higher rung in the ladder of animal nomenclature.  

And not surprisingly, while teaching in the class, my science teacher would proudly scream, “We are lucky to be humans. Humans can think. We are social animals”.

“Humans are the only creatures that can practice dharma and trace the way to enlightenment”, a ritual lyric my Dzongkha teacher would sing every pre and post-evening prayer time.  

A few years later, my Biology teacher sang the same song of human praise in a different language. She would claim, “Homo sapiens are primates with a relatively larger brain with the well-developed neocortex, prefrontal cortex and temporal lobes which facilitates a higher level of abstract reasoning, language and problem-solving”.

I wowed my teachers for singing these characteristic human attributes when I was quite young. But today, as the tongue of my ear matured, I can taste an irony in the dish of this peculiar human praise.       

Humans are not always an animal to be praised.  

We speak of conservation; talk about pure air; write about pollution and dream of a green world. But simultaneously, we become the only creatures that can cut down the trees, make them into paper and write save trees.  

Humans were born naked, lived naked in primitive eras, and surprisingly we are almost getting closer back to this fashion nowadays. This is not the effect of global warming. It means our developed ego is never hesitant to wear those undeveloped human traits again.   

We read about love; we say sharing is loving, and we believe that the hands that help are holier than the lips that pray. But we are not troubled by the starving neighbours. Instead, we are engulfed by the fear of our favourite movie star’s next release, whether it can hit the box office.

Sometimes, humans have a lot to learn from this tiger 

We speak of compassion; we admire equality, and we address poverty alleviation as a serious human threat. But the rich are never bothered to adopt the child having parents over those homeless street children.

Humans have thousands of infectious madness. We make our own rules only to break them. We say laws are for all people, but when weak breaks, it gets strangled; for the strong, it’s a spider web that can be broken without strength.

We say the world is going crazy not knowing that humans craft it to look one. Humans are the actors who stage their acts and laugh loudly on their own.  

Humans are indeed hilarious. 

"We all dream; we do not understand our dreams, yet we act as if nothing strange goes on in our sleep minds, strange at least by comparison with the logical, purposeful doings of our minds when we are awake" -Erich Fromm 

Countdown in Asiatique, The Riverfront

            With only a few hours left for the year to register with a new name, I was also curious to flip the first page of 2014 with a completely new move. For many days back, I was busy editing the calendar of my mind to insert a plan that was apparently fresh and memorable. Those messages that pooled on the Facebook wall many hours ahead of time further salivated my mind to remain glued on one idea and execute the sketch of my plan instantly. Finally, I plunged into the trigger of my plan to visit Asiatique in Bangkok.

        Asiatique, The Riverfront is the newest Bangkok Night Market. It is one place totally flooded with the regular footsteps of tourists from many countries. Located near the Chao Phraya River, it is one of the coolest places to hang around among many in Thailand.

            The 2014 Countdown with thousands of people yelling ‘Happy New Year’ was amazing. I was thrilled to be with my wife this time in a new place with a unique celebration. That storm of happiness was so strong that it even broke out the tight cap of my own trust that I kissed a bottle of Chang, a locally brewed beer in Thailand. It was exactly 3:15 AM morning after I realized that Chang has left me cold on the bed.

Asiatique, The Riverfront

Inside a boat moving towards Asiatique

The day like the night 

Asiatique 2014 countdown balloon

2014 resolution 1: Revive my drinking skills which I left 13 years ago

"Celebrate what you want to see more of"- Tom Peters