By Jesse Thomas

The months of anticipation; we are here. Thailand. David Day and I decided to travel to Southeast Asia. Once our student loan checks were in hand, we snapped up the airfare. Then one night at the Hawk and Dove, Bren Stern decided to join us. As we high-fived and hugged each other, the excitement in the air in the nightclub room of the Pennsylvania Avenue mainstay was so permeable that I could literally taste it. However, anticipation was as far as we got. Preparation was near to nil other than getting the countless immunization shots and the malaria pills. But here we are, in Thailand. I gave this blog a lot of thought; would it be simply a travel journal? Then in the first eight days, the premise of my first blog began to come into focus. I’d talk about people. Just people.

With the constraints of time and money, I sit here at a humid and hot internet cafe at Chiang Khong, which lies on the border of Thailand and Laos. To the east flows the Mekong river, on which we will float downriver for two or three days to Vientiane the cultural capital of Laos, one of the quietest countries in the world — a population of 5.9 million people reside in a country the size of Great Britain. So here I go and expect me to be all over the map as well as more brief than I’d like to be as I convey my observations and personal opinions of my experiences so far.

Thailand

The highlight of any travel, to me, is the cultural experience and exchange, which has been plentiful in my first week in Thailand. How do people interact with one other? What are the norms of the culture? Certainly culture and how people are grouped affects everything from how hunters and gatherers maimed each other for territorial rights to the modern world issues with the Israelis, Palestinians and Taliban and even Deaf and hearing people. The first thing that strikes you about Thailand is that it is truly the Land of Smiles. Where else does the most popular political party call itself, translated into English, “The Thais Love Thailand Party?” And so, is America truly the greatest country in the world? Is our culture superior? What culture? Consumerism? Should my travels lead to a greater appreciation of my life in America - and I’m not talking about as a Deaf person regarding relay services, closed captioning, and such. I’m talking about as a human being. People here seem happier and more content than the middle class back home, seemingly half of which are on antidepressants.

The Thais are constantly smiling, laughing, joking and teasing. The one thing that struck me has been the children and the families. Jane Jonas, who is following our journey, said that it seems Americans are simply trapped in our cars whizzing around on freeways and gobbling up consumer products. A car commercial on American television comes to mind: A teacher is standing in front of a classroom in complete chaos. Everyone is screaming and throwing things. From the ceiling, the teacher opens up, hanging from the ceiling, one of those little LCD screens in minivans and the like. Suddenly the kids’ heads are riveted towards the front of the classroom. The teacher has used television to control and placate his students.

Here, I’ve nary seen a child cry or even been disciplined. Every guesthouse I’ve been to has at least one child running around happily but not bothering the guests. They are given more freedom than American children and yet they behave better. What gives? Then you have the scooters zooming by with entire families onboard, all smiling. Once, I saw what seemed like a father piloting, a small child in front, his wife behind and taking up the rear, an elderly woman - presumably the grandmother. All on a 50cc scooter. They seemed happier and more cohesive than any damn family I’ve seen barging down the beltway in a humongous Ford Expedition - of course with children in back with their eyes glued on a flip-down LCD screen. When they arrive at their destination, a McDonalds, the children throw a tantrum if their parents say no ice cream.

Thai people are such loving, patient parents. At Khao San Road in Bangkok, I saw a young Thai father patiently trying to show her two-year old daughter how to take a picture with a digital camera. Undoubtedly this was an expensive purchase for this fellow who made a simple living selling his artwork from a small booth in a narrow, busy alleyway. However, he had entrusted his small child and laughed when she kept turning the camera the wrong way. Finally, after 30 minutes she succeeded in taking a photo of me. A nod of the head by the young father, and she was running across the alley to show me the picture. I tell you, my heart melted. Point is, through the whole thing the father, who probably had more pressing duties, laughed and coaxed as he exercised great patience in his loving instruction and care of his daughter. He couldn’t have been more than 20.

Then there was that three-year old boy I met on my trek to the Hill Tribe in Chiang Dao in northern Thailand. At first, he was peering from behind the leg of who I think was his uncle or a family friend - our super friendly even by Thai standards guide. Bren, to his credit, broke the ice by teaching him how to play the game where you extend your palms and someone else puts them over your palms then you try to slap them before he or she jerks his or her hands away. Before you knew it, he was a smiling and laughing fool, scampering around under the table and poking me in the ribs. I’d look under and he’d be behind me poking my back. Boy, he was quick. We also played the slap-hand game and drew funny pictures. One nod from his smiling mother and the boy was off to bed, skipping away laughing.

Does it have to do with Buddhist tolerance and way of life? Why is everyone here so damn happy? Everyone here is poor, but dignified and with a constant smile plastered on their faces. The staff of every guesthouse I’ve been to have been wonderfully friendly, coyly teasing us and laughing. It makes me think of America, the land of a million shrinks and road rage. Here, families tightly hold each other on scooter in threesomes, foursomes and even in fives. Entire families run hotels as their children scamper around happily.

Exactly what happiness are Americans in pursuit of? So I am reminded by a common comment I’ve heard from people coming back from places like this - developing countries - like, “Oh boy, going to so and so has made me appreciate America more.” Then there’s what David Day said, in so many words, “Coming here, instead of making me appreciate America more, has made me more sad to be an American.” In my eyes, the former is the wrong way to approach travel. If you want to appreciate America, stay there, dutifully press the buttons of your TV remote controller, go buy 48 rolls of toilet paper at Costco or go sale hunting at Pentagon City mall. Travel shouldn’t be about appreciating America, but about appreciating this awesome little ball of mud we call the world.

So, as overwhelmed as I have been by the food, the treacherous roads, the stunning views, the elephant ride, the gorgeous jungle mountains, the dazzling array of bugs, mosquitoes and lizards plus the other travelers I’ve met, the one thing that’s really made its mark with me is one thing: The Human Element.

More to come, folks. More to come.

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