Thailand - Where am I ?

When you travel a bit, you notice that people are the same everywhere. Be polite and smile and... you will get smiles and kindness.

Even today, I met an old lady in an alley in Chiang Mai. I saw her, she smiled at me, I did the same... the connection was created.

Even though she spoke very little English, she still told me that she came from Cambodia, that she was now Thai and that she was 82 years old.

For my part, I told her that I came from Canada and that I found her country very beautiful.

At the end of our conversation, I gave her a pin.

Her first reaction was to look at it, thinking that I wanted to show her my flag... but when she understood that I was offering it to her, her joy was obvious and she left me wishing me a happy new year and a long life.

These pins represent my passport to the people of all the countries I visit. I offer them to children who serenade me, to elderly people who want to share a bit of their life with me, to passers-by who offer me a fruit so that I can taste a bit of their country. It is my simple way of thanking them for welcoming me so warmly.

Today, when I got up, I learned to wish a Happy New Year in Thai. People's reaction was impressive. This little effort to want to understand their language has opened many hearts to me. A lady even offered me roses to thank me and... I obviously offered her a pin.

Where am I?

I said that people are the same everywhere, and it's true. Except that their country and their way of life are very different.

If I were dropped off blindly on earth, I would immediately know which country I was in if, obviously, I had already visited it.

Well, already with the language it gives a good clue but there are a thousand other little details.

Let's play a little...

If I see motorbikes by the thousands, few cars and Cà Phê Trứng (egg coffee),

I am in Vietnam

If I see arepas, buñuelos and fruits presented in the most beautiful way,

I'm in Colombia

If I see a fox with huge wings,

I am in India

If I see buildings covered with ceramic tiles and wine bars on every street corner,

I am in Portugal

If I see massage parlors everywhere, and even Ronald McDonald greets with the wai,

I'm in Thailand

How to do a wai: Simply join your palms, fingers extended, at chest height, and tilt your head more or less slightly depending on the situation or the person in front of you!

Finally, if I see shoes everywhere, in front of temples, massage parlors, small hotels and even at the dentist's office,

I am in Asia. No one would dare enter with their shoes on unless they wanted to be looked at as a barbarian.

สวัสดีปีใหม่ - Sawadi pi maye - Happy New Year... see you in 2025.