| Take a deep breath, close your eyes and run. (maybe skip step 2) |
Feeling grateful that I wasn’t
about to die, I got dressed quickly and cheerfully started walking to the end
of the alleyway, it was only 7:45 in the morning but the heat was
already in full swing. I walked in the shadows of buildings as much as I could,
only stepping into the sunshine to dodge the blue trash barrels where a cluster
of chickens now hovered under a haze of sun-drunk flies.
Those trash barrels seemed to support a lot
of life, flies and chickens during the day, rats and cockroaches at night and
mangy dogs at all hours. I continued past the trash barrels passing two faded
yellow, one story houses and an off white three story apartment complex that
had many pieces of re-bar sticking out the side. I stepped even further into
the shadows at the requests of a passing motorbike. The driver beeped his horn
to warn me, then waved and shouted “Hey You!” as he passed. I smiled back, unsure if I had just been
reprimanded for uncouth walking etiquette or merely greeted with a Thai version
of good morning. From the smile on the motorcyclists face I figured it was just
a kind greeting, although it did sound quite aggressive.
The end of the alley way spilled
out into the major street that my new boss and I had driven in on the day
before. There was a lot of traffic, mostly motorbikes and huge pick-up trucks,
which offered an interesting juxtaposition. It looked as if the pick-ups were
hunting the little motorbikes, waiting for the right moment to attack and crush
them. Amongst the fast moving pick-ups
and motorbikes there was also a lady in a wide straw hat, pushing a large cart
filled with ice and fruit. I recognized
watermelon and pineapple but couldn’t identify anything else. The fruit lady
smiled as she past me and said “Farang.” I had read about this word, used as a blanket term
for most foreigners. I wasn’t sure how to respond but shouting “Thai!” back seemed
a little uncouth so I just smiled at her and over her shoulder I noticed the boss's car pull over on the opposite side of the road.
To get to my boss's car meant I had to
cross the busy street, which was even more confusing because the cars were
driving on the left hand side of the road. I stepped toward the edge of the curb,
shading my eyes from the sun and waiting for a break in the traffic. There would be an opening coming from the right hand side but then the other side was always flowing steadily. A couple of
times I saw a brief opening, figuring I could make it if I really ran, but in
the second it took me to decide if I was going to go for it, a motorbike would
shoot out from behind a slowly approaching car and force me back on to the
sidewalk.
After 5 minutes of unsuccessful attempts, which felt more like 20
because I knew my new boss was watching me from behind his tinted windows, a
young man from the key making shop behind me stepped out onto the curb. He
didn’t say a word, merely motioned for me to follow him as he stepped out into
the street. We had an opening on our side of the street but the opposite side
was still flowing with traffic. The man just walked to the middle of the road
and then stopped. I stood next to him as cars, trucks and motorbikes flowed by
on both sides. We stood together, in the middle of 60 km/hour traffic, my heart
beating faster at every burst of wind from a passing vehicle. Then the traffic
cleared on the opposite side of the road and the man motioned for me to
cross. When I had safely reached the
sidewalk, I turned back to say thanks, but the man had already re-entered his
key shop.
I approached what I thought was the
passenger side door, only to see the tinted window roll down and my boss's smiling face.
“You expecting to drive?” he laughed good naturedly.
“Sorry,
still getting used to all this.” I replied as I rushed to the other
side.
The air conditioner was on full blast and it felt like Freon heaven. “You have a good sleep?” my boss politely
asked.
“Sure, the roosters were a little frustrating but I managed to catch a
few hours.” I replied.
We drove toward
the restaurant in a comfortable silence. I watched the town pass by, marveling
at the amount of people that could fit on one motorbike and also at the
apparent anarchy that seemed to rule the road. My new boss swore softly under
his breath as a four door pick up truck cut directly in front of him, but we reached the restaurant safely and in less than 10 minutes.
I opened the car door to a wall
of heat and realized that Thailand won’t easily let you forget how far away
from home you are.
| Heading to school. My Dad used to drop me off in a cop car, pretty sure his ticket finger would constantly be twitchy in Thailand! |
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