Thailand did it for me. It was when I first arrived in this country that something embraced me, and enthralled me. The first time I didn’t stray that far from the hotel, as Bangkok if you know it, is a b.i.g place. I was like a young pup, just getting my bearings and marking out my territory.

I walked where I knew how to get back to my hotel. Everything was strange, and that included the language, the unusual smells, the noise, the environment. Such a strange new world meant that for the first time here, I had to take things real easy.

I recall, on my walks, apart from the street food sellers, pushcarts, tropical bird sounds, and ungainly holes in the pavement, the friendliness of the people. I also can distinctly feel the warmth, the embracing heat. The heat that went through everything I wore, and which I liked so much. The heat was something to get used to.

But it was the friendliness that stood out. Thailand is a country full of kind people. They are indeed ‘jai dee’ and their hearts are always for the happiness of others, or at least it seems that way. And they have got the smile.

It’s a beautiful thing to arrive into a country like this and see so much smiling going on. One feels like one is well liked, even loved, and certainly welcome. That was one thing that touched me so much…

To be continued…