| I remember how naive I was before I went to | | | | night before we were to depart to Bangkok. We |
| Thailand. Firstly, I knew nothing then of Southeast | | | | were eating in an outdoor market/restaurant and |
| Asia and Thai cuisine had not yet caught on in | | | | everything- the glasses, the chopsticks, the plates, |
| Japan or the States. I was an exchange student | | | | were, well, just plain filthy and unsanitary. As was |
| protected in Japan, ready for a real adventure. | | | | the concrete beneath our feet. Everything stunk |
| The ultimate goal was the island of Koh Samui | | | | too. |
| (which bore the slogan it ain't what it used to be | | | | One of friends knowingly remarked, Just wait until |
| but it's still worth it). That slogan probably lasted | | | | we get to Thailand. You ain't seen nothing yet! It |
| thirty years before the last hopeful backpacker | | | | was very anti-climatic of him to say that though. |
| had to admit it's now Club Med beach to beach. | | | | Bangkok (twenty years ago, mind you) was |
| Still, I did many things on that island; I caught a | | | | indeed poor, polluted, and crowded, it was also |
| beautiful and big bright green tropical fish that we | | | | very clean, colorful, and the people were |
| had for dinner. I discovered the durian Mecca of | | | | energetic and happy. Buddhas were at every |
| Southeast Asia in the village of Surat Mai, I | | | | corner, and everyone was grinning. I fell in love |
| chased down and with a rock killed a chicken that | | | | with a world that deep in my subconscious I had |
| we made into curry, and I went to the most | | | | been longing for. The only problem was that it |
| fantastic seafood restaurant of my life there. | | | | was February and it was HOT! I remember as I |
| But this anecdote is not about Koh Samui and the | | | | was nearly about to pass out at a temple a |
| famous night boat to Sura Thani. It's more about | | | | middle aged macho guy coming up to me and |
| Bangkok. You see, I distinctly remember us as a | | | | proudly saying, My country is hot! That voice still |
| bunch of ignorant college kids in Hong Kong the | | | | echoes in my mind as surely as he has grown old. |