Subways stations in the outskirts of Bangkok are not among the most thrilling places to visit. Yet, the first morning when I rushed down the broken escalator left me dazed and puzzled. An unexpected order is the best way to describe that something striking about this densely crowded place. Everyone stands in lines, quietly and far too calmly for the rush hour. Even the air seems to stand still. I dive into the sea of formal clothes, cute school uniforms and few tourists distinguishable at the first sight. This is definitely not the vibrant, noisy, smelly and confusing city; not the Bangkok I know.
A train arrives, few lucky ones waiting in the front enter and the unbearably calm ambience resettles again. I got impatient about the patience of everyone else. Many around play with phones, Thai people are simply in love with these machines! Messaging becomes a style of life rather than a bare mean of communication. Another train, same story and I still remain waiting in the line. Do these people have the whole day to get to work?!
Posters at the airport welcomed me to ‘a land of smiles’ and indeed there seems to be something about this cheesy phrase - each eye contact gets rewarded with a timid smile. Luckily for me, one of those smiles came with a bonus of brief conversation, almost whispered as not to disturb the cloud of calmness. “That I need to hurry does not mean others are less in rush. Why should my rush be the most important one?” I learned. How powerful! We continue patiently waiting for our turn. Out of the blue I got introduced into a paradigm that keeps affecting the way I think about life. Simple and unexpected, that is how most life-changing encounters are.
