".... the humidity of this place insperspires my forehead with moisture, gives it a texture much like the plaster wall behind me, but with premature wrinkles, cracks in the foundation that show a need of renovations that are perhaps already underway.. " -- napkin note to myself

My much delayed landfall to the continent of Asia happened at last on January 3, 2004 into Donmuang International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand. It seemed as if this day would never come, always just one small obstacle away, yet mirage-like in its ability to veer away from my fate at the last instant. The pilot, whether by vast amounts of practice, sheer luck, or some combination of the two, set down the wheels of our large Boeing without the slightest of a lurch - as if the ground itself was an illusion. To my confusion, the plane seemed to hover over the ground, never to land, and yet slowed, and eventually stopped. With this mystical beginning I entered the nation of Thailand.

And what a language was here to greet me. The letters seem to be the inspiration for the Palm Pilot Graffiti language, only beginning with circles or zigzags. It is perhaps the most beautiful of "alphabets." It is also a tonal language, so much of the meaning is expressed in how you raise or lower the pitch of your voice as you say it. I thought this was something that would be unusual for me to conceive of until I heard it, but it actually makes sense now that I'm here. I've come to think that English is tonal as well - listen to some Thais say "Excuse me" to get your attention and it often sounds forceful rather than complimentary, though they might not realize it.

Of course, this is just one tenet of a language. Their language is also in the body language. For instnace, the freely given gesture of palms together before the face may mean "thank you" or "hello." It can also be something of a "please" which captured my heart-strings a bit to see a small girl begging this way. You'll also see children do it with joyful expressions, thanking strangers for letting them pass. Sometimes you'll even get a beaming "Hello" from a Thai who notices you right away as a farang. In this way, Thailand does seem to live up to its reputation as a land of smiles.

The Thais are proud of the fact that they are perhaps the only nation that was never colonizer nor colonized. By Merriam Webster terms, this is true, but of course you mustn't take any definition too seriously these days - one could debate that it is the most colonized nation in the world, running as it is through massive capitalism, not only from a thriving and distinct native culture but also by eccentric entrepreneurial expats from the world over. It is a dirty city, but that also means it's lived in, which is something I'd prefer any day over the opposite. This lends Bangkok the bustling demeanor of a place that is racing ahead to a future.

To describe in any more detail I need more time. In my first day here I found a "guest house" which is probably more than I should pay, bought some cheap "Sony" headphones which are probably fake since they don't look anything like their documentation (which is entirely in Japanese) and am drinking from a Coca-Cola bottle which some master caligrapher has designed to look just like the American logo but is, in fact, curvaceously Thai. Oh, and I was nearly scammed by some clever too-good-to-be-true tuk-tuk peddlers, and I can only wonder what their destination was for me. This place is a challenge, but I love it already.

Soon as my Indian visa is underway, I am off on a sleeper train to the south, towards the islands for my scuba diving lessons. I must admit I'm a bit frightened to go back to the depths. Scared or not, I am anxious to take on this monster of the water, or of the mind.