land of smiles

In China, smiling at a stranger is usually met with a look of discomfort or shifting of the eyes. It became almost a game to see whom you could coax a smile back from, however tentative. Kobe, the boy who worked in the Donghu lobby and often delivered water up to our apartment, would look simultaneously pleased and uneasy when you smiled at him. When I arrived in Bangkok, I was surprised to discover that over the course of three months I had adopted some of that Chinese frigidity, when the Thais would grin widely at me and I would suddenly feel taken aback and almost imposed upon. But they are actually this joyous. The airport employees laugh and joke with each other and don't exhibit the bleak, mei banfa attitude of Chinese workers. Thais on the street boldly stride up to say hello and to inquire about the details of your itinerary and to offer tips and wish you a pleasant stay.

I met a man today who works as undercover security at one of the many temples we visited. He said that gangsters come to the temples, cut off the heads of the golden buddhas and sell them around the world on the black market, and this is not good for Thailand and the Thai people.