It's a cliche, but it's true.
Today a man leaned out of a lorry and called to me as he drove past, not for any reason, just to smile at me. After experiences in India and Peru, this kind of no-strings-attached, pure friendliness is almost unbelievable. But it's everywhere.
The Thai smiles are big, broad, open, and warm. They are so unconsidered, unscheming; they feel so genuine. It's enough to give you a high (.....and especially when they are pretty girls :)).
Why don't other countries adopt this beautiful habit? It's effortless, and spreads joy. And it's possible even in sizeable cities, as I've experienced in Phetchaburi and Bangkok.
Thailand has proven to me that friendliness in Asia, and to foreigners ('farang'), can be pervasive and genuine and free. This is /such/ a gift, and a gift that will last me a lifetime.
It's also amazing how quickly it becomes normal: how many mopeds passed me today with beautiful smiles, waving, just for the joy of welcoming a stranger?
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2 comments:
in burma, wearing trad. dress i'd get comments like 'you look very beautifully' from passing young men in the street. i couldnt be more charmed
What a lovely description of faces. It made me light-hearted just to read it.
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