Thriving Mindfully

Tag: The Bicycle Diaries (Page 4 of 4)

Choosing to Smile

After a 14 day ride up north from Bangkok, I finally reached Chiang Mai yesterday.
The great thing about travelling on a bicycle is that you get to transition from one place to another. The shift in place is not sudden like a train, bus or an aeroplane journey where you travel from point to point.
And with the slowly changing landscape, food, flora and fauna, I also noticed another discerning change.
This change was about people.

I bicycled mostly through rural Thailand. Even though people did not speak English at all, they offered helped in the best manner possible. They would smile more often. Without any reason I would find myself smiling at them as I passed by their field of view at a leisurely pace. And over the past two weeks, I learnt to smile at strangers.

As I reached Chiang Mai yesterday afternoon, I stopped at  a public park to rest.
Being the second biggest city in Thailand, it has a sizable population. Tourists thronged the city to celebrate the Thai new year ‘Songkran’ in huge numbers.
Sinking in the feeling of having safely reached the city, I smiled, just like I did at the village folk in rural Thailand.
I looked into the eyes of people passing by and smiled genuinely, like a child.
I was happy and I wanted to share the energy.
But I was met with reserved smiles, guarded hearts looking at me curiously.
For a moment I wondered,
‘Why aren’t people smiling?’

Equally perplexing was the way people were reveling in the streets with uninhibited laughter and festivity of Songkran celebration. People were splashing water at pedestrians and passer-by and laughing their hearts out.
But the kind, natural, sincere smile was missing everywhere I saw.

In a few hours, I had to accept the reality of how a city gets used to individuality, at the expense of a collective community.

My smiles became much guarded in a day, just to not make other people uncomfortable.
In my eyes however, there still was unbound happiness and wonder.

As I walked past a big building in the city today, the security guard and I exchanged a glance. And we both smiled at each other in perfect consonance. What a welcome change it was !

Deep down I know, he still has a little part of the village in his heart,
As do I.

While we cannot change a city’s culture,
We can surely influence the culture through our interactions, our immediate surroundings,
In the little world we dwell in.

As I write, I am looking at a flower and wondering,
‘The flower is only looking to transform itself from a bud to a bloom, not worried about where it is in the world.
It only expresses its energy and graces the little world it dwells in.

We as creators of culture are confronted with a choice.
And in the interest of more smiles,
We should always yearn,
To Bloom.

Uphill

After spending a comfortable night at a Buddhist temple-school, I prepared myself to leave early in the morning. My little monk friends were just arriving from their alms gathering run around the village. They all had one thing to share with me from their alms-pot. Someone offered Soy milk, another a pack of noodles, a Thai snack…
I looked at them all and asked,
‘Can we eat together?’
‘Chai Chai'(Yes-Yes) they said and we enjoyed a nice breakfast together.
I told them I am going to Chiang Mai next, 150 kilometers further uphill. Following an incredulous gasp, they all started giggling. They must have thought I am crazy.
As I parted, they all lovingly sent me off.

I reached a town called Lampang in the afternoon. I had two flat tires on the way and I had to fix them on the Asian Super highway under the afternoon sun. I was quite exhausted when I reached a little Mom and Pop store in a quiet corner. I stopped and asked for something vegetarian.
Flustered by the unusual request,
The old store lady brought me a cup of instant noodles.
I sat and ate like I’d not seen food in a few days. She also brought bananas, water and grape juice.
I shared that I am cycling up north to Chiang Mai.
I gestured that my ride since morning has been uphill. She nodded as she turned the table fan towards me.
She exuded such motherly care that I didn’t want to get up and leave the shop.
She refuse to charge me for food. I got away with atleast paying for the instant noodles, ‘Mama’ as they call it in Thailand.

I bicycled on for another couple of hours, all the way, Uphill. It was difficult. At some points I would just laugh out loud wondering how difficult it was !
As the evening set in, I started wondering about finding a shelter. I searched for temples nearby but there were none around the Asian Super highway.
Eventually I stopped at a highway police station to catch a breath.
I sat on a bench and wondered, I am not going to be able to cycle another 30 kms uphill today. I must put an end to cycling for the day.
I looked around to find a highway police man come towards me with his phone.
He used a Thai-English translation app to communicate with me.
His translation read.

‘Do you have a tent me dear friend?’
I nodded animatedly.

‘You can set it up right here and sleep tight for the night.’
I couldn’t believe how eager he was to help.
Later on he came to me and led me to a room with a bed in the police station.
The translation on his phone read,
‘You can sleep on the bed. No need to set up your tent.’
I hadn’t felt so grateful in a long time.
I wrote in his phone,
‘You have a kind soul.’
He smiled like a child.

Right now, I am sitting in the comfortable bed that my Policeman-friend generously offered me.
And I wonder,
‘Why are all these amazing people helping me so much?’
‘Is it because I am on a bicycle?
Or because I am Indian?
Or do I look in need of help?’

Then I realised,
More than anything else,
I am being helped,
for the spirit of choosing to ride,
Up the hill.

How many friends do I have?

‘So, do you know anyone in Thailand ?’ asked one of my friends over dinner.

‘Hmmm, do I need to know someone in Thailand?’

‘Yes! It is a country you have never been to. It helps to have a connection that will be of help just in case.’

‘Well, I don’t know anyone.’ I smiled apprehensively.

Yes, I did not know a single person in Thailand before coming here.

But every single day since I’ve been here, I meet a new friend.
Now that I think of it, I would tell my friend,
Yes, I have many friends in Thailand.
I don’t know them all yet!

They keep coming and sharing their love,
One day at a time.

Today I met many little monks at a Buddhist monastery. I don’t know names of all of them. But we smile when we pass by. They kindly shared their living space with me for the night and brought me dinner. The warm energy of comradeship surrounds the whole space.

After this brief jaunt of a few weeks around Thailand, my perception of a friend has changed.

Earlier if I were asked to count my friends, I’d make an effort.

But now, if a little kid asks,
‘How many friends do you have?’

I would only be able to say,
‘I cannot count them out. Because I am yet to meet all of them!’

To a new day,
With the promise of meeting another friend !

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