Notes From Thailand

Indian traditions, cannabis, and other observations from my trip

Hello hello,

Like every other person, I decided to make the most of the year’s first long weekend opportunity by taking a trip to Thailand.

Many of us have already visited (or are planning to visit) the country- some for its pristine beaches, some for the nightlife, and some for business purposes, of course.

Since I quit alcohol and meat a few years ago, you can say that I was a bit out of place. Despite the weak credentials, I ended up having a really good time.

Readers seemed to have really enjoyed the last travel piece I wrote (read the London Diary in case you missed it), which inspired me to pen this one down to share some interesting observations about the people and their culture.

So here’s a bunch of notes on Thailand that’ll offer some food for thought and attempt to transcend the usual garbage stories of brain-destroying hangovers and college-grade mischief at nightclubs:

🇮🇳 Deep Indian connection

You may already have noticed a few things in this regard. The name of Bangkok’s airport is Suvarnabhumi International Airport. Their kings were called ‘Ram’. These aren’t mere coincidences. Thailand has a deep Indian connection that has been forged over many centuries. Indians in the early ADs exported our ideas and culture via maritime trade, and so did Buddhist missionaries in later centuries. The connection is hard to miss. Ramayan’s local adaptation, Ramakien, is a folk epic in the country with minor edits. You can see Ganesha idols, trinkets, and statues of many other Indian deities quite easily. The Thai script itself took inspiration from Sanskrit and Pali. Even the Ayutthaya kingdom, which was one of the most important in their history, derives its name from ‘Ayodhya’. Thai culture is deeply influenced by Indian culture, and the deeper you dig, the more connections you’ll discover. A lot of it also has to do with Buddhism, which brings us to the next point.

☸️ Buddhism galore

My last visit to Thailand was 7 years ago, when I was busy carpet bombing my body with the cheapest ethanol in town. That explains why I never really noticed how Buddhism has such a deep influence on the country. It was a tad shocking to note that a staggering 95% of the people identify themselves as Buddhists. When I entered my hotel room in Phuket, I found a copy of the book ‘Guidance and Insight from the Buddha’ kept on the table. If you think we overdo the Buddha idols, go check out Thailand. Every cab driver has half a dozen of those things in their car and literally every street seems to have a shrine. College kids are encouraged to spend at least 1 month as a monk in the forest- which is actually an excellent idea. I’ve written about Vipassana meditation and its life-changing impact in the past, and it felt great to know this.

The Big Buddha in Phuket is quite big

🌿 Weed legalization

Thailand has adopted plant usage in a big way- and I’m not referring to veganism here. Nobody knows what that shit means*. What I’m talking about is the ubiquitous presence of branded stores hawking weed and cannabis with marketing taglines cheesy enough to mandate the immediate hiring of a professional copywriter. That’s right. Thailand became the first Asian country to legalize the sale of cannabis (for medical purposes) and people lost their collective shit, as they always do when anything out of the ordinary pops up on their social feeds. The impact of this move isn’t clear but the tourists are definitely loving it. The smell of stuff wafting through the cool sea breeze made that fact abundantly clear. This, despite the government stating that recreational use is still illegal.

*Just kidding, we were lucky enough to find some good vegan restaurants in Bangkok and Phuket

⚔️ Escaping colonization

One of the really interesting things about Thailand is that it was, unlike its neighbors, the only South East Asian country that managed to escape the snares of colonization! The fact that it was surrounded by the marauders in every direction: the British (occupying Myanmar), the French (occupying Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam), and the Dutch (occupying Indonesia), makes it all the more fascinating. How the heck did they pull this one off? Well, many factors came together. Since the country acted as a buffer between the British and the French colonies, both parties were happy to have it in the middle so that they didn’t have to share a common border- which naturally leads to a lot of nasty fighting. Moreover, King Rama V was deftly able to play the Western powers against each other and ensure that the country rapidly modernized and adopted scientific ideas so they wouldn’t get caught off-guard. Thanks to a combination of geography, deft diplomacy, and rapid modernization, the country was able to retain its sovereignty. Being a history buff, I was glad to learn a bit about their past at the National Museum in Bangkok.

🥤 Iced Beverages

Literally every person in Bangkok seemed to be walking around with a takeaway cup in their hands. Ice tea, bubble tea, coffee, coconut water, smoothies, fruit juices, beer- you name it. The country seems to be really fond of their beverages, which always seem to include a metric shit-tonne of ice cubes. And this might trigger a headache, but the Thai add ice even to their beer. Now that is certainly a shocking proposition and might seem as bizarre to us as the concept of a 2 by 3 manchow soup would to the rest of the world. But given the tropical climate and vicious heat, this obsession with the endless slurping of cool bevs does make some sense. And honestly, I fell in love with Thai milk tea- a cold version of the chai we have along with enough ice cubes to fill up an Ashok Leyland 8-wheeler.

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There were a bunch of other culture shocks and observations that I haven’t really elaborated- like the total dominance of cash (which makes one thankful for public goods like UPI) and how painful the world-famous Thai massage can get. They may sound cool and fascinating on paper, but they’re more like one-sided wrestling matches that are an ideal choice for aspiring masochists. Pro-tip: just take the foot massage or oil massage instead and ask them to go easy on the violence.

All in all, the trip to Thailand was full of experiences and observations that I’ll cherish forever and I’d strongly recommend a visit to the country if you haven’t been there already. It’s not for nothing that this country features in the Top 10 tourist destinations in the world.