Tuesday 7 August 2012

Reprise (Phuket Town)

A last minute change of heart saw me getting in touch with its 'coolness'. The Thai saying 'to have a cool heart' alludes to keeping your emotions under control. This is ideally accompanied by a sense of mindfulness and feeling one with the world. I once wrote on Twitter: I'm an atheist amongst Buddhists, and my smile is tailor-made to fit. I try not to think of these distinction so much today... who's to say when atheist brainwaves end and Buddhist ones begin? These categories aren't as meaningful to me as they could be in another space, in another time. I want to be influenced by the best practices of the people around me. I am open. 

[Thailand is one of the few places where smiling all the time leads to an increase in your social status. In places like Russia, smiling all the time is treated as a symptom of insanity.] 

The humid heat is like a pleasantly textured curtain pressed to my skin - somewhere far away from the chill of the Sydney winter am I. Here life moves at a different pace, guys often wear purple or pink, and I assume more responsibilities, making me feel more grown-up. 

I'm about to begin a new chapter in my life - moving to Sweden on my own. I look forward to leaving Sydney, with its myriad of bad memories and a million false starts behind. My eyes are on the prize. 

I still have no idea where I'm going and where I will end up. But it's always a good time to be in Thailand, so Phuket Town is a wonderful start.