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Travel Tales of Asia
The journey to Thailand and the Year of Destiny
The plane landed in Bangkok. The scuttle of the jetliner’s tires graced the pavement and a whoosh jolted the plane flat against Thailand soil. I was finally here. Bangkok at last.
Slowly parking against the deck, the airbus found its way to the terminal. My phone’s data signal bars blinked to life as I began receiving messages from friends back in the United States and Africa. Did you make it? Yes, I just landed in Thailand.
Passengers rose and gathered their belongings. I was glad to have carried my bags in my lap. Less of a need to reach above the head of an unfortunate stranger, and a more efficient means to move about the plane, leaving the corridor separating me from the city of the Emerald Buddha beyond its doors.
I gave an affirming look to the Qatar Airlines staff and waved, thanking them for their service. Leaving the plane, the scent of Third-World Asia filled the air. Familiar as it was, I was reminded of my trips to Accra and Mumbai. An earthy, tropical scent with an undertone of coastal air. I found it familiar, yet uniquely reassuring. This was the country where I would go to live as a Buddhist monk in the mountains.
