Quiet Nights, Quiet Dreams In Bangkok

Travelling in Bangkok for three days, taking the BTS, the MRT and eating at the food courts and street stalls is an enriching experience. 

Beneath the vibrancy, the decadence, the youthful expectancy of the city folks lies a certain sadness. This sadness is of a beauty that is out of this world, like the stars in a quiet night evoked by Antonio Carlos Jobim's Corcovado.

Bangkok is a city that is so well organised in its transport system that it contrasts with the streets where all kinds of vendors and hookers dwell to sell their wares. The physique and the faces of the Thais are very different from the Chinese and the Malays. Some are big boned and quite large. Quite a few share the sharp noses and high cheekbones of Caucasian or Indians.

But beyond the physical, there is something about the people's character that is uniquely Thai. They have a very independent history linked to the royal kingdom and Buddishm. Yet they have a strong inclination for beauty, order and dreams/aspirations. They seek these things in a graceful albeit not necessarily ethical or moral way.

Yet, if there is a city that can be subject to a world government, I ask myself how would Bangkok adapt to it given its paradoxical mix of liberalness and its unique Thai customs.

The Thai language could be the only barrier that shields the Thais from the world. They seem to see things very differently from others, having no inclinations to be allied with any regional or global power. Yet Thailand has been the subject of political intrigues of its own, the palace scandals and secrets that were intertwined with the business elite and the military.

In my opinion, this is a country that needs the refreshing peace of Jesus Christ's forgiveness and mercy. The urban Thais are a graceful and aesthetic people but they have lost their ways in the deceptive worship and entanglement with the philosophies of Buddhism, hedonism and like other Asian cities, materialism.

The mystery of the former king's life and influence over the Thai people is like an extended family mythology and that mythology has passed away with the King's death in 2016.

For investors, the key question is whether Thailand's economy will become stronger and be liberated from the clutches of the military junta after the elections in late 2018.

That question depends on so many factors one of which is the awakening of the people to what is truly going on in the world, especially the ascendancy of China in the region and the political changes in America.

At the very least, Thai society is free from the menace of the race card, a tactic used by politicians in places like Malaysia and America to divide and rule.

Quiet nights and quiet stars Quiet chords from my guitar Floating on the silence that surrounds us Quiet nights and quiet dreams Quiet walks by quiet streams And the window lookin' on the mountains and the sea how lovely This is where I want to be Here with you so close to me Till the final flicker of life's ember I who was lost and lonely Believing life was a only a bitter tragic joke Have found with you the meaning of existence oh, my love

Um cantinho, um violão,
Esse amor numa canção,
Pra fazer feliz a quem se ama,
Muita calma pra pensar e ter tempo pra sonhar,
Da janela vê-se o Corcovado,
O Redentor que lindo.

Quero a vida sempre assim,
Com você perto de mim,
Até o apagar da velha chama,
E eu que era triste,
Descrente de sinismo,
Ao encontrar você eu conheci,
O que é Felicidade, Meu Amor.