Good bye Thailand

3 weeks, very full ones. Three weeks that changed, once again, my perception of life and gave me the opportunity to live like the others, without excesses, without 5 star treatments and managed to get in touch with myself, with people that can enhance my life, my spiritual one, at least.

I met many people during this trip and I can remember all of them, for a reason or another. Never shallow people, never rude towards people or disrespecting traditions. A beautiful set of people have been put on my path, probably to let me see that life can be great if you find the gems hidden between the society that requires everyone to consume, save, or waste.

That society that according to some eminent politicians is superior to all the others. Superior for the moral values, ethics and so on... You know the bullshit I am talking about.

Funny enough, while China took me by surprise opening my eyes on a different world, Chiang Mai has done much more than that. Chiang Mai has shown me that amongst Westerners there are some wonderful people. I haven't been in touch with Thai people. If you ask me to say something about them, I can stop at the superficial stage of seeing, listening and sensing but, frankly, I cannot say anything about them that could go beyond feelings.

The people I met were all from "our" world and most of them into health therapy and people that, like me, would like to change their lives because feel that we are wasting time on useless and futile things.

This is the greatest shock I have been through. In Italy, and more countries, massages are associated to sex industry or to money and luxury and pure hedonistic practices. The way the school I attended and the people that were studying with me approached it revealed to be completely the opposite. These people talk of spirit and body under a holistic point of view. They do not see the body as something used to attract someone, their vision is mainly health and inner peace related.

I always hated the idea of massages, even because I found it too physical. Well, I love it now and I get pleasure in massaging and feeling energy coming into my body through my hands and giving it back to the receiver.

I have touched so many bums and legs and necks, and faces and arms that would be enough for the next year. Not once, not one single time, the thought has gone towards anything more than giving energy, curing, relieving and relaxing.

While I am writing in a cafe at the airport there is a young man standing with angelical face and feminine looks and ways. He is a ladyboy. He has make up on and despite his feminine ways he is dressed as a man and his colleagues do not seem bothered and so the Thai clients looking at him and being served. this tells a lot about the art of massage and the way tolerance and appearance is important in this country.

However, I have to admit that China is still more fascinating than Thailand because China is... Chinese... China is more traditionalist than Thailand. From dinnerware to clothes, to ways, to medicine, Thailand is trying to emulate more and more the Western world, while China despite the big buildings and the modern fast sport cars, still keeps the traditions at bay. I feel that without the Buddhism, Thailand, would be a perfect Western country, poor but still a Western country.

This my last days have been of very mixed feelings. On one hand I am happy to go back home for obvious reasons but, on the other hand, I will miss my "friends", I will miss them terribly. I came to Thailand on the brink of a depression and I am going back with ideas, with renewed energies, feeling healthier and happier than I have been since I left China a year and more ago.

I do not think I will write again and this one will be my last blog for this journey. I will update this post with the total costs of this vacation that by the sound of it is going to settle below the 1000 mark excluding my courses but including presents and so on. excluding the 400+ euro for the trip and insurance, this is a mere 28 euro a day, including presents, piss ups, inviting people for dinner going for massages, internal flights, trains and transportation plus eating like a pig to try everything I fancied.

Realistically, excluding the flight, living on 15 euro a day allows you to have a nice life over here.

In the next few days I will provide some links to places, hotels and so on, where I have been.

for the time being, I say good bye to Thailand, to the people I met during this journey and those who have patiently read these pages.


Summary of costs

Day 12

Balance 792 euro

clothes and presents 500 baht
dinner 520 baht
drinks 40 baht

Euro 21

Total 813 Euro

Day 13

Dinner and drinks 700

euro 14

total 827 Euro

Day 14

Dinner 1000 (for two)
fish therapy 500
shopping 1000

total 50

Overall 877

Day 15

Hotel bill 2375 (incl 100 tip)
lunches 338 incl tip
dinner 885
shopping 900
taxi 150

total 4648

Euro 93

Overall Cost of the holiday including everything is 970 Euro

It could have easily been half or less.