You can't force a recreation of those magical moments - those chance happenings that are so unexpectedly delightful that you dream about them for years to come and marvel at the spectacle of it all.
In 2007 we had such a magical night - at a little bar in Ayutthaya called the Jazz Bar. Back then the Jazz Bar had just opened - a partnership between four or five Thai guys around 20 years old who loved to play jazz. We drank gin & tonics all night, listening to live renditions of Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, and original pieces by the King of Thailand (a saxophone player). It was such a brilliantly unexpected surprise. When the floods ravaged Autthaya in 2010 or 2011 my thoughts immediately turned to the Jazz Bar, leaving me wondering & worrying if that little gem had survived. We hedged our bets on the train to Ayutthaya - sadly most certain that the Jazz Bar would be no more. When we arrived in town - what joy to see that funky little yellow and black sign hanging in a closed up store front!
The Thai people having a quirky saying - "Same, Same, but Different". The sign hanging above the door was the same, but everything else was different. The tiny performance stage was gone. The dark painted walls were now pastel green & white striped. The enclosed garden seating was dismantled - replaced with cheap plastic lawn furniture wobbling on the open street. The young Thai men who so loved jazz music had moved on to other ventures, selling the bar some time ago - leaving no recent memories in that town of what once had been. We patronized the bar nonetheless - for old time's sake. Instead of soulful, earnest live jazz we were subjected to the likes of Don Henley, Brian Adams, & The Scorpions. (How we yearned to get our hands on that ipod!) It did turn out to be a memorable evening - chatting with Toi - a gregarious, hilarious, quite brilliant guy running the bar & tables. He kept us bust with geography quizzes. "Which 4 US states have four of the same letters?", "Name 8 US states that begin with N", "Name 8 US states that begin with M", "Name 4 countries that only have one vowel". By the time he got to "Name 11 countries that have only four letters" we gave up - too many Singhas into the night to continue with any more brain teasers. But Francis had just enough Singhas to join Toi in an impromptu karaoke rendition of Extreme's "More than Words". I regret that I did not capture that moment on film...
But we did capture this Thai woman meticulously grooming one of her three dogs at the train station.
It's so tempting to clutch at cherished memories but false to think that you can breathe life back into them. And this was once again true of the train ride north - from Ayutthaya to Chiang Mai. Rather than the serene, comfortable, & charmed trip we experienced in 2007, this time we were tortured for 14 hours during what was supposed to be an 11 hour trip. The four young French travelers in front of us thrashed in their seats like small children with ADD whose Ritalin had worn off. They squealed - taking slugs from cans of Chang beer, spread their clothing and blankets and electronic gear all over the front of the train car, and frantically made out with each other in their various states of half-dress. When they grew bored with movies & video games they tacked up a small target on the wall & shot spit balls at it. Then when they took notice of the cockroaches scurrying along the wall of the train - they took aim at them with the spit balls.
I have been accustomed to making small talk with fellow travelers on public transit & was perplexed that none of the other Westerners on the train seemed remotely interested in engaging me in even the most banal conversation. Eventually it occurred to me that their disinterest may have something to do with the fact that I am nearly old enough to be their mother. Le Sigh...
We arrived without fanfare in Chiang Mai - our most beloved Thai city. And so we expect to spend the next few days rediscovering our favorite restaurants and haunts - this time with no expectation that anything will be the same & ready to embrace all that is different.
In 2007 we had such a magical night - at a little bar in Ayutthaya called the Jazz Bar. Back then the Jazz Bar had just opened - a partnership between four or five Thai guys around 20 years old who loved to play jazz. We drank gin & tonics all night, listening to live renditions of Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, and original pieces by the King of Thailand (a saxophone player). It was such a brilliantly unexpected surprise. When the floods ravaged Autthaya in 2010 or 2011 my thoughts immediately turned to the Jazz Bar, leaving me wondering & worrying if that little gem had survived. We hedged our bets on the train to Ayutthaya - sadly most certain that the Jazz Bar would be no more. When we arrived in town - what joy to see that funky little yellow and black sign hanging in a closed up store front!
The Thai people having a quirky saying - "Same, Same, but Different". The sign hanging above the door was the same, but everything else was different. The tiny performance stage was gone. The dark painted walls were now pastel green & white striped. The enclosed garden seating was dismantled - replaced with cheap plastic lawn furniture wobbling on the open street. The young Thai men who so loved jazz music had moved on to other ventures, selling the bar some time ago - leaving no recent memories in that town of what once had been. We patronized the bar nonetheless - for old time's sake. Instead of soulful, earnest live jazz we were subjected to the likes of Don Henley, Brian Adams, & The Scorpions. (How we yearned to get our hands on that ipod!) It did turn out to be a memorable evening - chatting with Toi - a gregarious, hilarious, quite brilliant guy running the bar & tables. He kept us bust with geography quizzes. "Which 4 US states have four of the same letters?", "Name 8 US states that begin with N", "Name 8 US states that begin with M", "Name 4 countries that only have one vowel". By the time he got to "Name 11 countries that have only four letters" we gave up - too many Singhas into the night to continue with any more brain teasers. But Francis had just enough Singhas to join Toi in an impromptu karaoke rendition of Extreme's "More than Words". I regret that I did not capture that moment on film...
But we did capture this Thai woman meticulously grooming one of her three dogs at the train station.
It's so tempting to clutch at cherished memories but false to think that you can breathe life back into them. And this was once again true of the train ride north - from Ayutthaya to Chiang Mai. Rather than the serene, comfortable, & charmed trip we experienced in 2007, this time we were tortured for 14 hours during what was supposed to be an 11 hour trip. The four young French travelers in front of us thrashed in their seats like small children with ADD whose Ritalin had worn off. They squealed - taking slugs from cans of Chang beer, spread their clothing and blankets and electronic gear all over the front of the train car, and frantically made out with each other in their various states of half-dress. When they grew bored with movies & video games they tacked up a small target on the wall & shot spit balls at it. Then when they took notice of the cockroaches scurrying along the wall of the train - they took aim at them with the spit balls.
I have been accustomed to making small talk with fellow travelers on public transit & was perplexed that none of the other Westerners on the train seemed remotely interested in engaging me in even the most banal conversation. Eventually it occurred to me that their disinterest may have something to do with the fact that I am nearly old enough to be their mother. Le Sigh...
We arrived without fanfare in Chiang Mai - our most beloved Thai city. And so we expect to spend the next few days rediscovering our favorite restaurants and haunts - this time with no expectation that anything will be the same & ready to embrace all that is different.
1 comment:
I love so much how you tell a story.
Post a Comment