A letter on my return home

I've been back a few days,  it's cold and clear here in Bellingham, my what a change from Asia!  It's taking a while to process what I've been through.  Just traveling to Asia was quite an amazing adventure.  The people, environment and cultures.  It was a lot like the modern T.V. where images come at you fast and furious.. but the language is not familiar. The first few days in Bangkok were not at all pleasant.  Between jet lag, dealing with a strange city of 8 million people, the pollution, noise and tawdriness it was great to be able to fly off to the beaches of the south. 

In reflecting on the past month I can see what a lucky person I am.  Many times the Thai people I talked to commented on how fortunate I was to be able to travel so many miles from home. Not only did I have the time and money to travel from home to a far off land but the timing of my travels gave me a wonderful time in a place that, unknown to any of us, was soon to be devastated by an amazing and awful disaster.  I now have returned home with two sets of images of southern Thailand.  One which I see in the pictures I took was of a tropical beauty with carefree days of climbing on fascinating rock formations, beautiful beaches and comradely with people from all over the world.  The other set of images came over the television when I had traveled to a beautiful small town of Pai in the North of Thailand.  CNN news showing all the places I had so recently enjoyed so thoroughly trashed by the Tsunami waves.  Fear for the safety friends I had left there, a sadness hanging over all the land.    So as I write you it is hard to describe the beauty of what I experienced with the darkness of the tsunami disaster I was almost so closely involved in.  But I will say that traveling to Asia is a really incredible experience.  The history, vastness and the many cultures make this part of the world truly intriguing to me. For one thing the food is really fantastic.  From nice restaurants, the smallest kitchens to street venders in the markets the flavors and exotic dishes were a true joy to the palette.  Also the friendliness of the people.  It's one thing to hear of the "land of smiles." It is a very different thing to experience the genuine heartwarming interest and openness of the people, especially as I traveled to the small towns and villages in the North.  The physical warmth and the sunshine was very welcome for a Northwesterner this time of year.  The rains were brief in the south and I didn't see any in the north. 

  My friends Bob and Karen had the incredible experience of riding over the tsunami wave in kayaks in Southern Thailand. If you would like to read of their experience

click here

I hope this letter is finding you in good health and finding peace and happiness in the new year 2005.   Ted