Wednesday Walk: catching a boat ride to IconSiam.

I haven’t been to IconSiam on the Thonburi side of the river for over six months. So, on a nice warm afternoon, I went to Sathorn Pier to take the boat trip. After parking my car at Robinson mall, it took me five minutes’ walk to reach the pier. This time the free boat trip was no longer available and the boat fee was 5 baht each. Inflation and the rising cost of petrol and gas had made the profit margins reduced drastically. So free boat service had stopped but most visitors were willing to pay for the cheap fees. The usual express boat trip would cost 16 bahts each, as it was the minimum fee for a boat trip.

I was glad I came out to be near the river. I almost forgot about the powerful movements of strands of water moving quietly on top of dense sheets of water. The boat swayed side way, up and down as if it was dancing slowly in harmony with the forceful waves along the river. The boat captain was very skillful and knew the river with her strong moods very well. Most passengers had no idea how dangerous cross currents in this river could be. I always had tremendous respect for this unassuming river which could appear to be placid and ordinary.

The air around the river was always fresh and very stimulating. It could be that all dust was sucked into the river and the vibes of moving waves gave out some positive energy. My mind started to feel less clustered and more peaceful space became available in my head. The river seemed to be telling some stories in small whispers which were often drown by my thoughts and the sound of the boat engine.

The blue sky and the far horizon made me feel that eternity existed somewhere on this beautiful earth. I had to work harder to find the key to influence time and durations. Somehow I believed that “mind is over matter” so I would never underestimate the hidden capabilities of our mind. It’s just that most of the time we lived unmindfully or without awareness of body and mind movements; it’s also very difficult to have a free mind to access its full potentials. I did catch a glimpse of the incredible power of the mind during deep meditation years ago.

The ten minutes boat ride took me to the crowded pier of IconSiam, the biggest and most luxurious shopping complex in Bangkok. I was very surprised to see lots of local Thais, Chinese and Middle Eastern tourists at IconSiam. The situation seemed to have much improved for this big shopping complex.

Lots of visitors just took selfies and had slow walks along the riverside. The scenery by the river was rather nice with evening sunset lighting in the pale blue sky. The atmosphere was quite calming despite the large numbers of visitors. We still had plenty of rooms to move around. Had the bus loads of guided Chinese tourists arrived, we would have only standing room!

The free visa for Chinese tourists has created unexpected consequences. Various taxi drivers and traders had been complaining to me that these Chinese tourists came here to work illegally and set up hidden casinos with grey businesses. Some used Thai people as nominees in setting up shops, restaurants and tour businesses. Some actually set up big factories for recycling electronic rubbish and polluted the soil and rivers in the countryside.

I was astounded by these mainland Chinese in their daring and drive to make money by any means. Ordinary people are going to bear the blunt of unintended consequences of superfluous politicians’ policies. The really rich and well educated class of Chinese people would scoff at the entry visa fee as they could easily buy condominiums in Bangkok and send their children to international schools here. The Chinese social media idols have been taking frequent holidays in Thailand to create more contents for their followers. So, I concluded that the PM needed to have his head examined by experts soon before he came up with more ‘bright’ ideas with good intentions.

The Christmas decorations at IconSiam were minimal this season! I guessed the management needed to cut more costs to maintain the profit margins. Hopefully they didn’t have to lay off any employees. I wondered how many visitors around IconSiam knew about blockchain and Bitcoin. Whether 10% of these visitors realised that financial situations could be affected by some black swans next year. How those fully vaxxed people would be coping with their health in one or two years’ time?! My mind was swamped by fuzzy thoughts and concerns about humanity in general.

Breathing the fresh air without the sounds of rockets and incoming missiles made me very grateful for being in Thailand with my small blessings. I was praying in gratitude while walking along the riverfront. The precious moment was so magical to me as I had no idea what would happen next year. We could only try to do our best under limiting constraints and resources. I would continue to pray for peace and love to heal the world everyday.

Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.

Stay strong and cheerful.

#wednesdaywalk created by @tattoodjay