Wednesday Walk: taking a bus to a shopping mall.

I had some problem with my old car, very old twenty years old car, which has become like an old friend. I thought my car could make better decision than me, in the past it had slammed on the break well before my foot touched the pedal. I was quite shocked but very thankful to my car spirit. The big ten-wheel trucks in my country often had a small shrine inside their trucks. The drivers would offer jasmine garlands and flowers to their truck spirits. Some would even attached a bunch of flowers on the bonnet to show respect.

People here are quite superstitious, they believe that spirits could live in inanimate objects of all kinds. I didn’t believe in car spirit until I had been saved by my car in accidents a few time. Even the insurance staff could hardly believe that I had no scratch on me. So, it made me circumspect and more receptive to ambience inside my car. Through time I became very attached to my old car and couldn’t sell the old car years ago and get a new car. So, I continued to take good care of my car and took it for maintenance at the garage at intervals.

The sky was very bright with natural white clouds in the sky instead of the usual white bands of Chemtrails. I had to take a bus to the shopping mall to get some chores done at the local bank. While waiting at the bus stop, I took photos of the roads and surrounding as my souvenirs of daily activities. I was quite surprised by the empty road and lack of heavy traffic. Perhaps more people had passed away from blood clots and strokes that caused the reduction in traffic and crowds everywhere. Car parks seemed to have more empty spaces and we didn’t have to get worked up about finding a parking space.

The air conditioned bus arrived in twenty minutes. The short ride was very pleasant as the bus was almost empty. More people were feeling that the economy didn’t improve after the government’s effort to promote tourism and traveling locally in Thailand. There seemed to be less numbers of consumers to exercise their disposable income. Nowadays I would be very happy to see big crowds in markets or some festivals. I hoped that crowds would come back to all regular venues soon.

This shopping mall had seven levels of shopping complex with many shops on each floor. It’s one of the nicest shopping malls with care free atmosphere in which visitors wouldn’t feel pressurised into making a purchase after asking to see an item. I quite like the interior design of this mall as there were so many plants inside and outside the malls. The management of traffic layout of the mall was very good and efficient. I found the free car park a very good marketing technique. Most customers were wealthy as this mall was located near several high end real estate projects. Walking around the car park, one could see lots of expensive European cars.

The road in front of the shopping mall was unusually quiet. There were also fewer people at the bus stop. I took a few photos before I went into the mall. The atmosphere inside the mall was very quiet and rather ‘lonely’. I went to the bank to get my account reactivated. If one left a bank account dormant for almost a year, the bank would eventually lock you out and it would take more paperworks and time to prove that you were the owner of your bank account. The staff at the bank was very polite and efficient. I could sense that she’s in some kind or worry or stress. There was no queue at the bank which was very unusual.

I couldn’t help dropping by a computer store to browse new models of notebooks. I felt that I might have to get a new notebook before the end of this year. My inner voice was telling me to find some information about new developments in this area. Though I couldn’t possibly afford a new notebook, I did promise to listen to my inner voice. I went into a small shop with five staff and zero customers. They all ignored me as I was rather under-dressed (I hated dressing up nicely for walking around in shopping malls). I didn’t have any brand names on me and I didn’t iron my shirt either! At least I looked clean and didn’t give out any nasty scent.

I was very happy to have the liberty to look around at my own pace. Then I had to ask some questions about memory stick for my iPhone and a power bank. The sleepy guy suddenly sprung to life from his east chair. He became more friendly and helpful as we continued our conversation. I tried to show him that I was seriously thinking about the right purchase. I told him I had to compare the prices with other shops as I had limited budget. I was hoping for the bull market in crypto before the end of this year, then I would be able to make my purchase.

I did check out prices and other models in the big shop on the fifth floor. They didn’t have the model I liked, though other models were cheaper but I didn’t like the plastic case. I had to go back to the smaller shop. The same guy came up to me, so I told him what I found, which was quite disappointing. We went on to discuss about the danger of AI and digital wallet which the government tried to push at reckless speed. The project hasn’t been approved by Parliament and the budget wasn’t still unapproved. But the government has asked people to register on the public App.

I heard on the news by accident that the present Prime Minister has been disqualified as he made a big mistake according to ‘ethics for high ranking administration.’ He appointed a minister who used to be jailed for corruption! Tonight politicians would be busy negotiating the set up of a new cabinet and the selection of a new Prime Minister. The most powerful party was dictating the selection game. It seemed his daughter who used to know me in her teenage years would be the next PM and the digital wallet project would be postponed. I told the friendly shop assistant that it’s very dangerous to give personal information to a company responsible for writing the App. We had no ways of knowing what this company would do to the personal information.

The bikers seemed to have birds as their pets. They gave these birds water and food. It’s a slow day, bikers had to wait for customers till the end of office time.

Somehow, I did strike up a friendship with this guy. He gave me honest advice about two other cheaper models which would suit my needs. He told me all the pros and cons among these three models with aluminum casing. He asked the manager if he could give a special discount. This model just appeared in the shop last month. So, I told him that I would wait for three months as three should be a special promotion by that time. I told him that definitely I would need a new notebook which could last me at least 8 years. I thanked him profusely and took some photos of the notebook I wanted to buy next time.

The afternoon was very hot but I liked the bright blue sky. The bus stop has been upgraded with digital notice board with bus information. The government was too eager to push the country towards Net Zero and digital society at the expense of taxpayers. I could suspect some agents from the WEF had been behind this drive recently. Good thing the PM had to resigned after the court judgement. The new government with a second lady PM and a new cabinet would cause a lot of confusions for foreign investors. But their policies would still be under the influence of overseas megalomaniacs and psychopaths.

It’s very strange how my life had been hovering around people of authority and power while I consistently refused to be sucked into the vicious circle of power grabbing. Several years ago I did write an article on the likely outcome of this political figure who has recently came back to haunt the old guards. My prediction has turned out correctly earlier this year as he finally returned to the political realm. I also used to know the incumbent PM as a young lady without any concern for worldly matter. Now she’s a mother with happy family but would soon to be the new PM in less than seven days. I pondered on the future of my country while riding a brand new electric bus with much higher fares!

Getting off the bus, the city looked extraordinarily beautiful with bright sunshine and blue sky. It’s a pity these politicians would never see the simple beauty of our land nor be happy with what they already possessed. So the struggles had to go on and ordinary people would have to suffer and manipulated like cheap, expendable pawns. The karmic tides would be too strong to get in their ways. I had to be mindful and more alert of possible repercussions on the political stage very soon. I just hoped these politicians were adept at brinkmanship and crisis management. Meanwhile I had a nice walk and took photos for my memories as the future is full of uncertainty.

Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.

Stay strong and cheerful.

#wednesdaywalk created by @tattoodjay.