Go forth and sink no more!

It's funny how we all come together and part- like the undulating units of an ocean, we brush, delve into or crash against each other and silently glide away, over and over. Maybe the magic of life is riding the troughs, looking at the moonlight glistening on the crests, welcoming the dawn together, uncaring of where we're all going, or perhaps, helping each other understand that there's nowhere to go. We're just here to dance into each other. Easier said than done, I know, but what a peaceful, intimate picture. I mention it because I see so many of us paddling frantically. We should learn to float.

That's what I was telling my 'krathong' to do, when I released it. Heh, no, it's not a piece of swimwear I let loose in the murky waters of Bangkok; it's a beautiful arrangement of flowers with candles and incense. The Loi Krathong festival was celebrated in Thailand yesterday. I was personally thrilled since it coincided with the Karthigai Deepam festival back home- to me, more the 'Festival of Lights' than Diwali will ever be. So my friends and I made our way to the nearest pier, only to find a mass of humanity there, all bent on getting onto the ferries. We weren't in the mood for drowning, so I had to make do with releasing the krathong at the pier itself, but I do think it looked beautifull! -

Lanterns were released into the air and again, it was such a beautiful sight. None of our pics came out decently, so I'm flicking one off the net-

I also made my way back to China Town the day before. I found it exactly as it should be- a place where you can get lost, something that I'm very good at, thank you very much. There were so many things to see! But first, for those who know me well enough to know about the earring fetish, listen up! Did I find Chinatown's wholesale earrings lane? Yes, I did! Did I start bouncing off the walls? Heck, yeah!
(Ahem, lady friends writhing in jealousy back home, please message me privately and we'll discuss my being nice to you ;))

There was a lot of food. Especially the dried foods shops. I couldn't make out what a few things were at all... I got some type of dried citrus thingy, a species of dried mushroom that looks so pretty and some tiny dried chillies; just to start with.

I look forward to experimenting with Thai spices and foods eventually. I was thinking that as I was walking along a lane when I blinked and suddenly I saw this vision of rasagullas and gulab jamuns. I thought 'Ok, I've finally cracked. THIS is the final stage of masala dosa withdrawal!' But I'd just wandered into the Indian section. Or rather, the Sikh section. The Sikh community has a very strong presence here- I've seen them driving around, owners of shops, a few International schools, many restaurants and businesses...there's an Indo-Thai population as a result, which I'm quite interested in learning more about!

Traveling there and back on the river... what is it about the sound of water and the sight of waves?!....

I also attended a really cool art exhibit. It was actually a couple of warehouses within a compound, with a resto and a bar, where a few artists live and do their work. Some of the beautiful work-

They have this room full of crudely crafted spoons done in some really rad shapes. Like!

I usually gripe about not being able to understand modern art, but this painting is one that I would gladly get for my home- I found it powerful...