Thailand, land of smiles, grace and empathy

We arrived in Phuket only a day ago and I’m already moved to tears by the kindness of Thai people.

As we sat at a major intersection waiting for the traffic light to change I watched a foreigner family breakdown. The mom with babe in arms and toddler hanging on the other arm was standing on the verge and the dad with obvious bike trouble was trying to start the bike. As the dad struggled with the bike, the mom tried to console the two youngsters baking in the sun. Traffic sped past and I wondered how the situation would be resolved.

Before our traffic light had changed I noticed two Thai people, a woman with a child on her bike and a young guy pointing and talking about the foreigners. The next thing both pulled up behind the increasingly distraught family. The woman coaxed the foreigner mom and her two children to join her with her own child on her bike (yes 5 up is common in Thailand) and the man told the foreigner man to get back on his bike. He then hooked his foot onto the side of the broken down bike and wheeled them both across the busy intersection towards a solution and the other bike with mom and two kids followed behind.

As the traffic light turned green for us and we drove away, the image of the Thai individuals helping the stranded family lingered. It struck me that while we often travel to see new places, it’s mostly the people we meet who show us the most important sights of all. The kindness of the Thai people was a reminder for me that often, the most memorable parts of our journeys are the unexpected moments of connection and care. Often called the ‘Land of Smiles,’ Thailand has always revealed to us a nation that prides itself on generosity, grace and a deep-seated warmth towards others.