A Day in the Life of Chaos

Everyone defines Shangri-la differently.  One of the first films I came to love was a 1937 epic by Frank Capra called Lost Horizon.  Despite being one of the best and most thoughtful films of its time ever produced not many people know about it.  The movie contained a message of peace and pacifism at a time when the world was gearing up for war.   In it, actor Ronald Coleman escapes the violence and turmoil of China to find the mythic Shangri-la lost in the Himalayas.  Shangri-la for Coleman was a peaceful place filled with beauty, thought and contemplation, yet for others it might be something completely different.  We all have our own definitions for everything in life.  Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart famously replied in 1964 when answering the question what is Justice Potter Stewart pornography? "I know it when I see it." In truth Shangri-la is a concept so intrinsically personal only you will know it when you find it.  It is very much like Buddhist enlighte

Bangkok is a city of a million faces and a million stories.   Each person lives a life independent with his or her own complications, anxieties, depressions and laments.   Joy often gives way to a daily existence of life and work interwoven in a fabric of traffic and noise.   Every day when I awaken I feel like I want to explore and understand.   I want to comprehend what drives each individual.   I want to learn about their lives however joyful or miserable.   I think in a hidden voyeuristic sort of way it encourages me to look beyond myself and discover a world I might otherwise never see. One day while walking down a busy Bangkok street the city of a million stories decided to give me a glimpse into a very different life. One of the great curiosities of Thailand for the Western mind is what here is known colloquially as the “Third Sex.”   In the west we view transgender issues as interwoven with gay rights.   It exists as a subset of the society.  Most people when confronte

Bangkok is not just the Capital of Thailand, it is truly an international city.   It is a crossroads of East and West and an inner gateway to Asia itself.    I am visiting the city this time on my own dime and the experience has forced me to scale back my travel budget some.   On business the hotels are four star.   Out of my pocket they are two.   One persistent reality in South East Asia is that pictures at least in a commercial sense, hardly ever depict reality.   It reminds me of the elegant model of a new housing project you will find in a mall.   Landscaped environment and perfect trees line elegant driveways moving toy cars from one point to another.   I glance at the brochures and am often captivated by the image they portray.  They are beautiful depictions of what life will be like if I was only to plop down a hundred thousand dollars and become a resident. If I was to personally visit the place I can say without question I will find something different.   Reality and id