Every seven years, your body completely replaces all of its cells, making you a completely new person. It has been that long since I was last in Bangkok.
When I first started this online travel log, I was adamant about documenting every single trip beyond the borders of Singapore, near and far. But I have not, and I have travelled much farther than before. The brash rushes of media have then evolved from written, to image, and now to video; and then to keep up with the appetite of audiences - now artificial intelligence churns text and colour faster than any human can ever read. Before the irony hits us, the freight train has already come and left.
Despite not keeping my promise of writing everything, one thing I would like to maintain: to keep my tone of writing, no matter how flawed it may be in the eyes of deus ex machina.
Since it's been awhile, indulge me as I reminisce the passage of time and sharpen my writing.
I have been far too lost in the race of trying to learn to catch people's attention on social media in my trade of influencer marketing. Now I am re-learning to slow down and appreciate human-writing again. (Ah the need to specify 'human, before the word writing'. What a world we live in)
As the saying goes, I want AI to do my laundry and dishes so that I can do art and writing, not for AI to do my art and writing so that I can do my laundry and dishes. So I am now adamantly doing my art and writing, while my husband does the laundry and dishes.
I am only mildly apologetic for quoting others instead of creating original content in the same vein as I am talking about the beauty of writing, because after all, Steal like an Artist, am I right?
This solo trip that I've taken has slowed my mind down beautifully to 'smell the roses'; and the crossroads of my career rut have reminded me of the version of my life that I love the most. This!
I missed the times before I was forced to crumple my thoughts into 2-minute video reels, where I could freely write, with no pressure of whether audiences are walking away, as if I were a street circus performer pandering to make them stay.
As usual, I digress, and I wanted to tell you about how Bangkok feels new, old yet dystopian to me altogether. I have reached the 'grand old age' of 33, and while I never felt healthier and stronger, I have had the privilege of learning about aesthetics, and then visiting the highly raved Aura Bangkok Clinic for some slight nip tuck.
As I sat on the metro cruising from the airport towards Makkasan, I saw that Bangkok has become the city of playing god, with billboards of kaleidoscopic juices promising energy and beauty; and Lisa, the unofficial global ambassador of Thailand and official goddess, at every turn of the head.
There was a time when I swore I would never have botulinum toxin injected in my body, and I suppose, I was literally young and naive then. And now the time has come when older me is saying, 'it's not that bad; in fact, it's not bad at all'. Perhaps I'll come back to this in future.
But all in all, while it's botox injected, it is the confidence that has returned. 'Playing God' gives a renewed sense of control. Yet, the hot bodies of the endless metro rush mixed with gasoline air never paused to look at anyone. I asked a local if my hunch is true: that the city population has bloomed. After all, there are more rules than before about where people should place their feet and move.
Nobody really cares much about who you are, and it goes back to how the relationship with oneself is the most important relationship you will ever have, and is the baseline of what you will ever have with others. So do what you will.
Till the next time I write, hopefully not 8 years later.