Bangkok

‘Come live in the house of fun!’ My round robin trip across Asia can be traced directly to these unforgettable words. The year was 2004 and I was feeling fresh as a bamboo sprout, off a Ryanair plane, on a sofa deep in the Mancunian student jungle and in the need of a new home. The author of these persuasive words turned out to be Singaporean, Sikh Ishwin who along with his girlfriend Pooja became my good friends. Fast forward eight years and I’m in Pooja’s native Bangkok and I can hear wedding bells.

Boarding a night bus to a capital city anywhere in the world has always been one of my favourite travel moments. Delhi! La Paz! Bangkok! Written in large block capitals these names are like muses to the mind of an adventurer, screaming of new worlds a mere bus ride away, waiting for exploration and discovery. This time the butterflies in my stomach were doing double somersaults of excitement because my Finnish friend Elina would be joining me in Bangkok for the final month of my travels. As well as anticipating sharing the journey with my best friend, I was looking forward to not being short changed again – Elina is good with money – and more importantly not having to shuffle around tiny station toilets with my megalomaniac backpack but leaving it under the watchful eye of my travel partner.



Ishwin and Pooja’s wedding was to be a three-day extravaganza set in Shangri La, a five star resort at the shores of Chao Phraya River in Bangkok. With no previous experience we set our minds to learning vital Punjabi wedding skills such as folding saris and learning basic Bhangra dance moves. With both bride and groom being part of the international student alumni, the wedding was a bit like the United Nations Peace Corps coming together to take part in a Bollywood musical scene. I was blown away by the generosity of my hosts and their friends. The thought of an experience being better together made us familiarise with each other quickly and share the fun.



From bright pinks, greens and yellows to whites, reds and gold the bride and groom wore rich, spectacular fabrics. They were surrounded by a wedding population of 600 complimenting each other with every colour underneath the sun. We dressed in 1920s fancy dress the first night and saris the second night. The groom rode an elephant in the traditional wedding procession along with hundreds of guests dancing down a Bangkok street to meet the bride. All girls wore henna on their hands while boys tied turbans to cover their heads. The spectacle got its happy ending after a temple ceremony and a third day of celebration as the couple waved goodbye, en route to their honeymoon.

Recovering from the three day celebration the remaining guests still found energy for a final rendezvous on the famously touristy but spirited Khao San Road. We walked out of the club in the early hours of Tuesday morning, dehydrated and still buzzing from the music. With neon lights creating an artificial dusk on the street and open terrace bars booming their endless pop anthems of joy, I started thinking more about generosity. Admittedly the thoughts formed slowly at that time of the night but here’s as far as I got: The essence of generosity is not material, nor is it related to culture. Generosity is universal; an openness towards familiar faces and strangers alike, an understanding that through accepting and sharing with others we are all richer in life. As my set, solo traveller’s ways become part of a duet it’s a valuable lesson for me to think about because it will let Elina and me find our mutual travelling pace. Along with a bit of Bangkok Bollywood Bhangra, of course.