The Geography of Bliss

“How could she possibly know those things” I ask Scott.
Easy, says Scott. There’s a rational explanation. A few of
the answers were generic and could apply to anyone. He
dismisses those with a wave of his hand. The others are
harder to explain but still possible. Adoption is common in
Thailand, so the fact that I adopted a daughter was an
educated guess.
“And the brown Ganesh statue in a sitting position”
“That’s easy, too. Many foreigners own Ganesh statues,
and most Ganesh statues are brown and in a sitting
position.” But the conviction has drained from his voice. I
can tell he’s just going through the motions.
This, I realize, is what life is like for most Thais. They are
not in control of their fates. A terrifying thought, yes, but also
a liberating one. For if nothing you do matters, then life
suddenly feels a lot less heavy. It’s just one big game. And
as any ten-year-old will tell you, the best games are the
ones where everyone gets to play. And where you can play
again and again, for free. Lots of cool special effects are
nice, too.
It’s my last day in Thailand. I’m packing my bags while Scott
fires off some e-mails and Noi, as usual, watches TV.
They’re showing footage of the king. Nothing strange about
that. But it is old footage, from his youth, and it’s on every
channel. This is highly irregular, says Noi, and she should
know, given the amount of TV she watches. My immediate