The Old Man at Ratchawong Pier, China Town Bangkok.

It was a hot evening when I decided to visit Asiatique. Since I was in Yaowarat (Ratchawong Pier), China Town Bangkok, the most efficient way to go to Asiatique was by riding tourist express boat. It cost a bit more from ordinary boat. Tourist boat with blue flag cost 40 baht per person, while if I went to Asiatique from Sathorn Pier near Saphan Taksin BTS Station by shuttle boat, it would be totally free of charge. But it was a waste of time to transit and queue again, hence I just simply let go my 40 baht for the sake of time efficiency and effectiveness.

 The view from Ratchawong Pier (my own photo)

Unfortunately enough, the tourist boat wouldn’t come until 4 pm. And when I bought the ticket, it was only around 2.30 pm. That said, I got to wait for about 1.5 hours. Since my feet were tired to further explore China Town while waiting for the boat to arrive, I just rest myself at the pier.

It was a pretty chill evening. I sat on the long chair at the corner waiting for the boat while sipping the freshest Thai tea ever in my life. While waiting, of course I did what’s expected from millennials. I played with my phone and edited some of the photos taken earlier in the day.

There was something that made me a bit uncomfortable though. I saw an old man who was definitely not in his right state mind. The old man sat right in front of me, beside my friend. He was old and looked weak. I observed him, it was clear that he hadn’t been able to shower for days. His clothes were dirty, as well as his body. I even saw some holes in his clothes and his footwear was almost busted.

What I saw probably every 10 minutes (my own photo)

The more I observed him, the more I realized that there were clearly lots of pockmarked all over his body. When I was aware of that, rather than feeling disgusted I felt… pity. Throughout my waiting time there, he was sitting in silent and doing nothing. Sometimes he scratched some part of his skin, sometimes he just looked at one direction with blank stare.

I clearly didn’t know his story but was it wrong if I felt sympathy and pity? I knew for sure that kind of people didn’t only exist in Thailand. In fact, in Indonesia itself there were tons of people with derangement. (Yes, I judged him having that illness, generally because he was legit only scratching his body and looking at one direction with blank stare for 1.5 hours straight.) But that moment was definitely my first time witnessing it for quite a long time -in my opinion-, which was 1.5 hours.

I wondered if he still had a family. Or if someone was actually waiting for him somewhere. Or if at least one person knew and took care of him. Which I honestly doubted. Really though, looking at old people being alone, particularly with pitiful expression, is the most painful thing to see ever.

What I saw from the corner of my seat (my own photo)

This wasn’t a cheerful event, but it made me think deeper about my life. No joke though. Yes my life isn’t perfect. In fact, I still have tons of things that I wish could change and improve. But seeing those who have tougher life than me made me realize that no matter how imperfect my life is, I should still be thankful for it. Because even the smallest blessing is still a blessing that I should forever be grateful for. Moreover, I’m still young and –hopefully- still have tons of opportunities ahead.

By the way, don’t take my thought in a wrong perspective. I’m not saying I should be thankful because there are tons of people who are less fortunate than me. Also, it’s not that as long as there are tons of people who are suffering, I should thank God. No! That’s for sure not what I meant. What I was saying was, if those people still make efforts to survive their life, I should too. If those people never give up to make a living, I should too.

I don’t want to be a creep by looking at him for too long. So sometimes I did look back at my phone and did some photo editing. Or just a brief check at my social media and some news portal websites.

On the Tourist Express Boat (my own photo)

Time went by and the lady shouted “Asiatique Asiatique.” Well, that’s my boat I guess. I took my last stare at that old man and went directly to the boat. He might never even realized I was there, but he definitely made me look at life at a broader perspective. So, thank you. I wish him a long and (hopefully if he still can feel) happy life.