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 agai
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.
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