Post from Tim:
It is early morning in Bangkok's busy central train station. We have just arrived on the night train from the border of Laos and have 11 hours to kill before the next train takes us to southern Thailand.
I am looking down from the second floor at a cavernous hub of activity - people rushing to meet trains, buying tickets, and waiting patiently. At precisely 8:00 a.m. the Thai national anthem starts barking through the PA system, and like God pressing the pause button on his omnipotent remote control, all life freezes below me - the moving stops, the talking falls silent, and those sitting stand up rigidly to attention.
I am amazed from the anthem's start to finish. When it finally ends, life resumes without missing a beat.
I am looking down from the second floor at a cavernous hub of activity - people rushing to meet trains, buying tickets, and waiting patiently. At precisely 8:00 a.m. the Thai national anthem starts barking through the PA system, and like God pressing the pause button on his omnipotent remote control, all life freezes below me - the moving stops, the talking falls silent, and those sitting stand up rigidly to attention.
I am amazed from the anthem's start to finish. When it finally ends, life resumes without missing a beat.