Painted Poodles and the Truth about Thai People

They say that Thailand is the land of smiles and that the Thai people are some of the nicest you will ever meet. Coming here, I wasn't sure if this were true or simply a good tourism advertising campaign and in my first few weeks I found that if you come with the image that every single person in Thailand is nice, you will be disappointed, just as you would if you thought the same about the Southern United States. But I have found, more often than not, that the Thai people that I have been fortunate enough to come into contact with on a daily basis or for a mere momentary exchange, are truly some of the kindest I have ever met.

After leaving the wat with my fortune, I still had time and wandered into a nearby pet store, lured by the incredible looking poodle in the window. The poodle was a little white, tea cup poodle, but its owners had dyed its ears, legs and tail a bright fire-engine red. It was hysterical, and, as I found, a very well-tempered friendly dog, not at all humbled by his appearance. After I played with him for a few minutes, I asked the owners if I could take a picture, knowing that this is one picture that would definitely be worth more than the mere words of description. The man in the shop indicated that it was okay and after a few minutes of my trying to capture the playful little pup on camera, came over to hold him for me. I snapped a picture and thanked him and was just getting up to leave when the man returned the office where he had disappeared to, with a small family photo album. He began showing me pictures of his family with the dog and when he found one of just the dog, he took it out and offered it to me. I was incredibly touched and graciously accepted his offering. I now have a great picture to go with this story and a memory of yet another Thai person that I met by chance who embodied the true spirit behind the "land of smiles."