Basket.

Well, I am back at last. Final reflections.

A rich haul of cheap (relatively, of course) goods from Thailand: Eight t-shirts, six for me and two for friends; a pair of sandals; a computer game; four books; two durian cakes; a coin purse and an array of trinkets.

Another rich, or rather priceless haul of experiences, including some extremely heartwarming ones - sadly, no more in Bangkok, but there is some good left in humanity after all, it seems.

All in all, I really enjoyed the trip and Thailand has indeed been nothing short of amazing. From peaceable, virtuous, historical, fucking-hard-to-get-to Sukhothai to loud, chaotic, teeming, surprisingly-modern Bangkok to still-grand Ayutthaya, I think we have seen a good number of this country's many sides. From hiking through Tekong-esque scrub in Tekong-esque weather to so truly, deeply spiritual temple visits to enjoying shopping malls vaster and more modern than anything our prideful country has to offer, we truly experienced a clash of the primitive and the modern.

The old world of ritual, centuries-old ruins staring down at us and winding, Byzantine alleys; versus the new modernity of a fast-growing, rapidly developing nation-state existing within and interacting with our 21st century.

It's been a holistic experience, overall. And I can declare myself for once to be truly satisfied and currently content with my lot in life.