Steven Reed Johnson
Portland, Oregon USA
Touch and Go
Blog
Thailand Sojourn
Chapter #19
Looking Up, Looking Down
and
Around
I’ve talked about Mobile Oblivions. The gaggles of mobile phone talking people who don’t have a clue about their surroundings.
Here’s the other thing I’ve learned. In Bangkok and other places when I travel. In Portland, depending on the cloud cover I know where I am all the time by spotting hilltops, mountains, buildings.
I do that here as well. Look up. Spot familiar tall buildings so I know where I am.
But you also have to look down . Most the streets are in pretty good repair and very clean for a city of 10-14 million people. And lots of dogs yet I’ve never stepped in poop.
Sunday must have been lizard days out because they were everywhere. I guess they are Monitor Lizards. Although that names covers several sub-species. Two-three feet long. The natives pay no attention to them. There was one guy feeding the pigeons with one sitting ten feet from him wanting some of the hostess Twinkie or whatever he was feeding the birds.
I was so busy looking down trying to get a good photo of one on the ground I didn’t notice the one crawling down the tree just above my head. So remember always look up, down and around.
I reached the tipping point this afternoon where living in a teaming mega-city felt like Dodge ball. Just last week I reached a point where I realized my dodging skills had improved considerably. Dodging mobile Oblivions; hoards getting on and off sky trains; trying to either pace yourself to go with the flow or learn how to get around gaggles or in love units or units who are not trying to get somewhere. This is their outing, like a walk in the woods. The skill I was especially proud of was how to get across streets. When I first arrived it seemed there were no breaks in the traffic flow. But, I’ve learned how to observe the traffic and make quick jumps, sprints, leaps, lurches. Its a gymnastic sport. But, today I yearned for the leisurely flow of traffic and people flow in Portland. I probably won’t complain about traffic in Portland for quite awhile when I return.
A building I know is near my Apartment.
