The airport in Bangkok is an anthropologist's dream. There is an amazing number of cultures represented there. If you love to watch people it is the place to be. Last night I sat next to a woman returning to Sydney, Australia. I ate my last cheeseburger at Burger King adjacent to a couple speaking German, and I passed an entire tour group who appeared to be from Korea on the walkway. There are usually Russians, Spaniards, Germans, Brits, Chinese, Korean, Australian, various Scandinavian, and even some American tourists milling about.
Last night there were a large number of Arabs in the terminal looking especially wealthy in their long, stunningly white robes and headgear. The black head bands contrasted startlingly with the cloths on their head. Their wives and daughters were dressed in burquas of rich materials, and sporting fine jewelry, designer handbags and expensive looking shoes. They really did make quite an impression.
However, the image that stuck in my mind was of an older Islamic gentlemen, probably in his sixties or seventies. He was wearing the traditional kurta and pants. A soft grey color instead of white. His most striking feature though was the baseball cap that was perched backwards on his head. I had to do a double take when I saw him. He was strolling in front of me down the concourse with his wife covered from head to toe in her burqua. He looked like an Arab homeboy. It was the most unexpected blending of Eastern and Western culture that I have seen in a while.
