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Crossing Old Boundary Lines, Discovering New Frontiers

 

The Land of Smiles Trilogy was written in the early 1990s, a time when the Internet was a nascent entity, still kicking its feet in the digital crib. Communication was largely limited to landlines, as mobile phones were not yet commonplace, and mass travel had not yet flooded cities and towns with curious tourist groups. No GPS was widely available. You were on your own in a way that has become unimaginable in our current digital world.

 

We filter out the vast amount of information and snuggle inside a familiar and predictable cone of awareness. We move on auto-pilot through our surroundings. When you move to a new environment, you experience a sudden rupture as your brain attempts to sort out what is salient. Not knowing what is risky, dangerous or deadly in a new environment triggers fear or anxiety in many people. I experienced life of a writer who lived in a slum dwelling in Bangkok bordering on the edge of poverty. There was an upside, though. I found that by living on next to nothing, the overwhelming sense of ‘newness’ living inside Thai life ignited by imagination and gave me a source of meaning and purpose.

 

In the future, AI-generated historians, anthropologists, and sociologists will look back at the early 90s, delving deep into the literature of that era. An AGI may conclude that this decade marked the transition from the nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. Travel to remote places was expensive, difficult, exotic, mysterious, and often dangerous. This literary tradition, established by authors such as Joseph Conrad, Rudyard Kipling, Henry James, E.M. Forster, George Orwell, Henry Miller, Ernest Hemingway, Anthony Burgess, and Chinua Achebe, provided my inspiration.

 

The Land of Smiles Trilogy occupies that borderland—the no-man’s land where the old world was dying and the new world was being born. This frontier did not last long; the digital world invaded billions of lives and soon replaced the old order, which is fading from collective memory.

 

Our cone of information and understanding of the world in the 90s was limited, as were the possibilities for knowledge sharing. The trilogy creates a cross-cultural conversation between Thais and non-Thais, (primarily Westerners in these narratives). We are left pondering a number of questions about personal identity, role models, cultural transformation: How does identity transform when exposed to a new culture? Who thrives and who struggles to make necessary emotional adjustments? What psychological resources are expended in understanding Thai language, history, and culture? What lessons from the past 35 years remain relevant today? Do readers still engage with Conrad, Kipling, James, Forster, Orwell, Miller, Hemingway, or Achebe? Or have we severed that thread to our collective past?

 

The three novels provide the reader with a personal guide to navigating these challenging questions. You will embark on a journey of discovery; as you turn the last page of the trilogy, my hope is that you gain a fresh perspective on Thailand. The Internet has connected us in ways that the new world has lost its time zones, boundaries, and where privacy has vanished. The early 1990s. The Land of Smiles Trilogy is a journey back to a time when connection was local and required physical presence. There were no flashy YouTube videos or bloggers guiding you through neighborhoods. You had to buy a ticket, board a plane, and accept that you were entering a realm where communication was limited and fragile. In those days, friendships demanded face-to-face interactions; advice came from those who had traversed similar paths before us.

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A Killing Smile

A Killing Smile, set against the backdrop of one segment of the expat community's nightlife, offers insight into the attitudes, dreams, and values of Westerners who were not mere tourists but individuals who had left the safety net of their home countries for various reasons to live in Thailand. The story is one of personal exploration and discovery that comes from immersion in a new culture.

 

I’d joined that community in 1989—its counterpart akin to Henry Miller’s Paris or Ernest Hemingway’s Paris a decade earlier. Published in 1991, this novel resonated deeply within the expat community. Copies adorned windows at Villa Market supermarkets; shopping baskets often contained this book. Displays at Asia Books and Bookazine showcased A Killing Smile prominently.

 

That was 35 years ago. Why not leave the past buried in a graveyard of forgotten times and memories? Because I believe that our past lies dormant within us; lose that connection and we lose part of ourselves.

 

A Killing Smile serves as a lens through which to view an isolated community that exists outside its home country’s norms. The narrative reveals the gap between seasoned expats who believed they knew everything and newcomers who thought they understood more than they actually did.

 

 

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Amazon/kindle/ebook:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D4SR8ZNT

 

A Bewitching Smile

It is often said that Bangkok is not Thailand; provincial enclaves—whether towns or villages—are remote from the capital city. The communication systems of the 90s were controlled by central authorities, meaning that most ordinary people in Bangkok and beyond received narratives aligned with official dogma.

 

During this period, I ventured northward into Thailand’s rural heartland. To truly understand a people—their language and culture—one must spend time within their villages and homes. I discovered a world starkly different from Bangkok: supportive communities with their own dark sides.

 

Given their lack of support and development opportunities, it is unsurprising that criminal activities emerged as alternatives to abject poverty. In these remote areas, one encounters gangsters and corrupt officials amid vibrant superstitions and rituals. For an outsider like me, this world was both seductive and terrifying.

 

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Amazon/kindle/ebook:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DSMJ6TJV

 

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A Haunting Smile

This story serves as a backdrop to my experiences during Thailand's coup in 1992—a time when most people in North America had no firsthand experience of such political upheaval marked by soldiers and armored vehicles filling city streets. I walked among protestors in Bangkok as eighty thousand gathered at Sanam Luang to listen to speakers condemn government actions.

 

I had entered George Orwell territory: a literary endeavor aimed at capturing the pulse of those fighting for freedom against powerful forces intent on preserving the status quo. Orwell's work challenges us to confront what happens when ideology clashes with chaotic reality where violence supplants reason.

 

A Haunting Smile reaches back into history to revisit Cortez’s destruction of the Aztec Empire while bringing historical figures like Cortez and Montezuma into modern Bangkok—reminding us why learning from history is crucial.

 

What are those historical lessons? They provide a roadmap for redemption. But first we must work to recover our collective memory of values that, at least in theory, once united us with norms and civility.

 

Additionally, it tells the story of searching for a young Thai woman caught in conflict—a narrative focused on one life at stake amidst chaos. It is ultimately a journey toward personal redemption through remembering historical lessons.

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Amazon/kindle/ebook:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DSYYVJ24

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Summary

 

What lessons have I learnt from revising and rewriting the Land of Smiles Trilogy? I discovered the books shaped my way of being in the new digital world. My daily reminder of how to “be” is also my invitation for you to revisit the trilogy if you’ve read it before, or if you are new to the books, to encourage you to dip your digital toes inside the analogue past. After reflecting on the Land of Smiles Trilogy, I noted four daily reminders that have guided me as down the path of life. 

  • Be kind,

  • Be forgiving,

  • Be grateful,

  • Be present.

I invite my readers to embark on the journey that shaped and influenced the person I’ve become. I had no map or blueprint to follow and no knowledge of the culture, language or history of Thailand. Everything appeared salient. It was sensory, memory, emotional and intellectual overload. .

 

Bangkok, Thailand 21 January 2025

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