Market Friday: window shopping at IconSiam.

This week has been full of outdoor activities for me. I had been out every other day to survey shopping malls and temples during the last week the year. The festive season hasn’t disappointed me in terms of vibrant tourists and exciting atmosphere. It was good for my psyche and physical body to be by the river and to immerse in very different flows of vibrations.

The boat trip to IconSiam took about ten minutes then I was among large crowds of tourists along the river front. There’s security guards at each entrance, I noticed random people with rug sacks were asked to have them examined. Most people could walk through without any hassle. There’s a sense of vigilance since the tragic incident at Siam Paragon several months ago when a teenager used a modified BB gun to shoot at tourists killing a Chinese tourist. This news went viral in China and all guided tour companies cancelled many tours to Bangkok.

That was the first time a young teenager went berserk in a shopping mall with a modified BB gun. He was on medications and a psychiatric patient at a hospital. I suspected whether he could be experimented with strange drugs by his doctor. Perhaps he could even be hypnotised or programmed with drugs and treatments.

After he was arrested, he was beey fearful and confused; he kept telling the police that someone was after him and wanted to kill him. He coukd hear voices in his head and asked the police whether he could hear this threatening voice. That episode reminded me of some films and videos on MKULTRA and “Catchers in the Rye”.

Inside IconSiam visitors were transported into another world of surreal luxurious shopping experience. All the shops were grand and beautiful with expensive merchandise by various famous designers. The ambience was cool and awesome as the interior design was sumptuously rich and extravagant. I noticed very few people were carrying shopping bags from these brand name shops. Only the Middle Eastern and European tourists did buy these expensive goods.

I was quite tempted to enter one of these shops. But when I looked at my shoes and outfit with no famous logo, I thought I would feel humiliated in front of those immaculately dressed shop assistants. They could see straightaway that I wasn’t from the rich class with buying power. So, most shops looked so empty of customers as most people weren’t prepared to show off their wealth or were too stingy to splash out on luxurious goods with high status symbols.

There were two shops with a queue of customers. These exclusive shops only allowed less than ten customers inside at a time. The waiting customers felt like some pop stars as other people kept looking at them. Crazy people! I couldn’t understand how a person would be willing to spend their hard earn money on a bag or belt. The cost of one of these bags could feed a poor family for a whole year in Thailand.

I walked further towards the food court in the underground level. These eateries were doing quite well, some joints were packed with Chinese tourists. The colourful decorations made the place very cheerful and optimistic. But the prices of the food there were just too expensive for local people; they would seem reasonable in terms of dollars or euros. The rental costs might have been very high which resulted in very high prices. There was even a vegetarian restaurant there.

While I was at college overseas, my circle of friends were mostly from the wealthy class with high society culture. So, I was quite swayed by luxurious goods of high quality with high price tags. I even had a few items bought during the yearly sale. When I had to earn my own income, I thought I was so stupid to waste money on luxurious goods. Had I invested my money in gold or cryoto, I would have become very rich!

I didn’t have any down to earth friend from poor background to tell me about real life of hardships and struggles. So, I looked at things very differently from my younger days. But I tried to enjoy all positive aspects of life while I still could. In Buddhist teaching, karmic rules worked continuously so I had to be mindful of my thoughts and actions.

There’s a new section of craft and art market on the ground floor. A group of tourists from Ceylon was resting on rows of chairs in the front of a stage. Sometimes I looked at elderly visitors who were on holidays with their families, I couldn’t help feeling sorry for some of them. I could see from their eyes that they were very tired but they just wanted to please their sons and daughters who dragged them around for sightseeing. Young people could be insensitive and imperceptible to other people’s feeling at times.

Some people asked me why I didn’t travel abroad much at all. Most of my friends did visit Japan, Korea, China, India, Turkey, and most European countries. I have become uninterested in traveling to big cities. I would prefer to be on high mountains or by the sea. The vibes of natural surroundings have changed my mind forever about traveling purposes. I wouldn’t spend my life force in cities whose vibes weren’t conducive to calming my mind. So, I wouldn’t spend more than a few hours in big shopping mall. I would recharge or cleanse my vibes by the river.

On the way out, I was struck by a small exhibition of sculptures by young generation of Thai artists. Their handiworks were very intricate and complicated. But they put too much of the ‘self’ into their art works. They didn’t let their creative work become naturally elegant and beautiful. They put so much effort and force into pushing towards perfection that the desired results eluded them. These couldn’t be compared with sculptures in the National Museum which naturally conjured a sense of beauty and timelessness.

However, their techniques were high art forms and their attentions to details were incredible. I hoped some rich collectors would buy some of these works. These artists had to make a living too. Perhaps their work would mature as they got older and more experienced.

The atmosphere by the riverfront was quite relaxing. I was quite disappointed by the Christmas decorations at IconSiam this year. But most visitors seemed to be very excited by these metallic and LED lightings. I also wished the management would provide some green lawn and big trees in the harden concrete landscape. People needed to be able to ground themselves with natural energies from the earth.

IconSiam was so huge that I still haven’t explored all the five levels in the mall. This time I didn’t have the spare time to check out iStore on the third floor. Too many new things kept overwhelming my senses and I required more time to process all the new inputs in my brain. I had the intention to see all the shops on all levels which would require a detailed walking plan for my future visits.

Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.

Stay strong and cheerful.

#marketfriday hosted by @dswigle.