Angels show

I’m sitting in the stylish and modern Thai airways lounge in Bangkok, waiting for my flight. I thought I would be on the morning flight to Manila, but it turned out that I was booked on the afternoon flight. I didn’t look carefully, and the flight was full.

I had the chance to observe the goings on at the standby counter today, and see polite and agitated people gather to try and make their connections work. A particularly agitated man from China who was bumped off a flight because of overbooking said that money was not the problem, but his wife and kids would be waiting at the airport. We are so connected these days. Actually he could get them on the phone and explain the situation. Problem solved. Other people patiently waited for their arrangements to fly out of the City of Angels. Some were resting on the floor. Golfers wheeled their trolleys laden with golf bags. Saffron-clad monks stood quietly observing the whirling froth of humanity.

Points of departure and arrival are always interesting to observe, and today I have the time. Arrivals are of course different, and generally joyful, as the film Love Actually showed us. The departure area has a rushed atmosphere of urgency. People in front of me were arguing with airport staff to use the Thai Airways’ convenient fast-track channel, for which they didn’t have the right ticket to do so. I also get in a rush sometimes, and today I was looking in a mirror of humanity. Calm and smiling is best. Isn’t that what Angels show us?

Sunday morning 9 July, Bangkok airport