Hence, in my mind, the words that kept on cropping my mind were: massage, nice beaches, friendly people and shopping. Our plane touched down at precisely 5:40am on a Sunday morning, right on schedule.

As I strolled towards the immigration counters, I could not help but notice the magnificence, appeal and beauty of the airport. As a first time visitor to any country, the first impression of the airport and road infrastructure mean a lot to one's perception and expectations of the country. Immediately you step into Bangkok airport, you are struck by this feeling of a country that is in motion and progressing. The official name of this Bangkok airport is Suvarnabhumi Airport. The airport stands sixth in the top ten most on-time airports according to ForbesTraveller, and boasts of the world's tallest control tower. A good airport should be airy, spacy and have good signage. True to it, Bangkok airport meets those standards and I didn't need to ask for directions to the counters and neither did I have to maneuver my way past planes and baggage puller cars. The entry point to an airport for embarking passengers should be an air bridge and not past run ways, as it's the norm at JKIA for some flights.  

Within a few minutes I was queuing to get my passport stamped. Traveling on an African passport has its pros and cons. While in some countries, you could be picked up as a potential drug mule, in the case of Bangkok, I was quickly reminded by the immigration officer, that I come from one of the countries whose citizens require strict health scrutiny. Being used to such treatments, I didn't object at all and quickly made my way to the health control counter. I was met by a mean looking fellow who without ushering a word, passed on a questionnaire to me asking questions like, if I had vomited or had a diarhoea over the last few days. I also had to indicate if I had a fever or had shown symptoms that could indicate I was developing one. Mind you, I've not lived in Kenya for the last five or so years, if living in Kenya has anything to do with being a health hazard. It didn't take long before the mean looking fellow decided that am  fit to gain entry and after stamping my arrival card, I was ushered back to the immigration desk. Am not demonizing a Kenyan passport at all as I've found it quite handy numerous times. While traveling to most African countries, I felt better treated by immigration officers on the basis of holding a Kenyan passport. I will never forget an experience at Lusaka airport where the immigration officer quickly engaged me in a very friendly conversation in Swahili. I had a similar experience in Addis Ababa where the immigration officer told me that Kenyatta and Haile Se laise were extremely good friends and they love to see Kenyans visiting their country. Similarly, Ghanaians are very friendly as well as is Malawian, Mozambican and Ugandan immigration officials.  

After passing the immigration desk, the next thing I expected was a thorough and extensive buggage search by customs just to be double sure am not carrying any drugs. Luckily, I was let ago and gave a sigh of relief. It's quite unfortunate that the activities of some of our brothers and sisters from an country that I wouldn't want to name have given Africans a bad name, even in Thailand and hence the reason for this kind of stereotyping.  

Typical of a developing country's airport, my first encounter was with taxi drivers offering me their services. I was rather impressed that upon saying no, I wasn't hassled further and the drivers would simply say thank you and walk away. As I mentioned earlier, the second impression maker of a country doing well is the road infrastructure. I couldn't help but notice the impressive and well developed road network in Bangkok; interchanges, working traffic lights, three to four lane highways, clearly marked lanes and good road signage. As I stared at all this infrastructure, my mind shifted to my motherland and imagined how nice it would be, if upon leaving JKIA, I was met by a smooth non-potholed four lane highway with a four way interchange for traffic going to Athi River, City Centre, Eastlands and Embakasi.  Of greater shock to me was when I came across this metropolitan rail network just next to the hotel I was staying in. For once I thought I was in London subway when I saw this electric trains cruising by. Without wasting a minute, I decided to check out the nearest rail station. The station I visited came out as orderly, neat and organized. Reminiscent of a first world railway station, there was signage indicating arrival and departure times and destinations. My mind strolled back to my motherland and started envisioning this Nairobi subway that connects city centre  with Buru, Umoja, Ziwani, Zimmerman, Westlands, Kawangware and South C every fifteen minutes. I imagined this subway with clean, well labeled trains that are devoid of preachers, hawkers, beggars and idlers. My mind raced with the thought of an electric speed train connecting JKIA with Masai Mara that would see tourists reaching the famous game reserve within fourty five minutes or less. Aha! What about a tram network that services Ngara, Ngong road, Langata, Kilimani and Kikomba? My creations were endless but couldn't help praying that in generations to come, Nairobi would reach such a stage.. For a country like Thailand that has no natural resources, I was extremely impressed by what they've managed to do, re: rail mass commuter.  

Back to my hotel, I decided to catch up with what every Kenyan would regard as his favourite pet subject; politics aka siasa. The local daily never failed to give me the latest updates. Apparently Thailand even with all it's advancements, order and prosperity is not short of political machinations, gimmicks and upheavals that seem to be having their peaks and troughs. Take for instance, it was brought to my attention that on 19^th September 2006, a military junta overthrew the elected government and abrogated the constitution, dissolved Parliament and the Constitutional Court, detained and later removed several members of the government and declared martial law. If that happened in Kenya, believe me we would be branded a failed state!  Back to politics, compared to Kenya, what the Thais have decided to do differently from us is that as the politicians and their supporters propagate divisive politics and cheap talking, the entrepreneurs seem more busy making their kill and are least bothered with political on goings. The only economic pillar that witnessed a direct correlation with political upheavals was the Thai Stock Exchange which routinely experiences gains and losses depending on which side of the bed the politicians wake up. Hence though there was a week long demo near one of the city's historic bridges calling for the prime minister to step down, that didn't stop people from going to work, neither did shops close down in fear of looting. It seemed clear to me that Thais are well aware of where their bread is buttered and will never allow politics to get into the way of their economy. As I ushered my way to entertainment spots and community meeting places, I can't recall ever coming across an establishment with a TV station broadcasting a political event or the prime minister giving a speech for that matter. Unfortunately or fortunately, I always use Kenya as my yardstick and rewinding my visits to numerous Nairobi joints, political coverage is a major news item. Why can't we live politics to the politicians and just move on with life? I keep on asking myself. 

Bangkok has some of the most entrepreneurial people I've ever come across. The four most aggressive entrepreneurs I came across were: tuk tuk drivers, tailors, massage owners and retail shop owners. Just as an example, in Bangkok, you can make an order for a suit which gets delivered to you within seven hours less. As for the retail shop owners, in some outlets, they operate until midnight. Bangkok is a sin city of some kind and anybody visiting there has to be wary of the massage parlours as they could be brothels in disguise. The other side of Bangkok that I came across is hospitality and friendliness that is simply out of this world. From the plane to the hotel, I kept on receiving this greeting, that can almost make one feel like a god. It's a strange greeting whereby whoever is greeting you folders her both hands as if in prayer, stares at you straight in the eyes and slowly nods her head.  

On the other hand, it was quite notable that the Thai government was committed to ensuring visitors felt safe and welcome in Bangkok. To support this notion, I came across numerous tourist police patrol cars that seemed quite busy in ensuring tourists are safe. On the downside, the spoken English of Thais is pathetic and be sure your taxi driver knows what you are talking about before you agree for him to drive off. In one of the evenings, I ended up in the wrong hotel after my driver misunderstood my instructions. If you ever decide to visit Bangkok, also be wary of greedy shopkeepers and taxi drivers keen on charging exorbitant prices. In one instance I bargained for some items from approximately thirty dollars down to fifteen dollars. Thinking I had a deal of the lifetime, I walked to another joint only to find exactly the same items going for five dollars each. Be warned as well, Bangkok shops are rampant with fake goods, from Rolex watches to designer clothes. On the top, they look original and genuine but deep inside, they are nothing but useless copycats. For a Rolex watch that I bought, it didn't take long before it stopped functioning and little did I know that cheap can sometimes be very expensive. 

My going out of Bangkok was as impressive as my coming in. Walking past the departure hall, I got struck once again by a feeling and look of order and good planning. The immigration officials were equally friendly and were bothered to know how my stay in Bangkok was. As I jetted out of this great country, the question that lingered my mind was what it shall take for Kenya to join the Asia Tigers league?.  

Thailand's profile:

Population - 60 million

Currency - Thai Baht

Visa - Kenyans require a visa to visit Thailand 
 

James Muritu