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Voices | GUEST COLUMN BIJU SUKUMARAN
The Pros of Cons
I Biju Sukumaran is a travel writer currently based in Florianópolis, Brazil.
t is 9 p.m. and I’m watching a Muay Thai fight in Chiang Mai city in northern Thailand. Tourists are quickly seated as two wiry contenders enter the ring and size each other up. As the fight progresses, it becomes abundantly clear which fighter will win and which will lose. Kicks fly, and a few of the boisterous locals head over to the tables and playfully ask the foreigners to bet on the outcome of the match. The locals always insist the loser is going to win and it seems to be a sure bet. And it is. The foreigner always wins the first round. A wise man once said that the journey, not the destination, is the experience that gives a traveller the most satisfaction. And certainly, the greatest lessons on my voyages have come from local hustlers: Always try to learn the language. Always make friends with the locals. Always,
Much later, I realise I’ve been had, and a voice that sounds suspiciously like my mother admonishes me to pay attention
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NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER INDIA | AUGUST 2014
always pay attention to your surroundings. A simple “hello” or a quick “thank you” in Thai will often open doors yet unexplored by guidebooks. A local friend will get you a better deal at open-air markets. In Vietnam, I learnt from a friend that a Vinameter green-andwhite taxi charges double the price of Vinasun cabs (both displaying identical colours and lettering). Nudged out of my comfort zone, I’ve learnt politeness in other languages, a native’s perspective on new cultures, and to look and see details hidden in plain sight. But I’m still learning. In Cambodia, at Phnom Penh’s Russian market, I’m handed fake U.S. currency in change. Much later, I realise I’ve been had, and a voice that sounds suspiciously like my mother admonishes me to pay attention. Hiking in Indonesia, I summit Mt. Batur, and while Bali is always hot, the peak is freezing. A guide graciously offers me a coat—at a steep price. “Be prepared!” the familiar voice exhorts again. And so the bumps in the road become expected, like old friends, rather than annoyances, gateways to greater understanding and authenticity in a culture not our own. My tuk-tuk driver in Chiang Mai, when asked for the fee to drive me to the fights, quoted a ridiculous price. Yesterday, I would have given in, but today, I’ve learned my lesson, and laugh. And in this land of smiles, he laughs just as loud knowing he’s been caught. He gives me an honest price and, just like that, a bond is formed and I’m on the inside of his humour, and for an instant, his country. Ultimately these surcharges on travel are relatively cheap and well worth their small fee of annoyance. They whisper to us about discernment and counsel on the virtues of preparedness and equanimity. But most importantly, they are like unexpected pockets of flavour, meanderings off a straight road, that when recounted back home become perhaps the most relished part of a tale. Later, I settle down to enjoy the last half of the fight. My first round earnings are spent on a drink and while I lean back to savour it, I’m approached again. This time, it is double the money and once again the odds are stacked in my favour. The voice inhales, preparing to speak, but now I’m ahead of her. I grin, sip my drink, and gracefully decline.
JON HICKS/CORBIS/IMAGELIBRARY
THE HICCUPS OF TRAVEL CAN BECOME THE MOST CHERISHED PART OF THE TALE