Free Journey From the Summit by Lorraine Ereira Page A

chapels and exquisitely intricate ‘chedis’, which are graceful, dome-shaped monuments embellished with colourful ceramic tiles. The northern section, which housed the reclining Buddha, was designed with dainty pointed rooftops and raised on a marble platform, and covered in tiny pieces of coloured mosaic glass, then gilded in gold.
    Inside the cool shrine lay the stunning gold leaf reclining Buddha. He was enormous, at around 45m in length and 15m in height. His feet alone were 3m tall, and the soles were inlaid with mother-of-pearl in intricate designs of flowers, dancers, elephants and tigers. We were simply spellbound at his sheer size and splendour. Little bronze coloured bowls were arranged for people to donate coins, which in turn would grant them good fortune (and help the monks maintain the temple in all its splendid glory). I placed a few baht into a dish and prayed to the reclining Buddha to help Saul. We felt truly blessed to have been able to experience such a divine temple.
    In the evening Bangkok came alive with a culture that is, by contrast, far from divine – the sex industry. The streets were lined with neon-lit bars and restaurants. Lady-boys strutted up and down the road, some of them so beautiful it would take a sharp eye to notice their true gender. Leaflets were thrust at us from every direction with verbal invitations such as, “You want to see live ping pong show?” A sense of morbid fascination and a need to immerse ourselves in the culture from both angles compelled us to go into one of the seemingly less seedy bars. It was here that we were struck by how these poor girls, some as young as twelve or thirteen, were forced, by poverty or family trade to sell themselves to the punters and make their poor little bodies do things that no self-respecting girl should ever have to think about. What was worse is that it is the Western men who travel to this part of the world who fed this culture, as they flocked here en masse to be ‘entertained’ by this industry. We had one drink and left, after having seen more than enough of this aspect of Thai culture.
    Apart from visiting the temples and sex shows, we feasted on the authentic Thai cuisine that all the bars and restaurants offered. The food was very oriental everywhere, but what distinguished it from the Chinese food our palettes were more familiar with was its absence of gloopy sauce and the additives that seem to be typical in Chinese menus. It tasted fresh, crisp and naturally fragrant.
    We shopped, had a Thai massage and made friends with locals and travellers alike. A week went by and still there was no news. We called Adam again. There was no change and no chance of imminent release. His case would go back to court in another two weeks; they were not coming to Thailand. It was time for the mountain to go to Mohammed.
    We booked flights to Bombay and left our new friends and the magic of Thailand behind us. Cathy was ecstatic; Adam would be waiting for her at the airport. All the way to Bombay I harboured a tiny flame of hope that somehow Saul may be there too, knowing in my heart just how unlikely that would be.

 
     
    Chapter Nine
     
    When we arrived, we could hardly see Adam. A huge bouquet of flowers that he’d bought for Cathy concealed him. She took the flowers and fell into his arms all tears and smiles while I hovered behind her, not quite knowing what to do with myself.
    Then, I looked past Adam. There, behind him, was a broad handsome man with a face that so resembled Saul’s it brought a lump to my throat. Daniel, Saul’s older brother grasped my hand and grinned at me in a warm friendly welcome. His hair was shorter, darker and thicker than Saul’s and his features somehow bolder and more rugged, but otherwise the similarity took me aback. I was speechless. I so wanted him to be Saul, but at the same time I was relieved he was there at all. At least I wasn’t alone with Cathy and Adam fawning all over one another. I had