I write an article every two weeks in this magazine.  This is my 3rd essay.  Honestly, I have struggled to write sentences because my editor of the magazine gives me some kind of difficult theme every time.  I try to find clues for the article in a closet of my heart, but I need at least a few days just for thinking a brief plan.  There is a reason why I write so slowly.  The reason is I asked myself not to use the Internet except for fact check and using as a dictionary.  Then, I realize how I depend on web searching so far, and also haven't used my brain.
 
However, I was able to start to write immediate after the very next day of the meeting at the magazine company (that is today!).  Why?  Because my editor told me that the theme for the next essay was "A Memory of Thailand", and allowed me to write it freely. Thanks God!
 
Actually, the U.S. is my top travel destination because I needed to visit there on business. I have been to Thailand many times followed by the U.S., and I visited there mainly for sightseeing so I have many things I can write.
 
I visited Thailand in 1991 for the first time.  I remember I thought going to Thailand sounded like a kind of "adventure" to me at that time because Thailand was not well developed in early 1990s and I had never been to such a country.
 
Then, I was so addicted to Thailand at my first visit.  Never ending traffic jam, no driving manners, heavily crowded buses, and "Tku Tku", a three wheel taxi, in the back sheet of which you can catch the lukewarm wind in the back sheet of it.  I could hardly find any words for the traffic of streets in Bangkok except chaos.  It even looked like even unreal.
 
Of course, there were not only disorder things.  I enjoyed varieties of vender foods on the sidewalk.  Also, I was able to feel nice and easy on the slow boat sailing on Chao Phraya River, and relaxed in the beach resort hotels as well.
 
Thailand is well know as a Buddhism country. You may see lined monks wearing orange traditional cloth are walking on the street, going begging for alms.  Let me tell you one of my favorite sightseeing sites. It is a huge Reclining Buda statue in Bangkok.  You will be surprised if you see soles of the statue because 108 pictures which are images of universal sceneries of Buddhism are carved.
 
I have been to Thailand 6 times for sightseeing so far.  As for business trip, I visited three times. One of those trips was a really short one:  I just stayed at Bangkok airport for a couple of hours because I was supposed to change planes in order to go to Laos.  "supposed to change" sounds awkward, doesn't it?  But it isn't wrong.  Although I have lots of fun memories, my most unforgettable memory of Thailand is the things happened after I arrived at the airport in Bangkok in 2009.  Let me start telling you about it.
 
I was extremely busy for daily jobs these days, and furthermore, I had had a stomachache since one month before leaving for Laos because I was a bit nervous and felt pressure for a big mission I should do during my business trip.  I was not healthy as you can imagine.
 
I felt really bad when I arrived at Bangkok airport, then finally fell down on the floor when I waited for a connection flight to Laos in the terminal.
 
I don't really remember what was going on after I was really sick.  Probably someone took me to a clinic of the terminal and maybe I asked someone for help.   Not sure I did, actually. 
 
The next thing I remember is I was on a wheelchair and was asked to find my suitcase by airport staff in a storage area. Picking up my yellow one, he took me to an immigration area.  I somehow found my passport in my bag in front of a passport control booth, an immigration officer stamped it, and I entered to Thailand getting on a wheelchair.  Then I was put into an ambulance after getting out the terminal building, and arrived at a hospital in downtown Bangkok.  I knew later that the hospital is very popular for foreign residents and travelers because many doctors who are fluent in English work there.
 
I don't recall well what was going on after hospitalized.  I guess I got lots of examinations in an ICU room.  After checking results of my tests, a doctor told me everything was fine, I thought you just overworked. 
 
Fortunately, taking an IV for 2 days, I recovered my health and was able to leave the hospital.  At that time, my colleagues were done the mission and retuned from Laos and checked-in a hotel near Bangkok airport to get on the next day's morning flight.  I joined them at the hotel, and returned to Japan together.
 
The most impressive memory of Thailand is not sightseeing nor business trip but the things happened after I was just supposed to change planes in the airport. I remember I slept on a bed and looked the ceiling in the hospital.  Also, I remember very well that I felt so much fear because I was not sure what would be happen to me.
 
My editor, how would you like my 3rd essay?  

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I appreciate if you also read the Japanese version of this article「タイの思い出：入国する予定はなかったのに」in my Note.