Home
Influenced and intrigued as he was by all things Asian, and?wanting to escape the monotony of America’s first planned community, when Carleton Cole’s path took him to Thailand, it came as no surprise to him. For years he had been fascinated by Thailand, reading everything he could about the country and even taking a menial job in a local Thai restaurant to rub shoulders with Thais exiled in the American Midwest.
Confronted by the seriously limited employment options open to the holder of a liberal-arts bachelor’s degree, he set about transplanting himself to what would soon become his adopted home, and a base for exploring the rest of Asia. An atypically quiet American who didn’t?fit into US society, Carleton Cole has found his place in the Land of Smiles, and has developed and maintained a passion for things Thai and Asian.
?
Reviews
An honest, refreshing, and humorous tale of development, discovery, and destination. Carleton Cole has travelled wide and far, both inwards and outwards to reach his present home in Thailand. It was a journey worth taking and definitely a story worth reading. A worthy addition to the travel writing canon.
? Roger Beaumont, author of ?What?s Your Name I?m Fine Thank You?
Parlaying a job as the lone American busboy in a Thai restaurant in St Louis, Carleton Cole winds up in Bangkok as a travel writer for The Nation. He romps through Thailand, Cambodia, India, Ladakh, Sikkim, Nepal, Japan, South Korea, Brunei, Laos and Turkey. This reader happily traipsed along. Cole?s sharp eye and gentle humour make for travel writing at its best.
? James Eckardt, author of several books set in Thailand, including ?Bangkok People?
Introduction
I am a quiet American who has come to love his adopted homeland, the quintessentially Asian kingdom of Thailand.
The historical origins of Thailand?s people lie in the hills of southern China. Its religion comes from the plains of northern India. It lies at the heart and cultural crossroads of both Asia and Southeast Asia, not only reflecting the influences of Asia?s two magnates?China and India?but of all of its neighbours, in the true Thai tradition of tolerance. Thailand features Burmese temples and traditions in the north, cultural affinity with Laos in the northeast, centuries-old stone temples plus linguistic and religious borrowing from Cambodia in Isaan and elsewhere, and the Muslim tradition of Malaya in Thailand?s Deep South. A vibrant history of uninterrupted independence has, however,always ensured the survival and advancement of things uniquely Thai.
With such a vibrant and cultural history, it was no wonder I knew that I had found a home away from home even before I got there……….More