LETTER TO MY FRIEND, T T was G's MBA course-mate at MIT in 1998. He was the youngest in the course and was like a brother to G and I. T is funny, witty, always generous with his treats, and he loves food. As you can guess, T is a big guy, with a big heart. T lives in the "Land of Smiles", where there is recently a clash of colours and idealogy that has not reached closure. In less turbulent times, I have been drawn to the local food, the spas and especially the shopping there. Each time, T would be the perfect host, taking me out, buying me dinners, with a pre-booked massage at to round off the day, a boon to my aching feet. Being the itinerant traveller, I have also ended up taking him to places in his own country which he has not checked out before, like the notorious back-packers' haunt where needles and substances are shared and eating sharks' fins in back alleys. I have even taken the water-bus on the river where you have barely sitting room i...