bangkok
– THAILAND –
The journey continued on a rainy day that gifted us a rainbow, a sign of welcome in a city that has long embraced its queer communities. We gathered at Avani+ Riverside Bangkok, where the Chao Phraya River stretched before us, carrying the pulse of the city. From the rooftop, the skyline shimmered through the mist, a meeting of past and future, tradition and movement.
At the heart of our gathering was Hua, a true matriarch—loving, caring, and fiercely devoted to her chosen family.
A tireless advocate for trans communities, she carries both strength and tenderness, ensuring that no one is left behind.
The moment was gentle, full of ease, as we looked out over the city, the hum of Bangkok below us.
Inside, at our table, flavors burst forth—fragrant Thai dishes, perfectly balanced—while our hosts kindly ordered no spice for the visitors.
We shared stories between bites, laughter filling the space, as warmth and care turned strangers into real familia once more.
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[ sift through photographs ]
After each gathering, I created a poem as a way to reflect on what we experienced together—a way of immortalizing the energy, questions, and quiet truths shared around the table.
[ listen to poem read by author ]
The gentle, gentle, kind, and soft table
We arrive at the table
softly, like a Thai bao
Bangkok behind us
kind and complex like its people
we offer smiles as blessings,
soft and aromatic like curry
The gentle, gentle, kind, and soft table
We arrive softly
not because we have not fought
but because we have fought too much
It takes strength to be gentle
gentle to ourselves
gentle to others
gentle to a world that demands
we work hard
and struggle relentlessly.
As we arrived to this
gentle, gentle, kind, and soft table.
I asked them to pause
to feel the weight of their own courage
To surrender, just for today
the polished stories and battles
The gentle, gentle, kind, and soft table.
No funder meeting here
only a revolution of lushness
only a sanctuary of power in kindness
The gentle, gentle, kind, and soft table
mezcal meets curry,
Oaxaca meets Bangkok
Flavors blend, nations blur
and the table becomes a link
between familiar struggles.
The hummingbird, a gift,
a symbol of transitions
rests softly in their hands,
carrying whispers of loved ones
of those who fought before us
singing songs of resilience and renewal
a talisman for becoming.
The gentle, gentle, kind, and soft table,
where trans lives bloom
together, a familiar family
of familiars and strangers,
of siblings across Siam
A love so soft
it helps the world become.
The gentle, gentle, kind, and soft table,
the shrine, the temple,
where offerings of trans joy bloom,
the strength in softness
the power of kindness
the wisdom in gentleness
It is time to depart
from this gentle, gentle, kind, and soft table
with a gift to be passed
an elephant that carries
the weight of what we have endured
and the promise of what we are to become.
The elephant, a gift
to us all
a soft reminder
we are never alone.
Bangkok’s Gift: The Elephant
At each gathering, participants were invited to choose a meaningful gift to send to the next city—a symbol of what the moment held, and what queerness made possible for them.
These offerings—tender, playful, ancestral, or poetic—became a thread of connection across borders. Each one carried the love and intention of its table, a gesture of kinship to those still to gather.
In Bangkok, the group selected the elephant, a symbol of strength, perseverance, and sacredness. Once associated with royalty in ancient Thailand, the elephant now became a living emblem of the queer community’s resilience—powerful, grounded, and impossible to ignore. It was gifted as a blessing for courage and continued movement forward.
Every beautiful moment at this dinner was captured
by Zicky Le – Vessel Collective
