“In life, there are a few key moments that prove to be crucial in forming you to become a better person.” – ROEmaraya
PRELUDE…
A couple of months have passed since I, along with other Bethel teachers, visited Thailand for a cultural tour and for an ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International) conference, as the crux of the matter, yet the memory of its beauty and wisdom is still fresh within me. It was my first international flight and I was so amazed at how everything went. Truly, this trip wouldn’t be possible had it not been by God’s amazing orchestration in my life. The scripture reminds me in Psalm 139:16 which says, “You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book”! This verse wowed me and I can’t help myself but to zealously yap about God’s goodness around. I can’t thank God enough for the many lovely things He wired me with during the entire trip. Although there had been a lot of apprehensions, from all sorts regarding the trip and conference, I have reassured myself by trusting God as the source of all the things I necessarily have to have for the trip, and then, all the rest was a wonderful history of God’s unforced rhythms of grace.
I never lacked, in fact, I had more than enough!
The Thailand trip was a brilliant experience, indeed! I’ll try to mention all-inclusively, to the best that I can, the things I have learned from the Thai culture and more importantly from the sessions of the ACSI – ICEC conference that definitely made a substantial dent in my teaching career and in my Christian life as well. Enjoy!
The FIRSTS…
Now, let me tell you a little bit about my Manila-Thailand side trips.
Like other first time travelers, I also shared a lot of first times during my trip. From the preparations of acquiring my very first passport that took 20 days of expedite process; asking people for a traveling trolley which brought me at a point of begging; a super-butt warming long hour van ride on the busy streets of Luzon; a packed meal and a few pieces of crackers to nibble on an international airplane; listening to music in my personal headset with only one earpiece working plugged just on my seat; spending a three-hour flight thousands of feet off the ground; eating my first Thai food and a lot more to mention.
Before the excitement started, I did some online research first on the weather of Thailand especially about Chiang Mai, the 2nd largest city of Thailand, in particular, not to mention other special Thai things I’ve googled. Well, I was thinking that Thailand has a cooler climate than the Philippines but to my frustration, they apparently have the same climatic profile. (Sigh) In light of knowing this, it didn’t ruin my trip by bringing clothes not suited for its climate, hence I brought with me outfits that we Filipinos usually wear during „heat days‟ despite the fact that it was „BER‟ months already.
From Leyte, one of the provinces of Region 8, we traveled via plane to Manila. Our flight to Thailand was still the next day. So, we had the whole day to enjoy a few cool things in Manila that Leyte does not have yet – SM and other mid-ranged malls, MRT (Manila Railway Transit), Starbucks, Timezone, Theater,
and many others. My excitement for Thailand ceased a bit! I hadn’t realized that it would turn to be a fun time experience with my colleagues. It even became more special through my sister‟s involvement in our Manila side trip.
The ARRIVAL…
When the wheels met the road, I couldn’t control myself to deplane hurriedly and take a photo of my first ever foreign step. I got up and carried my hand-carry bag on my shoulders very excitedly. However, my dream had been thwarted. I was expecting we were going to see and step the authentic land of Thailand as we were about to get off. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to, rather; we walked through a square-shaped, „dream-killer‟, passengers‟ tunnel. But, it was okay! Albeit, I didn’t get to fulfill my whim, I had a lot of good photos inside a huge, almost-all-fiber glass airport of Thailand – the Suvarnabhumi International Airport. WOW!
Just when we got in, flashes of lights were flickering along with various animated sounds from all directions. Whoa, I came to my senses after being awed and reminded that when Filipinos are around, so picture taking at all angles is! (Smile) So, we joined in, got our digital cameras and started our never-ending pictorial. (Smiley face, Wacky face, Attitude face, and other faces we may have thought of…)
Afterwards, we went through the embassy for checking and got my luggage from the moving counter. Before I tell you what happened next, there’s one good thing I learned that I can’t afford to forget while I was passing through the embassy, each booth has a portable, high-end camera, thus, they also like to take photos! Not their faces but others‟ faces. Awesome!
Then and there, I pulled myself and dragged my trolley to the exit door to meet the people with whom I was about to share the next three days before I fly off for Chiang Mai where the ACSI conference was held.
Finally, we safely arrived in Thailand!
THAILAND: Amazing Adventure…
As a first timer in a foreign country, sitting in a tuk-tuks (a public transportation vehicle like a motorcycle with sidecar), in a bus, or in a taxi and passing through the underpass; I found it unusual and inconsistent that their vehicles drive on the left lane most of the time. Although, there were a few instances that I’ve seen some vehicles drove in the right lane. Curiously, I researched afterward because I had no time to ask someone reliable. Nonetheless, I found out that in 1826, Britain had a diplomatic relation with Thailand used Thailand as a shortcut to go to India. This event paved a way for LHT (Left-Hand Traffic) to be used in Thailand as their rule of the road. But now, Thailand both adopts LHT and RHT as traffic rules.
Most of our trips were possible by the Mass Transit Railway, a taxi and a tuk-tuks(Local name for a motorcycle type of vehicle). I also tried to take the boat taxi for more experience in viewing Thailand’s local, subsistent community.
Like most foreigners, I also had my share for shopping time with my co-Bethel teachers who were also on their first trip to Thailand. We went to the night market and to the floating market and other tourists‟ shopping centers. We checked out high-end stores and mid-ranged malls in search of souvenirs to bring home. But my favorite was the “market-market” where I bought two pairs of shoes – black shoes for work and green shoes for fashion. The cost of the items was almost the same back home as we mentally computed or otherwise, the price tag’s worth is 1 baht being equivalent to 1 peso and 33 cents. Not that bad!
In the three days of stay in our hostess’s place, we definitely had full exciting days though sometimes if not always we got pooped out mostly from a long walk and tight schedules. In terms of living conditions, we were lucky! We lived in a four-story building with three big washrooms and showers along with a good sized laundry area located on the rooftop and wide sleeping quarters fully air-conditioned. We slept on thick foams and soft mattresses that were fairly comfortable. It was a great price to pay for such a great experience! In terms of social accommodations, we were blessed! God has blessed us with a very accommodating Filipino Christian couple with a lovely and energetic son as our hostesses. The accommodation was more than enough for me. The family as our hostesses was a blessing from God! I hadn’t asked for more! Hallelujah! Indeed, Thailand has a rich culture. Three of the many fascinating things I’ve noticed in Thailand were its cleanliness especially in the market we went to, its quiet culture (people don’t talk and giggle out loud in all places I went even in the market), and its traffic culture of no blowing of horn (in my stay in Thailand, I can’t remember an instance that cars blew horns on streets despite traffic inconvenience). These strange quirks perplexed me but there’s a perfectly good conclusion. Aside from what was mentioned above, I with other teachers also went to the different tourist destinations in Thailand that further impressed me with its exquisiteness and complexity from man-made infrastructures to some natural crafts, the Grand Palace, the floating market, the Royal Garden, the Reclining Buddha to name a few. We all had wonderful shares of moments with the places we went to from being astonished by God’s wonderful creation to the desire of helping these people to know God and more of Him!
ACSI – Chiang Mai…
After all the fun, we flew for Chiang Mai from the old international airport of Thailand – the Don Mueang International Airport. While waiting for our flight, I had a good chance to talk and make friends with a European couple – Michael and Daniela – who were also going to Chiang Mai for a tour. We chatted for a while and learned new things from each other. That was my first encounter with Germans! Great!
“Welcome aboard…”
When our flight was called, I felt a new breeze of excitement blowing to my skin and I can’t help myself from anticipating lovely things that would happen in the conference. I was excited to meet new friends and to learn many things from the keynotes and sessions in the conference so with my other colleagues…
CHIANG MAI: The Self-induced City Tour…
After we deplaned and got back our trolleys, we rode on the hotel’s car going to our destination– the YMCA Hotel – where we will stay until the conference is over. Subsequently, we decided to go on a city tour. This time is not by an agency but by us with the help of Mr. Resty Padel, one of our Filipino friends in Thailand! We toured Chiang Mai’s cheap markets basically to buy souvenirs to bring home.
CONFERENCE: The Impress Hotel Chiang Mai…
The ICEC (International Children Educators Conference) of ACSI was held in one of the best hotels in Chiang Mai – the Impress Hotel. It’s located at Chang Klan road which is considered an asset due to its accessibility to the city’s night and local markets within easy walking distance according to some reviews. The hotel has big and nice session rooms for specialized lesson and ballrooms for plenary sessions. If my memory serves me correct, that was so far the biggest ballroom I’ve ever seen. Aside from the rooms, the food was also yummy except during the welcome dinner – all Thai food! (Hot!)
ACSI: ICEC – Chiang Mai 2012
I will not include in this blog what I learned from the said conference. If you want to know about them, you can click here!
Home Sweet Home…
Nine days were short for an all-sided visit to Thailand, but the brief trip didn’t mean regrets, for the conference and the people I’ve met and the sights I’ve seen were by themselves memorable. I can tell that my trip has not disappointed me at all; on the contrary, it has highly exceeded my expectations. I know, by God’s grace, I’ll do more explorations someday! Where the provisions came is fully God’s domain!
Thanks for dropping by and blessings to you!
Comments
Post a Comment