Thailand

It's been more than 24 hours since we touched down back in little old Singapore. Been quite some time away without any access to a computer at all, and I must say that it's been quite refreshing. Feels a bit odd now reaching for a keyboard. Anyway, my sketchbook's been filled with records from Thailand, and rather conveniently, that one book now contains everything that happened from Taiwan to Thailand. Heh, I may consider switching entirely from blogging to just writing.

The trip was wonderful...a most intriguing society, from Bangkok to Baan, filled with the nicest people in Asia. They really do live up to their reputation. Everywhere we went we met eager Thais happy to help us. And also an interesting programme, marginally involving UN leadership, but much more insightful on the UN fieldwork and what their people do on the ground. And to be sure, a great group of people who went along. Claud, Kats, KHwee, Vaish, Oh-San, YS, Yvonne and everyone else, who made the long bus rides entertaining, who shared in our secret night outings, and generally shared all those special moments with me. Vaish said that the Bangkok trip had the potential to be more enriching than UK. With the people we had on the trip, it certainly was memorable.

Special moments...all our night expeditions, sneaking out of the hotel to experience Bangkok nightlife, especially on Monday with YS, Kats, Oh-San and Vaish; being picked up by gays in Silom; searching for and finding the entrance to the subway, that first night; tuktuk rides, the infallible cure for drowsiness; the meal at the village of Baan; drinking at the hotel bar; the jog and the sunrise on the hilltop; and as always, exploring the city with nothing but some money and a trusty map.

To that end I'm really most surprised by this trip. Not only was my old flightmate on it, but the others also turned out to share quite a bit of my eagerness to explore. I'd not expected people to be so interested in wandering the city, and it was a real surprise to find so many people sharing my interest at least peripherally. Learned a lot on this trip, about group dynamics, how to go about exploring with so many people, the evils of alcohol (!!), how to speak rudimentary Thai, the UN of course, and the intriguing mix of their culture, the only truly genuine Southeast Asian culture.

Lots of things to think of too, now that we've shared so many more moments together. It's odd...today's the first day in a week when I didn't wake up with Kats in the room, and didn't have breakfast with everyone else. And I do miss our night walks...spending the night at home typing at the computer feels so...sedate. A lot of things happened in Thailand, but I don't think I'll be recording everything here. Got my trusty sketchbook, and expecting photos to come in from the others. Maybe raise some anecdotes when the proper time comes. I think that should be enough.

Anyway, here's a peek at Thailand...a small part of the only sketch I did on the trip, on a hillside resort in central Thailand. This was during sunrise, with Yvonne, YS and Ems. As always, sunrises remain some of the most special moments of the trip. The people who sleep through it really don't know what they're missing =P

pondered by phoenican @ 4.6.05