Leaving

In less than 24 hrs, Thailand will be a finished chapter. Honestly, I never thought I will love and enjoy Thailand. I even had some doubts whether to accept the job offer before, as my primary target then was to work in European countries. After knowing nothing about my application in Netherlands, the agency asked me if they can present me to one of their clients in Thailand. Verging on desperation, I said yes. And as they say, the rest is history.

I had my initial impressions of Thailand and as days passed by I learned to embrace, understand and appreciate the country. It had lots of similarities from the Philippines, thus, my adjustment period was only a week or so. I gained lots of friends, visited places, explored some Thai cultures and experienced escapades I only read from books and heard from other tourists.

When I left Japan, I wrote about my ‘firsts’ in the Land of Rising Sun. For the Land of Smiles, these are my ‘firsts’:

a) Driving a car – I am not afraid to say I’m a late bloomer when it comes to driving. I finally drove a car at the age of 30, LOL! An accomplishment on my part. I will surely miss our Toyota Vios.

b) Golf – I always thought of golf as a sport for rich and well-off individuals. Here, you can play all you want fro 200 Baht only. We tried and later I realized, I just don’t have an interest with it. Yeah, I know, I can’t hit the ball, that’s why.

c) Parasailing – Flying on air while being pulled by a speedboat is beyond awesome. The occasional dips on the blue water made it doubly exciting.

d) Driving a motorcycle – Glad it was automatic. I almost fell down on the way up but I was able to manage holding on to the motorcycle. Thanks to the locals who were on their way down for assisting me.

e) Live Show – I heard about it even before going to Thailand. And for curiosity’s sake, we went there. I was even picked to hold a balloon during one of the performances.

f) Bath Tub Massage – no further explanation needed. Its quite self-explanatory.

g) Drunken Bowling – I normally don’t drink while playing bowling. See my strikes while under the influence of alcohol. Oh, and I got my first injury here too.

h) Tennis - I played a couple of games when I was in Japan but this is the first time that I scared. Scared that I thought I lost my eyesight after the ball hits my eye! And the very same day, I twisted my ankle. It happened two days before going home.

i) Sunrise to Sundown Photoshoot – Thanks to Davis and Dong for inviting me and Caloy to join them. It was a rewarding experience. No hints of tiredness during that day. But on the following day, LOL!

j) Target Shooting – I held a gun once but firing them and almost hitting bull’s eye, I thought I can shoot!

k) Cambodia – first time to cross a country via bus. I will never forget this experience even I have to speak in English for three days!

I know there are still lots of first time experiences but time is running out and I have to post this blog before I leave Thailand.

How about my work? Well, work is work. I gained a lot of knowledge this time, from my supervisors to my fellow engineers. I hope I was able to share a bit of my knowledge to them too. They were very helpful. There may be arguments, discussions but after shaking them off, its all fine.

Oh, and how can I forget the friendships I established here. My fellow expats are my immediate family here. Even the fact that some were from different companies but when we got together, its always a grand celebration. That’s was just one of the few things you will experience as an expat. The locals were also very warm, helpful and friendly. Damn, I will miss them so much. I can’t really describe how they made me feel loved and respected. We shared jokes, and we didn’t care much about the language barriers. I have high respect for them too. Shout outs to the Vietnamese engineers too. They were equally friendly and accommodating. Thanks for the rice wine! Special thanks to my other foreign friends, you know who you are and you have touched my life too as much as anyone else.

Goodbyes are a part of our lives, after all life is just a series of hellos and goodbyes. As I packed my bags, I will bring the memories of Thailand. It will be forever a part of my life.

end

sprints toward
a spirited horizon

once embraced,
a reassuring promise
disappears

swiftly,
the curtains
of emptiness,
offer only
waves of desire

at day's end
drifting and alone
yet relaxed

home
once again

/totomai

One of my favorite Thai phrases, Rak Sa Sook Kha Parb, Chook Dee Na Took Took Kon!

Maraming Salamat Thailand!

/totomai
05/21/08