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| Photo by azamaraclubcruises.co.uk |
"Sawatdika! Yindee don-rub soo-prathed Thai na-ka!" (Trans: Hello! Welcome to Thailand!)
These basic greetings have overflown my inner self with happiness, knowing that every time it is being said to me, I feel truly welcomed and it is a greeting full of sincerity. Out of all the countries in the world, may it be Asian, Middle Eastern or European, one of the places I really dreamed of visiting since I was at a young adolescent age was Thailand. I've always wanted to enjoy and adore what their culture and lifestyle would feel like. And I was lucky enough to get myself a six-day business trip in Bangkok along with my family!
During the summer of 2014, my mother had announced to my family and I that she would be going on a business/leadership trip to Bangkok (those tickets were paid by the company, by the way! Scored!) since she went up another big rank in the wellness industry. Being the excited fourteen-year-old I was, I immediately pledged to accompany my mom to Thailand! What made everything even more exciting as it already was, was that our nanny was brought along with us, too! It was her first time to ride a plane, that's why. So, we were six in total, My mom, Aunt May, Maxine, Aunt Fedi, Yaya Mercy and I. After all the preparations and late night arguments about my cousin bringing a swimsuit even though there was no time for her to swim, it was all planned out perfectly!
"Calling all passengers of flight CX 852, please proceed to gate 11 for check-in."
It was 2:30 in the afternoon when we heard the announcement for the next flight at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and I lifted a question,
"Ma, what's our flight number?" I asked while fidgeting with my earpod wire.
"PR 732, why Niks?" She asked.
"Nothing, okay then."
These basic greetings have overflown my inner self with happiness, knowing that every time it is being said to me, I feel truly welcomed and it is a greeting full of sincerity. Out of all the countries in the world, may it be Asian, Middle Eastern or European, one of the places I really dreamed of visiting since I was at a young adolescent age was Thailand. I've always wanted to enjoy and adore what their culture and lifestyle would feel like. And I was lucky enough to get myself a six-day business trip in Bangkok along with my family!
During the summer of 2014, my mother had announced to my family and I that she would be going on a business/leadership trip to Bangkok (those tickets were paid by the company, by the way! Scored!) since she went up another big rank in the wellness industry. Being the excited fourteen-year-old I was, I immediately pledged to accompany my mom to Thailand! What made everything even more exciting as it already was, was that our nanny was brought along with us, too! It was her first time to ride a plane, that's why. So, we were six in total, My mom, Aunt May, Maxine, Aunt Fedi, Yaya Mercy and I. After all the preparations and late night arguments about my cousin bringing a swimsuit even though there was no time for her to swim, it was all planned out perfectly!
"Calling all passengers of flight CX 852, please proceed to gate 11 for check-in."
It was 2:30 in the afternoon when we heard the announcement for the next flight at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and I lifted a question,
"Ma, what's our flight number?" I asked while fidgeting with my earpod wire.
"PR 732, why Niks?" She asked.
"Nothing, okay then."
After an hour passed, another announcement came through the speakers, “Calling all passengers of flight PR 732, please proceed to gate 12 for check-in.”
We immediately sprung out of our chairs with our luggages in hand and walked briskly towards our assigned gate. There were a lot of people on the same flight as ours, by the way, (just by observing how long the line was) even though it was a busy Tuesday afternoon. As I stood amongst all the people in the line, I came to a rough conclusion that maybe, even if it’s a weekday, the airport is always packed with hundreds, if not, thousands of people traveling to different parts of the world and that, is quite amusing to me.
After about 5 minutes standing in line, we found ourselves coming closer to the entrance where we saw the lady guard collecting the tickets as people entered. First came my mom, Aunt Fedi & Yaya Mercy and Aunt May & Maxine. I was the last to enter the bridge. “Boarding pass, please.” The lady guard said with a smile. I grabbed my airplane pass out of my passport holder and handed it over to her, took the other half of my boarding pass, said my thanks and entered the passageway.
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| Photo by Nikki Toledo Taken on the way to Bangkok from Manila |
“Hello, welcome to Philippine Airlines, please enjoy your flight!” I was welcomed with a bright greeting as we entered the plane. I looked around and saw that there were two curtains; one on the left to cover the business class passengers, and the other covered the economy class passengers. As I followed my cousin from behind, we entered the curtain on the left. It was spacious since there were not a lot of people on that side yet. I took out my ticket and saw my seat number. 7A was not that far away so I walked passed the seated passengers and not too long after, I took my luggage and swung it into the bag cabins, closed it and took the window seat. I sat beside my nanny with my relatives in front if me and my mom and aunt on the opposite aisle beside us. It was 3:35 PM and we were early by 25 minutes before the plane would take off.
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| Photo by Nikki Toledo Taken on the verge of landing at Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok |
4 hours later, we’ve arrived at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand. That was it. We were there. I was actually in the country I’ve always dreamed of being in! As we came down out of the plane, we went through the usual procedures in the airport as arriving passengers; immigration, baggage claiming and customs inspection. From the airport we took a cab going to Hip Hotel. 30 minutes later, we arrived and went to our separate rooms; I had the room together with my nanny. It was going to be such a great experience in Thailand, especially that it was a six-day business trip! Nothing could ever go wrong---and so I thought.
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| Hip Hotel Photo by sawadee.com |
The stars had already pierced the dark blue skies at 9PM and we were getting hungry from the long journey. All six of us gathered in the lobby and decided on one place we would eat at. Being the anxious person I am, I felt something a bit weird, a feeling that assured me that something bad was about to happen. Once we came out of the hotel, in front of it was a parking lot for tricycles, cars, motorcycles and trucks. It was dark and had an eerie feeling to it. Since it was a place for motorcycles too, I spotted a guy in an all-black outfit, his headlights on, but he wasn’t moving a single bit. But I just disregarded all my thoughts anyway, since I didn’t want to ruin our first night. We traveled along the sidewalk by two’s: my Aunt Fedi & I, Aunt May & Maxine and Yaya Mercy at the back. It did not take too long when I felt a tug on my arm, since Aunt Fedi and I had linked our arms together just for safety. I stood there, shocked, as I heard my nanny scream and saw Aunt Fedi get pulled away from me and rolled down the road; the guy I saw earlier, all-black outfit, he attempted to rob my aunt’s bag. Suddenly, I fell to my knees, clenched my chest and felt my heart beat fast, as I watched the four of them help my aunt. It was a nightmare. People screamed, stared and yet, didn’t care to help.
After that chaos, we weren’t able to eat out anymore, instead, we headed straight back to my mom’s room.
“What happened?!” My mom exclaimed in confusion as she looked at Aunt Fedi.
“She almost got robbed on the way to the restaurant.” Maxine said, frightened.
“What?! Oh no, come here-” My mom said as she led Aunt Fedi to the chair and sat her down, trying to look for a first aid kit.
Our nanny suggested if we could just order room service--and so we did. An hour later, the food arrived and we ate.
Four days have passed and yet, I was still scared of what just happened. A million thoughts rushed into my mind, questioning the event that just happened. It was so ironic that it had to happen in a different country that we didn’t even belong in.
It was our fourth day in Thailand, and the second day that we have attended the leadership training made possible by the company. It was like a leadership training seminar that Augustinians have in Elementary School, but more fun and focuses on improving other peoples' lives through the wellness industry. Just to remind you, the event hall was packed with all the nationalities you could think of! There were Cambodians, Vietnamese, Chinese, Malaysians, Taiwanese, Thais, Pakistanis, Arabs, South Korean and a lot more! In one country, there would be a lot of representatives of the same nationality. But of us, since only the six of us were Filipinos, we were joined with the International Group 23, which consisted of Singaporeans, Bruneians and Taiwanese.
A lot of activities has happened, and right after the games and team building, we went back to the even hall and sat by group. They mentor in front on the stage had two bottles; one with clear water and the other with black water. I wondered, "What's he going to do?" After their preparation, he proceeded to grab the mic and started asking multiple questions. I noticed that every time he mentions things like, "When you are worried" "When you are scared" "When you have no trust in yourself" or maybe questions like, "Have you ever believed in your abilities?" "For once, did you think you would have succeeded without being daunted?", he would pour more black water onto the clean water. After a few more questions, I came to my senses that he was trying to point out something that I always ignored: Trust in myself. It was a long demonstration, but despite that, I had kept in mind everything that he said. The mentor carefully added the clean water to the dirty water, symbolizing positivity over negativity. It took some time before the dirty water had been cleaned out, but that only means that even though life may be full of obstacles, disappointments and sadness, we should always keep in mind that when there's a God that's willing to help us, we should always pray and believe in ourselves that in the end, everything will turn out to be just fine. That all those obstacles were meant to happen in order to makes us stronger than we think we are.
Throughout those six days, I learned so many things I thought I wouldn't ever learn about. The key to success they say, was leadership, teamwork and belief in one's self. When one is missing, consequences and problems may arise. It was such a great experience, especially getting to know people with different nationalities, and learn a bit about their culture and experiences as well. The one thing that I admired the most during our business trip was the unity of all nations. It was such a beautiful sight to see them cry together, but at the end, it's also them who enjoys together.
It was our fourth day in Thailand, and the second day that we have attended the leadership training made possible by the company. It was like a leadership training seminar that Augustinians have in Elementary School, but more fun and focuses on improving other peoples' lives through the wellness industry. Just to remind you, the event hall was packed with all the nationalities you could think of! There were Cambodians, Vietnamese, Chinese, Malaysians, Taiwanese, Thais, Pakistanis, Arabs, South Korean and a lot more! In one country, there would be a lot of representatives of the same nationality. But of us, since only the six of us were Filipinos, we were joined with the International Group 23, which consisted of Singaporeans, Bruneians and Taiwanese.
A lot of activities has happened, and right after the games and team building, we went back to the even hall and sat by group. They mentor in front on the stage had two bottles; one with clear water and the other with black water. I wondered, "What's he going to do?" After their preparation, he proceeded to grab the mic and started asking multiple questions. I noticed that every time he mentions things like, "When you are worried" "When you are scared" "When you have no trust in yourself" or maybe questions like, "Have you ever believed in your abilities?" "For once, did you think you would have succeeded without being daunted?", he would pour more black water onto the clean water. After a few more questions, I came to my senses that he was trying to point out something that I always ignored: Trust in myself. It was a long demonstration, but despite that, I had kept in mind everything that he said. The mentor carefully added the clean water to the dirty water, symbolizing positivity over negativity. It took some time before the dirty water had been cleaned out, but that only means that even though life may be full of obstacles, disappointments and sadness, we should always keep in mind that when there's a God that's willing to help us, we should always pray and believe in ourselves that in the end, everything will turn out to be just fine. That all those obstacles were meant to happen in order to makes us stronger than we think we are.
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| Photo by Fedi Ligo |
Throughout those six days, I learned so many things I thought I wouldn't ever learn about. The key to success they say, was leadership, teamwork and belief in one's self. When one is missing, consequences and problems may arise. It was such a great experience, especially getting to know people with different nationalities, and learn a bit about their culture and experiences as well. The one thing that I admired the most during our business trip was the unity of all nations. It was such a beautiful sight to see them cry together, but at the end, it's also them who enjoys together.
all the best,
NIKKI
