Yunida's Exchange Stories in THAILAND

Life As It Is

Bangkok Journey

It’s been two weeks running to be one of Bangkok’s member societies, just say as if there’s certain member of that. What a wonderful place I’ve been living at. I live in heart beat of Thailand, Bangkok, when smile and wai are in every single corner of this city. I see various faces, dreams and expectation in here. I want the world know what I feel or what is popped up in my mind bout this nameless journey. But shame on me, it’s been two weeks and I still get nothing to share but white screen of Microsoft word on my laptop. Super blank.

I always want myself to become a writer someday. But instead of let my self write something, I just keep on pushing in places of blank appears. Well,I am not really good at creating diary, thought my chief delegates keep remembering me all the time to start making of mine but as she keep pushing me to do, as far I keep myself not to do so. 555! (inthai 5 = ha) What a word to say, make it simple, I start avoiding my self to do anything but spoiling myself in dark graveyard. I’m totally not acting as a productive one. I start to become lazy in Bangkok, pushing my books away and not read it well, or even just start tabbing the internet for unreasonable surfing. What are you doing Yuyu? I start questioning myself bout that. But now on, I start to make a compulsory of my story being in Bangkok for about 2 weeks, hope it’ll be something valuable not only for me but also for you, hope.

Start with our arrival on June 14 2011. What a wonderful experience having an arrival in one of kind airport, Suvarnabhumi Bangkok. You can see the differences between Indonesia Airport and this airport. Same international airport but taste so differently. Can you see that, our country needs a lot of improvement? Yeah we are bit left behind. But another shame that I gain, I forgot to take a picture of that. To let you see how different it is. What a shame. But I’ll let you know if I come back to Indonesia. Cross finger ^^v

  Before the plane took off from Indonesia’s airport, our beloved SoekarnoHatta airport, I and the other delegates took some of pictures to remind. See that we all were so exited to have a face to face meeting with magnificent Bangkok and other delegates from ASEAN member. Some of the picture somehow shows how immature we acted like.

I can see people have various expectation, hope and dreams bout this journey. Some even have planned to dare themselves bout anything, from travelling challenges or even something more extreme from this exquisite country. Like taste extreme food, shopping till drop in many places or just taking mounted of picture in every spot.But some of them are the kind who just let their live be. Just let it be and I am kind of one of them. The one who said just let all things be. I get not much dream to chase from this journey, not even to have travel experience in here. One thing I dream to see is only Masjid in Bangkok. Oh Rabb, I just dream to see You in Your home in this country, Thailand. Just it, and the rest just feel more like bonus from me. So start with this one-only-mission, I let the rest thing happen in my life flow through wherever it goes. 

Took off from Indonesia at almost 5pm with “everyone can fly” airlines. I am never afraid to fly. Suggestion from me for who afraid of having flight, Just take it as one of places that dare you more bouts high, just like one which you can see in DUFAN. The turbulence is just one of challenge that you should fight during your play, during the game. So instead of getting scared too much, I put my self in learning-thai language situation more. I borrowed my chief’s book to have something to write; later on it will be my pocket dictionary series of thai.  Some words that need to be learnt if you are in Bangkok. 

I copied all of the word to my lil dictionary

And all of thai word that I learnt, I put them in lil’ note that my friend gave me as a present. Here it is, a lil’ dictionary of mine. Not really good to be true but its fine anyway. It has saved me from series of lost in Bangkok. Newsflash, at least you should some of the word to greet people, say thank you and ask or give direction and one thing for sure is for your bargain moment. 

  

That’s my little purple dictionary. 

I didn’t take many pictures to show. I let it is documented with other lenses or I just keep it to be memorized in my own mind. You probably can see more picture of me in the other lenses of my fellows rather than in my own lenses one. 

Since I get super blank episode during my first two weeks in Bangkok, therefore I can’t show detail story that I’ve been trough. So I randomly pick those memories that I want you to know. 

I’ve through a lot of series story of joy, laugh, weird moment, loneliness and even tears. Start with my sick, having cough along the conference run or even losing my appetite since not really comfortable with the smell of the food. I barely just eat bread for about 3 days. I predict just because I don’t really like the smell from what the street vendor display in their booth along the way to go to my apartment. There are a lot street vendor with various dish and meal and also various smell to breath. Oh god, I don’t know which smell that contaminated me the most. But that’s already passed anyway; I find my appetite back since the day I can see “Halal” symbol embed in the store or on the cover of food. What a silly me, how come the smell distract the eyes to see something clearly. Thank Lord; you lead me the way to eat well. 

Before I had conference to go, all delegates from local committee of Chulalongkorn University (CU for short) were invited to come to their open house of CU’s student club. They’re having the recruitment session for the freshmen student. Seem like “OPEN HOUSE UNIT” in ITB. I could see many clubs are typically similar to what we have in Indonesia, especially in ITB. The clubs are distributed based on religion, talent, and interest. So pick one that you can enjoy the most. 

Here are some pictures that I can document during the event.

Inside The building

  

With some student in CU

Learn how to play Kecapi in Thailand version (nice ^^)

The thing that interests me the most during in the university is uniform. Yeah..All undergraduate students should wear uniform to campus. What make student different one to another among the university are only their kind of pin that embed in their shirt and also university symbol in their belt. Oh Lord, for me it’s been 2 years not wearing any kind of uniform since I enter the college. But in Thailand even you’ve graduate from high school, you should face couples of year to be attributed with uniform. 

The other thing is conference. The committee conducted the conference in Ministry of Foreign Affair Building of Thailand. The building was so nice, but the air con was too cold. But it was fun having this experience with various people among ASEAN country. We got message to tell to the world bout ASEAN COMMUNITY mission. It will be launched in 2015. The thing that we can do as ambassadors is make people consider to prepare about it. We are exited to do that. So banzai!!

Here are some of pictures in the conference. We got a lot of amazing speakers during the conference. Most of them are professor. Oh Rabb, Alhamdulillah. 

The Indonesian delegates

  When conference finally came to end

What a great building, tx it is documented

Just like what I said when in the conference, “we are all the seed in the world what we are doing right now is just one of treatment to let the seed grow and grow. We‘re watering the seed, giving it fertilizer and maintaining it along the process. And the best place to let the seed grow is on the earth. So we all gotta keep the world as best as it’s supposed to be.  And perhaps ASEAN Community can be the place for us to grow even bigger and bigger.” So I come to earth to do something to make it better places to let the seed grow. And we are all the delegates come to do so.

The best part of being in this city is not having a magnificent shopping experience nor is taking picture in mounted unique places in Bangkok, for me is meeting the other Muslim or the other Indonesian. What a wonderful wonderful thing to be, when someone greets me not with “Sawadeeka/krup” but with “Assalamualykumwrwb”. To be istiqomah in this city is kind of mountain I should climb. Second biggest populated of Thailand society is Muslim. So being a Muslim is not going to be as hard as places in Europe or other places. Just find some of the info, and rest you’ll be fine anyway. 

First if you wanna come by and have a pray come to CU, because this campus has prayer room. Not a big one but enough to let yourself drowning in God’s blesses. They even have Muslim Club, sound like GAMAIS in ITB. The member is around 300 students. They even can speak little Malay. And the best part is they will greet you with “Assalamualaykum”. Subhanallah. And you don’t have to be worry for having a wudhu, since they get lil spot to conduct wudhu. Here are some pictures of it. Oh I forget to mention the location of prayer room. It is located in the building that has center canteen in the 1st floor, the corner of 4th floor. Building doesn’t have any escalator or lift so you can have a bit exercise to climb the stairs up. 555! Go fighting to have pray.

  

Center canteen, 1st floor

The corridor of 4th floor, C’mon so close to room!!

Little spot in restroom for having wudhu

And finally the prayer room, and some of documentation of Muslim Club activity.

A prayer room for women book of their dakwah  seems like sharing book

Or if you have a chance to come by and visit Masjid, it is a must to visit. The masjid is located near Ratjadewi station, just turn left after you meet the intersection and ask people where the road 7 (in thaisoichet mean road 7). There’s a masjid, kind of the big one. I’ve been there once. It takes less than 1 hour to walk from my apartment. The masjid is so nice, there’s no place a lot safer than this place.

  

So I do believe that I come to Bangkok not for something coincidentally. God send me to here for certain reason that I need to figure out what it is. Therefore just life the life as it is. It is some of my life now; I’ll let you know the other part of them. Hope I don’t get any white screen syndrome again next week. See you again next episode. Later on I will tell you bout our ASEAN village; about Indonesia performance and how we ruled the game, bout some of my PERMITA friends, and also about amazing roadshow (a new way of teaching).

From the one who’s trying to live the life

Xoxo

yuyu

And history changes

====this is my second diary for having another story to tell during this journey. It’s actually made forcedly just because my friend asks me all the time. Bit annoying somehow, but just let it be. She asks politely anyway. ====

Let me start it with this sentence –“something is discovered or invented and history changes”

I believe that the dream is coming with absolute fullest of faith.

I don’t think I can share you a clear detail of my story in Bangkok. For me this city kind of place that drawn me more to think what I’ve to chase, what place I should go, and whose face I should make happy to. And the only answer is one, HOME (family).Later on it becomes a big deal that I consider the most. 

I did not do as much as other delegates do, if the thing that supposes to do is having tour and tour. I am not really fond of having a lot sightseeing or visiting shop to shop and consequently let your money drawn in other’s pocket, the shop seller. I did avoid any kind of type unnecessary transaction. Tight fisted, yes may be I am.

But I don’t care what other may think bout me. If they think I suffer a lot in loneliness just let them think so. Even if they think that I kind of weird or something just let think those so, too. I don’t get really bother bout that. I enjoy this journey with my own may. 

I met various faces and places with own way. Let me say that it is a bit different journey than what other did. And it is different. Yes, I didn’t gather a lot with other. And (still) YES, I mostly did all journey by my self. Without cab, without BTS or MRT, somehow just me and the bus or just me and my feet. I really love walking by myself in here, in this town, in Bangkok. Probably I’ve through thousands of steps, pass through hundreds of traffic light and pass by numerous unknown faces. 

Just one night before I had one of a kind experience I did through another new experience. Travel by boat in chaopraya river, watching transformer 3 in the other side of Bangkok, and seeing the glowing temple at night straight from the boat that took me home. What an amazing night to have. 

The glowing temple at night, documented from orange line boat by myself. n-i-c-e

When I discovered something new, kind of new perspective pop up in my mind and start creating a new way of think in my brain. After had had a second visit in Saint Gabriel, I walked to find a 505 bus stop that’ll lead me to Petchaburisoi 7 to have a rest in Masjid. I discover a new thing of that journey. I met some of people that I thought at the first time were the one who had a celebration around the temple. Just like what I have when I go back to home town just like kind of traditional ritual or something. But guess what, it wasn’t. It was a Thailand demonstration, one of the longest one and kinda a big one. They’d been there for about 5 months. Asking for some fair from recent government. I even had a chance to interview one of the women who fortunately able to speak English. She said all of previous prime ministers were so bad. As a result they conducted the demonstration to wake other people up –the other citizen, about this kind of thing. They did sleep near the temple. They did have a life near the temple. Under watched by monks and also the local police. They Made numbers of tent to sleep, create emergency kitchen therefore cooked and ate together.  What a name of togetherness. Seemed kind of pathetic for me. In the contrary I walked to have journey by myself, they did too much togetherness even in the middle of demonstration. They even asked me to have a lunch time together. Make a line to have a meal, and ate together with them. These people are just society that wanted to be heard. They came from various places, even far away from Bangkok. Thank God, for this coincident meeting I could get free meal from the demonstration. Here are some of pictures bout them. Tight fisted mission still can be done.

They made a line to have a meal

They built tents to have a sleep

They created place to make a share and talk

And yes just like any other demonstration. They were under watched by the local police.

This one of a kind experience woke me up about various things. Bout togetherness, about struggle of life and bout myself and my goal for this journey. Even they are demonstrator; they do still treat me nice. I do learn something from them. You got your way to do, and I got mine. And history will change anyway if you keep trying to do. Xoxo, badly typed from clueless of me.