Post-trip Reflections

The short five day trip to Chiang Mai has concluded, and I returned to Singapore with much more than I went with. Not merely returning with insanely cheap shopping loots, I returned with a whole load of invaluable experience. I gained intangible skillsets such as greater confidence and an inquisitive mindset. I gained a deeper insight into the issue of heritage preservation. And most importantly, I gained friends that I know I can always count on.

Looking back at the pre-trip projections, I had hoped that our group could overcome any challenges thrown at us together, forging stronger friendships. But at that point in time, I was actually apprehensive at how this will turn out as I cannot imagine how a group of strangers could actually work together seamlessly. Furthermore, we did not have the chance to know each other better before we were thrown into a truckload of work to do. As studied in one of my modules, Organisational Behaviour, rushing into work before getting to know each other was a common reason why teams failed. And because of this, I was afraid conflicts would occur within our group.

But after going through the trip with this bunch of people, I dare say that we are definitely one of the groups that have gotten very much closer. Perhaps it was the fun that we had during the trip itself that bonded us together. Perhaps it was the sense of accomplishment gained when we completed interviews together. Or perhaps it was just because we saw each other day and night.

I still remembered the day I broke the hard disk which contained majority of our interview footages. I had expected to be blamed. But all that came were words of encouragements, promises to share the insanely expensive repair costs and a simple “We’re going to do this together”. I am very glad to be in this group, to have gone through this trip with this special bunch of people.

On top of the friendships formed, I also gained a deeper insight into the issue of heritage preservation. It wasn’t as simple as “yes, we should preserve heritage because it is what we need to do, because our descendants ought to know about their ancestry, because this is what every other country is doing”. Rather, heritage preservation is multifaceted, and there are many perspectives to it. Through this trip, I saw how heritage preservation was intrinsically linked to issues like economic development, tourism, technology, and even sustainability. Choosing to preserve heritage may come at the expense of tourism dollars and hinder economic development. Yet, opening up heritage sites to tourists may endanger the sites itself, and even result in a dilution of culture. And even if we choose to preserve the heritage, how do we evoke interest in the younger generation, who are very much westernised, and may not prioritise the understanding of their own heritage. We can incorporate technology, but problems are bound to arise as well. It is important, but hard, to find a balance amidst these issues. But at least now, I can better understand the considerations that governments may have before policies pertaining to heritage preservation are rolled out.

An expectation that I did not really meet was the hope to improve my communication skills through interviewing people in Chiang Mai.  I was unable to hone it as much as I want to as I hid behind the shadows of the more outspoken members, assuming roles that did not require much talking – the transcriber. As expected, it is not easy to step out of my comfort zone to find familiarity in a foreign land. Perhaps I was too ambitious in believing that in a short span of 5 days, I could overcome my fear of speaking out. It seems like I still have much to work on back in Singapore.

Overall, I am glad to have met most of my expectations even though I still have much more to improve on. This trip provided me a valuable platform to learn from and I was glad to be given this opportunity.

With regards to the experience that was most impactful, it would of course be the interactions with the Thai people.

As cliché as it may sound, all this would not have been possible without the help of our Thai buddy – Son. Shy as he may seem, Son is actually very warm and helpful. I still remembered how he took the initiative to find English-speaking friends to aid us in our interviews, and kept approaching the Thai students at CMU to help complete our questionnaire. Truth be told, he seemed more like a member of the group than I was.

Furthermore, when we were having the amazing race, we had the chance to communicate with the locals, either to ask for directions or simply to converse with them. It was through this that I saw how friendly they were. Knowing that we are foreigners, the locals were very helpful in aiding us in our tasks, going the extra mile to confirm the directions so that we wouldn’t get lost. And while we took the red taxi back to the hotel, perhaps it was our appearance, or the fact that we were conversing too loudly in English, or simply because we didn’t feel like Thais, two ladies riding a motorcycle waved enthusiastically at us. It was such a joy to see how welcoming they were. I mean, would you wave earnestly at some foreigners back in Singapore?

Thailand, indeed a land of smiles. This trip to Chiang Mai will definitely be one that bring smiles to our faces when we look back years later, laughing at each other’s idiocrasy and quirkiness.