Chiang Mai Post Trip Reflections

Chiang Mai Post Trip Reflections:

Finally, we have reached the end of this trip. I’m proud to say that it was not a wasted trip, for I have interacted with so many wonderful people along the way and accumulated memories that I will never forget. It is really different to go on a research fieldtrip, as compared to a normal overseas trip. We have toiled so hard for the first few days, going from one target to the next, with no regard for resting in between. Luckily, we still stopped to rest for 1-2 days, take smaller steps to admire the place that we have landed on, and use that time to reflect on what it is, that has led us to this precise moment. It is quite amazing, just to list down the experiences we have had in a short span of less than a week. I’ve gone to a Thai boxing match, ate street food, went for sightseeing at waterfalls, night markets, Thai massages and talked to so many people along the way. These are but a few experiences, in fact, there are just too many to list. My point is, this trip was a really busy trip, and it was so colourful, so vibrant that I’m constantly moving from one activity to the next, not having a moment to breathe, and that is amazing. I would like to thank USP and my professors, and my team members that have made every part of this trip that much more enjoyable.

With regards to the research on Chinese tourists, I think we have achieved what we initially set out for. We have garnered quite a few responses from a varied number of sources and there are perspectives from almost all sides. Unfortunately, not all the footage are of the same quality and standard, and what we will make out of it is still yet to be determined. Nonetheless, I have learnt much more about the topic, and more importantly, I feel like I’ve learnt much more about research itself. It is really not easy to conduct research; you have to ask the right people and ask the right questions. But even though there’s a lot of people to ask, street interviews are usually not that fruitful as the interviewees tend not to reveal as much. Our best footages came from people like the CMU professor, the focus group discussions with the CMU students, or just our tour guide Petr, all of which is a lot less accessible if we did not know the right people, or have the resources in the first place. Hence, I find that this research trip had really opened up my eyes to the world of research and I hope to have more of such opportunities in the future.

I was also pleasantly surprised to say that I have not seen much outright inconsiderate behaviours coming from Chinese tourists. In fact, I was expecting to see the place teeming with Chinese tourists, and instead I find it teeming with westerners. At places where there’s a sign saying “No Smoking”, especially in night markets, there’s really no one smoking. There are also hardly any rubbish on the floor. I contrasted what I saw here to what I saw in Vietnam a few years back, where the ground was covered in so much filth and random rubbish on the floor. That is probably because even the locals do not bother with such rules. In contrast, the Thais are generally more socially conscious of such behaviours, and the tourists are willing to follow their lead as well.

There are also many tourist signs in Chinese that I saw along the way that are meant for the Chinese tourists. When we asked the Chinese tourists if those signs are helpful, most of them gave a positive reply as well. I think that the culture and relationship of Thais and Chinese are actually closer than I’ve initially thought. In fact, the existence of Thai Chinese and Thais living together for generations might have been pointing towards this fact as well.

Asides from research objectives, more importantly, I’ve set out with a single goal in mind at the start of this trip. I’ve hoped that I could learn more about the perspectives of other people, to interact with them and find out what drives them. Because when we examine others, it would give us a fresh perspective on ourselves as well; when you let others share their stories with you, inevitably it would add value to your life as well. That is what I believe in.

Over the course of this trip, I have looked at the diversity of people that co-exist in Chiang Mai, and compared them to Singapore. For one, I can see that tourism does impact their lives a lot. Many street stall owners depend on tourist traffic to stay afloat and many businesses like the Thai Boxing Ring, depend almost entirely on the western tourists to fill the audience rows. There is definitely a certain allure to the place that so openly embrace tourism as part of their culture; the feeling of being welcome is never lost. As we traversed the place in search of Halal food, I still remember one of the store owners offering our group seats and hot tea while we were waiting for one of our teammate’s takeaway. Their hospitality is incredible. In contrast, I find that Singaporeans tolerates tourists more than they welcome them. They visit our country as is normal of any other country, yet since they do not impact most of our lives directly, they exist only in our peripheral visions (unless your full time career dabbles in this industry). But that could also be because Singapore does not rely on the tourism business as much as Thailand do.

In terms of interacting with people, I think the most interesting person I have interacted with is definitely the monk from the monk chat. He was generous in sharing his knowledge with us about Buddhism, but not just that, he also considers and responses to my questions about life and how Buddhism deals with complex issues. These questions are not merely interrogative questions meant to elicit specific knowledge about Buddhism, but requires him to consider about Buddhism, then apply what he learnt about Buddhism to answer my questions. I’m happy enough that he bothers to even talk to me for almost an hour or more on such issues and to consider my rebuttals or questioning.

A life of a monk is certainly not a path that I would choose, for there is too much in life that I enjoy, and I cannot see the need to give up temporary happiness for the end of suffering. I would rather enjoy temporary pleasure and experience the consequences of suffering, than give it all up in pursuit of eternal happiness. In fact, he probably has a different definition of happiness than I do. He (the monk) said that he is happy when he prays, and that he is happy every day. Those words I do not understand, and may never understand, yet what I do understand is that he meant what he said. He had a reason for living this way, and he believes in the words that he says.  That is good enough for me. We may not have to see eye to eye on every issue, but as long as he communicates to me his thoughts, and allow me to catch even a glimpse of his state of mind, that is good enough for me.

Other than the monk, the CMU students, the hill tribe people, the local street vendors, the workers at tourist attractions as well as the tourists themselves, all of them bring to the table a different life story, a fresh perspective and a voice of their own. They have gathered at this very place for their own reasons and circumstances of life and it is through good fortune that has led me to them. This trip has brought all of them together, and brought me along to them, and at the end of it all, I would say that it was truly an amazing experience.

I’ll be back.