Looking back

Although this Chiang Mai trip was supposed to be a research trip, it turned out to be so much more than that.

Unexpectedly, the research process of the trip turned out to be very interesting. It became an invaluable chance for me to interact with the locals.

While I had been on a school trip to Vietnam before, this trip to Chiang Mai was different. Going there to conduct research pushed me out of my comfort zone and got me to actively interact with the locals there.

It was simply the local and myself – this was the most impactful part of the trip because I was the one who could actively ask questions and probe further. There was no tour guide with a prepared schedule and script. It was all about me going there to find out what the common people think.

The feelings of such ordinary people are usually not translated to us via group tour introductions, newspaper readings or research papers. Going there, I realised that.

Based on the secondary readings that my group have been doing, I came to Chiang Mai expecting the locals to detest the Chinese’s behaviour. However, this was not the case. Many were tolerant of them and understood the economic importance the Chinese held. The disparity between expectation and reality was surprising, and highlighted how it was sometimes important to go down to the grassroots level to find out the truth.

At the same time, their maturity and understanding as citizens amazed me. They do not see the influx of tourists as being intrusive upon their living space. They are able to see the bigger picture, which is the potential boost to the economy that tourists bring. In contrast, Singaporeans are starting to exhibit xenophobic sentiments although the truth is that our aging population and low birth rates necessitate the inflow of immigrants.

This difference in attitudes highlighted the cultural differences between the Thais and Singaporeans. The Thais are very open and friendly. Meanwhile, Singaporeans have a very indifferent and self-serving attitude. It was intriguing how different societies could produce such different mindsets and behavioural norms.

To that end, how much of our ingrained attitudes can we changed? How long would it take for Singaporeans to become as gracious as the Thais? Is it even possible to change an ingrained culture? As I was continuously greeted by the overwhelming graciousness of the Thais, I pondered upon the nature of a country’s cultural norms. This trip definitely allowed me to immerse myself in Thailand’s culture.

Not only so, interacting directly with the local people also allowed me to understand how the locals live. Often, when we go on holidays, we fail to experience how the locals live. We are so concerned with visiting tourist sites that we fail to understand that the tourist sites give a false representation – or even no representation at all – of how the locals live. I am glad that my trip to Chiang Mai allowed me to interact with the locals and understand their true way of life.

I also managed to achieve my personal goal of finding out how the youths of Chiang Mai feel about the military government. I found it unreal how we were both students of similar ages, and yet we were living in such different political climates.

Perhaps it was due to the fact that most of them were political science students, it was clear from the focus group discussion with the CMU students that they wished for the return of a democratic government. This was in contrast to my initial thoughts that they might be indifferent or used to the military government due to Thailand’s long history of military rule. Their attitudes reminded me how fortunate I am to be able to exercise my right to vote, and how not all Southeast Asian countries have clear democratic processes in place like Singapore.

The trip has also honed my interview skills and increased my self-awareness. I realised that when giving interviews to people whose first language is not English, it is very important to simplify the question. However, at the same time, there comes the dilemma of simplifying it without sounding crude or leading. This was certainly a situation that I came across several times, but still have difficulty dealing with.

Furthermore, I experienced first-hand how body language and facial expressions were very important when giving interviews. When listening to someone talk, it is very important to look attentive and to smile at the interviewee, even though one might have no idea what he/she is saying due to it being in Thai. What is most important is to make the interviewee feel that his/her comments are valued and important. The interviewee will then reciprocate accordingly and elaborate more on his/her answers. This turned out true when I conducted interviews, with my nods during the interview becoming a sign of encouragement for interviewees to continue talking. This was a very important skill that I picked up on during this research process.

The trip also provided me room for personal growth. As we go out into the real world, we might be faced with disappointments in our work life or personal life, just as how our focus group discussion interviews kept getting postponed during the trip. What’s important is how we choose to take it in our stride, and how we persevere on.

Of course, having reliable friends and team mates by my side sure helped a lot. Seeing as how I used to be a very uptight person towards projects, the trip also taught me about how good it feels to trust your friends and to just leave things up to them.

Chiang Mai left me with meaningful memories.

I will definitely go back to Chiang Mai for more one day.

 

I miss the cool weather, the scene of cafes under shophouses, the bustle of the night markets and the feeling of simply wandering around aimlessly.