Post Trip Reflection ✨

“To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” – Bill Bryson

The past five days in Chiang Mai have been all sorts of wonderful and fun and looking back, it was a really great experience.

Waking up to a view that seems so foreign yet familiar, walking on streets that were previously unknown but we now somewhat recognise and becoming more comfortable with the people around me, the quote above definitely summarises how I felt over the trip and even more. We still go about our daily lives doing almost the same things but yet, what we see around us, what we have around us when we are abroad, just makes all these everyday things that much more special and different and that to me, is the beauty of travel.

After re-reading my pre-trip projections, I guess I am happy to say that I have managed to accomplish most of them but there was definitely room for more. Our research process was definitely not the most smooth sailing as we were met with unexpected difficulties that did not cross our minds back when we were preparing for this trip. I have never been one who loves research but after this experience, I find myself having a newfound respect for people who dedicate their lives to research because it indeed requires a lot of hard work and perseverance.

This research process has also taught me how important it is to be flexible and adaptive to situations. Things often do not go our way, not just when conducting research but in life in general and instead of focusing on the bad, more importantly, it is about how we learn to pick ourselves up and learn from these experiences. Our initial disappointment with our progress on the first day as well as the amazing race contributed to this learning point greatly.

Another goal I had was to go on this trip with an open heart and mind. I think it is really important to be open-minded and to be receptive to new things although they may be out of our comfort zones. Opportunities come and go and once you miss it, you would never be able to get that moment again and hence, I am really thankful for wonderful group mates who grasped any opportunities we had and made the best out of what we had. There were times where we were not fully prepared and there were times where we stumbled, but what we did which I really appreciated was the fact that we were there for one another.

In addition, I am also thankful for the various opportunities that we got to interact with people from different walks of life in Chiang Mai. We spoke to monks, students from different backgrounds and professors at different universities and these were interesting and precious encounters that really helped made this trip intercultural and educational. I really love how we saw a range of people, from owners of street stalls to higher-ups in society such as professors and yet, all of them encompass this common spirit of being a Thai where they were nice and genuine and it is something that really touched my heart. The people of Chiang Mai definitely played a huge part in making this trip a wonderful experience for me. Tourists are sometimes being frowned upon in a foreign country, furthermore a big group of students like us and yet, I never met with any unfriendly encounters with the Thais. They were always trying their best to help us despite the language barrier and even on occasions when they would rather not be interviewed by us, they would decline us politely instead of brushing us away like what Singaporeans would do. Furthermore, they were afraid that due to their weak grasp of English, they would be not helpful to us and this humility is something that really warms my heart. I think it takes a lot to be so accepting of others, especially strangers and this motivates me to become a better person because it is one thing to be open to new ideas, but another to be open to people.

Nonetheless, there were definitely small regrets. Prior to the trip, I set out to learn more about the Thai culture and I guess we managed to learn a little here and there, but all these almost seemed like ‘fleeting’ moments of exploration. It felt as though every time we had opportunities to learn about the Thai culture, it was always too short a time and hence we only got these transient moments of insight. This lack of time was inevitable as we were only in Chiang Mai for five full days but I really wished I had more opportunities to soak in the Thai culture and on my part, I could definitely have paid more attention to their cultural practices.

As my group is researching on Thai youths’ perceptions of female empowerment, I guess I would like to take some time to reflect about this as well. We are privileged enough to be living in a developed society where men and women are seen as equals and truth be told, I cannot imagine what life would be like if I was denied of opportunities that I yearned for. Females in Chiang Mai (the ones who we spoke to) generally felt that they were on an equal standing with males but what one of the girls who we interviewed mentioned definitely impacted me greatly. She pointed out how as much as modern day females would like to be seen as equals to men, we sometimes choose to be the weaker gender willingly. For example, when taking public transport, men are sometimes expected to give up their seats to women. Why do women expect men to be chivalrous? Why do women expect men to do the heavy chores? These are simple examples and yet they speak volumes and really got me thinking. I guess in terms of educational and career opportunities to say the least, there are increasingly no preferential treatment towards males, but in our daily aspects of life, there is still a difference between men and women. This could possibly be attributed to the fact that men and women are fundamentally different; we are made to be different both physically and psychologically and this is probably why men and women could never be seen as wholly equal in life, at least not one hundred percent equal. When it comes to specific contexts though, we can definitely be seen as equals. I am unable to provide a concrete reason for why this is so but I guess this is something I would spend figuring out for the rest of my life.

My group and I came with the perception that females in Chiang Mai are discriminated and often have fewer opportunities than males. To our amazement, this was actually not the case at all. It dawned on me how we sometimes unknowingly form certain preconceived notions of people or even countries in this case, that we ourselves are often not even aware of until we realise that what we think is actually different from the real situation. But who are we to pass this initial judgement when do not know about their lives firsthand? Nonetheless, one reason for why these girls felt this way was probably due to the fact that they were more privileged compared to the girls let’s say, living in the rural villages. They are here receiving a university education which would mean that they are part of the ‘higher social class’ in the Thai society which could hence, lead to them developing an optimistic viewpoint of females being seen as equals to men. We did not manage to interact with any rural youth and hence I would not be able to speak on behalf of them but I believe that the situation in the villages would probably not be as idealistic as what these university students paint it out to be.

This trip was definitely one of many firsts. I managed to try out new things that I never thought I would have done on a school trip (I.e. cliff jumping!!!!) and even learning how to conduct street interviews. Furthermore, I managed to become better friends with a few of the other USP people and I am thankful for the times we got to spend with one another. It was always interesting to hear from my friends from other subgroups regarding what they did during the day as though we travelled as one USP, more often than not, each group had their own set of itineraries and hence it was really nice to hear about their different adventures. In addition, even in group discussions or casual conversations, I find myself learning a lot from my peers as each and every one of them have a unique viewpoint and it was really heartening to see this blend of views being weaved together.

Instead of lazing around at home in the comforts of my sheets during the last week of the holidays, I had the privilege to travel with my friends and faculty members and gain valuable insights and learning experiences. There are definitely things that I still do not know about Thailand and one of the greatest mysteries would probably be why they do not provide toilet paper and soap in most toilets (it was so rare to find a toilet with both!!!) but nonetheless, it has been a good week of discovery both about Chiang Mai and myself.

We are back in Singapore right now and I am missing the daily thai iced teas that we had, the night bazaars that we frequented, the pretty sights that we managed to catch here and there and most importantly, the people of Chiangmai. It is no wonder Thailand is called the ‘land of smiles’ and I guess, it is truly a well-deserved title. ☺️