La-kawn Sawatdee Siam

Last Tuesday  the whole office gathered for a send-off ceremony for me and a Mongolian office mate. Our bosses gave us our certificates and of course we gave our little speeches. I realized that day that I'm really leaving Thailand. That my days here in Siam are numbered.

And now I come to this day – my last full day of stay here in Thailand. Tomorrow I'll be going to the airport, ride a plane and look at Thailand from the air for the last time. Tomorrow, I will say “la-kawn sawatdee Siam” (farewell Siam).

Letter of farewell


My 6 months stay in Thailand passed very quick. I can still remember my first day here, my first meet-up with my office mates, my first nasty experience of tasting super-spicy Thai food, my first attempt to cook, the joy of finally learning how to bike, my first drinking session with my kababayans in the Filipino community...such memories, such sweet memories!

I wrote in my final report that I learned many things that will be of great benefit for my career. Frankly, that is just half of the story because I didn't wrote the other things that I learned.

My 6-months stay in Thailand taught me the highs and lows of living alone outside of my country. I felt like an exile in a land of foreign tongues and alien food. I felt the loneliness that most Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) feel. It is sad to celebrate New Year and other special occasions away from my love ones.

My companion in Thailand: Teddy Bear
My only companion: the Teddy Bear that my Beloved asked me to bring to Thailand.

I met a lot of people of different races. I met Thais, Indians, Bangladeshis, Burmese, Vietnamese, Italian, Spaniard, and many more. This exposure taught me how to deal with other people of various cultural backgrounds. I learned that a smile is the best tool in establishing friendship with other people. Human beings, no matter what their backgrounds are, understand that a smile is a welcoming gesture.

Flowers given to me by a Catholic sister
A gesture of friendship. Flowers given to me by a Thai lady, who is actually a Catholic sister.

The best part of my stay in Thailand is my travels. I am thankful for generous friends who invited me to join their travels. I'm sure that without their help I may not be able to travel places located far away from Bangkok.

I will give you a hint that the travels that I already posted here on this blog are less than 50% of my travels to the many places that I visited in Thailand.

Sunset in Thailand
A preview of my future posts: hitting the beach.

Will I be able to visit Thailand again? I have no sure answer for that. My opportunity to visit Thailand is unplanned because it came to me as a surprise. Maybe my next visit to this country will come as a surprise as well.

I say it once again: “la-kawn sawatdee Siam!”

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The first image was obtained from a blog named, Life's About Experiences...Let's Share Them!

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22 comments:

  1. Have always assumed Thailand to be a Buddhist country with the Muslims in the south (around the Kra Isthmas). Now I know there are many Catholics there and many awesome churches. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. You are welcome STP. I was surprised as you are. I'm glad that missionaries managed to gain a foothold in Thailand. I have more stories to tell regarding Catholic churches and missionaries. One blog post will bring us back to the past.

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  2. I am honoured to have met you through fiel kun and saddened because I didnt get to meet you in person. I will continue to read as I wanted to see your perspective of Thailand which is a different window from mine. Your travels alone are worth reading. Good luck to you and God bless! I hope to meet you here, if you ever come back, or in our home country.

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    1. Thank you very much for always visiting my blog. I am honoured to met a talented blogger online. Hope to see you too in the future. Sayang kasi at late na tayo nagkakilala.

      God bless to you too. Keep safe here.

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    2. Uy may special mention pa ako hahaha :))

      Naku parekoy, uuwi ka na pala sa ating Bayang Magiliw hehe. Pasalubong ha? dyuk!!!

      Glad you had fun on your six months of stay in there. I also enjoyed reading all your posts about your adventure in Thailand.

      Maligayang pagbabalik!

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    3. Maraming salamat Fiel-kun. Yes. Talagang nag-enjoy ako sa aking 6 months na tambay sa Thailand. Ano yung pasalubong? :-P

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  3. wow babalik ka na dito parekoy!
    well maganda naman talaga sa thailand dameng msasarao na foods
    pero ayun nga di namn gaano kalayo sa pinas diba?

    have a safe trip parekoy

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  4. I agree with you. Smiles really are the universal sign of friendliness. Nice to hear that you enjoyed your stay there. =)

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  5. Oh! Leaving Thailand already? I still remember feeling a bit sad leaving Bangkok and I was just there for a few days as a tourist! LOL!

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    1. Yes. I know that you didn't want to leave Thailand. Don't be too sad. I know that you'll come back.

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  6. 6 months sure flew fast! So you are back in Philippines? Where will you be heading next? : D

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    1. Yes. I'm already in the Philippines. I'm heading to my office next.

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  7. Looking forward to read more about your Thailand adventures in future posts! : )

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  8. thank you for touring as around Ish. i really had fun reading your journey in Thailand and sana ako din minsan maka pagtravel...

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    1. I do hope that you get the chance to travel too. :-)

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  9. naalala ko yung pangapus ko nung bata ako hehe malaking teddy rin yun at di ako makatulog kapag wala yun...until now ganun pa rin pero di na teddy..barney na haha joke... mahabang unan na lang.. ewan ko ba nakasanayan ko lang kasi hehe

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    1. Ibig sabihin ba nito ay isa pa rin akong bata dahil may Teddy Bear pa ako? ;-)

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  10. will look forward to your future post Ish...ganda nung huling shot huh

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    1. Thank you very much! I assure you that there is more beautiful posts to come.

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