How I discovered Thailand
D-Day is here :D I finally arrived in Thailand, on June 9th, for my #IBMCSC #CSCThailand3 mission (after some airline problems, that is..) and what I discovered is beyond any of my expectations :D
Just to clarify: I’ve never been to Asia, this my first trip ever here, so also my first trip ever in Thailand, etc,; everything is totally new for me: the people, the landscapes, the language, etc. But everything I’ve discovered has made me reconsider and rethink all that I knew from movies, books, songs. etc. It has made me appreciate this place so much more and has opened my eyes so much!
To explain: I loved Thai food before coming here. I love to learn about other cultures, to get immersed in the language and habits of the people, to be ‘on the inside’ and analyse, see, learn. And I’ve been doing this fast-forward, without stop, since I arrived. And I LOVE IT! I can’t stop. I don’t want to stop!
I can write a very loooonggg article on what I learned and love so far, from Thailand. But I will limit myself to what comes to my mind straight-away :)
- the people are always smiling! Always! now I can really understand why Thailand is called ‘the land of smiles’. And it so deserves this name
- food is amazing! so much more than ‘spicy food’ & ‘rice’, it’s just all flavours I can’t describe
- I’ve found here fruits I’ve seen nowhere else
- and speaking of fruits: I’ve tried the ‘controversial’ Durian -> it’s so good! once you get past the smell, the taste of the fruit, itself, if pretty nice!
- this is, truly, the land of hospitality! ‘nough said
- the respect Thai people show each other is something we can all learn from. It made me understand and treat respect differently, and I think it could be one of the secret keys to make this world a better place (no joke, seriously!)
- Thai Airways — because I missed my Lufthansa connection in Frankfurt (by 5 minutes … #nocomment) I had to spend a night in a Frankfurt hotel (more like a motel, but, whatever…) and was booked onto the next flight to Thailand (hence why I arrived on a Saturday, not a Friday and I’ve been feeling jet-lagged for some days after). Fortunately for me, I got to be booked into Thai Airways -> best.experience.ever! Comfort, smiles, food, airplane economy seats: never had this better than with them. I am so going to book them for my next flights in this area!
- the year here is 2561 … yes, I’ve travelled into the future :D
- Thai iced tea #BestTeaEVER!!!
- skyscrappers. skyscrappers everywhere! :D
- Thai people love using mobiles phones more than PCs, laptops, etc. (just an example: Line, https://line.me/en/)
- the Orchid is the official flower (and it’s sooo cool, as I love Orchids — and Roses)
- their temples leave you in awe
- did I mention the amazing Coconut, available everywhere, in all its forms? (juice, ice-cream, syrup, etc.)
- I see elephants all around me! (in terms of decorations, beer bottles, etc. :P )
- guess what: it’s Mango season! lucky me, yum-yum-yum ;)
- Buddha statues are lended to the temple by the people. Buddha statues are not objects of furniture or decoration and they cannot be treated as such. Hence, if you want to buy a Buddha token & get take it out of the country with you, you will not be able to do that without special permission from Thai authorities (more info can be found here: https://www.knowingbuddha.org)
This is some pretty cool stuff, wouldn’t you say so? :)
