I didn't do a good job at updating my adventures in Thailand, but I think no matter what I post, pictures, videos, and stories will never do justice. It only shows clips or a certain perspective of my 5 month trip that felt like a one-year trip.
2013 was my year of travels, but I got tired of traveling. I got tired of doing touristy things and just enjoying the moment for a quick second. Not only that, it was my year of challenge- to try something new and different all the time. It was like a food-tasting lifestyle that year. With that being said, I wanted something more. Something much more challenging and life-changing rather than leisurely fun.
I'll make my recap short and simple as possible with the lessons I've learned from Thailand and about myself.
1.) I've briefly read this book my niece made me read while I visited her in Minnesota. If there is one quote that always stuck to me, it's "You have to go in right." It's true. If you learn to take away your "comfort" and just accept what that society is, you'll adapt much more. Not only that, you learn a lot more. Some people think that they understand what they hear, but they don't. They're not listening, they're still interpreting in terms they understand from BACK at home. Leave what you know behind, and enter into something you DON'T KNOW.
2.) Quit comparing and complaining, or you'll never enjoy the ride. All the frustrations is the joy of it all.
3.) Be humble, but don't be stupid. There is a time when you can respect your surroundings, but there is a time when you HAVE to be aggressive.
4.) Be willing. Be willing to try new food, new things, see new places, meet new faces.
5.) Slow down. If you're always in a rush, you'll never notice the beauty around you. Even if you do notice it, you'll never learn how to appreciate it. Meditate while you walk. Examine EVERYTHING around you and try to remember it all because sooner or later, you'll be leaving it behind.
6.) All the things you DO want to see end up being overrated, but all the things you didn't care for or didn't know will be your most memorable ones.
7.) Just because you visited somewhere for a weekend or a week, that doesn't make you an expert of the place. It took me a couple of weeks to call Thailand my home and to truly love it. Even after five months, I feel like I haven't explored everything yet. I still had so much more to embrace. I have my own opinions on Thailand, but I don't expect people to follow those opinions. I'd rather have them see it for themselves. Scratch that. No, I'd rather have people EXPERIENCE it for themselves.
8.) I love underrated places and things. Most of all, I love seeing the beauty behind the damages/slums/ghettos because people rarely give it credit. I'll go where people refuse to go, and I'll snicker at the places everybody wants to go. Commercialization is overrated, and yes, I must be a freakin' hypebeast.
9.) If you know me, I'm a quiet person, but I can be very social when I want to be. It can also be the other way around-- I am a social person, but I can be a quiet person when I want to be. I've learned something new about me: even though I'm not as loud, cool, or talkative as others, I make friends easily-- and I have great, trusting relationships with these friends who turn out to be my family.
10.) Everything is cross cultural. Everything is socially constructed. I think it made me MORE annoyed of people and society, even myself. We complain about service, food, the way we and others look, etc. BUT we fail to realize how many people out there are struggling, starving, and are in physical pain. We fail to realize how people can't help with what and how they're born with-- criticizing ain't gonna help either.
