Sawasdee, Thailand!

In my early years in Canada, Thailand was the most popular Southeast Asian tourist destination for North Americans.

Travel agencies specializing in Asian travel had Thailand as the front-runner in their advertisements, brochures, and window displays. Majority of my Canadian friends who had visited or were intending to visit Asia had Thailand at the top of their list.

Its tropical climate, long stretches of pristine beaches and azure waters, rich culture, colourful traditions, delectable cuisine, and friendly people make this country an interesting place to explore. Its history is steeped in true Siamese refinement, owing to the rise and fall of several royal kingdoms, but it remains literally unmarred by Western influence (which is why it is called, “The Land of the Free”).

Thailand, despite its progress, also exhibits a unique blend of the old and the new, of tradition and innovation. Amidst the bright lights of its modern urban centres and the rustic charm of its ruralscape, are the gleaming towers of its numerous temples and shrines, reminding us of the predominance of Buddhism in the everyday lives of its people.

Even in Asia, a trip to Thailand nowadays is almost a must.  A lot of my Filipino friends and their families have gone to Thailand at least once and continue to visit. With the availability of great travel deals and the improvement of the Philippine economy, more and more average folks are able to afford holidays around Asia, unlike before when this luxury was enjoyed only by a few. And though other Asian countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia have caught up in terms of popularity, Thailand seems to remain the favorite destination, aside of course, from old-timers Hong Kong and Singapore.

It was not always like this. Many years ago, Thailand was but a quiet player in the Asian scene. I was still in Manila that time and in those days, those who could afford to travel abroad for pleasure often opted to visit Hong Kong because it was the closest foreign country to us and it offered excellent shopping (Filipinos have a penchant for shopping, I must say). Other than Hong Kong, most Filipino travelers would go to China or the United States simply because they have family there. Others go to Singapore when they tire of Hong Kong. I had never heard of anyone go to Thailand at that time, unless it was for business.

I had the privilege to see Thailand when it was still unhampered by flocks of tourists and mind you, it was not even planned.

It was the second quarter of the year 2001 and little did I know that I was in for a number of surprises. I remember I just got back from a trip to China in March so I did not have any plans of leaving the country again anytime that year. I usually am content with a once-a-year major trip.

In April, I received a notification from the Canadian Embassy informing me that my immigration application had been approved and that I would have to leave for Canada before the end of July. This was totally unexpected because I had filed my application only the year before and had seriously thought that processing would take around two years or so. I was caught off-guard. And because I did not have much time left, I had to make a quick decision. By the end of April, I tendered my resignation from my TV job at the broadcast company but gave them a lot of leeway since I had a number of projects still lined up that time (including piloting a brand-new sitcom that summer). I told my boss that I would work for them until mid-June. I thought that was more than enough time for them to train a replacement for me and to redirect my upcoming projects to another producer.

In the beginning of May, while in the middle of planning a major project – a celebrity wedding that was to be shot on location for several days on the last week of the month and telecast nationwide on the wedding day itself, I got a frantic call from my cousin. She was literally begging me to say “yes” to her request because according to her, she couldn’t think of anyone else who would or who could.

The request was for me to go on an all-expense-paid week-long trip to Thailand the following week. It was sponsored by the Thailand Incentive and Convention Association, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, and Thai Airways International. Apparently, their travel agency awarded a spot to her dad, my uncle, because his family was one of their top frequent flyers. Thailand was ardently promoting its tourism industry that year and part of this campaign was to bring in company executives to the country, show them what Thailand had to offer, and encourage them to consider Thailand as a destination of choice for business trips, incentive trips, and personal vacations.

The travel agencies chosen by the sponsors were allowed to select the “candidates” for this luxury tour – avid vacationers and tour enthusiasts, sales and marketing executives from big corporations, HR and Training heads, PR people and media practitioners, owners of private businesses, and other personnel who are responsible for organizing company conferences, booking training venues for their employees, and granting incentive trips. The lucky travellers were going to be treated like royalty – business class flights, five-star hotel accommodations, fine dining and special activities provided by these hotels and other tourism groups, and private tours of the highlights of two of the most popular cities, Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Now, who would say “no” to this request?

But I told my cousin I was not sure if I could go. It was such a short notice and I was in the middle of a big production, not to mention I was leaving the company in a few weeks, and the country in less than two months.

She pleaded hard with me. She said her dad could not make it because of a business commitment and no one else in her family was available to travel. Her mom was going to Hong Kong that week for a client meeting. Her older sister was pregnant and preferred to stay home. Her dad told her she should take it. However, she had just booked a trip somewhere else and had no more vacation days left. She was in trouble. Her dad, who is a stickler for freebies, especially expensive freebies like this, would be terribly upset if he ended up giving this away. And as the person designated to take this trip on his behalf, she would be the brunt of his ire if she would tell him she had made other plans. However, if she would follow this up with an announcement that I, another member of the family, had agreed to go on this trip, it would certainly pacify him. I told her I would see what I could do.

I talked to my boss before I left work that night and explained the situation, perhaps, with a little more enthusiasm than necessary. After all, it was not like I was taking my cousin’s place as the sacrificial lamb on some heathen altar to appease the gods, or volunteering to go on a dangerous expedition to "No Man’s Land." I told her that I really wanted to help my cousin and that in all honesty, this was too good of a proposition to give up just like that. I also assured her that I was right on track with the tasks that were assigned to me for the big wedding and that I was ready to take on more as soon as I returned. For good measure, I mentioned the fact that since I would be moving to Canada for good, I was not sure how soon I could come back to visit Asia again.

To my surprise, my boss gave her consent right away without questions. She simply asked me to call her as soon as I came back. I suspected that she wanted my last few weeks at the network to be as stress-free as possible because she understood I had a lot of personal things to take care of for my big move, that is why she conceded to my request. I also thought that since she was a travel buff herself, in one way or another, she got excited for me. When I broke the good news to my cousin, she immediately contacted their travel agent to arrange everything for my trip.

What a blessing!

Sawasdee, Thailand!

Note:

Sawasdee is the primary Thai greeting that could mean, “hello,” “happy to meet you,” or “goodbye,” depending on the situation. It is often paired with the wai (a slight bow with palms pressed together), and followed by a gender-specific politeness particle: khrap for males and ka for females.