satisfying trip to bkk!

totally enjoyed myself in bangkok, wasn’t there for tour and shopping but more for missions work. well, it opened my eyes to many things that we don’t see back here in singapore and it was a great experience. haha and felt good within too bringing hope and love to the less fortunate there.. shall let the photos speak for themselves..

reached bangkok on friday 9th dec at around 7pm, checked into the hotel and immediately went to work, packing goodie bags filled with stationery that we were going to use as gifts for the children at places we visited. here’s a pic of the production line, adults and children all hard at work.. after packing, we had dinner (kfc takeaway) at the hotel driveway cos the hotel staff chased us out. no eating in the lobby.. i tell u, dun ever go to this hotel, bangkok palace. its very popular with singaporeans but the thai staff there are irritating. they stand around acting busy clutching walkie talkies and chasing ppl out when they consume food in the lobby. and at the lift lobby right, they stationed guys there to stop u from bringing cooked food and fresh fruits up to your room. i mean ok la, cooked food i understand cos they want u to consume their in-house room service, but fresh fruits?? and their excuse is fruits leave an odor in the room. wtf. anyway, i digress. yes, after kfc dinner, my mom bought 2 cakes from the hotel cafe cos it was my sis’ bday.. hah so we celebrated for her in the hotel driveway beside the fountain. ehh someone getting old liao, 24 yrs old..

day 2. we were up early and we drove about 2 hours to get to Samut Songkhram. It is this province south of Bangkok and we went to the church in this province where they gathered 200 children for a time of celebration. There was a session of singing and we presented 2 skits for the children. was really nice to see them happy upon receiving the gifts we prepared. thereafter, we went to a floating market and then a thai family’s house for a home-cooked thai dinner. very hospitable family, not to mention very rich with a huge house..






a very pregnant Mary and Joseph looking for a place to have Jesus

3rd day was sunday and we went to Jaisamarn Full Gospel Church for service and then some of us headed to Chatuchak to shop. The crowd was horrible, cos it was the King’s Bday public holiday. I tell u, it was so hard squeezing our way through so we left after 2 hrs at Ctc. Horrible..

monday and tuesday, we spent it at Rom Klao, another province off Bangkok but I dunno which direction off Bangkok. Anyway, we were there to paint the building cos it was pretty worn down. The building is a Center set up by Girls’ Brigade Thailand and Young Men’s Brigade (the Thai version of Boys’ Brigade) to reach out to the young and also for housewives and ladies to gather to do handicraft.. Some of the adults also went into the nearby houses to visit and pray for the people there. There, they came across families where children were HIV positive, there was one man sniffing glue in the yard of his house..

wednesday, the 6th day, we went to Klong Toei, a slum area 45 mins south east of bangkok city. we visited santisuk foundation, sort of a day-care centre for kids but only to needy kids who can’t afford it. for those who are willing to adopt a child financially, let me know ok? it costs just 20 sing dollars per month to provide for a child’s livelihood. leave me a msg if u wanna help these children! anyway ya, we were there and we played games, performed the skit.. then we headed to the church community center for lunch. there’s a high percentage of mentally and physically disabled people in this slum area, really very sad.. especially for the girls, they have to be really careful cos rape is quite a norm here. most of the mentally disabled girls have been sterilised to avoid rape babies. i went to visit a family where the mother is quite old and one of her eyelids is closed. she can’t afford to see a doctor and she has to take care of her 44yo son who is crippled. she has another son who is a civil servant but he has not come to see her for 5 yrs.. we went to her place to deliver rice as well as to pray for her..

7th day, thursday, we were done with all the mission work so it was a day of sightseeing. set off early to travel 2 hrs north of bangkok to visit a farm called Chokchai Farm and thereafter sunflower fields and grape vineyards.. The sunflowers were beautiful! I dressed prepared for the anticipated heat that is the norm in Thailand and guess what. Temperatures dipped to about 16deg when we moved further north and there was a strong chilling wind that made it really unbearable. Everyone started to take out their jackets and there I was, left with nothing except my singlet, boardies and slippers. =(

woohoo, looking forward to the next mission trip.. =) remember to contact me if you want to donate 20dollars per month to help a child with living expenses, it goes towards his/her allowance, food, school fees, everything! be generous!.. haha

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as promised, pics from the marina south steamboat with my jc pals, some i ’stole’ from ting’s blog.. haha. look at the burnt clam that kenny and steff were trying to do the experiment to make it pop open. and the black mantou that absorbed all our excess oil, grease, and other disgusting grime. haha we were playing more than eating.

goodbye

had a great time at marina south having steamboat with my jc buddies last night. it’s different being with them, known them for about close to 5 yrs already and really enjoy myself when i’m out with them.. haha kenny and steff were playing with their food well, food that they weren’t going to eat. some crazy experiment to get the clams to pop open. will post some photos next time.

anyway i’m leaving for bangkok in a couple of hours, will be back on 16th dec, next friday. take care, everyone. and pray i don’t return with avian flu.

Life. We live to die.

Yes, it is that time of the year yet again, the time when the skies pour freely and grounds get slushy, insects of all types and sizes seek dry refuge in your house. I vaguely remember studying a poem by Brit poet Larkin back in jc and it was about let me see.. It was about how we live our lives towards eventual death. Everyone has to die so what’s the point of living life in the very first place? We all live a life where we know will culminate in a death sentence at some point in our lives. Just think about it, we are living out a death sentence. Ratherly morbidly, the only thing that marks us as different from jailbirds awaiting their death penalty is that we have no idea whatsoever when is our expiry date. They do. Their expiry date has been stamped onto some court file that is lying in wait in some metal cabinet. Waiting obediently for the day of execution (pun definitely intended).

Wait, why did I get to this topic. Ah yes, I was talking about the rainy season being here again. I’ll show you the link. Rainy season equals to time has passed, we find ourselves looking at January again. And that equals to year after year of hopes and wishes and procrastination and the same story repeats itself one more time. What is going to be different this year, I wonder? Life. We live to die. How sad but how true. Call me the greatest cynic of all time.

I’m still searching for that purpose in life. I thought I had it in my grasp. Then, one step that veered away has led to a complete U-turn. Now I’m lost. Very lost and so very unsure. Maybe if I had gone to the UK instead, that purpose would still there in my hands. No, this is not time for regrets. Worldly wealth beckons. God’s prodding calls. My pragmatic mind confuses. Why can’t life just be alot simpler?

Tick tock tick tock goes the clock. I see time passing and with it, my life is moving closer to an end. Which end?