I might already have graduated if I stayed on, but I wouldn't give anything in the world to change everything that has happened. I don't always know what I'm doing with this life but everything falls right where it should eventually. I only wish it wouldn't be so difficult and painful sometimes.

Anyway I'm really happy for my SP classmates. It will be my turn next year :) and then I'm free to go anywhere and study whatever the hell I want to!


_{Pictures taken from anyone I can grab from on Facebook + some of mine :{D}
SO. I don't even know where to start. February ended so quickly and I was swept into March by this educational trip. I did know about this trip, I was prepared to go for another one (since the last one failed so badly), but I didn't even know when the registration was, I didn't even know about the interview thing. I almost didn't make it for this trip by so many last straws... The entire process from the registration until I actually landed in BKK felt like it didn't happen. And when we reached there, we just ran all over the place - it didn't feel like I was in another country, didn't feel like this trip was an educational trip.

I think it's also mainly because I'm with my classmates and lecturer that I still didn't feel like I was in BKK...








The first day was exhausting. The lecturers weren't even kind at all... We had to reach the airport at 0430 because our flight was at 0700. The moment we landed, we were driven to Silpakorn University to meet some professor there. We had a buffet lunch before checking in to the hotel, but things weren't done - we had to meet the Dean (of the Fine Arts faculty) of Chulalongkorn University. And the Dean was really, really accommodating and took so much initiative. There were other schools visiting their Uni for the seminar, I don't really know why the Dean was so nice to us.


And because there were 5 of Chulalongkorn's design students bringing us around, we had dinner with them and visited their fashion faculty's graduation show at Central World. So the first day didn't exactly end until at least 2100 (BKK time, which is like 2200 SG time). :( It didn't help that we had to leave the hotel at 0800 the next day because at Silpakorn Uni, our lecturer decided to visit the temple in Chinatown before heading to BACC (which was right beside our hotel!!) We were so grumpy for the first two days... Especially over this grand palace temple visit that costs like 500 baht just to enter. What even








So we went to the first temple on the second day reluctantly. Look at the sun, it was scorching hot the first two days! It was hot with no wind, and all the exhaust fumes around kinda added fire to the fuel. And I'm even surprised how we managed to wake up so early and be on time for those 6 exhausting days! Until now I still cannot understand why we have to visit those temples. The only thing everyone probably took away from there is probably the architecture... Those temples aren't even temples of worship, but temples for tourists! After that we went to BACC, right beside our hotel... The inside was so Guggenheim, the top 3 floors were constructed in its likeness anyway. And the first thing my friends said about it was...

"GIANT SLIDE."


I can't believe I joined them too... The staff inside were all giving us judgemental looks, HAHAHA. (We ran like lightning after we got the shot. It was so embarrassing hahaha) But BACC is a really cool place, their stores inside are so artsy-fartsy too. I'll definitely drop by there again if I go to BKK again.




We dropped by an exhibition before visiting two more temples: The 27th Asian International Art Exhibition. There, a nice lady named PanPan joined us because she is one of our lecturer's contacts... Long story. And we didn't go to the 500 baht temple, we used the money to take the longtail boat to Wat Arun (Dawn Temple). I swear I almost died on the boat because my group got a really reckless driver! He sped from the last group to reach the temple first. (Look at the tour guide, the last guy, he is so not amused.)

OMG I just remembered we did the harlem shake in the exhibition place. The staff there were so amused, they didn't bother stopping us... Instead, their kids joined us... I think the video's still in the process of editing, LOL. I wasn't inside, thankfully, I was helping to hold the cameras in place so the video could actually happen.








The height of the steps were ridiculous and the last flight of stairs were literally vertical okay. I didn't climb all the way up because I dreaded the going down part... But the view up high is pretty awesome.


After Wat Arun, we crossed the river to visit Wat Pho, the temple with the reclining Buddha. It was humongous. (So many group shots right?! Our lecturer kept calling for group shots!!)








_{The beginnings of B.U.R.D.S. ...}
Because we had PanPan half-bring us around today, we had dinner with her and her friends. We went to this cute cafe called Tumtum cafe and the food was awesome! But we were such a big group not all the food was passed around... :( So we went to buy pizza. And the pizza was so good! We shopped with the pizza before returning to watch the Thai dub of Titanic. We just made up our own dialogue because we were bored and hungry.


Third day was market day. We went to the train market, then the floating market, before ending the day with shopping in Chatuchak! The train market was on the outskirts of BKK so we had to leave the hotel at 8. It was a two hour journey, and most of us knocked out...








_{Look how close we were to the train!}
After the train market, we bought this goreng pisang ball thing then dropped by a coconut sugar plantation. There were 2 ducks and a rooster there, hehehe.






It drizzled while we were at Chatuchak. The ground became all black and watery :( By good luck and chance, we found the clothes section and totally killed there. Haha okay well there weren't that many great items this time, we didn't buy too many things.


We had COCOichibanya (soooo cheap here!) for dinner and walked around a little before getting ready for the purpose of the trip the next day...






All of us were really hyped for the seminar/forum. But the talks either didn't benefit us, or it was too difficult to catch the speaker's words... :( On the first day, the Dean took us out of the seminar early to walk around the Uni. It was cool, we did see Taiwan students around but they were majoring in some radio broadcast thing...

Thank God the fourth day ended early. I think everyone went down to Asiatique. The ambience there was really nice (though clearly too nice) but there wasn't much to shop for there.

The fifth day, the Dean arranged for us to go to a workshop, instead of the seminar, at a school outside BKK. I can't remember the name of the school, I think it's Bunditpattanasil Institute? It's a pretty cool place despite the heat.


The artists in Thailand, they are really good at what they do. And in Thailand, the country actually respect and support her artists. Art/design really does have value and it feels so different there... The best part of the trip probably happened right at the end - we finally got to talk to real people doing real design out there so we could ask proper questions. My side asked about graphic stuff so we got Mr. Pawin who comes to Singapore pretty often! Hearing these people talk about what they've managed to accomplish makes me wonder if I will even come close to that. :( But these things take time, I only pray I will have enough time to complete what I want to.




Stupid me had a bad gastric attack on the last night. While the rest went to Terminal 21/Cabbages and Condoms/Platinum Mall, I laid in the room watching TV :(

On the last day, we did last minute shopping at MBK before checking out, then had our last meal at Tumtum cafe before heading to the airport. :((














I'm glad the trip happened, I'm thankful I got picked, I'm grateful for everything and everyone. I'll probably never get to go on another educational trip (like what are the odds the lecturers would pick the same person! And I'm only left with one more year in this school haha)... so I'm really happy :)

_{i write these things because pieces of paper get scattered into
the wind over time. i write because my life is a story, therefore
fiction... i am slowing down and fast fading away. do remember
me.}

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