Culture
will always be one of the standards of a society that we live in. Building
one's identity, defines a culture of a society and its environment.
Exposure
trip will always be my favorite since we tend to reflect ourselves in it. We
try to associate some of our aspect within the society. But one thing that I
find critical is that where is the specific culture originated. Is it already a
combination of culture or is it a new one. Actually, it is my first to travel
out of the country without my family with me. From the airport to the temple,
there was a huge difference. I believe that what we expect do not really
defines the reality. Manila is the capital or center of the Philippines which
contains plenty of industrialized building and locations while Bangkok is the
capital of Thailand.
From the Airport to Historical places, there
are plenty of differences. Our Ninoy Aquino International Airport 2 is a small
airport. Somewhat when many people intended to use it, there will be an
overcrowded situation while Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi is a big one. One of the
proof that it is big is that we had been lost in the immigration area and after
that in the parking of the vehicles. Some signage and floor labeling is
confusing their but thinking that it is big makes you want to cry when you’re
lost in the area. After riding the bus, as it goes to our hotel, you can
observe plenty of things such such their elevated roads, the train, and the
position of their driver which is in the right side. Their right of way is
really big. Their system is parliamentary.
The
tour guide told us that Thailand is under a martial law but as we travel, we
cannot feel that it is. Almost every building has spiritual houses and every
bridge was designed accordingly. You can see in Bangkok the development. The
informal settlers have big houses near the river. Though they are informal
settler there houses are really spacious and can be considered as a good house
since our informal settlers here in the Philippines do not really have the
space. During the briefing, we planned to do our own itinerary so the group can
roam around all the places that we want to see. After the briefing, we went to
the streets right away and explore. We first observe the place and the people
around it since we need a money changer and we do not know the place, we asked
one of the vendors. Thai seems like Filipinos except when they are talking
because they have their own language.
Asking the vendor is hard because she cannot
understand English that much. Luckily, we have a translator that helped us in
conversing with the vendor. After giving us the information, she asked us “Are
you Filipinos” We answered yes and she just smiled at us. After asking her, we
realized that thai are also hospitable and kind despite of her negotiating with
the buyers, she managed to entertain our question. Thai’s mindset of Filipino
people are good. They said that we all came from the same race. We got the
chance to see their street market where there is tiangge and street food. Their
street food looks yummy. Their way of approaching buyers seems like a Filipino
way.
Bangkok,
just like Manila have plenty of Malls. There are different kinds of Malls such as
Fashion Mall, Chatuchak, and Paragon. The Fashion Mall can be compared to 168
mall while Chatuchak is like Divisoria and Paragon is like Greenbelt. There are
various differentials in the mall where Fashion Mall has its night market while
Chatuchak is like Divisoria where you can really haggle the prices of
everything but it is more organized than Divisoria and Paragon is a high-end
mall. Social statuses are also highly emphasized because the rich people
usually go out at night. In Fashion Mall, we experienced how to haggle the
prices down for a sim. We ate Thai food, their system in their foodcourt is by
card. Thinking that it is more of a hassle, the system makes their monetary
circulation organized since it is by card. I also think that they are doing it
for the consumer to come back since most of the consumers tend to buy cheap
prices of food and save money. Thai food are really funny because we you go to
a restaurant, you while see in their menu, garlic squid but when you try it,
the reality is extreme spicy garlic squid.
Thai
are very popular in producing horror films but when I stayed at our hotel room
and my room mate was already asleep, I was watching but my observation of the
place became so strange since I left the remote on the table while I’m watching
and did not even bother to increase or decrease the volume but suddenly the
sound of the television is making me wonder because as I’m watching the volume
turned in a very loud one and suddenly went to mute. The Phatpong is the red
light district of Bangkok while in Manila’s is in Ermita. The difference
between the two areas is that the Philippines is more of a conservative one
while Phatpong in Bangkok really showcases the those show. They do not even put
curtains or door to cover what is inside the bar. They even negotiate with the
people passingby the bars. They even have the “trial” which they will allow you
to see the show and if you want see it, you can watch it for 300-500 baht.
Prostitution in Bangkok is very rampant.
The historical places in Bangkok like Grand
Palace can be compared to historical places in Intramuros such as Fort Santiago
and The walls of intramurals. Both places are very beautiful, I can find my
peace in both places especially when there are only few people. Grand Place became
a famous tourist spot in Bangkok that every tourist includes in their
itinerary. I believe that Intramuros should be treated like Grand Palace, I
think it has the capacity to encourage the foreigners to visit the history of
the Philippines. Nowadays, foreigners tend to go to the Philippines to visits
tourist spots like Boracay and Baguio. They tend to enjoy it without knowing
the history behind it. My question is how can you enjoy a place without knowing
the history of it? Is it really an appreciation of things? What I have observed
is that the policy and rules and regulations in the Philippines is strictly
implemented. All of the people we saw was following the rules. There are tables
that say “No smoking” while other are “ Clean as you go”. Observing the people
in Bangkok, the respecting the rules by following it. If they will see other
people following the rules, they will call that person and tell to follow the
rules. If that person cannot and do not want to follow it then they will tell
you to leave because it is their territory that is why you have to follow their
rules and regulation. It is funny and a bit surprising when we saw a pack of
cigarettes covered with a disgusting effects of nicotine in our body. Bangkok
is strictly reminding its citizens about the consequences that they might face
for smoking. I can say that there culture is being well preserved since only
few people, or few Thai can speak and understand the English Language. The
people of Bangkok are really good and they seems like they are really open to
foreign people since Bangkok has plenty of tourist visitor. I observe that even
if they know that we were just visitors and not a local, they still treated us
like locals because as I have said, their impression of Filipino people is good.
We even had a converstion with a Thai vendor asking if he is a local resident
in Bangkok and if he is a pure thai. The vendor told us that Bangkok has plenty
of residents, they have Indian-Thai, Indonesian-Thai, Chinese – Thai and locals
like pure Thai.
Bangkok
is a nice place where you can unwind and relax. It is a place if you are
interested with history because it is rich in its own culture. It is also a
nice place for tourist since people they are very accommodating and friendly.
There are plenty of similarities between Manila and Bangkok. The culture in
Bangkok is much preserved than in Manila because they still have this spirit
houses every buildings. Their religion as Buddhism is quite similar with our
main religion, Roman Catholic. They have this small “temple” in every malls
while in Manila, almost all of the malls have already churches. The use of Thai
language is good thing because in my point of view, once you go to a different
country, you have to embrace their culture because you are the one visiting it.
The people who lives in that country must be sociable but must preserve the
culture that they have.
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