For the Laos/Cambodia trip, we had all taken part in pre-trip preparations such as the collection of donations from a bookshop vendor and meeting to discuss the itinerary we would follow. These preparations allowed us to have a focus on what we had intended to do during the trip, which was to give donations to schools we encountered along the way as well as backpacking. During the trip itself, I had begun to fully realize the significance of pre-trip preparations when I witnessed the different parts of the trip requiring us to depend on these preparations of ours. Despite certain phases of preparation being seemingly dry, it is not until the actual trip that we truly appreciate the purpose of these preparations.
During the trip, another thing I had come to realize is how uncertain circumstances can be, and how research could never cover these areas. As such, we had learnt how to be flexible and adaptive to situations as they presented themselves to us. During the trip, we had brought with us 6 large “ah-ma” bags which made crossing customs potentially problematic. During our entry into Bangkok, we had been stopped by customs officials who had thought we might be trying to sell our donations within the country. We had risked losing our donations even before they had been used for their intended purpose. Eventually we had managed to cross customs with our donations with us still though it was be the leniency of these officials rather than that we had the right to cross (according to them proper documents were required from the donor organization and recipient organization to show that we were really going to bring donations from Singapore to Thailand).
Another time was after our stay at Champasak when we were waiting for transport to take as the Siphandon. Despite transportations arrangements made via a telephone call to a travel agency in Pakse, we had no written agreement. Being in an unfamiliar foreign country, we did not know how reliable the agency was nor were familiar with any other definite ways to get to Siphandon. When the time came and the bus driver was no where in sight, we had seriously considered the fact that we had been stood up by that agency. Eventually we found our driver who had been there all along but had encountered some difficulty in communications that made finding him a little difficult.
Even in the estimation of time, we had learnt to be flexible with estimates which were not within our control and dealt with it. In the journey from Don Khone to Phnom Penh, the duration was expected be from around 9 a.m. to 7p.m. We had ended up reaching at only around 10p.m. We felt quite worn out toward the last leg of the journey and had even grown a little apprehensive regarding the time we would arrive within Phnom Penh since we would not have the luxury of time in choosing ideal accommodations or even familiarize ourselves with the place. When we finally reached, we found a Tuk-tuk driver who did not understand us and we could not find the guesthouse we had in mind. We find alternate lodgings after getting help from locals along the way who helped us to communicate with our driver.
However, we had also learnt to have a better sense of anticipation for things that were within our control. We learnt this through settling the giving out of our donations. During our stay in Pakse, we had given things out at a school within town. On our way toward a waterfall on the outskirts of Pakse after this activity, we encountered a needier school who would have perhaps needed more of our attention than the previous one. However, we had not expected this encounter and had not brought any of our donations. Though the shoes we gave out had benefitted the children at the school in Pakse, we could have helped the other school had we a better sense of expectation. This had occurred as well in Don Khone. But in Phnom Penh, we had reflected upon this point as a group and realized that we should always expect to consciously carry out service learning at all times and not only when we felt that it was time to give out more donations.
During our trip, we had learnt to understand the different cultures of the countries we visited. In doing so we had learnt as well to interact with people who led vastly different lives from us, and to appreciate the lives they led. In Laos, we learnt of the friendly nature of people who were always willing to serve us with much hospitality despite the apparent lack of clear communication (“Sabaydi” which meant “hello” was the common word we used when we requested for anything). We had interacted with the different people we met - from a lady near Pakse who was Vietnamese but had not seen Vietnam since her childhood, to a French tourist who recounted his travelling experience with much enthusiasm. Even in Cambodia, we had managed to talk to Tuk-tuk drivers while being taken around Angkor Wat. These human interactions throughout had truly added a unique experience to our travels.
The difference in culture which extended as well to heritage was witnessed in great works of history such as the Angkor Wat. We had learnt to appreciate the beauty of another culture despite it being so different from what we were used to.
In travelling, I had learnt to grow aware of what it was like to live with a degree of uncertainty which was largely absent in Singapore. I had not fully grasped and been grateful to the peace I had grown up in. In Cambodia, Phnom Penh when we visited Tuong Sleng (S21 prison), we witnessed the rooms in which people were tortured and murdered during a time of political instability. We saw testimonies of victims of the place and photographs of them. I had never been so intimately exposed to the reality of what political instability was capable of. This had allowed me to appreciate what it meant to be living in peace. To never have witnessed any other reality than peace, it was a very jarring experienced that opened my eyes.
Throughout the trip, I had learnt how to gradually handle unforeseen circumstances as well as plan as much as possible for things that remained within one’s control. Travelling on this trip had also taught me to appreciate cultures and people who led different lives as well as be grateful for the things that I had grown up taking for granted like the peace in Singapore.
Seth
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