In the past years, months, weeks and even days, I have been blessed with incredible opportunities to travel.
To move. To see the world.
Whether that's a tuk-tuk across town, a boat ride to an island, biking to work, flying 20+ hours to get to Thailand, or a cab ride from Bangkok to Ayutthaya at 1:00am (think South Bend from Chicago), traveling itself is just time spent in limbo. Floating, bumping, dragging, speeding from one place to the next, transitioning.
Climbing into each mode of transportation, you're faced with an immediate, important decision: where do I want to sit? On airplanes, you're given a little extra time to think about it, but then again there's more to consider. With buses, trains, minivans, motorbikes, tuktuks and boats, you need to pick right away, and your decision, once made, often cannot be easily changed.
Do you want to catch a glimpse of a sunrise or sunset? Will you pass any interesting landmarks or natural wonders? Along your journey (think through the route) which side of the vehicle will that be visible from?
Do you want to feel the breeze, or find an air-con vent? Do you want to watch the road ahead of you, or see things as they disappear behind?
Visiting Phuket, Koh Phi Phi, Bangkok, Hua Hin, Kanchanaburi and even just around Ayutthaya, I've clocked hours upon hours of just staring out windows, watching the world fly by. The thing about watching is, it looks different from each window.
Over my time here, I've gained a true appreciation for choosing the right window, finding the first perspective for your travels.
Sometimes it can be amazing. A simple train from Bangkok to Ayutthaya passes through rice fields and villages, tens of wats, magnificent sunsets over the wilderness, and a quaint perspective of a quieter life to be found away from all the tourists. A boatride with a 360 rooftop panorama, showcasing the clear, turqoise waters and occasionally refreshing you with an ocean breeze. A quiet bike ride to church, with a familiar path.
Sometimes it can be absolutely miserable. Getting carsick in a minivan driven by an aspiring Vin Diesel. Traversing the never-ending maze of Bangkok, taking the Airport Rail Link to the Sky Train to the Subway to the National Line- 4 separate train lines for what can be a simple hour and a half drive. Or just the fear of getting lost- that the driver misunderstood you, that you got in the wrong bus, or that you won't know when to get out, and where to go from there.
Sometimes you just read a book, keep to yourself, or pass out, hoping you'll wake up and finally be there.
No matter the length of the journey, or the mode of transportation, the right window can make all the difference. With all of this time travelling, I, as I occasionally do, began to think.
Began to think about how my time here in Thailand, with a lot of transit in it, is a period of transit itself. I'm taking an incredibly scenic route between graduation and the corporate world, teaching my way through this limbo and traversing quiiiite slowly.
But I'm loving the path. From kindergarten through college, the route was quite clear. An A here earns you acceptance there, a good extra-curricular project here earns you an internship there, a good recommendation here earns you a job there. Stepping stone A leads to B leads to C and so on. You know, to a certain degree, what lies ahead, and how to get there.
So after securing a job during senior year, why did I start looking into this? What would this trip do for me? Where would it lead me? What doors would it open?
Any kind of international immersion experience can do amazing things for you- broaden your global perspective, deepen your empathy, inspire more curiosity, or even just expand your experiences. But there isn't a necessary prerequisite, nor necessarily an ultimate goal.
That's what I kind of love about it. It isn't step E to F, and it may not lead to the next step up. Maybe it's a sidestep, maybe it's a jump to a different ladder. Maybe it's just hanging around waiting for the next advance, when I do go into the corporate world.
But I really like the idea that for once, I'm looking out a window that's just going. Not necessarily up, not necessarily anywhere- just going. I've mapped out the view, catching as many sunsets and sunrises as possible, flying by temples and churches, memorials and ceremonies, forests, rivers, mountains and beaches. I'm sitting next to this window, looking out on Thailand for the next few months.
Which window will you choose?
To move. To see the world.
 |
| View from our boat in Koh Phi Phi |
Climbing into each mode of transportation, you're faced with an immediate, important decision: where do I want to sit? On airplanes, you're given a little extra time to think about it, but then again there's more to consider. With buses, trains, minivans, motorbikes, tuktuks and boats, you need to pick right away, and your decision, once made, often cannot be easily changed.
Do you want to catch a glimpse of a sunrise or sunset? Will you pass any interesting landmarks or natural wonders? Along your journey (think through the route) which side of the vehicle will that be visible from?
Do you want to feel the breeze, or find an air-con vent? Do you want to watch the road ahead of you, or see things as they disappear behind?
Visiting Phuket, Koh Phi Phi, Bangkok, Hua Hin, Kanchanaburi and even just around Ayutthaya, I've clocked hours upon hours of just staring out windows, watching the world fly by. The thing about watching is, it looks different from each window.
Over my time here, I've gained a true appreciation for choosing the right window, finding the first perspective for your travels.
 |
| Picture of a Wat, or Temple, in Ayutthaya, my new home |
Sometimes it can be amazing. A simple train from Bangkok to Ayutthaya passes through rice fields and villages, tens of wats, magnificent sunsets over the wilderness, and a quaint perspective of a quieter life to be found away from all the tourists. A boatride with a 360 rooftop panorama, showcasing the clear, turqoise waters and occasionally refreshing you with an ocean breeze. A quiet bike ride to church, with a familiar path.
Sometimes it can be absolutely miserable. Getting carsick in a minivan driven by an aspiring Vin Diesel. Traversing the never-ending maze of Bangkok, taking the Airport Rail Link to the Sky Train to the Subway to the National Line- 4 separate train lines for what can be a simple hour and a half drive. Or just the fear of getting lost- that the driver misunderstood you, that you got in the wrong bus, or that you won't know when to get out, and where to go from there.
Sometimes you just read a book, keep to yourself, or pass out, hoping you'll wake up and finally be there.
No matter the length of the journey, or the mode of transportation, the right window can make all the difference. With all of this time travelling, I, as I occasionally do, began to think.
 |
| Certainly don't mind this mode of transport |
But I'm loving the path. From kindergarten through college, the route was quite clear. An A here earns you acceptance there, a good extra-curricular project here earns you an internship there, a good recommendation here earns you a job there. Stepping stone A leads to B leads to C and so on. You know, to a certain degree, what lies ahead, and how to get there.
So after securing a job during senior year, why did I start looking into this? What would this trip do for me? Where would it lead me? What doors would it open?
Any kind of international immersion experience can do amazing things for you- broaden your global perspective, deepen your empathy, inspire more curiosity, or even just expand your experiences. But there isn't a necessary prerequisite, nor necessarily an ultimate goal.
 |
| View of Death Railway, 12,399 POWs died building this |
But I really like the idea that for once, I'm looking out a window that's just going. Not necessarily up, not necessarily anywhere- just going. I've mapped out the view, catching as many sunsets and sunrises as possible, flying by temples and churches, memorials and ceremonies, forests, rivers, mountains and beaches. I'm sitting next to this window, looking out on Thailand for the next few months.
Which window will you choose?
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