| | My life has drastically changed since my last entry. Everyday I've had to grow up a little more and leave my carefree childhood behind. I remember hearing my seniors say that the best years are those while you're still studying, whether it is in school or university. Those are the years to cherish. I've always believed that I would prefer working life to school life, but I'm not sure that's how I feel right now.
My dad passed away at 11.20 on Thursday, June 29, 2006 from cancer of the lung, which spread to the brain, then to the liver and finally the kidney. About 6 months after the diagnosis, his heart gave out. The next day we held the wake at Holy Redeemer Church, followed by the cremation the following day, and finally we buried his remains at St. Nicholas Church at Pattaya. It was over in 3 days. What is left is a business to be run by a 23 year old daughter and a handful of staff, and mourning wife. My father worked hard his whole life for his family and he worked especially hard to build up the company for me these last 4-5 years. Despite his efforts, our family was never really wealthy, but that's partially because my father was not a very ambitious man. As long as he enjoyed his work, and his pay was reasonable, he was happy and so were we. We lived comfortably. I daresay, while growing up, I did not have the life of a "Khun Noo", but I got just about everything I asked for. I believe I've lived a relatively sheltered life compared to many people my age. My parents never wanted me to have to fight my way up the bloody corporate ladder, have to endure office politics, abuse from asshole superiors, etc. They just wanted to train me from the bottom (and indeed they did; I was waiting in line at the post office every other day for a year or so - yes, the daughter of the owner of the company) and eventually hand over the reins in good time. Unfortunately, the reins were not exactly handed over in good time, but were more like thrust into my hands before the time was right. Dad was always a workaholic, he loved being a lawyer, his work was one of the things which kept him going, he enjoyed working. He always said that if he ever completely stopped working and keeping active, it would probably kill him. Because I know my dad, I am quite certain that his last words wouldn't have been "I love you". On the contrary, they would probably have been "Take care of the company". Unfortunately, I'm the opposite from my Dad. Law isn't exactly my passion, but something I can't avoid...now more than ever. Some of my friends ask me, "if you don't want to do the job, why don't you just quit and sell it off or something?" Things in life just aren't that easy. If my father was still alive and I did such a thing, I would be called ungrateful and it would break my parents' heart because they put their heart, soul and energy into this company. It is his legacy which I must continue. It is a promise which I made to him at his funeral. And it is therefore a promise I cannot break.
Such devastating events aside, since my last entry I've attended conferences in New Delhi and Toronto. New Delhi, India was interesting though shocking. We stayed at a 5-star hotel and honestly, outside the walls of the hotel was a different world altogether. Beggars were to be found on every street. They would follow you persistently and once you take pity and give in to one of them, a whole crowd swarms in on you. I've been to Vietnam and Myanmar which are also considered poor countries, and I can tell you that the poor there are nothing like that of India. The poor in Vietnam and Myanmar are undeniably poor, yet they are not miserable. They may lead difficult lives, but you can still catch occasional smiles on their faces. On the contrary, in India they are the portrait of misery. An associate missed the shuttle bus from my hotel to his hotel late one night and decided to take the 5 minute walk back to his hotel. Once he stepped out of the gates of my hotel, he nearly stumbled over a beggar sleeping on the sidewalk. All along the way, he was hopping over and avoiding homeless people in the dark. I tried taking a photo of a food vendor and once he and his pals saw me pointing a camera in his direction, he immediately shouted out "10 rupees!" When you ask taxi drivers about good places to shop, they'll take you to all the larger shops where they get commission for introducing customers; even the nicest ones do this. You don't know where to catch a cab, and you walk up to a small police box and ask him if he could help you call one. Once he makes the call, he'll ask you for 30 rupees just for dialling the cab number.
  
Some sights in India
Traffic over there is quite frightening really. You would think that driving in Thailand is tricky and requires a lot of guts, but it is nothing in comparison with New Delhi where people honk their horns non-stop and sometimes for no apparent reason. I walked past a car that was simply parked along a road and the driver inside was sitting there honking his horn in to some Indian music on the radio! When I asked the cab driver why many cars in India don't have side view mirrors, he said they just weren't necessary and are often a nuisance. Merely the back view mirror is enough and he can see everything he needs to see through that. And for us, side view mirrors are a MUST!
  
Spectacular historical sights in India
Apart from the appalling sights and sounds of New Delhi, the culture and civilisation were definitely not a disappointment. The Taj Mahal was a stunning piece of marble architecture. Much of the inside wall was inlaid with jewels some of which can still be seen if you shine a flashlight toward the wall inside the tomb. The second photo is of a fort in the city of Agra, another one of India's ancient cities. The third, if I'm not mistaken, is one of the surrounding buildings or gateways in the compound of the Taj Mahal. Visiting the Taj Mahal was one of places to visit before I die so I'm really glad I got to go there. Despite the depressing atmosphere that I experienced while I was there, I wouldn't mind going back again, but this time it would be backpacking with friends and not in a suit and high heels.
The next trip was to Toronto, Canada. During my week there, I found Toronto to be a peaceful, clean and friendly city. Streets seemed to be arranged in blocks like in the US. Wish Bangkok could be like that, but I suppose they would have to tear down and rebuild the whole city for that to be possible One of my mum's best friends lives there and she and her husband took us around town. One evening they took us for a walk by the harbour and it was astonishing and refreshing to see that at around 17.00 on a weekday, people had left their workplace and were sailing off the harbour. In Asia, 17.00 wouldn't mean anything, just that work must unofficially continue (at least in my profession). I wish I could just drop everything after official working hours and enjoy myself. People there just seem to be able to maintain a good quality of life. I admire that.
My colleague and I had one entire day free of meetings and other obligations so we seized the opportunity to visit the famous Niagara Falls. I never knew that the current could be so strong and while it was a breathtaking sight, it was also quite scary. If anyone fell into the water, I doubt they would survive.
   
The Niagara Falls
The next conference I'll have to attend will be in November in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. I heard there isn't very much to see there, but I may have been misinformed. So if anyone knows of anything that MUST BE SEEN there, do let me know!!!! Or anything that MUST BE EATEN, again, do let me know!!! Sometime between now and January 2007 I'll have to make a trip to Beijing, China...really looking forward to that trip. Always loved going to China; so many things to see and do. Very fascinating!
Anyway, that's it for this long entry. Work's been so busy lately, but I'll try to post an update or two from time to time. Although work now occupies most of my time and actually needs to occupy just about all of it, I just don't feel it's right to let it take over my life. Plus, I don't think I'll survive working 24/7/365 anyway!
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