In the famous city of London, there lived a group of students not connected by much. They all led their own unique lives and were experiencing a relatively average University experience. Then, a man with a mission brought these students into something that can only be described as an epic daydream full of friendship, adventure, and mystery. When I first set foot in Thailand, my eyes, despite 23 long hours of restless travel, were wide open and full of wonder. My adventure began right away with an unintentional, unguided tour of Bangkok due to the technical and navigational issues of our bus driver. But I was loving every minute. This strange land, so different from my own, was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. The adventure continued when we arrived at KU home, and I was first exposed to the SPICY Thai cuisine. A good new friend of mine described it as “tasty”. I can only describe how, after that meal and all the other meals we had in Thailand, I was pretty much rolling out of every restaurant because of how much food I’d eaten. Then we moved to Ayutthaya in our awesome party bus. Ayutthaya is honestly hard to even describe. The deep spiritual commitment and maturity of Thai people was very prominent when exploring this ancient city, and is something that made me reflect very, very deeply on my own spirituality. It is a beautiful thing to be so in touch with yourself and your surroundings, like the people there. I learned what Nirvana truly means to Thai people and discovered a fascinating fact. When people in Thailand achieve nirvana upon their cremation, their skull turns into crystal. Facts like these, paired with the temples, the museums, and the intricate artworks, have made me see similar sites in Europe as bland. Upon our return to Bangkok, Josh and I found ourselves living on the same floor as everyone else. What I discovered was a very potent blend of amazing people that I absolutely loved exploring Thailand with. From discovering markets, riding in fabulous creations called Tuk Tuks, and walking dozens of miles just to see every little street of Bangkok, I was achieving everything I was hoping for and had a cute little community to enjoy it with. KUMUN was also very interesting. I enjoyed representing Denmark and had a great time delivering speeches and comparing perspectives and approaches with my Thai comrade. I also had a great opportunity to mingle among Thai students from many different universities and saw how they approach speaking out in such formal settings. This field trip was like no other. I feel as though I have stumbled into a completely new world with layers of culture, engagement in democracy, and a history I cannot even begin to fathom. I am so thankful to my university for sponsoring this trip. I am also very thankful to Farhang and Kyoko for always pushing and trying to make the world and its people happier and better. You guys are heroes who make incredible things like this happen. Lastly, I am incredibly thankful to have met and gotten close to my fellow students from Westminster. You guys are a bunch like no other. Reflecting on this trip has made me realise what an incredible privilege it was, and I hope we’ll continue working together to allow more Westminster students to visit the magical land of Thailand and others.
Ramzi – Selim Hikmet