Bangkok was a WONDERFUL place to end our foreign business excursion. When we arrived on Wednesday some wondered how Bangkok could possibly out shine the other magnificent places we’ve travelled over the past two weeks… but the exotic atmosphere in Thailand certainly exceeded expectations… and for a few… Thailand ended up being the favorite destination altogether. We were all a little concerned about Doralia, who was left behind in Hong Kong due to a problem with her visa. Fortunately the problem was worked out and she joined us in Thailand a day late.
The atmosphere and culture in Thailand is different than we’ve experienced anywhere else in Asia. Sanjay Sharma remarked at the large number of Indian influences he saw all throughout Bangkok and mentioned that Thai culture (to him) seems to be a unique blend of Chinese and Indian influences. Sanjay even took a few people to a Hindu temple to experience share some of his own culture. Certainly Thailand is more exotic and tropical than other places we’ve been… the people have a different heritage, different ethnicity, different language, and even a different look than the Chinese and Japanese people we’ve visit with on this trip. Many in our group remarked at how the Thai people seem so pleasant, relaxed, and eager to serve. In Thailand we also saw more poverty than anywhere else we’ve been. Thailand is a developing nation and doesn’t have the same infrastructure as Japan or Hong Kong. Certainly China has problems with poverty… but we saw very little of it while prancing around the capital city of Beijing… especially just weeks before the Olympics. In Thailand we saw many poor people right in the heart of Bangkok… some lived in little shacks near our resort hotel… yet virtually everyone in greater Bangkok (poor or rich) seemed to own a motor scooter (the traffic was horrific).
One thing is certain… Thailand seems to be a much more religious country than anywhere else we’ve been. Upon our arrival we took a canal tour and stopped at a Buddhist temple where we climbed up some pretty intense stairs. There are literally thousands of Buddhist temples in Thailand… a stark contrast to China where we saw very little religion. The people here also love their King… who is a revered figurehead that is extraordinarily popular among all Thai people… you can’t go anywhere in Thailand without seeing pictures of the King… the Thai people love and respect their King much like we love and respect our prophet.
Our polite tour guide “Su” showed us some of the major sites around Bangkok during our stay and may have been our most pleasant tour guide of the whole trip… we all enjoyed being part of “Su’s Group” and following him around Bangkok. On the first night in town Su took a number of us to a custom tailor shop on our first night in Bangkok and those who went felt as if they scored a great deal on a wool & cashmere blend suit (with 2 pants and a tie) for only $250… it was a fun experience getting all measured up for a custom suit and having it personally delivered to our hotel room the next day. Some of us wonder aloud what’s the problem with tailors back in the USA… they speak worse English than the tailors in Thailand and typically take more than a week to do minor alterations… whereas the Thai tailors had no problem whipping up a customized suit in just a few hours!
Su also took us to the Royal temples and palaces and we were impressed by their beauty and glamour. The Buddhist temples in Thailand can’t match the Chinese palaces in size and scale… but they have beautiful craftsmanship and seem to be more fancy and ornamental when looking at them up close… lots of gold and jewels. Many in our group were surprised at the small size of the famous emerald Buddha statue. This particular Buddha (considered one of the most holy statues in all of Thailand) has a famous temple all to himself and yet he stands only two feel high on the top of a throne.
Our accommodations in Bangkok were excellent… we stayed at the Marriott Resort and Spa located on the beautiful riverfront and our hotel (while not as lavish as the China World Hotel) was absolutely beautiful had thick gardens, a wonderful swimming pool and really felt more like an exotic resort than anywhere else we stayed.
We had a couple of great business visits in Bangkok including the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) and Mattel. At AMCHAM we had a good Q&A session with some people familiar with doing business in Thailand. Then we drove out to Mattel where we had one of the best business visits of the entire trip. Each of us had a thorough tour of the toy factory that makes Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars. The plant leader we met with mentioned how his factory was “the largest producer of automobiles in the world… if size doesn’t matter.” It was interesting to see how the toy cars were made and most of us were amazed at the efficiency of the plant and the temperature inside (working conditions inside the plant were about 95+ degrees but none of the workers seemed bothered).
HIGHLIGHTS and LET-DOWNS of Thailand? One of the greatest highlights of Thailand was the amazing food… for those of us who love Thai food every meal was a delight. The food is inexpensive in Thailand and we enjoyed everything from Pad Thai, Yellow Curry, Massaman, and Moo Yang… to Saku Sai Moo and the delicious mangos and sticky rice. The highlight for many of the spouses was participating in a Thai cooking class sponsored by the resort.
There was some frustration in Thailand… but it had nothing to do with the location or the people… only the burnout many of us were starting to feel. By the time we reached Bangkok we had already been travelling for 11 days. While the experiences here have been great… most of us are weary of travelling and ready to sleep in our own bed. The majority of us have family waiting back at home that we long to see again. Almost all of the enthusiasm and energy that we had in Kyoto and Toyko those first few days has left and it’s time to go home. At the end of the day we all had a wonderful time and it’s been a great opportunity to experience the different cultures of Asia. What a wonderful way to end a MBA program!
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