Category: Daily Whatevers

มานมาแรงกะลังมา กะลังมา

Guwn Theen!

I’ve gotten myself involved with this project now…

I don’t know what to call it…

I have a friend, a Thai Buddhist, whose family is quite well-off. His family has been running a charity of sorts on their private land. They have a primary (elementary) school that they privately fund, for unfortunate children.

Okay…nothing new there. However, they also run a madrasah (well, madrasah is school in Arabic) for Muslim children. Muslims in Thailand are generally of Malay descent. So on top of the normal Thai education curriculum, these children also get their religious education. They also employ tutors from Malaysia to teach Bahasa Melayu and the English Language to these children to prepare them better for the outside world.

While I related this story to my colleague, he told me that he is not surprised. In Myanmar, Myanmarese Buddhists do the same for not just Muslim children, but children of other religious beliefs as well.

So I don’t know what to call myself, and other Muslims. Teletophobic? Homilophobic? Xenophobic? Bogyphobic? Staurophobic? Trophophobic?

You tell me.

This pic was taken by Alice on the 2nd March 2004. I suppose we had just come down from the Gunung Raya Base Station because it was taken at 7.07pm. Muaazam (seen here on the right) and I were making calls then. This apartment became our home for the next 3 months when we were only to be there for two weeks.

How others suffer when one f**ks up!

This picture was taken on the 1st May 2003 from a house in Permatang Kong, Anak Bukit. This would be facing southwards. Gunung Keriang can be seen in the foreground on the right. Somehow I felt the urge to take this photo.

I have not gone back there for more than two years actually, to that kampung. This area is among my “playgrounds” when I was still a serving Air Force officer.

This picture was taken using an Exilim EX-MX2.

This is one of my favourite songs. I really feel like sitting at Saphan Thaksin looking at the boats that go by on the Chao Phraya river at 5pm whenever I listen to this. Even reminds me of tht one particular dinner I had at the Yok Yor Seafood Restaurant across from Saphan Taksin two years ago.

It’s by Ten Teerapak.

Here’a a translation to the lyrics:

From the day you abandoned me and went far away. Life had become completely meaningless to me.
I looked like someone who’s almost dead, when you walked away with him.
Now I’m beginning to feel better, and have almost forgotten that I was once hurt.
Time has helped me to forget about whatever that has happened between us.
But one day when I saw you staying by his side.
I felt hurt again.
Starting from today, I’ll have to start all over again.
So that I can forget about whatever that still remains in my heart. Whenever I see you being together with him.
Starting from today, I’ll have to put up with the pain and the loneliness. Like walking down memory lane.
My heart is upset, that you were once mine. I still can’t forget that.
I don’t blame you, I don’t blame anyone. All that I’m blaming is myself.
That I can’t forget though I have suffered the pain for a long time. I keep on deceiving myself.
Time may help me to forget everything. But how long will it take?
If ten months is not enough, what about ten years then? So that I may finally remove your image from my mind.
I have just known, when I saw you standing by his side.
I felt hurt again as before.

Click Here To Listen To The Song – And Press The PLAY Button

The photo above was taken on 3rd March 2004, when the going was still good. The three of us, me, Alice and Muaazam were sent on a four-months of a two-week deployment in Langkawi. We were a good team. It is sad to know that we will soon go our own way.

It was also a time when we would sit by the beach trying to kill boredom, listening to Thai songs. We were mainly listening to songs by Peacemaker, a group that has since broken up. We only had each other to keep ourselves sane. I was so close to Thailand but remained on this side of the border.

อยากหลับตาอยู่อย่างนั้น ทำอยู่อย่างนั้น ฝันถึงเธอเรื่อยไป เพราะว่าความจริง ไม่มีทางใด ทำให้เราได้รักกัน ทำได้แค่นั้น ทำได้แค่นี้ ทำได้เพียงแค่ฝัน

I really wonder why does it have to come to this….the motherf***ers…