53 days of SSEAYP

25th October to 16th December 2010

Tokyo, Japan; Port Klang, Malaysia; 

Bangkok, Thailand; Jakarta, Indonesia; 

Singapore and Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

Here it is finally... the freaking 53 days trip that I slogged so hard for. Never had to do so much for just a trip overseas... I'm definitely not going to recount every single day of the trip because that would be insane. I'm just going to be lazy and do it the easier way out - by category. So here goes!

PROGRAMMES AND ACTIVITIES - One of the main focus of SSEAYP was cultural and youth exchange. Much of the activities evolved around knowing about each other more. Interaction time, showcases, discussions, displays, performances were all part of these. All the Participating Youths (PYs) were involved in one way or the other - club activities allowed PYs to have a taste of games, traditions, culture of different countries; National Day Presentations allowed PYs to experience different beautiful dances and music and also a chance to wear another nation's attire; voluntary activities exposed PYs to different perspective of other countries' festives, food and lifestyle.

HOMESTAYS - One of the most memorable moments of the whole trip. Little do you expect strangers who would take you in as their foster child or brother and show you such generosity and hospitality.

My Okasan and Otosan in Japan was an elderly couple who lives on their own. They have hosted many youths before, and not only from SSEAYP. They went all out to show me what Hakodate, Hokkaido is all about. From food to places of interest and I even got to try hotspring! I miss them so much! Oh did I mention that they have facebook? So hip!

My family from Malaysia was a talented one. Dancing, broadcast, music etc. Big family and super nice! Mama and gang made an effort to bring us out of Kuala Lumpur to Port Dickson for a day out at the beach! She said no point staying in KL only as it can get boring. So darn cool!

Papa and ah meh from Thailand are one of the most affectionate people I've ever met. Despite not being able to speak English, they make an effort to try. Good thing I know a little bit of Thai and I tried to decipher. They brought us out and keep asking us whether we want to eat or get anything else. However, it was not this that touched me, but it was the phone calls. To date, I've a total of four phone calls from them - once when we docked in Singapore, another just before we left, and two since SSEAYP ended. And plus an email with photo and another snail mail card with another two photos. All these always end with a 'I miss you very much...' Enough said.

My family in Indonesia was a little different. The parent was not exactly that old for us to call them papa and mama, and they had 3 kids around the house. It was a whole lot of joy with the family. A lot of quality family time was spent chatting, eating, playing, swimming etc. Never felt like this for a long time...

And last but not the least - Vietnam homestay. To say the truth, it was the least anticipated leg of the journey for me. Had a very negative image of Ho Chi Minh when I last visited it a decade ago in 2000. Stuck since and that place has never ever interest me enough to go back. This time round, I had no choice. Behold, but it was the best decision that I didn't make myself. My two foster brothers and sister showed me what Vietnam is nowadays and totally changed my perspective of the country once and for all. Plus they were so hospitable that it felt like I have always been part of the family. We could keep chatting non-stop and of course drink non-stop too. Definitely one of the best homestays that I could ever ask for.

PLACES - When Fuji Maru set sail from Japan and cruised around ASEAN, places of interest were definitely not a miss. From the Hakodate Mountains in Hokkaido to Taman Mini in Indonesia; from the Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur to the Floating Market in Thailand; from the Sensō-ji in Tokyo to Ben Thanh Market in Vietnam - every country opens your eyes to their culture and amazing architecture.

FOOD - Of course when you visit all those places, local food is always a must try. Well food on board is not listed here, and some times it's really nasty... and on some days, I nearly have to turn into a pescartarian cause it was all beef... I just craved for those days that they served noodles, any kind - hot or cold.

Those food you see above are either from the streets, homestay meals or restaurants. And they are definitely better food than the buffet spread on board. Yes... even the cup noodles. I lost appetite on board the ship and I actually lost another 3 kg by the end of the trip... I settled with cup noodles for my breakfast every morning for the last week. I actually felt like throwing up whenever I ate, but I didn't bother to do anything or tell anyone.

FRIENDS - I decided this to be the last segment cause it was probably one of the most important to me. Firstly, I apologise if I ever come across as not friendly cause that's just me. I tend to rather make quality friends than quantity friends as I don't really like to socialise that much. Those close to me would know that I treasure friendship more than anything else, and I would go all out for the person if he/she is worthy of it.

I would like to apologise again for some that are not above because, sad to say... I really don't have a shot of you together with me. I gathered what I could - dear SG and DG mates, fun cabin mates, great homestay brothers and sisters, lovely gangway partner, close friends and even one that I knew for 15 years!

Sad to say, not all friendship will last long. Some falters rather quickly. I always believe that friendship is always a mutual relationship as with any other relationships. Communication has to be both ways. I certainly hope to hold on to whatever else friendships that are left for me to grab.

SSEAYP is now over. Perhaps it's time to move on with life. Maybe it was just another phase for me. Probably I should just let go and let everything proceed by itself and leave it to Mother Nature to take its own course. Guess it's back to living day by day and to the fullest each day.

PS: For those on my facebook, you can view all the 16 photo albums of my journey for a better idea of SSEAYP.