TipAdvisor

 Good Monday ka, everyone. 

I mentioned in my previous email that  I went to Chantaburi with my 'ship' friends to stay at Baan Luang Rajamaitri Historic Inn. Since this 150-year Teak house has only 10 rooms and there were 8 of us, we decided to rent the whole place following the staff's advice. It turned out to be the best decision ka. Each room could in fact accommodate two, we all agreed that it was much better to stay alone. 

After having stayed there for 2 nights, I shared my review with the TripAdvisor and so for our egoup here, let TipAdvisor share another version ka:

- Its small-lobby-turn-museum place was really nice to see Luang Rajamaitri's life and how progressive he was to order rubber trees to grow in Chantaburi. 

- Its existence, made possible by the Department of Fine Arts, has brightened the community and its participation in some productive ways, for them to earn an extra income. Like our group, we bought a few things while strolling along the narrow streets to bring us back to the past and see people's lives. This place also caters breakfasts from several food shops in the area.

- Their breakfasts were the best of all!

- Its terrace is by the river, which is quite homey. We all enjoyed sitting there for our breakfast, and again for our little drink and chats till we called it a night ka. 

- Each room has its special name with decorations telling the stories of the family, which gave us a different feel about Chantaburi ka. The room styles are good for pix lovers ka.

- Fortunately, none of us met with any uninvited guests kaa! Whew!

We also had a chance to visit some sights and learned a bit more about our own history from King Taksin the Great to the French occupation. Thanks to Google loei la ka.

Enjoy the week na ka. 

Best gift to my heart

Happy Wednesday ka.There was one beautiful moment that I wish to share….did do it on Facebook but my heart has been filled with so much happiness thatI’d like you to know too ka.

The past weekend, my ‘ship’ group and I went to Baanluangrajamaitri in Chantaburi (a 150-year-old house). On Sunday, we had our quick lunch at a coffee shop.

While I was enjoying my pasta, one masked guy approached me at our table, bringing two plates of cake to me, saying that, ‘These are for you krub, Pi Tip!’. I was puzzled as I was wondering who he was, whether he was asked to bring them or if it were him to give me…and then ‘why me?’, etc.

Then, he took off his mask and I was really surprised! He told me his name and I said I could remember him well as I just clicked 'like' on his Facebook post! But it was something unexpected ka. He was a  Fulbright alum who’s a very smart (and sure bright) teacher on our teacher exchange program. 

It’s been over 15 years since we last met if my memory serves me well ka. Before he drove off, I thought it was a special day we both must have a picture together…..sure glad I thought about it and got his big hugs twice. 

This turned out to be the highlight of my trip to have met him after all these years, to have been greeted in such a sweet way,and to be heartwarmingly hugged, all of which have told me how happy we both were.

It’s brought many smiles to my heart when I think of this moment ka.

Cheers!

Leadership and quotes

Hello all. For this week, I'd like to share what I listened to the past week na ka. It wwas from a podcast program I tend to share occasionally......How Leaders Lead with David Novak. He shared what he learned during his time at Pepsico, coached by an Image Consultant (I just learned that companies need to hire one to nurture key people's maturity). It was good to know the steps he's been given, which is what he has practiced until today especially at year's end ka. 1. Identify 5 categories that are meaningful to us.2. Answer who we are at the time of doing this exercise.3. Think of 3 things we wish to do better in the future.4. Write how we will do to achieve them. In fact, it's like a fine reflection to do na ka....this seems to be more than just New Year resolution as it comes in a package to check into ourselves how we've changed and what we wish to make further commitments with key actions na ka. David Novak also came up with a few quotes he liked from the senior leaders he interviewed ka. I selected the following three ka (feel a little upset the ones from females won't really fit with my own preference this time!) - "Listening + Clear, Current (focus on the issues), Communicate (Let’s talk to set straight what's needed, not to leave the matters flow as expectations)" by Tom Brady, American Football Quarterback, -" Focus on things you can control, be curious to learn, have the audacity to dream, have courage to act" by Niren Chaudhary – CEO, Panera Bread, and  - "No one can beat you being you…unique, different, scarce!" by Marvin Ellison – CEO, Lowe's. I love this one most because it was a story about this African American who tried hard to become part of his team by going along with the group's dress code, among others until he felt exhausted to think of what his father said to him ka....being oneself after all is unique and could become beautifully contributive too ka. Any response mai ka?

Are (some Thai) universities dying?

Hello all, this week is really different from the previous one ka. Even when I have some to share, the issues don't really excite me that much ka. Now that I'm listening to a Secret Sauce podcast entitled, 'Is university dying?', I'm ready to share kaaa. The speakers came from two bodies, one from Thammasat university and the other from SkillLane, a private company offering numerous courses online ka. A few issues raised for discussion were: 1. Universities exist because they're very strong in academics and their abilities to assess learners' capabilities. 2. If there's any area universities aren't strong, they could collaborate with others like private companies or foreign universities, etc. 3. University education will be more open and accessible according to readiness and preference. We'll see more self-paced learning, courses that are shorter and readily available, and collaboration between universities and different business sectors. 4. Universities should focus more on what technology can't do. Lecturers should nurture students' creativity, help build on knowledge, facilitate learning, and inspire them. 5. Looking into the future, universities should see people's longer span of life so learning will be seen as what will cater to their contexts. So they should design credit banks without thinking strictly about degrees for universities to assess and offer relevant degrees for students to design their own degrees. TU wants to see itself as 'Open Integrated Platform'.....across disciplines as well. These are the questions that popped up ka: 1. What must be the changing role of universities? Only assessment, conferring degrees even by design, and collaboration? 2. Why do we look to partner with private companies and foreign unviersities without looking in much more seriously? Why do we tend to have the strong sense of in-country competition instead of synergy? 3. Can we think harder about the soft side of life .... life skills? Still appreciate Khun Tonson's SAFE -- Soul searching, Accepting diversity, Failure-is-fine zone, and Empathy. 4. Why do we tend not to give high priority to senior leaders to reskill/upskill themselves even before others? Recently, I heard several who said we offered this and that to our staff so they could be more capable....nothing about their own urgent needs ka. More thoughts from you please.