A Memorable Excursion

Tours are generally meant for refreshing our self; a time of renewal. There are some tours that serve dual purpose- enjoying and learning. Descending from the green paddy fields toward the eventful and earsplitting city of Bangkok, our trip commenced at around noon. I put on my earphone to synchronize the tune of my heart with the songs of my choice to suit myself to the journey. Almost one hour spent in the bus was enough to arrive at Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA).

After a quick and concise introduction by the guide we swiftly rolled over the spacious structure, unfolding the mystery of the eight months old museum. The museum houses an important collection of Thai contemporary art, with magnificent portrait and paintings hung on the facility’s six meter high professionally lit walls. The scope of the work on display is undeniably impressive. One room on the ground floor is filled with pastoral paintings, animal sculptures in bronze and plaster likeness of royalty by Professor Silpa Bhirasri, the Italian sculpture credited with founding modern art.

The upper floors are reached via escalators that go up but not down. The fourth floor was dedicated to Tawan Duchanee, a white-bearded national artist, whose wild animalist paintings was once accused of blaspheming Buddhism, but are now widely revered. Around 100 of his fierce works fill the spaces on the fourth floor, after which a walkway cuts through a wormhole-like passage and into MOCA’s showpiece: a bright, lofty space with a triptych of seven meter tall paintings on the far wall. There are far too many artists to mention. From sculptures, modern interpretation of Thai art, surrealism, folk art, traditional murals and depictions of daily life in Thailand, the museum offers a kaleidoscopic perspective on Thai culture and visual expressions.

The tour than lead us to splendid Esplanade Shopping mall for dinner, the Esplanade offered an eclectic experience and has a rather boutique feel. Neither too big nor too small, it definitely provided a delightful alternative with a god mix of lifestyle shopping and entertainment outlets.

We then followed the tour to the Thailand Culture Centre for the most exciting event of the day, where a group of ground breaking dancers, Blaze, from Netherland staged their outstanding dancing performance. There we could see the professionals with professionalism; dancing to the symphony of music, their boneless moves are simply fantastic that the hall-packed audiences couldn’t keep themselves grounded. I was dumbfounded with their ability to spontaneously come up with movements that suit the speedy rock music. It was astonishingly fabulous and amazingly eye catching. The magnificent show and a terrific night have patently filled a page in my dairy, a spectacular memories that will be cherished for the rest of my life. The show was part of Bangkok’s 14^th International Festival of Dance and Music.

The night wasn’t young anymore; we then headed back to our campus. The tour has helped us to open our eyes from our nearest to conquer the spacious sky of learning deluge. Classroom teachings are spacey and such tour helps us to switch these teachings into reality. Now I feel that learning would have been incomplete without such tour and exposure. All the credit goes to our sponsor, Dr. Kitterrat Narong and we offer our sincere gratitude to Dr. Steve for arranging this trip.