Written by: Netta (SEFOTECH.NUT, 2007 EM awardee)
She will be the presenter of Erasmus Mundus in Holland Education Fair in Yogyakarta, 10 November 2009 –> check this link
Friday (30 October 2009)
Iqbal and I were flying from Jakarta on Friday morning. We arrived at Suvarnabhumi International Airport. Since the immigration queue were quite long, it took us sometime before we cleared the immigration and went to our hotel. PeWe, Danang, and Yansen’s flight were later that day.
I met my old classmate during my EM days, Palm, so after checked in our rooms, the three of us went to have dinner. Well, actually it was a late lunch, none of us were having lunch. On our way, we met Ton, another Thai EM-ers. He then guide us to Siam Paragon, the venue where the EHEF 2009 will be held. All of us walked to Asoke BTS (Bangkok Transit System) Station and took the BTS to Siam Station. The Mall has connecting bridge with the BTS station. There we were, had dinner, sipped the greentea and walked around the mall.
When we came back, it turn out that PeWe, Danang, and Yansen were already arrived. Since they haven’t had dinner, we all agreed to go out again and find some food. Nobody had an idea where we would go to get dinner. “Why don’t we go to Suan Lum Night Bazaar?” said I. That’s the only place I know. We took taxi there (yeah, the taxi were expensive, coz none of us know the market price). PeWe, Danang, and Yansen had dinner, while me and Iqbal were drooling. OK, that’s too much 
Since Iqbal and I already had dinner we only order some juices. After dinner we walked around the Night Bazaar and do some souvenirs hunting. It turns out the guys (except Danang) had better ability on bargaining things. Lesson’s learned. Next time, let those guys do the bargaining.
Finished with shopping, we realized that all of us still want to do some adventurous journey. We took Tuk-tuk back to the hotel. (I hope the reader will stop their imagination at this point! Five of us in 1 Tuk-tuk). To be honest, none of us considering having small size. So yeah… there we go. Ho ho ho.
Saturday (31 October 2009)
Saturday morning, D-Day, all of the EMA-SEAers wearing blue EU T-shirts. After breakfast we all met at the hotel lobby. New friends, old friends, all together. Lots of kisses on the cheeks, hugs, and stuffs. After that all of us went to the EHEF venue. It turned out that the event was delayed a bit. So most of us still chit chatting with each others, swapping news, etc.
We had EMers from Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. It’s the first time that we had Vietnam’s delegation in the EMA SEA meeting. Yeaaaay. More members of the big family! When the EHEF officially started, the members were busy explaining Erasmus Mundus and experiencing European life to those who came to our booth.
At the same time, the Directive Boards (Iqbal, Jum, Rebecca, Dee, Fiat, Yansen, and Danang) had their meeting in a secret room (well.. I exaggerated on this part). Thai people enthusiasm was great. Although we got some language barrier problems, still, it turned out great.
After lunch, all of us, including the Directive Boards went to do some sightseeing. We went to Wat Srakesa Rajavaramahavihara (The Golden Mount Temple), then to Wat Pho where we saw the HUGE reclining Budha statue, and the last trip was to a museum. Wow, to honest, the museum had a great presentation. Lots of interactive stuffs, we had a lot of fun!
After visiting the museum, it turned out that we still had 1 hour before our dinner. Then the sightseeing committee brought us to a park near Chao Phraya River. There we were, experiencing the Saturday Nite beside the river. The view of Rama VIII Bridge was great. (Hmm.. Rama VIII bridge is kinda like the mix between Monas and Pasopati Bridge, but in bigger scale). The park was crowded, because people were already started to celebrate Loy Krathong Festival. A lot of shows, mostly theater shows, played in the park.
Dinner was held in a restaurant near a palace which looks like Capitol Hill to me. (Sorry, I forgot the name of the Palace).
Sunday (1 November 2009)
Sunday morning, most of us already checked out, and then went to Vie Hotel where our EMA SEA chapter meeting were held. There, all the directive boards presented their programs and members can choose which team they want to participate in. (Further on minutes and result of the meeting will be the official version by the DB). Be patient people!! ^_^
After lunch, some people flew back to their countries and some who had later flight went back to EHEF event, supporting the Thai EM on explaining EM. The event were closed at 7pm. And until the last minute, I was still there talking with a prospective Thai EM-ers.
All in all, thank you very much for the Thai committee for the great enthusiasm and hospitality. This event will not be this great without their hard work.
Bagi yang belum berhasil, ayo terus berjuang. Nggak sedikit loh yang tahun sebelumnya baru masuk Reserve List, terus tahun ini masuk Main List ^_^
