The Thailand Trip

I learned a lot from my first business trip. My boss gave me a picture of what to expect about Thailand. He told me that it was like Cebu. But hell no!!! We were both shocked of what it is! It's way better than Cebu and even way way better than the Philippines. I began thinking, if we they are a third world country, then what the hell are we?

For a country which has faced a coup de etat every five years, its very impressive compared to a country which faced mutineers once and another insurgent. Their cost of living is lower than that of Filipinos yet they seem contented. Its a very clean and disciplined place.

What impressed me the most are the locals that we have talked to. Here, in order to do business and talk to a prominent person, one must have connections or else he will not be entertained. Suppliers are generally inefficient, distributors are arrogant, and businesses rip off each other!

But not there. Our team talked to some businesspeople, a President and some Managers, with ease. They are not like the ones here. A few messages and a phone call and then a meeting is set! I got to enhance my communication skills since I am talking to high ranking officials from another country and after each meeting, I learned more and more and gained even more confidence.

You can guess that somehow everything turned out fine from the way that I narrate my experience. It did. I am very happy and am looking forward to going back there and explore other countries in the future. It is a priceless experience and something to be treasured forever.

OH BY THE WAY, I have a message to Filipino Businessmen...

1. Suppliers, you are in a lot of trouble if you are inefficient! People will resort to outsourcing to other countries that provide cheaper costs and more efficient services.

2. Distributors, you don't have all the power in the world!!! You are only handling the Philippines and not the world!!! If you do not get your act together, someone better will earn the profits that are supposed to be yours!!!

3. Politicians, why the hell can't you get along?! You say that you are there to serve the people. Yet you are there to have power and fight the administration and in turn neglecting the people whom you paid or placed you into office. Being a politician should not be considered a public service thing but a moneymaking extravaganza! You INVEST in CAMPAIGNS. When ELECTED you WANT TO GET PROFITS from taxpayers hard earned income.

I am not naive. I know that dirt is around... But if you really want to make this country work for us, you must start working for it. MAHIYA NAMAN KAYO! From a country that trained other countries, we suck like hell!!! SUPOT!!! We must change our ways for the better and not for the worse!