On Sunday morning, we left early in the morning with the minibus, to go to the pier, in Nathon. After an hour and a half of laughter and jokes, we arrived at Don Sak, on the mainland. The same minibus led us to the Nipa Garden Hotel, where we all got to our rooms to rest a little bit. At noon we met in the reception and went to a local restaurant where we ate all kinds of spicy and delicious Thai food dishes. After having lunch, we went to Tesco (It actually turned out to be the 12th anniversary of the widespread superstore) for a little shopping! Then we went back to our hotel one more time, this time to dress up in our Sunday best for the wedding party. Leaving the hotel located in the suburbs of Surat Thani, we headed for the country, getting closer and closer to Thai villages, and all their traditions. When we arrived all the village had got ready for the event and Pew the bride (one of our accountants in the SEC team) and Am the groom, were posing for photographs with all their guests and villagers at the entrance to the party amongst balloons and people. And of course all the staff made the most of the opportunity to take lots of pictures with them. Behind the happy couple all tables had already been prepared and people were beginning to sit downto have their dinner. We had the choice of a wonderful array of Thai food and were given a constant stream of sodas. The atmosphere was very relaxed during which the master of ceremonies was on the podium presenting the event, talking about the bride, the groom, how they met, their parents, relatives…

Daow, our graphic designer, was the photographer of the event just to keep track of this unique event of a lifetime. The actual ceremony was to be held the following morning, so we went back to our hotel and went out to party in Surat Thani downtown. We first went to a restaurant to taste delicious seafood and celebrate Miriam’s birthday (Our magazine editor in the Marketing Department), as we are used to doing for each person’s birthday (Having a cake and blowing candles out in front of all the staff strengthens teambuilding).

This is when Khun Heng joined us, who’d been slightlydelayed by meetings on Koh Samui. After some time we went out to some nightclubs. The clubs were full, the music was great and we really enjoyed dancing till we dropped that evening.

The day after, at dawn, we went to the official ceremony, held in the same village. Eating spicy food for breakfast (why not) and then attending the wedding in P’Pew’s house. Many people were already sitting in the house. Every one of us had to bless them with a bunch of wet leaves, which we had to shake a little over the bride and grooms head whilst wishing them good luck for the future. After spending a while at the wedding, we left making sure to bid farewell to the new couple and wishing them happiness and well-being one more time. The last stop-over of the company trip was be the Rat Cha Pra Pha Dam, close to the city of Surat Thani and not so far from the world-famous Khao Sok National Park. There, the scenery is wonderful, cut-edge mountains and water all around the flowery
park. This trip was unforgettable, with all of us in a good mood for these two days. Now it was time to go back to the island; and I’m sure everyone enjoyed our teambuilding adventure.