'Siamese' Stories

In the late 90s, two Thai ladies embarked on a journey a little farther to the east and landed at the Philippine soil. Neither thought that they would be staying longer. Sasithara Sethanda-Moreno intended to attend college, while Sukhumarn Phanachet or “Pinky” to her friends was brought to the country by work at the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The former returned home and came back six years ago for good while the latter stayed with an aim to help alleviate poverty in the region.

Sasithara almost looks (and sounds) like a Filipina with a little streak of an oriental appeal. If you have no clue about her background, you’d probably think that she’s that typical local lass who hails in the province with her demure appearance. That is because she’s a half Thai, half-Filipina, married to a Filipino, and has spent six years in our country.

Probably, it’s safe to say that Sasithara traded her city life back in Bangkok to experience the tranquil and easy-breezy life that a province like Nueva Ecija in the Philippines offers. “It’s like living freely,” she notes, describing her life at the ‘farm,’ managing a family-owned rice mill business with her husband.

Pinky has to agree. In her 12 years in the country, she came to love the country’s natural beauty. She believes, however, that there’s still more to see than what tourism campaigns show the world.

Thailand may differ from the Philippines in many ways but the two ladies were able to adapt to the latter’s culture. During the 2008 global crisis, Thailand almost effortlessly came out of the rut. This is because Thai people are very practical, says Pinky. “Politics aside, they keep on working and that’s what Thailand did. We learned from what happened in 1997,” she says. And this is something that the Filipinos could learn from.

And if there’s anything that the Filipinos taught them, Saithara says “Filipinos inspire me to look at the positive side of things.” Pinky, on the other hand, believes the Filipinos have this take-it-easy attitude. Their ability to take things lightly – similar to the Thais – makes it a home away from home.

The interview conducted by Raju Mandhyan at Expat Insights, aired every Sunday at 9PM on GNN, Destiny Cable in the Philippines was light and educational.