It was a hot afternoon as the four of us – Dad, Mom, Leen and me - were breezing our way through the sidewalks going to the Grand Palace, one of Thailand’s tourist destinations. Leen and I have been to the palace grounds before, so it was our turn to be the guides. We hurriedly passed by street vendors selling all kinds of food, wares, souvenirs and anything that would tempt every tourist to part with his money. As we arrived at one of the gates, I saw a sign which warned visitors not to trust strangers. I couldn’t agree more, I’ve heard of some tourists being hoaxed in this famous place. Anyway, we learned from the guard that the palace will close at 3pm… I glanced at my watch, it was already 3pm! We were almost running as we hurried up to the main entrance, but to no avail… the ticket counters were already closed. We decided to take photos of the view outside instead.
As Leen was busy setting up her camera and tripod, I fumbled for the digicam inside my bag… and to my horror, it was not there! So that’s why I felt my bag was lighter than it should be. I tried to search for it again but it was not really there. The warning sign at the gate flashed through my mind and I felt like my world was crumbling that instant… the digicam was not mine, it was my cutie sis’ precious cam. Different thoughts were running through my head that time… I was thinking of the cost of replacing the cam, did somebody pick it from my bag when we were posing, or some vendor took it when we walked through the busy streets… I was so shocked… but I kept it to myself. I didn’t tell anybody about it, and just acted as if I didn’t lose some $500 worth of digicam. I don’t now why I didn’t want them to know. Maybe because I was still hoping it was not missing and telling them about it would just verify its loss. I still kept a cheery face as we posed and smiled and admired the view. But deep within, I just wanted to cry… I wanted to go back to the car and check out the back seat - I might have left it there… I was actually praying that I just left it there… though it seemed not possible at all. 
We left the palace grounds and headed towards the Maharat Pier beside the Chao Phraya river. I looked at some boats cruising by… it was a peaceful view, so much different from what I felt inside, being so restless and worried…. still thinking about the digicam.
“Can you take a pic of me beside the river?” Mom asked, startling me with my thoughts.
Uh-oh. I felt trapped.
I immediately told her, “No, I can’t.”
“Why not?” she was surprised as she asked, she couldn't understand why I won’t.
I told her as calmly as I could, “I can’t take your pic, the camera is not with me.”
Now I really have to tell her the truth.
Then she asked again, “why can’t you take a pic… the camera is here in my bag!”
Wow! I can’t believe what I’ve just heard. I thought I was dreaming when she said it! So, it was with her all the while… I could have placed it in her bag during one of our walks. Silly me! Had I told her earlier about it, I could have saved myself from unnecessary worrying. Anyway, I still managed to hide my feelings inside - so much relief and happiness. I casually took the digicam from her, though I could sense my hands were shaking a bit as I held it. I acted as if I knew it was with her all the while.
Well, I still didn’t tell them about the ‘lost’ digicam until now, not even Mom. It’s only a secret between you and me. : )
I would be freaked out if I lost a $500 camera, too. Luckily, my camera’s not that expensive. 
I also put it in my front pocket (either shirt or pants), so I know it’s always there. Welcome back, btw! 
Nice pictures, I wish I’m taking them. Lucky you, you lost something and found out you didn’t and what a feeling. I remember when my first SLR, an olympus om2 was stolen from my car when I parked it to picked up an automatic winder from the store excited to go click, click but nothing to install it on. From that time on, now with smaller digitals, I’m always conscious it’s tied securely right on my belt where I could feel it and not leave any in the car.
Posted by vic at January 14, 2007, 3:06 amsnglguy: not that young anymore… maybe it was because i just woke up from a nap, so i was a bit disoriented. 
yep it was really a long stay, but still kulang pa rin sa time… wasn’t able to play around much with my pamangkins.
Wil: well, you would even freak out more if that camera isn’t yours. after that incident i now put the cam in a separate pocket, still in the bag which is a sling type which i always put in front to avoid some pickpockets.
vic: yes, thanks to Leen for the pretty pics. now, i know how it feels to have lost a digicam…i am more careful now, making sure it’s in a safe place. too bad your SLR was stolen, tsk tsk… 
sana nagtanong ka ng maaga para mas naenjoy mo yung mga sites, diba?
carey,dapat gi-misscall nimo ang digicam para nakabalo ka naa diay sa imong mama nyahaha
really nice views…you’re so lucky to have seen it w/ your own eyes*sigh*
p.s. hope you’ll be able to update regularly now
la ko gikuyawan yo kay naa man ka pics gi butang sa imo post, so that means wala nawala ang digicam. later nako kabantay nga kang aileen diay na pics. =) may ra sad!
Posted by Daisy at January 15, 2007, 9:24 pmtin-tin: you can say that again i was worrying over nothing. prolonged tuloy ang agony…
raine: mao gyud, hehehe… that’s also what we tell somebody kung naay mawala niya like eyeglasses or watch. maybe in the future, most of our possessions would have that chip that we could signal with our mobile phones if ever they get lost? and they would not only make a ringing sound, but they would also fly slowly and return back to us, hmmm…
yep, hopefully i would get to post regularly in this blog…
Daisy: yup both pics are from aileen’s cam. uy sayang wala ka gikuyawan nga imo ra ba ning cam unta ang nawala. well, if it was really lost, i could have told u asap anyway.
Posted by ideasnpink at January 16, 2007, 4:53 pmwelcome back, carey! thanks for sharing the pictures. ganda naman dun!
Posted by bea at January 17, 2007, 8:40 ambea: hey thanks! yup, ganda talaga… one of Asia’s best.
Posted by ideasnpink at January 18, 2007, 2:31 pmAll comments are moderated. Your comments will not appear here unless approved by the blog owner. Thank you.
Ideas are powerful. A train of thought can make or break, build or destroy. The choice is ours. Our ideas become our future. I believe that life’s meaningful lessons are best learned when shared with others.
Oh so young and so absent-minded…
Hey welcome back, Carey! That was a really long tour of Thailand. I managed to stay for a few days, pero ikaw isang buwan. LOL
Posted by snglguy at January 13, 2007, 7:11 pm