Many years ago when Matt, a close friend of mine, came to Thailand for the first time, a Thai lady said to him, "You are a lucky guy." That time, he never paid any notice or importance to what the lady said. He didn't know it was actually true - not until he experienced a series of good luck events in his life like getting an English teaching job at age 59, teaching in one of the best schools in Thailand , and appearing on Thai television as an artist in the ASEAN episode of Na Art Show on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Channel 6.

One time, he dropped by Pantip Plaza (a popular computer mall in Bangkok) to reformat his notebook. When finished, he took lunch at the food court and went home. The taxi he took had already been travelling for 20 minutes when he remembered his notebook. He immediately told the driver to return to Pantip. He was worried because he couldn't afford to lose his files. Upon reaching the fourth floor of the shopping mall he was perspiring like a prize athlete in a long race. He closed his eyes, muttered a prayer, and when he opened his eyes, "Eureka!" His bag and computer were there in front of him.

In another instance, Matt had a field trip to Cha-am as an end of term activity. The night before the trip, he had a premonition that something wrong would happen, but he couldn't tell what it was. Anyway, he went on the trip as planned. As he was taking a ride to school, he suddenly realised that his wallet was nowhere to be found. He searched everywhere, but couldn't find it. In his wallet was his ATM card, swipe card for his apartment, and some money. That moment, he thought that the bad luck had arrived. It was good that he had money in his pocket so he still proceeded on the trip. To console himself and not spoil his day, he told himself it was okay for the wallet to be lost, as long as the money would go to someone who needed it most. In the evening, as soon as he returned from the field trip, he rushed to the bus terminal. Unbelievably, someone had handed the wallet in.

In order that we won't lose our valuables when travelling, I thought of few hints and tips:

1. While in the bus, refrain from daydreaming. This will make you forget your things especially when you realize that you already have to get off.
2. Everytime you leave your seat anywhere, always check if you left something.
3. Before leaving home, check if your jewelries, gadgets, or accessories are in good condition.
4. Don't be confident that when you lose something you will find it again. We can't be sure that finders will return our items.
5. When you have a companion, let him/her remind you if you forget something.
6. Make it a point to keep your bus ticket and memorize the name/number of your taxi.
7. Put important things in your bag. At all times, never depart from it.
8. Don't put all your identification cards, etc in your wallet. Bring only the IDs you need for the day in case you lose your wallet, you won't lose everything.
9. Have your name, address, telephone number, or e-mail address on your items so that you be contacted when someone finds your lost item.

It's fortunate that our Filipino friends in Thailand have lost things and then found them. What a beautiful world this would be if nobody took things that were not theirs. I guess Thailand is not only The Land of Smiles, but also "The Lost and Found Kingdom."