Hey there, treasured reader! My name is Clay Boeninger, and I am a rising third-year student at the University of Alabama majoring in economics and finance and minoring in Spanish and liberal arts through the Blount Scholars Program. I am also a member of the second ever UA in Thailand: International Economics program. Led by one of my favorite faculty members at UA, Dr. Paan Jindapon, and his wife Namwan Jindapon, we are a small but mighty group of 10 students all enrolled in EC 308 while abroad. As I write this blog post, I am on an airplane traveling from Chiang Mai in the northern part of Thailand all the way to Phuket in the southeastern part of the country, though I will post these blogs after I travel home to the U.S. Thus far, we have spent 11 days in Bangkok, Thailand’s capital, and 6 days in Chiang Mai. We will spend 4 days in Phuket before our experience is officially over. However, I will be staying with my grandfather in Bangkok for 6 additional days, so I won’t fly back to America until June 28th. Anyhow, for my first blog post I plan to describe the process of getting to Thailand as well as my experience in Bangkok. Later, I will write to you all about Chiang Mai and Phuket as well. These posts will likely be pretty lengthy, so hopefully I can keep you all entertained enough with all of the incredibly cool experiences we have had while on this trip. In case you cannot read all of my posts, here is the TL; DR: If you have any interest in economics or Southeast Asia or just studying abroad in general, I could not more highly recommend the UA in Thailand trip. Paan and Namwan have arranged excellent trips two years in a row (for info about last year’s trip, see Connor Higgins’ blog posts linked HERE), and I am sure they will continue to do so as long as the program is offered. Okay, now it is finally time for me to actually tell you about the trip.
Getting to Bangkok
As an Athens, OH native, I flew out of Columbus, the state’s capital, to commence my journey to Bangkok. After a largely uneventful flight to Philadelphia, I boarded the largest plane I have ever been on (I believe it was a Boeing 737-MAX 9) headed for Doha, Qatar. Colette Ingle, another student on the trip with me, was also flying from Philadelphia to Doha. We were unfortunately stuck on the tarmac for about an hour and a half due to a windshield wiper malfunction. However, we were soon enough in the air with ample time to make our connection in Doha. I tried to sleep on the flight to Doha, but despite being in the window seat, I was unable to sleep for more than 3 hours or so on the twelve-and-a-half-hour flight. Once we touched down in Doha, Colette and I walked breezily to what I thought was our correct gate. Key word: thought. You see, when I read the departures screen in the Doha terminal, I saw what looked like Flight 838 headed for Bangkok all the way at gate C58. So, naturally, I walked to gate C58. However, upon arriving at the gate, I realized that Paan and other students who were also supposed to be on our flight from Doha to Bangkok were not there. So, after figuring out the correct gate thanks to a text from Paan, Colette and I raced through the airport all the way back to gate B5 just in time for us to make our flight. Talk about a good first impression. Anyhow, we were soon in the air headed for Bangkok. I did not sleep a wink on this seven-hour flight, but thankfully my excitement for the trip and the instant coffee from the beverage cart gave me enough energy to power through the first day. We arrived at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok at around 6:00 a.m. local time, and I could hardly contain my excitement.
Day 1, May 31
After getting all of our bags from baggage claim, we climbed into a swanky van to drive to our hotel in the middle of Bangkok. Driving into the city was an experience unlike any other I have had in quite some time. It felt so energizing and inspiring to know that I would be spending the next 3 to 4 weeks exploring an entirely new country that seemed to have so much to offer. When we arrived at the hotel, Namwan and her daughter, Dara, greeted us with leis and a welcome gift bag, which was an incredibly kind gesture. We freshened up in our room and then had a much-needed meal at Took Lae Dee (which, in Thai, literally means “inexpensive and good”). After our early lunch, we went to a currency exchange place around noon and headed back to the hotel. My number one goal for the first day of our trip was to avoid jet lag if at all possible. Thus, despite being awake since the equivalent of 10:00 p.m. local time of the previous day, I was resolved not to take a nap. To be honest, even on my first day just hours into the trip, I was already feeling a sense of culture shock and homesickness. It sounds silly that I felt these things so early on but knowing that I was 8,000 miles away from home in a vastly different place from Athens, Ohio or Tuscaloosa, Alabama definitely took some getting used to. However, I leaned into these feelings, pushing myself to both connect with my family and close friends back home as well as seeking to foster new friendships with my peers on this trip. In the afternoon, I went back to Took Lae Dee with Paan and Namwan and the other students who arrived to Bangkok later in the day. For our early dinner, I had a quite stellar dish of chicken, cashews, and holy basil with rice. It was not long after dinner was finished that I fell asleep, sleeping hard until my internal clock jolted me awake for good at 5:00 a.m. the next day.
Day 2, June 1
On the second day of our trip, Conner, my roommate, and I had breakfast at the incredible buffet at the Montien Hotel. Really, all of the accommodations arranged for us by Paan and Namwan were quite impressive, and the amenities offered at the Montien were no exception. As a group, we walked around a mall close to the hotel to check out the different shops and restaurants that we would have the chance to try while in Bangkok. Then for lunch we went to a different mall to have an apparently very famous Thai hotpot restaurant; we were even serenaded at one point by the servers in the restaurant. After lunch, we walked around the mall some, those of us who needed SIM cards procured them, and then we went back to the hotel for a short break. For those curious about cell connection abroad, I found the foreign SIM card to work very well. I used the Verizon International Travel Pass program to keep me connected while on my way to Thailand, but since then I have been using a Thai SIM card. The cell reception—even in some fairly remote areas—has been surprisingly good. Anyway, for dinner we rode the SkyTrain to a pier, hopped on a public boat taxi to cross the Chao Phraya River, and finally arrived at the famous IconSiam Mall for an international buffet, which was quite delicious.
Day 3, June 2
After sleeping very hard thanks to our way-too-full tummies from the buffet the night before, we woke up on the third day of our trip ready to take on the historic and majestic Grand Palace and Wat Pho in Bangkok. I don’t exactly know what I was expecting from this tour, but I can undoubtedly say that the architecture and grandiosity of the Grand Palace blew me away. It was fascinating learning about the different regional influences on the architecture of the temples, stupas (the pointy things in the pictures. They are actually gravesites for royal family members!), sculptures of mythical beings, and the many murals inside the grounds of the Grand Palace. Our tour guide, an archaeologist by trade who once worked for the University of Pennsylvania in Laos, was nothing less than exceptional, always offering us the right information at the right time to deepen the complexity and nuance of the tour. At Wat Pho, also known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, we were met with even more stunning architecture and, go figure, a temple of a massive reclining Buddha. The pictures simply do not do it justice. I wish I had time to delve into all the interesting tidbits I learned about these temples, but I do not. Suffice it to say, the Thais deserve more respect for their religious architecture.
After our exhaustive tour of the Grand Palace and Wat Pho, we walked to a hip coffee shop nearby to cool off from the beating sun. Maybe this was ignorance on my part (it was), but I had no clue that Thailand would be as warm as it ended up being. Okay, sure, we’re in a tropical location, it’s going to be warm. But man, it is hot here. The air is thick with humidity and the sun shines down with unabandon, even though we’re supposed to be in the rainy season. Nevertheless, it gets hotter; the locals here have told us that it can get even hotter (up above 110 Fahrenheit!) on a somewhat consistent basis during the warmest parts of the year. So, all things considered, we made out pretty well with the weather. After we guzzled down our Thai teas and iced lattes and cold chocolates, we walked to a restaurant right on the river for a much-needed bite to eat. As usual, Paan and Namwan ordered the dishes for the table to share, which has proved to be quite helpful given that I would never think to try many of the things that have ended up on my plate.
With our bellies full and our bodies cooled, we ventured outside once more to take a short walking tour through some of the back alleys of Chinatown. Since we were sort of off the beaten path, I felt that we were able to start to grasp how the people of Bangkok really lived. We saw stores selling car parts, tucked away coffee shops, shrines adorned with red Fanta, and tough, industrious people finding a way to make their livelihood in the city. Weaving our way through Chinatown with our tour guide at the helm, we eventually found ourselves at the River Vibe Restaurant and Bar.
Traveling up the rickety, cramped elevator, we awaited the spectacular view that we were promised, and when we arrived at the top, that promise was surely fulfilled. Something about standing on the top of this eight-story building—the world around me suddenly quieter than before, the boats and the barges floating by in the river, the construction crew climbing the scaffolding of whatever skyscraper they were working on, the images of the spectacular sights today still in my mind—was incredibly calming and clarifying. At this point, I felt like I began to settle down in Thailand; at this point, I began to fully embrace Thailand, anxious to discover all it had to offer before my time was up. Back at the hotel for the day, the group arranged a much-needed pool session before hitting up Took Lae Dee for dinner once more.
Day 4, June 3
I know what you’re thinking, dear reader. “Clay!” you exclaim, “I thought this was study abroad! Where’s the studying?!” Well, if you must know, we are actually studying here, too. In fact, us ten students are all taking EC 308 (intermediate microeconomics for the uninitiated), and our first class was on our fourth day in Bangkok. Because much of the country was closed down for the Queen’s birthday, a national holiday in the constitutional monarchy of Thailand, our first class was administered in a conference room at Montien. I am incredibly grateful that Paan is the professor leading this trip since his lectures are always captivating and easy to follow. Because our program is so short, our classes have to be taken in 3-to-5-hour sessions, which could potentially be a nightmare with a monotone, droning professor. But never fear, Dr. Paan Jindapon is here to deliver an excellent lecture rife with guided practice problems and digestible explanations. For any current or future economics students at UA, I cannot recommend Dr. Jindapon (Paan as we call him) enough. Anyway, our first class was great, and it really got me excited for the actual education aspect of our education abroad trip. After class, the cohort was introduced to the heavenly, healing experience that is a Thai massage at Health Land Spa. Thai massage seems to be a fairly important part of the culture in Bangkok, as there is seemingly a massage parlor on every street corner, many of which are frequented by tourists and locals alike. According to a CNN banner hanging on the wall of the spa, Health Land was apparently the number one happiest place in the world at one point, and I believe it. The soothing aroma of lemongrass floated through the air, the staff was professional and calming, and the environment was very serene overall. Although I greatly enjoyed my massage and was quite happy by the end of it, there were some awkward parts throughout. For one, I often didn’t understand how the masseuse wanted me to position my body, which led to her yanking me by the waistband backwards on the mattress I was laying on. Additionally, since others were getting massaged in the same room as me, the masseuses often chuckled amongst themselves, presumably at the silly American students who didn’t know how to act at the spa. Nonetheless, I left the spa feeling more refreshed, relaxed, and loose than I had in a long time, which was great. To cap a great day, me and a few of the other guys on the trip went to Samyan Mitrown, a nearby mall, for dinner where we shared a smattering of dishes at a dim sum restaurant.
Day 5, June 4
Unfortunately, I do not have much to recollect from the fifth day of our stay in Bangkok since I woke up in the morning with some sort of stomach bug. Let me tell you, being sick so far away from home, holed up in a hotel room all day, is not the best feeling ever. However, Paan was especially helpful when I was sick (and when others were sick, too), getting me Sprite and Gatorade and rice soup whenever I asked for it. Again, I am incredibly grateful for such great leadership on this trip. Anyhow, the rest of the group had class in the morning and then met with a representative from the US-ASEAN Council. Although I wasn’t present for either of these events, others on the trip told me that both were quite valuable and that the ASEAN meeting was especially useful in better understanding Thailand and broader Southeast Asia.
Day 6, June 5
Luckily, I was already starting to feel better the next morning, so I was able to participate in the many amazing activities that took place on June 5th! Joined by our magnificent tour guide again, we hopped in a quite comfortable minibus and began the 2.5-hour drive to Kanchanaburi, Thailand. On our way, we were introduced to the horrid yet incredibly important history of the Death Railway, a rail system built by prisoners of war held by the Japanese during World War II. We had the sobering experience to walk through one of the main cemeteries honoring primarily British and Australian soldiers who died while working on the railway. Next door to the cemetery is the Thailand-Burma Railway Centre, an impressive museum curated for the sole purpose of popularizing and explaining the lesser-known tragedies that occurred in Thailand and Burma during WWII. Walking through the museum, I couldn’t help but feel immersed in the history of the railway, sympathizing with the prisoners of war, shuddering at the thought of enduring even a fraction of the pain and torture these men faced. The museum featured original boxcars used to transport prisoners of war, original sleepers used in construction of the railroad, and other personal artifacts of British and Australian men who built the railroad; it was quite impressive.
To supplement our history lesson, we drove the short distance to a market where we were able to walk to an access point of the original Death Railway. I felt an odd mixture of emotions while walking the tracks. Of course, I felt deeply saddened at the pain caused by construction of the railway, but I also couldn’t help but marvel at the beauty of where we were. For lunch, Namwan found a hole-in-the-jungle spot with a river view that served very traditional, and very tasty for that matter, Thai food. During our lunch we were swarmed by flies, the pests not deterred by the traps laid for them, but we also saw several Asian elephants bathing in the river with their human caretakers, which was quite cool. Yet another cool thing we did on this day was swim in some awesome waterfalls.
We arrived at Erawan Waterfalls with about 90 minutes to spare before the national park closed for the day. Erawan Waterfalls is a seven-tiered waterfall trail, and apparently the views get more spectacular the higher you climb. However, as I mentioned, our time was limited. So, following the advice of the kind lady who sold us our 100 baht towels (equivalent to $2.70 USD), we marched the half-mile hike to the fourth level, where we were greeted by a stunning pool brimming with fish. As we timidly walked into the cool water, the fish swarmed around our feet and ankles, nibbling at any semblance of dry skin they could find. This was a weird sensation, and I did not like it one bit. However, if I treaded water instead of simply relying on my life jacket to keep me afloat, the fish seemed to leave me alone.
At one point, someone got the bright idea to slide down the waterfalls into the pool. Other than me slipping once and almost requiring a trip to the emergency room (only slightly exaggerating), the waterfall slide was an excellent addition to the fun. With our time dwindling, Richard Jenkins and I walked down to the third level where Allison Trujillo, Colette Ingle, Dara Jindapon, and Paan were all swimming. The tour guide, who was conspicuously avoiding the waterfall altogether, promised us that there would be fewer fish on the third level; there were not. Nevertheless, Richard and I swam around the pool, eventually sliding up underneath the main fall and posing for some pretty sick pictures if you ask this blogger. Jumping off into the pool was fun, too.
Once we dried off and changed into our clean clothes, we got back in the minibus to head to the last spot on our tour of Kanchanaburi: the Bridge over the River Khwai. Paan and Namwan, the kind souls that they are, picked up a few South Korean tourists, one of whom was vlogging the whole encounter and asking outlandish questions to the group, and gave them a ride to their hotel at the bottom of the mountain. Additionally, since we were so close to Myanmar, there were many jewelry stores offering very solid deals on necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. Now, many of these good deals were secured in large part by Namwan’s excellent haggling skills. Often it seems her strategy is simply to pick a price and demand that the seller acquiesce to it which seems like it wouldn’t work very well, but it always does. Worn out after a long, eventful, and emotional day, we boarded the bus to head back to Bangkok; it wasn’t long before the whole crew was asleep. Dinner this evening was the fine, exquisite, authentically Thai establishment known as “Burger King.” Don’t hate; it was late, I was hungry, and I needed me a Whopper. It was just as aggressively average as it is in the Birmingham Airport back stateside.
Day 7, June 6
The next day, we had class at Chulalongkorn University in the morning. I was a little fearful that I would be farther behind from the rest of the class because I had missed class a couple of days earlier due to sickness. However, Paan was gracious and did a great job of reviewing the previous two lessons, which helped ease concerns about my standing in the class. After class the group went to another restaurant at Samyan Mitrtown, this one a Japanese fried chicken spot, for lunch. In retrospect, this was not the best choice in terms of cuisine, considering how we had a Muay Thai boxing lesson planned for just an hour later that day. However, the food was quite yummy, and it was good to spend time with the whole group. After a short rest at the hotel, we hopped in the van, and Paan drove us to the boxing gym for our two-hour session. Now, I like to consider myself fairly active: I lift weights, I run occasionally, I like to pretend I’m a good cyclist. Point being, I figured I could get through this silly little lesson just fine. Oh, how naïve you were, Clay, I say to myself now. This lesson kicked me in the rear. After just 30 minutes of practicing punches, kicks, elbows, pushups, squats, and crunches, I was sucking wind. Chugging my water beside the ring, it dawned on me that I had 90 more minutes to go. Three whole more repetitions of what I just barely completed. Even though I was exhausted, I was also having an incredible amount of fun. Despite being winded, I didn’t want to stop at all. Making the punching bag swing back and forth, hearing the instructor’s gloves pop when I hit them squarely, I felt stress inside me disappear and replace itself with pure elation. My form was probably terrible. Heck, I would still probably get destroyed by the 14-year-old shadow boxing in the corner, but man was I having fun.
Unfortunately, most good things must come to an end, and our Muay Thai lesson was no exception. The upside of good things coming to an end is that, often, more good things will appear later on as well. Profound, I know. Anyway, after we got back to the hotel, we immediately changed into our swim trunks and hurried to take a dip in the pool which was amazing after a long day of strenuous mental and physical activity. For dinner, I ate a crab omelet (Thai style) in the hotel restaurant with the rest of the crew as we reminisced on a great day together.
Day 8, June 7
Unfortunately, sometime between the evening of the 6th and the morning of the 7th, I became sick once again. However, I felt a touch better in the morning this time, so I mustered up the courage to go to class. I was glad I did since Paan’s lecture was the last section of content covered on the first of our three take-home (or, I guess, take-hotel) exams. Paan was very amenable to us regarding exams, as he frequently pushed due dates back so that we could focus more on cultural immersion instead of worrying about submitting our exams by a strict deadline. After class, I believe I just went back to the hotel room to rest for the rest of the day. On the docket for the day was a two-hour boat ride, and that simply wasn’t in the cards for me with an unreliable stomach. Luckily, I think the rest I got that afternoon and evening helped prepare me to fully participate the next day.
In addition to the boat ride, the rest of the class went to Khao San Road, a very popular and tourist-ridden market, in the evening. Although I didn’t experience Khao San Road this day, I did check it out with my grandpa after the rest of the group departed, so I figured I’d give y’all the rundown here. You can do just about whatever you want at Khao San Road. There are about 50 tailor shops, each with their own promoter hounding you (“Papa, Papa!” in my grandfather’s case) to stop in to buy the nicest suit in Bangkok. There are also tons of bars, all with promoters advertising the same happy hour pricing strategy as one another. Oh, and there’s deep fried scorpions and tarantulas and snakes and crocodiles for you to eat if you please. I did not please. Yuck. But within all of these tourist traps, there’s also some really good stuff, too. My grandfather and I ate dinner at an outdoor Western-food restaurant as we listened to a musician with a smooth voice strum through the discographies of Adele, Jason Mraz, and more. Plus, the people watching is unmatched. My favorite example was a group of Brits giddily piling into two tuk-tuks to be hauled off to whatever insane spectacle the tuk-tuk driver/event promoter promised them.
Day 9, June 8
I woke up on June 8th feeling better than I had in the last 36 hours, so I felt confident that I could fully participate in the group’s activities, which I was extremely grateful for later. We began the morning by piling perhaps too many people into a Grab (the Thai equivalent of Uber) and riding to the Chatuchak Weekend Market. On the way there, Paan was telling us about the market some, talking about how it’s one of the biggest in Southeast Asia, how you can get literally anything and everything here, stuff like that. I understood the words Paan was saying, but I didn’t understand the truth of what he was saying until we began to walk through the market. At Chatuchak, affectionately referred to as JJ Market (say Chatuchak ten times fast to see why), tens of thousands of stalls are filled with souvenirs, clothing, pets, coffee mugs, restaurant supplies, and so much more that I could quite literally go on all day. Sam, Mason, Richard, and I entered the market and shopped for what seemed like forever, turning left and right whenever we felt like it. It was fascinating to walk through the market and find an entirely new thing at each turn. When we decided it was time to start to head back to our meeting point, we found our way out of the labyrinth of stalls and realized that we had only seen a fraction of the market. Despite walking around for two hours, if not more, we had only seen a portion of what Chatuchak had to offer, which simply amazed me. Clearly, I thoroughly enjoyed this experience.
Once the group got back together, we had lunch at Black Canyon Coffee Company, which is well-known café and lunch chain in Thailand. Not wanting to test my tummy quite yet, I got a simple ham and cheese sandwich with potato crisps, a meal which was surprisingly tasty, if Americanized. We drove back to the hotel, this time in a significantly more spacious Grab car, and then we rested for a while before heading out for dinner. Dressing up slightly, the gang headed to the Shangri-La Hotel, where we boarded the Shangri-La Horizon River Cruise, a luxurious two-hour jaunt up and down the river. During our voyage, we grubbed on an impressive buffet with some very quality options, namely the chilled crab legs. I had many crab legs during the cruise. I won’t say how many, but many. We took some pretty cool pictures of the city lit up at night and then, surprise! I was greeted with a very kind gesture in celebration of my birthday (June 9th), as the cruise staff brought brownies for us to share, and I was gifted an amazing birthday t-shirt from Paan and Namwan. Yet again grateful for such a great group of people alongside me on this trip.
Day 10, June 9
Save for the 70 million residents of Thailand, not many people can say that they celebrated their 20th birthday in Thailand, so I guess that is pretty cool! To celebrate my birthday and for absolutely no other reason, we took a day trip to Ayutthaya on June 9th. Ayutthaya was the capital of Siam, the country that Thailand was for hundreds of years before Thailand became, well, Thailand in the 1930s. Since it’s such an historic city, there are numerous ruins of temples around the city that are must-see stops for anyone traveling around Thailand. Before touring our first temple of the day, Wat Chaiwatthanaram, we stopped by a traditional costume shop to adorn ourselves in the same style of clothing and jewelry that noblemen and women, and generally anyone of importance, would wear in ancient Ayutthaya. I was initially skeptical of how we might be perceived by Thai people around the temple, but I soon learned that there was no need for concern; the Thai people absolutely loved seeing Americans modeling their culture, albeit imperfectly. Many Thai locals asked for pictures with us, which felt somewhat silly to me, but I was glad that we could bring some joy into their days. Somewhat more oddly, a couple of Spanish-speaking tourists asked for a picture with us as well. I think they were laughing at us instead of celebrating the culture with us, but alas.
After touring the stellar ruins of Wat Chaiwatthanaram, we ditched the ancient attire for our regular clothes and went to a couple of different temples. At one, the head of a Buddha statue had grown into the base of a tree over the course of several hundred years, which was quite a cool site. Its coolness was matched and surpassed by the last temple we visited–Wat Ratchaburana—where over 100 kilograms of gold treasures were once buried. Looters made away with the majority of the treasure around 60 years ago, and unfortunately only ten percent of the original booty has been recovered since the theft. This temple is one of the more interesting ones I’ve toured because we were allowed to climb to the top and look down the hole that the looters dug to steal the gold. Normally, tourists cannot so much as touch the temple, much less climb up the stairs to the top, so this was a special experience for me.
After touring these temples, we went to the museum that houses the gold that was recovered from the original theft. We shared yet another quality meal for lunch before driving to Wat Phananchoeng, one of the oldest active temples in Thailand. Originally built over 700 years ago, the temple still houses Thai Buddhist monks and conducts regular Buddhist worship ceremonies. We also fed fish at this temple which sounds pretty banal but, in reality, was anything but. Hundreds upon hundreds of catfish fought ruthlessly for the cheese balls and grain pellets that we dropped in the water, which was definitely something to see. Once we were back at the hotel, we collected ourselves and walked to a nearby Mexican restaurant (yes, they do in fact have Mexican food in Bangkok) for my birthday dinner. This specific Mexican restaurant dishes out a free appetizer, entrée, and dessert if it’s your birthday, so obviously I took advantage of that. After some chips and salsa and a quite delicious birria quesadilla (I passed on dessert if you’re curious), I went to the closest grocery store to pick up some overpriced Ben and Jerry’s ice cream which I ate back in my hotel room before quickly falling asleep after such a long day. One of the coolest birthdays I’ve ever had, indeed!
Day 11, June 10
We changed location for class on June 10th, opting instead to have class at Bangkok University, a private institution of higher education that specializes in hospitality management-related fields of study. Credit to BU, the schedule they organized for us was quite comprehensive and, in just two days of class there, I felt that I got a pretty decent understanding of what life as a student is like. We began the visit with a general introduction to Thailand and its culture. Thanks to some brave students in the international program at BU, we were serenaded with the official name of Bangkok, one of the longest municipal names in the world. Yes, there’s actually a song to remember it. It’s that long. After our intro to Thai session was complete, we learned how to make a very tasty mocktail in BU’s bartending school. Additionally, we saw the mock hotel rooms and mock airplane that BU students use to learn how to manage hotel rooms and become flight attendants. The facilities were quite impressive. For lunch, we were given 100 baht ($2.70 USD) and told to go find something to eat at the canteen, the outdoor cafeteria where many other students were eating. I chose a classic chicken pad Thai, which was quite yummy for cafeteria food. After lunch, we met with the dean of economics and investment at BU, and she led us through a couple personal finance-oriented board games. Richard took the crown in both of the games we played.
Day 12, June 11
The next day, we were back at BU, this time for some EC 308 instruction. We worked on EC 308 all morning, stopping for a lunch break at McDonald’s (for some of us, others went back to the canteen), and then resuming for the final bits of content that would be included in the second exam. You might be thinking, “Didn’t you just have an exam?!” To which I would respond affirmatively with a highly relevant quote Ferris Bueller’s Day Off quote. Indeed, life does come at you fast, especially on a 3.5 week study abroad trip. After leaving BU, we drove to the train station where we would soon board a locomotive headed for Chiang Mai. While waiting for the train to come, I worked on my exam, figuring that it was better to get ahead of the curve while I could. For dinner, Paan and Namwan ordered some Japanese food, and we grubbed on that before catching the train around 7:00 p.m., thus ending our time in Bangkok!
I figure I’ll talk about my experience on the train in the next blog post; this one is already long enough. If you’re still here, thank you for either reading to the end or skipping down to it! I know this post was lengthy, but I wouldn’t be doing the UA in Thailand trip justice if I didn’t go into detail about what we had the privilege of doing while abroad. Can’t wait to tell y’all all about Chiang Mai. Until next time! Roll Tide and Roll Thailand!