Hello once again, treasured reader! I hope this blog post finds you well and in good spirits. Final quick intro, here we go: My name is Clay Boeninger, a rising third-year student at the University of Alabama studying economics and finance and minoring in Spanish and liberal arts through the Blount Scholars Program. I just wrapped up the UA in Thailand: International Economics trip where we traveled around Thailand from Bangkok to Chiang Mai to Phuket, all the while taking EC 308 (intermediate microeconomics). This post will center on traveling from Chiang Mai to Phuket and our final 5 days in Phuket. If you’re interested in learning about what study abroad in Bangkok or Chiang Mai looked like, click here and here, respectively. Okay, one final time, here we go!
Travel Day, June 18
Since our flight didn’t take off until 2:30 p.m., Paan let us sleep in a little bit before departing the hotel around 11:00 a.m. Luckily, the airport was only a short drive away, so we soon arrived at Chiang Mai National Airport (CNX). We checked our bags and found our way to the lounge of Bangkok Airways, Thailand’s “boutique” airline, according to themselves. Our snacking options were limited in the lounge, so a group of us went to McDonald’s, where I secured a much-needed Big Mac meal and an Oreo McFlurry. Again, nothing screams Thailand like American fast food. Anyhow, we eventually went through security in a jiffy, boarded our plane, took off, and veered South for Phuket. Our flight was fairly uneventful, other than the fact that they fed us a whole meal on a 2-hour flight. Come on American/Delta/Southwest/United, get it together. We landed around 4:30 in Phuket and met Paan’s incredibly kind and generous mother who greeted us with fans and snacks, both of which were much appreciated on a long, hot day. Because it takes an hour to get anywhere in Phuket (since the mountains make for windy and slow roads), we drove the requisite hour to our hotel. I am not sure if there was an elephant towel sculpture because we are from Alabama (Roll Tide) or because elephants are integral to the culture of Thailand, but it was a nice gesture, nonetheless. For dinner, we ate at the hotel’s beachfront restaurant which was a nice change of pace after a day of what seemed like constant running around. I ordered a Hawaiian pizza, and the fresh pineapple from the tropics really hit the spot (yes, pineapple does belong on pizza, no I will not debate that here).
Day 1, June 19
On our first full day in Phuket, we boarded a 9:00 a.m. ship headed for Phi Phi Island (pronounced Pee Pee due to Thai phonics). On the 2-hour boat ride to Phi Phi, we saw several stellar rock formations and islands in the sea. We cruised around the coast for a while, eyeing different coves and lagoons at each turn before we eventually docked at the main port on Phi Phi. Our ship separated into groups depending on the activity each passenger chose, so we fell in line with the snorkeling crew. After a short speedboat ride to the snorkeling area, we put on our goggles and snorkels and jumped in the water.
Over the course of our 40-minute snorkeling session, I saw several cool fish, marveled at the clear, blue water, and only brushed my foot up against one sea urchin! Even though it was only one urchin, it still hurt, so maybe mind the seafloor if you ever go snorkeling off the coast of Phi Phi Island (or just anywhere, I guess). For lunch, we ate at yet another beachfront restaurant and used any remaining time on the Island to swim in the beautiful water. On the boat ride back to the mainland, just about every UA in Thailander fell asleep, snoozing until we reached port again. In the evening, we went to Patong Beach, which is the main tourist destination in Phuket. Just like the other tourist destinations we’ve been to so far (Khao San Road, night markets in Chiang Mai, etc.), the people watching here was impeccable. After strolling around for a little while, we stopped to listen to a very solid cover band until it was time to rendezvous at our meeting point.
Day 2, June 20
On our second full day in Phuket, we had our final EC 308 class. Some tears were shed, for sure. Seriously though, the class was organized so effectively. I really feel that I learned so much in this class and that it greatly deepened my understanding of microeconomics in just three short weeks. I feel prepared to take on higher level economics courses, so I am grateful to Paan for putting together a curriculum that could accomplish so much in so little time. After class, Namwan delivered the lunch orders that she so graciously picked up for us, and we ate quickly because we had places to be. Shortly after finishing our teriyaki chicken sets, we headed to a nearby elephant sanctuary for an afternoon of feeding, bathing, and cleaning four Asian elephants. I am not sure what I expected out of this experience, to be frank. I mean, I knew it would be cool; it’s not every day you get to be up close and personal with an elephant. But man, this was special. We started the afternoon off by feeding the gentle giants fresh fruits such as watermelon and bananas. All we had to do was place the fruit in the trunk of the elephant, and it would curl the pieces up into its mouth. I couldn’t believe I was able to get so close to the elephants, petting their trunks, in awe of the intricate patterns on their bodies. We then mixed together a vitamin mixture (a mixture which Colette Ingle said she would eat, which was quite a wild take to me), and fed softball-sized chunks to the creatures as well. Afterward, we got down and dirty with the elephants, giving them mud baths which apparently have some sort of advantageous health effects. I can’t lie, this was pretty gross. But the grossness was matched and surpassed by the sheer coolness of it all. I was literally giving an elephant a bath! What?! We helped rinse the mud off the elephants in yet another pool (a pool in which the elephants’ feces were picked up barehanded by the professional trainers; kind of gross) and then walked them through what the sanctuary staff referred to as an elephant-sized car wash. After thoroughly showering off and changing clothes, we ate a late lunch at the sanctuary and headed back to the hotel for some pool time and dinner at the hotel restaurant. I still cannot get over how cool those elephants were.
Day 3, June 21
The next day we boarded another boat fairly early, except this time we rode an open-air longtail boat from the mainland of Phuket to Phang Nga Bay and James Bond Island. At Phang Nga Bay, a guide steered us around the magnificent rock formations via a little inflatable kayak. The tour was incredible. I couldn’t fathom the natural processes that must have taken place to result in such intricate rock structures. Once we had returned from the kayak tour, we got back on our longtail boat. The longtail boats here are quite interesting because they are powered by a truck engine. The captain of the boat can control the throttle and the gearing by tugging on a few different wrenches connected to the whole system, which is fascinating to me.
Our captain sped us over the James Bond Island, where several older James Bond movies have been filmed, I believe. I am not sure the significance of the main photo op with the dagger-shaped rock in the middle, but we got the picture anyway! I might need to go ahead and watch those movies… We also saw the leaning rock formation, where over the years two rocks have leaned toward each other without touching—pretty cool stuff! On the way back to the mainland, we stopped for lunch at a little island that primarily specializes in pearl farming. While we were waiting for our food to be brought to the table, we checked out the pearl offerings, but I unfortunately did not find anything I couldn’t live without.
Once we were back on the mainland, we drove over to a glass bridge-overlook that wrapped around the adjoining hotel and ended in a nice coffee and pastry shop. The views were immaculate, and the dessert at the coffee shop was just as good. That evening, we had dinner and a show at Siam Niramit, an incredibly impressive complex oriented around holding cultural programs showcasing ancient Thai history, culture, and dance. The production value at the show was impeccable, and I really wish I got pictures, but unfortunately photography was forbidden inside the theater. Now, I want you to imagine this: you’re sitting on the end of your group’s row. You’re thoroughly enjoying the show, trying to follow along with the history of the country as much as possible in a show without any words. Suddenly, a musical intermission act is on stage, but they’re missing someone. The actors are frantic, the spotlights are searching around the theater for the missing person, and the lights land on you. Yeah, that was my story. I had the privilege and the honor of walking on stage, wearing the conductor’s straw hat, and playing a percussive instrument with as little skill and rhythm as possible as the audience tried not to laugh at my mistakes. I’m being a little hard on myself. It was a really fun, if somewhat embarrassing, experience. And at the end I got a free scarf out of it, so it worked out in the end, I think.
Day 4, June 22
Welcome to our last full day in Thailand as a group! In the morning, a group of the guys went back to Patong Beach to rent jet skis for a little while. I had never ridden a jet ski before, but the learning curve was minimal at worst, so I caught on pretty quick. I did accidentally throw myself off one time, but otherwise I was careful and didn’t do anything to seriously endanger myself. In the afternoon, the water sports continued with a surfing lesson! The awesome instructors from Talay Surf School helped us learn, or at least try to learn, to surf. I was incredibly happy with my performance during the lesson given that I had never attempted to surf before. With the help of the instructor to tell me when to start paddling and when to stand up, I got up on several waves and rode them, albeit very slowly, almost all the way to the shore. On one occasion, I timed the wave by myself, paddling and standing up without an instructor telling me to do so. Once I did that, I was completely satisfied with the lesson, not caring what else I did or didn’t accomplish for the rest of the lesson.
When we were dried off and changed into the clean clothes we brought, we went to Promthep Cape, where the prettiest sunset in Southern Thailand is, so long as it’s not super cloudy. Unfortunately for us, it was indeed super cloudy, so we didn’t see much of a sunset. However, we still got some unreal views of the cape by walking down a somewhat sketchy trail to the cape’s point. As we were taking some very Instagram-worthy pictures, we noticed that the dark clouds in the background were becoming darker and closer. When I saw that, I immediately began sprinting back up the hiking trail to the vans. Unfortunately, I did not make it in time, getting absolutely drenched from a torrential downpour just minutes before we were scheduled to eat dinner. After the group had reconvened, we drove to a fish market nearby for dinner where each of us picked a type of marine life to cook and share with the table. This was some of the tastiest, freshest seafood I have ever had, so it was quite a good final stop on our tour of Thailand. Eating dinner on that last night, I couldn’t help but feel grateful for an excellent group who worked well together and generally made the trip better for one another.
Back at the hotel for the evening, I reluctantly packed my bags, signaling the beginning of the end of UA in Thailand 2024.
Day 5, June 23
The next day, we left the hotel at around 7:30 a.m. and drove to the airport. Our flight was delayed for about 90 minutes, but before long we had taken off and were headed for Bangkok. After landing in Bangkok, we said goodbye to Allison and then Paan, Conner, Colette, and Dara drove me back to Montien where my grandfather was awaiting me. I said goodbye to my new friends, and thus ended my study abroad experience.
I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have studied abroad this summer. Thank you to my family and the University of Alabama Education Abroad office for making this possibility into a reality for me. I had always heard about the transformative power of education abroad, but I think I am just now starting to grasp what that really means. I cannot wait to see how this experience changes and complicates the way I see the world in the coming weeks, months, and years. I cannot thank Paan and Namwan Jindapon enough for their hard work in organizing such a great trip. What’s more, Paan was a phenomenal professor on top of being a great study abroad faculty advisor. To reiterate something I said in my first blog post: if you have any interest in study abroad, Southeast Asia, and/or economics, I strongly encourage you to explore the UA in Thailand: International Economics program to see if that could be a possibility for you. For more information about the program, contact either Paan (pjindapon@ua.edu) or myself (cfboeninger@crimson.ua.edu). For more content from our trip, check out @uainthailand on Instagram, an account ran by the amazing Dara Jindapon that chronicled our daily excursions. Thank you again for tuning into my blog posts! Signing off for now. Roll Tide and Roll Thailand!