For the second half of our trip we went to Chiang Mai in the northern part of Thailand. We took a sleeper train from Bangkok in order to get there. I had never been on a sleeper train, so it was a cool experience. We slept on a bunk bed in our own little room. It was hard to fall asleep though because of how much the train rocked.
We arrived in Chiang Mai the next morning. As soon as I walked out the station, I could tell this city was different. There was less of the bustle that there was in Bangkok. It was busy but not as busy as the capital city.
Chiang Mai had my favorite hotel of the three. We stayed in the Shangri-La, a 5 star hotel with every amenity you could possibly imagine as well as a great breakfast buffet. It’s worth noting that the service in this hotel as well as all the other hotels we stayed in was amazing. The people working there were very friendly and helpful. I was super impressed by the service we had at every restaurant and hotel we went to.
A lot of our time in Chiang Mai was spent outdoors. Since it’s in the mountains, the weather was cooler than Bangkok, which made being outside a lot easier. One of my favorite days was when we drove up Doi Inthanon (the tallest mountain in Thailand). It was very cloudy, so we couldn’t see much. But we were able to see the King and Queen’s chedi (stupa). They were very pretty and decorated with flowers that the people that live on the mountain grew. I thought the music they played at the stupas was very interesting. I was told they play jazz music because he loved jazz and even played in a jazz band.
We did some other very fun activities such as a cooking class, visiting more night markets, riding a roller coaster, spending the night on a mountainside, and going to a dinner show with traditional dancing.
Our next destination after Chiang Mai was Phuket. Phuket is an island in the southern part of Thailand. If you enjoy the beach, Phuket is a great place to go. It has a very beautiful beaches, and tons of different nice resorts to stay at. Our hotel was very nice because it had large pools and its own private beach.
In Phuket we took a boat ride to Phi Phi Island, which is a very pretty island that people have seen pictures of without realizing it. We snorkeled there and also were able to eat lunch on the beach.
The next day we went to an elephant sanctuary. We were able to feed, bathe, and play with the elephants. It was pretty unreal to casually hang out with an animal like that. They’re big animals but were very calm and gentle. By the end we had mud all over ourselves and all had to try and clean off.
The day after that we went to Phang Nga bay while some of the other people in our group went golfing/scuba diving. This trip was my favorite part of Phuket. We took a boat ride around the bay and even kayaked around some of the islands (we didn’t paddle). We even got to see James Bond island, which is called that because it has featured in different James Bond movies. Lastly we ate fresh seafood for lunch at a floating village. We even picked out the Lobster we wanted to eat.
The last day of our trip was spent surfing and sight-seeing. Surfing was really challenging but a cool experience. We were all super exhausted by the tine we had finished. After that we went to go watch the sunset. We got some good photos, but right after that the bottom fell out. It was a mad dash back to our van. We had to scamper up rocks and try and make it back up the trail. It didn’t seem fun at the time, but in retrospect it’s a good memory.
By the time it was time to go, I knew I would miss Thailand. It’s funny how I was nervous before we went, and by the end I didn’t want to leave. If anybody is reading this and trying to decide if study abroad is for them, I couldn’t recommend it more highly. I feel like I grew as a person because of it. I’m super grateful to Professor Jindapon, his wife Namwan, and daughter Dara for taking care of us. If you’re reading this and still looking for a study abroad program, I highly recommend microeconomics in Thailand.
