April 21st, 2020 (pt.1)
Wow, remember that time I said I wouldn't procrastinate on this?
Me neither, apparently.
It's been over four months since the last time I updated this, and things have gone crazy in so many ways since then- both good and bad. In my defense, I was planning on updating this on February 23rd, but that didn't happen for whatever reason and I can't recall why. I remember getting incredibly sick with a stomach bug somewhere in that general time frame, so I'll blame it on that. I have a list of things that I did, and I believe I left off on my last entry with Christmas. So I'll start there.
My first host family took me to Koh Chang for the new year. Koh Chang, which translates to Elephant Island, is an island near Trat (about two hours southeast of Chanthaburi) and is a popular tourist spot. I had the amazing opportunity to spend the new year snorkeling in tropical waters, with colorful fish and beautiful scenery that looked like something out of a movie. I never thought I would see something like that in person, and it was incredible to be able to experience it.
After Koh Chang was the Rotary sponsored north trip. I, along with all of the other exchange students, traveled to several sites and cities in the northern region of Thailand. Northern Thailand is known for its elephants and temples, and I was able to see both of those several times. The cities included Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Lampang, Sukhothai, and many others, and the trip lasted over a week.
We started off the trip with a wonderful 12 hour bus ride up to Chiang Rai. After 20 minutes to change and shower, we got back on the bus to visit the Blackhouse Museum. We then moved on to visit Doi Tung, an area uplifted by Thailand's former queen. We visited the garden dedicated to her and her accomplishments, and we went on a tour of her house in Doi Tung to learn about her life. After learning about her and what she did, it was much easier to understand why the entire country grieved and why they did so for so long when she passed away. The tour was then followed up with the walking street in Chiang Rai, where I had som tum so spicy that I cried and I also tried eating bugs. I'm pretty sure what I ate was a maggot, and I can say with confidence that I will probably never eat one again.
We started the next day by going to Chiang Rai's infamous white temple, which is painted in such a way to represent purity. It was enormous and and absolutely beautiful and breathtaking, in a way that pictures can't really capture. All I can really say is that I hope to visit it again someday. We then visited some hot springs, and both locals and tourists were able to dip their feet into the insanely hot rivers and streams. I wasn't able to last more than five seconds, and I still find it almost insane that it was even allowed. In America, there would've been so many restrictions in a place like that, and it was refreshing and also a bit terrifying to see a lack of such. But either way, I enjoyed it, and we later visited the walking street in Chiang Mai. The next morning was spent on a hike through the canyons and cliffs of Phachor, followed by a few temples and waterfalls. The day after that was almost completely filled with nothing but temples, including ones that I wasn't allowed into. The explanation behind it was that there was a Buddha statue beneath the transparent floor, and women are not allowed to be above the Buddha. Also, all the guys who went in weren't allowed to take pictures, so I never got to see it and simply pretended that I wasn't ticked off. On the bright side, though, we went on a rafting trip immediately afterwards. I got to see several of my friends shoved into the water, and after we reached our destination, we spent a good half hour in the river. Several of the inbounds attempted flips into the water, including myself.
I landed on my back both times. It hurt. And it was very embarrassing.
We also saw a herd of wild elephants, about a hundred feet downstream from us. They simply wandered into view, then stood in the river and didn't even bat an eye at us. Asian elephants are surprisingly small, at least in comparison to what I would always see in documentaries or online. They're still absolutely enormous, but they lack the tusks and the large ears and usually have skin that's splotchy and brown instead of the gray that I was expecting. Later that night, the tour company and Rotary hosted a gathering for the inbounds and we participated in a traditional Thai ceremony. It's a ceremony meant to bless travelers, where a white string is tied around the wrist and must be kept on for at least three days. (When I saw some of the inbounds several months later, they still had it on. It was no longer white.) Afterward was a birthday party for two of the other inbounds, and all I can really say is that I'm jealous that my eighteenth birthday didn't go the way theirs did.
I feel like I've never really mentioned the sketchy car rides here. I mean, I've probably mentioned them, but I don't think I've talked about them in detail. Now would be a good time to do so.
Songthaew is the name of the localized public transportation in Thailand. It's usually a pickup truck, sometimes with a roof over the bed, and passengers sit in the bed of the truck across wooden benches. There are no seat belts, and they're usually very overcrowded. What I'm trying to say here is that we crammed all twenty-three exchange students and four chaperones into three Songthaew, and it wasn't a comfortable ride up the mountain via the sketchy dirt road where we got up close and personal with the elephants. That being said, the elephants were amazing and completely worth it. We learned about their food, their medicine, and even how to make paper out of elephant dung, which I wouldn't recommend even though it's completely sanitary. We later had the opportunity to feed the elephants (they really like sugar cane) and even bathe them, and it was an amazing experience over all. We then went to a local restaurant (after another sketchy Songthaew ride), which was located in a park and was centered all around butterflies. Everyone was given a flower upon entry, and butterflies were floating everywhere as we ate and explored the gardens. After that, we were given time to explore the Chiang Mai Hill Tribe Community, which is reserved for Thai traditionalists and native communities. Most of their lifestyle centers around simple agriculture and craftsmanship, which they sell to the public, and afterwards we moved on to a cafe suspended over the water. The chairs were suspended over running streams and even some of the tables were partially submerged. And no, I didn't fall in.
My friends did, and it was disastrously amazing.
There have been a few moments since coming to Thailand where I've seen something and immediately thought, oh, this is something that _____ would love. I immediately thought of my mom when I saw an emerald silk scarf, I thought of a friend when I saw a certain kite, and I thought of my brother when I saw a pair of stupidly, ridiculously competitive teenage boys just being general idiots at my school. That last one has nothing to do with anything, I just wanted to make fun of my brother, but on that note, there was one thing on the trip that reminded me of my sister more than anyone else.
The umbrella making center in Chiang Mai is exactly what it sounds like, but it was also so much more. The entire place focused on arts and crafts centered around mostly sun umbrellas, but it had amazing displays of artwork, carvings, and general craftsmanship. They had classes for making bamboo umbrellas, and there were half a dozen stations for painting and general creativity. My friends and I all had our phone cases painted, and inside the gift shop were dozens of amazing tapestries with handmade jewelry. The entire place was alive with color and creativity, and if my family ever comes to visit Thailand, I would want my sister to visit the place. She's got an amazingly creative mind and I know she would love it. Also, this is probably the one and only time I will compliment Katie on here. Savor it. It's not happening again.
Next was Lampang, which is a city that became known for horse drawn carriages for whatever reason. I don't know why that idea stayed with the city, but either way, there are constant tours of the city via thirty minutes of riding in a carriage, and I found it to be quite enjoyable. The next day, we toured some of the older sites near Lampang, similar to Ayutthaya. We finished the trip with an extra spicy lunch (I didn't cry this time), and then we parted ways. I stayed with a few other inbounds in Korat, and then I was able to make it back home the next day.
I should also mention that after I got back, I unpacked everything, washed it all, and then immediately repacked everything and more to move to my second host family.
My second host is made up of four of the nicest people I've met. My host mom is an English teacher, my host dad is a military officer, and my host brothers live in Bangkok for university, with one of them also in the military. My host dad and brothers aren't around very often, but they're still incredibly kind and my host dad loves to talk to me about almost anything. A few days after I moved in, the entire family took a weekend trip to Bangkok, where I discovered the BTS, several stores and shops that I loved, and the importance of not looking like a tourist. Seriously, they charge so much extra if you look like a tourist. Either way, I had a blast, and we later visited a Buddha statue under construction followed by a water market.
After the short trip, I adjusted to the new family, which was usually just me and my host mom. She taught me about several Buddhist teachings and helped me learn to cook a few Thai dishes, and I also got used to walking to school every morning instead of being driven. During that time, the school was also celebrating something similar to open house, since the school year was drawing to a close. The school's outdoor pathways were turned into a market of sorts, and competitions were held throughout the day. Afterwards, with classes winding down, I spent most of my free time in dance class. The next weekend, my host dad came to visit and we all went to a cafe, followed by dinner at Chaolao beach. The seafood was absolutely incredible, and I got to enjoy it with the sun setting on the waves right in front of me.
Over all, things were going amazingly well, and at that time in late January, I hadn't even heard of Covid-19 yet. There's a lot more to talk about, but considering the fact that this entry is too long already, I'm going to split it in half.
Enjoy 118 upcoming pictures. It's a pain in the rear to organize them all without them shifting around like a Microsoft Word document in 2010, so I'm going to leave them in this infuriating 'one by one' format.
Me neither, apparently.
It's been over four months since the last time I updated this, and things have gone crazy in so many ways since then- both good and bad. In my defense, I was planning on updating this on February 23rd, but that didn't happen for whatever reason and I can't recall why. I remember getting incredibly sick with a stomach bug somewhere in that general time frame, so I'll blame it on that. I have a list of things that I did, and I believe I left off on my last entry with Christmas. So I'll start there.
My first host family took me to Koh Chang for the new year. Koh Chang, which translates to Elephant Island, is an island near Trat (about two hours southeast of Chanthaburi) and is a popular tourist spot. I had the amazing opportunity to spend the new year snorkeling in tropical waters, with colorful fish and beautiful scenery that looked like something out of a movie. I never thought I would see something like that in person, and it was incredible to be able to experience it.
After Koh Chang was the Rotary sponsored north trip. I, along with all of the other exchange students, traveled to several sites and cities in the northern region of Thailand. Northern Thailand is known for its elephants and temples, and I was able to see both of those several times. The cities included Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Lampang, Sukhothai, and many others, and the trip lasted over a week.
We started off the trip with a wonderful 12 hour bus ride up to Chiang Rai. After 20 minutes to change and shower, we got back on the bus to visit the Blackhouse Museum. We then moved on to visit Doi Tung, an area uplifted by Thailand's former queen. We visited the garden dedicated to her and her accomplishments, and we went on a tour of her house in Doi Tung to learn about her life. After learning about her and what she did, it was much easier to understand why the entire country grieved and why they did so for so long when she passed away. The tour was then followed up with the walking street in Chiang Rai, where I had som tum so spicy that I cried and I also tried eating bugs. I'm pretty sure what I ate was a maggot, and I can say with confidence that I will probably never eat one again.
We started the next day by going to Chiang Rai's infamous white temple, which is painted in such a way to represent purity. It was enormous and and absolutely beautiful and breathtaking, in a way that pictures can't really capture. All I can really say is that I hope to visit it again someday. We then visited some hot springs, and both locals and tourists were able to dip their feet into the insanely hot rivers and streams. I wasn't able to last more than five seconds, and I still find it almost insane that it was even allowed. In America, there would've been so many restrictions in a place like that, and it was refreshing and also a bit terrifying to see a lack of such. But either way, I enjoyed it, and we later visited the walking street in Chiang Mai. The next morning was spent on a hike through the canyons and cliffs of Phachor, followed by a few temples and waterfalls. The day after that was almost completely filled with nothing but temples, including ones that I wasn't allowed into. The explanation behind it was that there was a Buddha statue beneath the transparent floor, and women are not allowed to be above the Buddha. Also, all the guys who went in weren't allowed to take pictures, so I never got to see it and simply pretended that I wasn't ticked off. On the bright side, though, we went on a rafting trip immediately afterwards. I got to see several of my friends shoved into the water, and after we reached our destination, we spent a good half hour in the river. Several of the inbounds attempted flips into the water, including myself.
I landed on my back both times. It hurt. And it was very embarrassing.
We also saw a herd of wild elephants, about a hundred feet downstream from us. They simply wandered into view, then stood in the river and didn't even bat an eye at us. Asian elephants are surprisingly small, at least in comparison to what I would always see in documentaries or online. They're still absolutely enormous, but they lack the tusks and the large ears and usually have skin that's splotchy and brown instead of the gray that I was expecting. Later that night, the tour company and Rotary hosted a gathering for the inbounds and we participated in a traditional Thai ceremony. It's a ceremony meant to bless travelers, where a white string is tied around the wrist and must be kept on for at least three days. (When I saw some of the inbounds several months later, they still had it on. It was no longer white.) Afterward was a birthday party for two of the other inbounds, and all I can really say is that I'm jealous that my eighteenth birthday didn't go the way theirs did.
I feel like I've never really mentioned the sketchy car rides here. I mean, I've probably mentioned them, but I don't think I've talked about them in detail. Now would be a good time to do so.
Songthaew is the name of the localized public transportation in Thailand. It's usually a pickup truck, sometimes with a roof over the bed, and passengers sit in the bed of the truck across wooden benches. There are no seat belts, and they're usually very overcrowded. What I'm trying to say here is that we crammed all twenty-three exchange students and four chaperones into three Songthaew, and it wasn't a comfortable ride up the mountain via the sketchy dirt road where we got up close and personal with the elephants. That being said, the elephants were amazing and completely worth it. We learned about their food, their medicine, and even how to make paper out of elephant dung, which I wouldn't recommend even though it's completely sanitary. We later had the opportunity to feed the elephants (they really like sugar cane) and even bathe them, and it was an amazing experience over all. We then went to a local restaurant (after another sketchy Songthaew ride), which was located in a park and was centered all around butterflies. Everyone was given a flower upon entry, and butterflies were floating everywhere as we ate and explored the gardens. After that, we were given time to explore the Chiang Mai Hill Tribe Community, which is reserved for Thai traditionalists and native communities. Most of their lifestyle centers around simple agriculture and craftsmanship, which they sell to the public, and afterwards we moved on to a cafe suspended over the water. The chairs were suspended over running streams and even some of the tables were partially submerged. And no, I didn't fall in.
My friends did, and it was disastrously amazing.
There have been a few moments since coming to Thailand where I've seen something and immediately thought, oh, this is something that _____ would love. I immediately thought of my mom when I saw an emerald silk scarf, I thought of a friend when I saw a certain kite, and I thought of my brother when I saw a pair of stupidly, ridiculously competitive teenage boys just being general idiots at my school. That last one has nothing to do with anything, I just wanted to make fun of my brother, but on that note, there was one thing on the trip that reminded me of my sister more than anyone else.
The umbrella making center in Chiang Mai is exactly what it sounds like, but it was also so much more. The entire place focused on arts and crafts centered around mostly sun umbrellas, but it had amazing displays of artwork, carvings, and general craftsmanship. They had classes for making bamboo umbrellas, and there were half a dozen stations for painting and general creativity. My friends and I all had our phone cases painted, and inside the gift shop were dozens of amazing tapestries with handmade jewelry. The entire place was alive with color and creativity, and if my family ever comes to visit Thailand, I would want my sister to visit the place. She's got an amazingly creative mind and I know she would love it. Also, this is probably the one and only time I will compliment Katie on here. Savor it. It's not happening again.
Next was Lampang, which is a city that became known for horse drawn carriages for whatever reason. I don't know why that idea stayed with the city, but either way, there are constant tours of the city via thirty minutes of riding in a carriage, and I found it to be quite enjoyable. The next day, we toured some of the older sites near Lampang, similar to Ayutthaya. We finished the trip with an extra spicy lunch (I didn't cry this time), and then we parted ways. I stayed with a few other inbounds in Korat, and then I was able to make it back home the next day.
I should also mention that after I got back, I unpacked everything, washed it all, and then immediately repacked everything and more to move to my second host family.
My second host is made up of four of the nicest people I've met. My host mom is an English teacher, my host dad is a military officer, and my host brothers live in Bangkok for university, with one of them also in the military. My host dad and brothers aren't around very often, but they're still incredibly kind and my host dad loves to talk to me about almost anything. A few days after I moved in, the entire family took a weekend trip to Bangkok, where I discovered the BTS, several stores and shops that I loved, and the importance of not looking like a tourist. Seriously, they charge so much extra if you look like a tourist. Either way, I had a blast, and we later visited a Buddha statue under construction followed by a water market.
After the short trip, I adjusted to the new family, which was usually just me and my host mom. She taught me about several Buddhist teachings and helped me learn to cook a few Thai dishes, and I also got used to walking to school every morning instead of being driven. During that time, the school was also celebrating something similar to open house, since the school year was drawing to a close. The school's outdoor pathways were turned into a market of sorts, and competitions were held throughout the day. Afterwards, with classes winding down, I spent most of my free time in dance class. The next weekend, my host dad came to visit and we all went to a cafe, followed by dinner at Chaolao beach. The seafood was absolutely incredible, and I got to enjoy it with the sun setting on the waves right in front of me.
Over all, things were going amazingly well, and at that time in late January, I hadn't even heard of Covid-19 yet. There's a lot more to talk about, but considering the fact that this entry is too long already, I'm going to split it in half.
Enjoy 118 upcoming pictures. It's a pain in the rear to organize them all without them shifting around like a Microsoft Word document in 2010, so I'm going to leave them in this infuriating 'one by one' format.
Koh Chang, where I couldn't take pictures or capture the beauty at all:
Blackhouse Museum:
Doi Tung:
Walking Street:
White Temple (surprising, right? Oh, what, you thought it would be golden or something?):
Still at the White Temple, this time featuring my sister Katie:
Nearby temples, the names of which I don't know:
Oh look, a hot spring.
Phachor:
More temples and a waterfall and then more temples:
Side note about this specific picture: we were playing a game (started in the picture above) where everyone is given a slip of paper with someone else's name on it. If someone shows you the slip with your name on it and you see it, you're out. I was one of the finalists, and you can probably see how stressed I was that someone was going to shove a paper with my name in my face.
I won.
Probably the moment I decided I was going to show off and try to do a flip and unintentionally hurt myself after rafting:
Hey lookie here it's elephants:
Butterfly garden:
Hill Tribe Community, and also a water cafe:
Umbrella Making Centre:
Carriages in Lampang:
(See? See that? I took a picture of my reflection on a window. I'm so skilled. So proud of myself..)
Temples but Older:
A random cafe where I spent my last few hours with my first host family, and also a picture of the entryway to the house that I spent like six months in and a picture from the market near said house and a picture from the street that said house is on (featuring my youngest host brother):
Buddha statue near Bangkok, after switching families:
I thought markets in San Francisco were badly crowded sometimes but NOPE (also haha look chilis that would probably me cry):
Wow look I cooked something:
Literally just a random picture on my walk to school. Just. A random picture:
Dance uniform:
Beach dinner with my host parents:
Me finally finishing this blog entry at 3:05 A.M. after spending too many minutes rearranging the pictures to be chronologically ordered and wishing I had decided on making PowerPoint presentations instead of a blog:
Goodnight. I'll post the other couple of months later.
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