During my spring break this semester, I went on a trip to Thailand. The trip was mostly with other TEAN students, and during our week in Thailand we learned a lot about Thai people and their culture, while also having a ton of fun! It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I would definitely recommend to any student traveling in the Eastern Hemisphere.
We started off in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, where we ate tons of delicious Thai food, shopped at markets, and visited Buddhist temples while getting acclimated to the Thai culture.
This photos were taken in a Buddhist temple in Bangkok. The monks were teaching classes in the temple, which was something unexpected but really interesting! The temples were beautiful and ornate; most of them are located along the Chao Phraya River, the central river that divides Bangkok. We took longtail boats on a tour of the river, which is extremely polluted, as much of the city does not have adequate sanitation. It was really eye-opening to see that many people live their day-to-day lives this way.
After seeing the river, we stopped at two of the temples and walked around. It was extremely hot and humid out, but we had to be covered up out of respect for the Buddha and the monks, so we were sweltering! Luckily, we made sure to keep hydrated, and there were fans inside the temples. We even went inside to be blessed by a monk, but he was talking on his cell phone the whole time we were there, so we left. It was a really funny moment to see a monk using technology while on the job like that!!
From Bangkok, we made our way down to the southern part of Thailand to island-hop. To do this, we had to take a 13-hour overnight train. This was definitely one of the most eye-opening parts of the trip to say the least. There was no air conditioning, and if you have ever been to Thailand and experienced the heat and humidity there, you know that A/C is a blessing. Because there was no air conditioning, we had to keep the windows open on the train – which meant inviting bugs in. Luckily, I had a gigantic can of OFF and I sprayed enough bug spray on myself and the area around me to kill off any bug that entered the window. When I woke up the next morning (after a restless night during which I clutched my backpack so it wouldn’t get stolen and kept waking up to douse myself in more bug spray), there was a bug graveyard on my bed and on the windowsill. I was horrified to find that Thailand is home to some GIGANTIC bugs, but pleased that these varieties can be killed off by bug spray. The night train was definitely an experience (I won’t get into the “squatty potty” situation that was actually just a hole going down to the train tracks), and while I can’t say I enjoyed it, I definitely appreciate that other people travel this way in less developed places than home.
Next, it was time to go island-hopping! We bounced around from island to island nearly every day, staying in floating bungalows one night and on a private beach the next. It was definitely worth the night train ride from hell to be able to relax on the beach with a pina colada in hand.
I had so much fun on the islands, eating (probably too much) Thai food and swimming in the crystal clear water. The beaches were absolutely beautiful, and we had a great time talking to the local people in each place and learning more about their culture.
On our last day, we went on a snorkeling trip around a couple of the islands. We saw so many different kinds of fish, corals, and other sea life. It was beautiful and so much fun!
Then we stopped at a small island and hiked up to a viewing point. The view was spectacular, and so worth the hike! It was a great way to end this incredible week in Thailand.
I had an amazing spring break in Thailand! After that trip, I am spending some more time in Newcastle studying and hanging out with my friends, and then I am taking one last trip to the Outback. I am so excited for the end of the semester!