May Term Thailand 2010!

Group photo in front of the village wat. Notice the sign welcoming us.

It’s that time again. Registration for May Term 2010 is now open! If you are interested in attending and want to reserve a spot now, please get a registration form from the International Center in the basement of Shaw, or online here, and have either myself (Han Kim in Gore 115) or Peter Ingle sign it. To reserve your spot, you need to pay the $300 deposit to the cashier and turn in the registration form with the receipt to Sara Demko in the International Center. We are only accepting a maximum of 18 students, so don’t wait too long.

The cost this year for the trip will be $4290, which includes everything except spending money for snacks, souvenirs, snorkeling/scuba diving, etc. Our schedule will be similar to last years, as will the activities, so if you want an idea of what the trip will be like, please check out the rest of this blog.

Here is a tentative itinerary for the trip. Also note that we will be having five pre-trip orientation session on January 29, February 26, March 26, April 23, and April 30, from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm. These are mandatory for participation.

Videos!

I’m posting some videos from the trip. Most of these are courtesy of Stephanie Archuleta’s cool red HD camcorder, as well as Peter Ingle, who took much of the videos from the parade in Kalasin.

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More to come!

Leaving Thailand

After dinner at Cabbages and Condoms we had the option to go back to the night bazaar or to go back to the Golden Dragon and start packing for our early morning departure. Many people wanted to get some last minute shopping in, but all were anxious to get their bags packed for the long flight ahead. Everyone could sense the trip was coming to an end and there were mixed emotions about our trip coming to an end. Most were excited to get home and see loved ones, and all were sad knowing that this amazing adventure was coming to its end.

Elephants, Lamborghinis and C*ndoms

Alex with her new elephant friend. I think he had a crush on her

First, a note about this post. Later on, I will mention the word c*ndom, which in Utah violates several state statutes and is punishable by life imprisonment. So be forewarned, if you are offended by the word c*ndom, please stop here.

Remember when I said that for every student trip to Thailand, the two activities that every group, without exception, wants to do are: see monkeys and ride elephants? Well, we took care of the first, so now it’s time to do the second. To ride elephants, we drive one hour north of Bangkok to Ayuttaya, the old capital of Siam. It is a beautiful site, with ancient ruins all around. And just like during the heyday of Ayuttaya, you can ride elephants around the old city.

So we all paired up, and with the help of a mahout, or elephant handler, we rode around the old city a bit on elephants. A note about riding elephants: they’re not very fast, are a bit willful, stop often to eat, pee or poop, usually in inconvenient locations, and aren’t terribly comfortable. An elephant isn’t exactly a pimped out Escalade with 24″ rims. But it would be so much cooler to show up at the prom in an elephant than a Hummer limo.

Perspectives on Ko Samet

For those of you that have been closely following our blog, you would agree that by the end of our travels through Thailand a little down time was certainly well earned and deserved.  Our final destination, before heading back to Bangkok and then home, was the promised three days on the beautiful island of Ko Samet.

While there is no doubt that all of us had loved our journey thus far, we had all been tested and faced challenges that were entirely unfamiliar.  We had seen people and places that had both absolutely amazed us and also made us feel entirely helpless; there is nothing like stepping outside of your comfort zone to be brought back down to earth and realize how many things for which you are incredibly thankful.  Our time on Ko Samet, with the beautiful white sands and sparkling teal ocean surrounding us completely, was time to finally relax and process everything we had encountered—and we were all ready for it!

Ko Samet to Bangkok

Nice hat, Victoria!

The last day on the beach, and everyone can sense that the trip is winding down. Some had a great time, but can’t wait to get back and see their loved ones. Others don’t want to leave at all. Thailand is seductive that way. I can’t tell you how many people I know who went to Thailand on a short visit, and years later they have yet to leave. If you’ve ever been to Thailand, you know what I mean.

Lucky for us, Noi used her magic to negotiate a late checkout at 1:30 pm. That allowed us to spend the morning on the beach, and we could change and take showers before getting on the speedboat back. A group of us decided to try parasailing in the morning. It’s expensive, and it isn’t very long, but hey, how often are you on a gorgeous beach in Thailand? Well, ok, for me it’s every year. So we get on a special boat designed for parasailing, strap on a harness, and one at a time, we go up. Hailey, Annabelle, Olivia, Danielle and myself go first, and later, Mary and Kiah go. I had my camera, so I could take some nice photos.

Ko Samet – Day 2

Susan psyched to go snorkeling

A bit more of an active day today. Most of us signed up for an all day boat tour/snorkeling/scuba diving expedition. We took off on a speedboat for some remote islands, including turtle island, which is a scientific station working to conserve sea turtles in the waters off of the coast of Thailand. After a visit to the turtle tanks, we visited more remote islands and snorkeled some beautiful coral reefs. Some of us (Peter, Trevor, Juriaan and myself) decided to try scuba diving. With the exception of Juriaan, this would be our first time scuba diving. After some lessons from an English dive master, we were able to dive to 11 meters. A lot of fun, and we all want to certify in scuba, but it’s another expensive hobby to add to all my other expensive hobbies.

Ko Samet – Day 1

There were some talented firedancers for entertainment at Ploy Talay

Our first full day on Ko Samet was spent relaxing. We had our first real opportunity to sleep late, and many of us took advantage of that. Others wanted to maximize their time on the beach, so were up early to sit on the beach. All in all, a relaxing day. Some folks rented tubes to float on the water, while others hired a banana boat. Peter and I rented a wind surfer and attempted to learn how to windsurf with mixed results. Neither of us ever windsurfed before. It’s a lot more difficult than it looks, but we were both able to ride it somewhat, although changing directions and tacking were difficult.

Later in the evening, we had dinner at a restaurant on the beach called Ploy Talay, where we sat on tatami mats, ate great seafood, and enjoyed the fire show. After dinner, some went out to a local club for some additional fun. With the exception of some creepy European guys at the club, a fun time.

Bangkok to Ko Samet

Danielle, Cash, Susan, Mary, Megan and Peter on the speedboat to Ko Samet

Ah, the day many of us have been waiting for, beach day! This would be a well-deserved break after a lot of hard work at Ban Nam Hom, as well as an emotional day at the HIV/AIDS hospice. Plus, it would be a great way to reflect back on our experiences in Thailand the last 3 weeks.

We left early via van and drove 2.5 hours to Ban Phe, a small fishing village on the southern coast of Thailand, near the city of Rayong. There, we transferred onto 2 speedboats that fit 11-12 each for our short 20 minute jaunt to Ko Samet. Along for the trip were the 17 students, 2 faculty, Noi, and Juriaan, with Ben and Am (Noi’s other son and his girlfriend) joining us later. The speedboats are fast and bouncy, and a lot of fun for most of us. It wasn’t as fun for those prone to motion sickness, but we had no “regurgutation events” on the boat ride. We soon landed on the beach (not on the docks) by our resort where we would spend the next four days and three nights, the Sai Kaew Beach Resort.

Wat Phrabaht Namphu: HIV/AIDS Hospice

Nestled among the forested foothills of the Phra Bat Nan Pu mountainside in Lopburi, we arrive at another stop along our journey of discovery through Thailand. Buildings once built for Monks and their daily prayers now play host to those who’ve taken ill with HIV and AIDS. As the disease began to devastate Thailand in the 1980’s many of those who suffered from it were shunned from their families and left without homes.  They were taken in and showed compassion at Wat Prabaht Nampoo as they neared the end of their battle with AIDS. This sanctuary is the Thammarug Niwaet One Project, meaning “place of true protection,” founded by Chao Khun Phra Udom Prachatorn, a Buddhist monk, in 1992. He has created a safe haven and home for those in the final stages of the disease to come and be part of a caring and nonjudgmental community. We can attempt to describe what it is that the hospice offers but nothing states it better than their own literature: “We believe that with love, compassion and humanity we can return strength and hope to AIDS sufferers, who were abandoned by their families and shunned by the world, to get back on their feet and give them the will to fight the disease, so that one day they can join their loved ones and live a normal life.