My First Excursion-Koh Samet Island

Happy early 21^st Birthday Lane! I wish I could be there to celebrate with you!

I’ve been here over a week now. A big group of the exchange students all decided to head off for our first adventure this past weekend. Most of us have classes only on Monday and Tuesday or Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday so a huge group of them set off Thursday morning for Koh Samet while I still had class on Thursday. I wanted to test out International Business Study before I decided to take the course. I could barely sit through the class…Thai students are extremely rude (at least from an American standpoint). No, the professor did not ask them to be quiet, but that much chatter would NEVER happen at Kenan-Flagler. The professor was a visiting professor from the University of South Carolina and is only here for two weeks so he didn’t really put his foot down. However, the students stumbled in late for class, talked the entire three hours, and when we had a 10 minute break, many were out for 30 minutes. Most of the class is female so there are often giggles going around too. I have decided not to take the class because I cannot sit through that for 3 months. The class takes a trip to Tokyo at the end of March, but I’ll plan my own trip that week…I could not go with that group.

Friday morning, Ben (from Canada) and I headed out to Koh Samet to meet up with the rest of the group. We took the Sky Train to the bus station and got round trip tickets for 300 baht each—which is less than $9.00. We caught a ferry over to the island and tried to get up with everybody else, but we weren’t able to because cell phone reception was horrible. Instead, we got the absolute worst room at the White Sand Resort and headed for the beach. When I say worst room—I’m being serious. I mean a king size bed that felt like a wooden board and took up the entire room and a bathroom which didn’t really have a shower except for a shower head and a squat toilet. Oh, and need I mention there was no warm water? I consider this my first experience roughing it in Thailand. But no worries! We didn’t spend too much time there because of course we were on the beach. We caught a few hours of sun on Friday and walked the beach for a little bit taking some nice pictures. That night we had a terrible dinner, but it was a great experience. We ordered shrimp and got 100 times more fried batter than shrimp. Oh and then there were mysterious fried creatures too…not quite sure what those were?? We started getting food for other tables though which smelled of garbage and looked like green goo. The language barrier was extremely frustrating. But along with this terrible meal came great live music and a fire show from 8 boys. They were awesome! Would anybody expect it to be freezing cold on a beach in Thailand? Well, I froze. Our room was an icebox and I just had my single long-sleeved shirt I brought to Thailand. I put on layers and layers of clothes and luckily I brought my little blanket from high school (I don’t remember who gave it to me, but I was thanking them). We definitely were happy we didn’t get A/C in our room. I haven’t been that cold in quite a while!

Saturday, I fried my legs. I must’ve forgotten lotion on the front of my shins and my feet because I’m a lobster. It probably doesn’t help that I’m almost at the equator too. Anyways, I had to sit under umbrellas that afternoon and all day Sunday. Ben and I shared a BBQ chicken from a little lady on the beach. Venders walk around with huge baskets on their shoulders which weigh more than 100 pounds. Some sell fruit and coconuts, others BBQ chicken and papaya salad, others beach wraps, others table cloths, others walk around trying to give you foot massages or henna tattoos. It’s sad to sit there and sunbathe while these venders—some 60 year old women—hobble around with these baskets on their backs. Plus the dogs…there are so many strays on the island because apparently the Buddhist faith doesn’t believe in killing animals for a pointless reason. Some of the dogs had broken legs while others seemed a little deranged.

Saturday afternoon, Ben and I were ATVing around the island. It was so much fun! So much for signing the sheet at school that said we wouldn’t do anything life threatening while abroad! Well, it wasn’t that bad, but it was a little scary at times. First, we went through the town and went to the northwest part of the island. Here was a mixture of resorts mixed in with the locals’ shacks. I wouldn’t say any of these resorts ranked to the top of some I’ve seen, but it was shocking to see these small resorts sitting next to all the poverty. The island (although it’s supposedly clean compared to some), was extremely dirty with loads of litter. Here, we saw houses out in the water where you had to have a boat pulley system to get back to the island. We also explored the northeast part of the island where they have this huge white Buddha which is extremely unexpected as you turn a corner and see it We made a stop here and a monk met us and chatted with us a while. He took pictures of us as we “prayed” to Buddha…I don’t know much about the Buddhist faith so I’m not really sure what we were doing but it was kinda cool. The people have such a strong faith here, it’s pretty remarkable. Anyways, we had flowers and incense and the monk took some pretty cool pictures. He then gave us these tokens for good luck. It looks like there are different monks on each coin. You can put some of them on a necklace too. Afterwards, we started to explore the middle of the island. We headed over to the only resort area on the west coast which is Ao Phrao. There were some really nice places here, but it was a little rockier without as much beach. We then headed south; we stopped a few times at viewpoints to take some cool pictures and see some great sights. We hit the end of the island in great time to see the sunset. It was breathtaking. It seemed like the end of the world because here, you couldn’t see mainland Thailand or any fishing boats. Just you, the sun, the water, and the land…Anyways, we had to get back quickly before the sun went down because the roads on the bottom the island were ridiculous. Huge rocks, even bigger holes, steep hills, and really thin sand made it a little difficult to drive. I had driven earlier so I just let Ben handle it…I’m definitely no ATV expert. I’m so glad we hadn’t rented a motor bike and paid more for the ATV. Two of the guys rented them later and ended up falling off a few times. Anyways, Saturday night was fun with the whole exchange group, and Sunday (today) I just sat under the umbrellas and read Life of Pi and listened to Catherine’s mix for my trip for a few hours before we caught the ferry at 4 and the bus at 6. We got home around 9:15ish and headed back to the Evergreen.

Anyways, after a few scams, a bad burn, an awesome ATV experience, and some rays of sun, I’d say our first weekend excursion was a success!

Photo #1: The mysterious dinner that was delivered to us that belonged to the table next to us...yum?? Photo #2: The food vender who we ordered chicken from...it was pretty good! Photo #3: Obviously me posing on our ATV. Photo #4: The houses out in the water that you have to use a pulley to reach the island (actually this one has a pier). Photo #5: Before leaving Sunday afternoon at the dock. Too bad you can't see my sunburned legs!

Markets are AMAZING!

January 7, 2009
So let me tell you about this JJ Market. They have everything you want…knockoff bags, sunglasses, CDs, DVDS, perfumes, or pashminas like Chinatown in NYC (but you can find those things on any street here). But, they also have a ton of handmade stuff from around Thailand and outside the country too—clothes, teapots, pottery, purses, those super huge and comfy almost hippie pants (Sarah, I thought of you and might get you a pair), jewelry, paintings, pictures, table runners, bed covers, pillow covers, pets, plants, and tons of food. You almost have to go back around three times before you buy anything to take it all in. But next time, I plan to start around 7 AM when the market opens because it was stifling in the sun and within the stalls. The market is a maze with around 25 different sections, and it’s ridiculously crowded. I was extremely uncomfortable at times. The weather was like North Carolina on a blistering June or maybe even July day. You thought you could escape inside to the shade, but upon arrival in the stalls you were welcomed with huge crowds and little air flow. The place was filthy too. But what an adventure! We only stayed around 2 ½ hours but it felt like an all day event. I think this is something I’ll try again before it gets to be March or April because I don’t think I could stand it any hotter. And perhaps next time just try to find one other person to go.
January 5th we didn’t do too much—grocery shopping in the bottom of the MBK shopping center. I was glad to find some American brands because I’m sure I will start to crave them sooner or later. It’s so cheap to eat on the street that it’s almost not worth it. We wanted cereal and yogurt in our apartment though. We didn’t realize we were supposed to go to class today because we thought it was strictly orientation. Orientation was somewhat pointless, but we saw all the exchange students—50ish in all—and got the same list of courses we emailed two months ago with and met Thirawut (the exchange director we’ve been communicating with). I finally got on the exchange listserv so I’ll know about the welcome party and other events. We went out for a little bit Monday night as well to a small and unique bar called Cheap Charlie’s. We took the Sky Train there and had a great time. The weather, as I’ve mentioned several times, it sometimes unbearable in the daytime. Perhaps this is because I’m not used to NC weather right now. But it’s seriously HOT. At night it’s decent though, and it’s fun to wear summer dresses and shorts and tank tops.
Had a great conversation with Catherine January 6th (Tuesday morning)—I’m actually listening to her favorite songs right now . It’s always nice to talk to people from home, and I can’t get on AIM because Thailand must have a block on it so GET SKYPE my friends! Tried out our gym too—we have a gym and a brand new pool which is really nice. I had class from 1-4. It’s called Seminar in International Business and is taught by a Canadian professor. It was strange that all the exchange students were the ones doing all the talking where back at Kenan-Flagler, it’s often exchange students stay quiet for a few weeks. The Thai culture does not promote asking questions. 3 hours is a long time to sit in a class, but it’s only once a week so it actually works out well. I think I’m going to add a class right before that one from 9-12 called Principles of Investment so I have two on the same day. I only need 3 International Business classes for my concentration. I would take four, but there are a lot of visiting professors here so the schedules get weird and one class often meets Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Monday over a one week period, but won’t meet again for two weeks or so. It’s frustrating because I have to have international business classes while other exchange students can take whatever they want and don’t have to have those funky days and can fit all their classes on Tuesday and Wednesday. But I’m actually excited about most of my classes. I could take Marketing, but I’m waiting until I get home to take that one. And I’m also waiting on Organizational Behavior. Those are the only two core classes I could possibly take. So apart from the seminar and possibly the investment class, I’m also taking Business Management in Asian Countries. I’m still deciding on my fourth class. There’s a class titled International Business Study and it takes a trip to Tokyo in April. However, it’s extremely expensive and sounds more like a field trip for fourth year students. I’m emailing the professor to see if it’s worth my time to go with them or if I should take another class and go to Tokyo on my own. So my fourth class might be International Financial Management...sounds terrible I know. But it’s only like two months! So it looks like I’ll be finished with two of my classes by the end of March and the other two by the middle of April. So I’ll have three weeks STRAIGHT to travel before my plane ride home, unless I extend my stay…I’ll take pictures of campus later. It’s really nice (a LOT different than UNC though…not as pretty by any means). Chula is the #1 university in Thailand—it’s also the oldest university here and the only Thai university ranked internationally. I finally found my buddy—she actually is a 4th year and went to UNC last spring. She’s very nice and I think we might have a class or two together.
Last night, we went to the Bangkok Night Bazaar Market. I loved it…absolutely loved it! It’s less crowded and has nicer things. Local Thai designers have cute shirts, but we didn’t ask prices so I’m not sure on that. They’re super cute and made of extremely light material though. Who knows if they’d fit me though? Haha…The market wasn’t stifling like the JJ Market, but it was sad because the venders seemed almost desperate to sell you things. I hate venders because you can’t just look at things to enjoy them or they’ll think you want to buy them. We’d be looking at silk robes, bed covers, or any other item and they’d start at one price and literally cut the price in HALF. I know all about bargaining, but half price? It was sad and everything’s only supposed to get cheaper outside of Bangkok. There was a nice almost food court too that was covered so it was a great night. I’m definitely going back there a few times…I’d pick it over JJ any day!
This morning, I ventured off on my own! I’ve had some personal time recently, and I’ve really enjoyed it. I took the Sky Train the opposite direction we took it to JJ Market and then transferred to the subway. It was around 10:30 so it wasn’t crowded at all and I enjoyed making my way around Bangkok on my own. The city is actually fairly easy to get around in by the Sky Train and subway because there’s only two routes for the Sky Train and one route for the subway. They’re both fairly new additions to transportation in the city. It’s the nicest subway station I’ve ever been in though and the fastest subway train I’ve ridden on also! At 11, I had a meeting with the director of the Kenan Institute Asia and the man heading up the TRAI program which is the Tsunami Recovery Action Initiative. It’s the program I might intern with this summer. Seems interesting, but they don’t have a ton of information on it yet, so we’ll see. It’s not spending a lot of time in Bangkok…it’s more staying in remote villages in the beach area so it would be different. After that, I walked through the Siam Paragon and all I could think about was Jami Pearson. It was the most fantastic mall EVER. Brand name after brand name after brand name. There’s an opera house (like 1500 seats), IMAX theater, and cinema on the top floor (with one room seating like 1200 people), and on the bottom floor is an aquarium. I could just walk around forever. It was quiet and clean and the jewelry stores took my breath away. After my eyes were bulging and my soul hurt because I couldn’t buy anything, I made my way to the home of Jim Thompson. He was an American who fell in love with the floating market of Bangkok and moved here after WWII. He was an entrepreneur and is known for introducing the world to Thai silk. He only lived here for 8 years though and disappeared in 1967 on a trip to Malaysia. No one knows what happened to him. His house has turned into a museum and is fantastic. He had six Thai houses brought in and made one large home. They are made of teak wood and represent the best in traditional Thai architecture. He merged eastern and western customs when making his home and the home is beautiful. It sits up on stilts like old Thai homes which sat near rivers or canals (his sits on the largest canal in Bangkok) and has nice antiques. My mom will definitely want to go there. Jim Thompson silk is beautiful…they sell anything from lipstick containers and mirrors to handbags and bed covers. The scarves and make up bags are my favorites…as well as the ties (thought of Carolina guys at football games). My tour guide was extremely kind and actually found me after the tour and gave me a paper bird after the tour—it represents good luck. On my way back to my apartment I ran into a man on the street who asked where I was from and asked what I was doing in Bangkok. When I said I went to Chula he got all excited because his daughter is a fourth year student there. The people truly are some of the nicest strangers I’ve met, and are always pointing you in the right direction if you look lost or confused (most of the time—some of them are sour of course). The tuk tuk drivers, taxi drivers, and venders drive me crazy though…
Anyways, here’s a good place for me to stop. I feel like this has been a rambling blog. Everybody needs to send me ideas of things to bring back souvenir wise. I want to bring back everything, but I have limited space. I think I’m going to throw out all I brought and start a new wardrobe (sadly I’m not even kidding). And to answer you question Chessa—you can buy chocolate in 711, but the packages are smaller. There are also gelato stands and DQ and Swenson’s in the malls. (Jessica-I'll have to have another blog to answer all your questions! But I'll get to them!)
Miss you all! Sorry this is so long. Congrats if you made it this far…you get a gold star! Or I guess a lucky elephant 

Pictures are: #1 is the view from my room. I'm not in Kansas anymore Toto! It's a little overwhelming huh? #2 is the living room of my apartment. It's extremely nice and comfortable to come home to. There's two bedrooms with two twin beds in each and two separate bathrooms (no I do not have to share a bed! haha). #3 and #4 are from the JJ Market (the market from the beginning of the blog). The first is a pic of handmade bags which sling over your shoulder and sometimes have Thai silk or elephants monogrammed on them. These were 55 baht or 2 for 100 baht...basically $1.50 a piece. I know...hate me for being here. I buy pineapple on the street for 34 cents. The last picture is part of Jim Thompson's house. Enjoy!

Hello from Halfway Around the World!

Hello from the BIG city of Bangkok!

Since I left home at 3 AM on December 29^th, my life has been a whirlwind. Note to all of you: Emirates Airline is the only way to fly—it’s extremely nice. It has lights that mimic a sunrise, excellent meals, free drinks, over 600 channels of movies, and reclining chairs where the base scoots forward so you can lean back more. Dubai was just as AWESOME. No other way to describe it. The airport had a waterfall (pictured), squat toilets, Rolex clocks, reclining chairs, and free wireless. Oh, and the Duty Free Shop is supposedly the cheapest in the world. Our hotel was also excellent—lots of room for 5 people with 3 ½ baths, a kitchen, and two big rooms and a pull out couch.

Some highlights from the trip…I smoked shisha (hookah) for the first time. We took a double decker bus tour of the city and saw: the Jumeirah Mosque, the famous Gold Souk, the Dubai Creek, the Burj Al Arah Hotel (the seven-star hotel where Tiger Woods hit the golf ball off the top of the helicopter pad)(pictured), the Palm Jumeirah (one of the three artificial palm islands built in Dubai where property is in the upper millions…not to mention the artificial islands shaped like the world which is even pricier), the Atlantis Hotel which rests at the end of the palm (pictured), and the Dubai Burj (the tallest building in the world) just to name a few sights. This is not even mentioning the beautiful (and cheap) pearls and jewelry, the indoor ski slope, and the millions of shopping centers! Also, we took a desert “safari.” This consisted of sand dunning across the desert (which is horrible for the environment of the area) and going to an Arabian camp sight. Here, we had a great dinner of grilled meats, got henna on our hands, rode a camel for like 20 steps (pictured), and watched a show of belly dancing. It was an extremely long day, and straight from there, we jumped on our planes—me for Bangkok, the rest of the group for Singapore.

If this wasn’t enough of a whirlwind, Bangkok was even more so. Luckily, I slept the entire flight there—I needed it! I got through passport control and customs ok. I always expect customs to be as much of a hassle in other countries as it is in the US. However, I didn’t even have to put my bags through the scanner in Bangkok or dump my water, pull out my laptop, or take off my shoes in Dubai. I walk through customs, thinking someone would be there holding a sign for me…but NOTHING…nada…nobody! I sat around 30 minutes waiting for somebody, but nobody arrived. I had emailed a few times reminding them of my arrival but something happened between the internet and the airport. So, I got out money and called my friend in Thailand, Roy, for an SOS! Luckily, he’s awesome and arrived in 30 minutes to relieve me from my distress. I seriously was close to tears and didn’t know what to do. Anyways, got to my apartment, went to the mall down the street and got a cell phone and my uniform. Then, we took a river boat to the Golden Mount which is a popular temple and has a great view of the city from all 4 sides of the top. Our convo went something like this:

Chrissie: Oh my gosh, Roy, this city is sooooo big and dirty and overwhelming. WHAT am I getting myself into?

Roy: I seriously didn’t expect you to come.

Chrissie: So, my friend, Morgan, seems to think that I’m just coming to Thailand to prove that I’m a badass.

Roy: This is probably true.

Chrissie: Roy, are you aware that we are two badass Americans in Bangkok, Thailand?

Had street food for the first time that night—it was awesome $5 for TONS of food for two people. Normally, I just spend $1 a night for dinner. Crazy, huh? Anyways, that was my first day in Thailand.

My roommates go to the same university in Canada. Only 3 people in

my room though—the other girl decided to go to France. There’s 7 people from their university, a couple more from Canada, a few from Michigan State, University of Florida, and University of Wisconsin at Madison, some from Sweden, Finland, Japan, Holland, and maybe some more I’m forgetting.

So, one of the reasons I may not have had anyone pick me up from the airport is I seem to have been omitted from the listserv to the exchange students the entire fall semester. Therefore, I think I got ONE email from the exchange office all semester long. There were supposedly tons of emails sent out—getting to know people, pictures of people, roommate lists, class schedules, Facebook groups, directions to my apartment from the airport in Thai for the taxi drivers (which would have been helpful) etc. etc. etc. Whatever…I got here, but it would have been nice!

I’ll stop here…but I’ll write another blog about our experience today going to the famous Chatuchak or Jatukak Weekend Market (don’t ask me how to pronounce it)—it’s also known as the JJ Market. MY DREAM! AMAZING…JUST AMAZING.