Thailand

We had a blast in Thailand! We managed to incorporate a beach vacation into our learning experiences and we all had a really tremendous time. After being in India, Thailand was (seemingly) clean, relaxed, and laid back – definitely my kind of atmosphere!
Our first day in Laem Chabang (our port), Marisa and some friends and I signed up to visit the Sriracha Tiger Zoo. I don’t think we fully thought the decision through when signing up for this trip; we all just got a little too excited to hear “tigers”. This idea hit me when we actually ended up at a zoo. Why we were spending our first day in Thailand at a zoo was suddenly beyond me, and I was fairly uncomfortable with the treatment of the animals we were seeing. We did see an elephant show, a tiger show, and a crocodile show but the tricks performed unfortunately did not make our time worthwhile I’m afraid. However, I’m certain we made up for lost time throughout the rest of our days. That night, 8 of us caught a taxi to Bangkok, which was 2 hours from our port. We went to a delightful Thai dinner and wound up at some “super club”. We ended up meeting some guy from Dubai, and as many of you know, due to my inexplicable obsession with Dubai, this was overly exciting to me! He told me I could visit anytime, so I’ll be planning that trip soon upon my return. Our ride back to our hotel later that night involved Tokyo drift-style tuk-tuk racing. (A tuk-tuk is essentially a pimped out rickshaw) Mid-morning, vacant highways, open-aired, and our driver was popping wheelies at rampant speeds. It was thrilling, that’s for sure.
Our second morning we had an early flight to Koh Samui Island. Koh Samui has the most amazing airport I’ve ever been too. It is all outdoor, significantly undersized, filled with greenery, and lined with petite boutique shopping. Soon after arriving in Koh Samui, we took a 30-minute ferry to a smaller island: Koh Phangan, and checked into our bungalows on the beach. We grabbed lunch and wandered around the tiny island; did some shopping and enjoyed the sunset on the beach. Our group went to dinner and then headed back to our bungalows for their “half-moon pool party” extravaganza.
The third day we all went to a cheerful little bar in the morning to get an early start on our St. Patrick’s Day festivities. We all decided to return to Koh Samui that afternoon since one of our friends with us had a friend from home randomly visiting the island. We met up with him at a big Irish pub and had the BEST St. Patrick’s day ever. There was a live Thai band performing an array of Irish jigs, greatest hits, and 90s pop. Everyone in the entire place was in the greatest possible mood, singing & dancing. Marisa, our Canadian friend, Tanya, and I even taught this German lady the YMCA.
Our fourth day we flew back to Bangkok and took a river tour on a little boat. Due to impending rain, our tour was cut short but we were able to see the Grand Palace, a Buddhist temple, and the shacks lining the river. We also were able to fit in some shopping at the night market before dinner.
The last day we had in Thailand we visited an orphanage with HIV/AIDS hospice for all ages. Our friend, Tanya, had been to Bangkok before and worked with this place; we were fortunate enough to have her set up an appointment for us to have a tour of the facilities and get a chance to interact with a few of the children. I feel as if these places I’ve been to (this one and the Bala Mandir orphanage in India) should have had more of an impact on me, but they were both really well maintained and well staffed. We did not directly witness any suffering and the conditions were exceptional.
We left Bangkok last night and are currently en route to Vietnam to meet my parents! We were constantly on the go in Thailand but the overall easy going mood made our travels relatively stress-free and incredibly pleasing!