This year starts with an extraordinary trip and an extraordinary 18th birthday for me. I will be heading to Chiang Mai, Thailand for a field trip with the seniors of Austin High School’s Academy of Global Studies in early January. And so I become the first in our family to visit Asia!
Days 1 & 2
Due to the many trip participants, we were divided into three flight groups that started their trip at different times and via different routes. My group (Group A) met at the Austin airport at 3 am on Saturday to check in together. Granted … that’s not my time of day, but we wanted to make sure everyone got to the airport on time. Group B already left on Friday and had a long layover in Los Angeles and Group C left after us on Saturday at noon.
At 6 o’clock we flew first to L.A. and then on to Narita (Japan) and from there to Bangkok, where we landed on Sunday at 11:30 p.m. local time (so according to Texas time Sunday morning at 10:30). I fully slept through the landing and was then awakened by my seatmates because they couldn’t get past me. Here we „stayed overnight“ for 5 hours, but no one slept. The biggest challenge for me was to check in via cell phone for the next flight so that we could get through airport security as quickly as possible the next morning. But I finally made it. And I was quite glad that I was only traveling with my backpack, which I could take onto the planes as hand luggage because two people from our tour group were standing there in Bangkok without their suitcases. Funnily enough, our group leader, who had advised us in advance not to take any suitcases but only hand luggage, was one of the people affected… Maybe she should have listened to herself.
Day 3
Unfortunately, the time was not enough to get to know Bangkok a little better, because the next morning (it was now already Monday on-site) started the onward flight to Chiang Mai, our destination.
At the Sanpatong Experience Education Center, we met our two other tour groups for lunch and a first round of orientation on the grounds. After dinner, we had free time to relax. Addy, Isabella, Zeeper, and I used the time to play cards and cuddle with the wandering, presumably escaped puppy. This break was definitely important after the long journey!
Day 4
At 4 a.m., a rooster woke us up by crowing, which immediately made him the most unpopular animal in the area. Even threats that we still need a garnish for our rice dishes did not silence him. But he was lucky because we did not manage to catch him.
After our breakfast at 8 am, groups A and B went to a school to build mushroom houses and rice beds. My group was responsible for the mushroom houses and it was a lot of fun (even though I don’t like mushrooms). And there was also time to play with the little kids who went to school here.
About the project in the Thai school:
The children study in this school from 1st to 6th grade. The school cannot afford to buy food for all the children. So the school asked the organizer of our tour (EFTours) if they could help the school grow its own food. And since it is an essential part of these school tours that we have global experiences and also through community service in the country we visit, this project became a part of our trip.
At noon we went back to our quarters for lunch and then my group got to work on painting. And we were all very creative!
During this time I painted a picture with an elephant and talked with one of the art teachers about the inspiration for the picture. I had my (s)milestone project a long time ago and one of my small artworks now served as a template for my picture.
The time after dinner (finally we had rice again…) we spent around the campfire and fooling around before promptly falling into our beds. We all felt the jet lag and the next morning we had to get up early again, and then there was this friendly rooster…
Day 5
The new day began, of course, with a wake-up call by the ever-popular rooster (which I hope will soon become a rice garnish). That day was my 18th birthday and the teachers surprised me with a coffee as a birthday present (which was very nice because coffee was not usually available here for us students).
After breakfast, my group (Group A) went to the climbing wall where I climbed the easy parkour after a short phone call with my parents. I was very nervous because I’m a bit scared of heights and I was even more scared when my legs started shaking and cramping in the middle of the climb. But luckily my group calmed me down and told me it was okay, which gave me enough strength to make it all the way to the top.
After going back down and seeing that some people in my group had done other courses, I decided to do the easy climb again.
This time I was even more scared because I noticed that some of the footholds were loose and moving.
Also, my legs were getting even shakier than before, but luckily my group was still motivating me.
After that, we went archery and that was a lot of fun (even though I wasn’t that good at it). I even hit the center of the target once. Okay, it wasn’t my target, it was my neighbor’s. After that, we split up our group and had a competition. Unfortunately, my group didn’t win, but I can be proud that I was the first in my group …. well, the first to be kicked out.
After lunch, we were able to go back to school where my group worked on planting and the other group built the mushroom houses.
We were allowed to give names to our planted trees. We named the 2 trees in my group Mae Thoranee and Phra Mae Thorani (whatever that means). We spent some time with the children and had to say goodbye to them in the late afternoon, which was a sad moment for everyone because our project was now successfully finished.
Afterward, we went to a 7-Eleven, which we were all looking forward to because the teachers told us that it was a huge supermarket where you can buy everything. We were a little disappointed when we saw that it was just a regular supermarket, like the ones we have on every corner in the US as gas stations. But they had German chocolate. Next door was a store that had elephant pants and almost everyone bought one of those. Although I was skeptical, I also purchased a pair of pants and to my surprise, they are quite comfortable.
Then we went back to our groups and had some free time until dinner. Pretty much everyone was wearing the new cool clothes that we had bought.
Then when we were about to start dinner, the teachers surprised me again by bringing me a chocolate birthday cake with some cherries. That was so sweet of them and the cake was really good. I shared the cake with my friends and it was very nice.
After dinner (and in my case, after cake) we had some special evening activities where we had a set financial budget as a group and could buy more group activities for extra money. This was really awesome. For example, we did games like turtle hopping and plank building. And if you were successful at a game, you got money again for new activities.
Day 6
And like every morning the day started with our favorite wake-up call 🙄.
After breakfast, Group A and B went on a strenuous but great hike with some scary cliffs (and a guardrail to prevent falling, which would definitely never be allowed in Europe, because the guardrail was just a rope that was also too far away to hold on to). We hiked on trails with up to 16 percent inclines, which was very challenging. At the end, we got the chance to swim in the river, which was a lot of fun. And yes, the river was cold, but I didn’t care (of course I was the first one in the water).
After that, we went back for lunch, which once again consisted mainly of rice (after the 4th day of having rice, you’re already full from looking at it).
After dinner, so satiated, my group went to a Thai cooking class where we made Pad Thai and spring rolls (fun, fun, fun).
Then we went to the challenge course where we could do different activities above the water. I tried a few challenges, but fell into the water several times (water is just my element). But then there was a challenge where you had to walk blindfolded over the water. Luckily, I had a matching scarf with me – so I took the challenge. And lo and behold, I was able to walk blindfolded over the course on my first try without falling into the water. I’m sure my inner bat radar helped….
Toward the end of the day, we got the chance to dress up in traditional Thai clothing for the last dinner at the first camp. I wore a maroon top and a maroon skirt trimmed with gold. And to top it off, I wore a gold flower in my hair. It was so beautiful and I loved it.
For dinner, there was a great selection of traditional foods and drinks (yes, and lots of rice again). One of my favorite drinks was tea (even though I’m not really a tea fan). It was a Thai butterfly tea, which you can only get in this one part of Thailand.
A highlight of the evening was the performance of a dance group that performed traditional dances with stunning costumes. (my friends and I loved the costumes of the 2 women who danced the peacock dance).
Day 7
A new day – a recurring wake-up call! But this time it was the last appropriate wake-up call because we know how to outsmart this rooster! We packed our things to drive to the Hmong Lodge, where we set up our next quarters. Well, we didn’t tell the rooster and just left him behind. Clever or?
On the way there, we stopped at a 7-Eleven and bought some more snacks and even some German chocolate …. cool stuff. But for me, the Duncan Donut food truck was an absolute bright spot, because I finally got coffee again! Most of my classmates got KFC, even though our teachers told us not to because our next stop was a restaurant where we would eat lunch. Good, they didn’t want to listen (or were afraid it would be all rice).
The restaurant was located at the Bai Orchid and Butterfly Farm and they had a great buffet. Bad luck for those who were already full…
We also went to the butterfly house where we all tried to catch butterflies. and as I was walking through the house, one happened to fly right at me. That was really funny.
When we got to the Hmong Lodge, we were all overwhelmed by the fantastic location and incredible view. We were allowed to spend the rest of the day at the lodge and decided to go to the pool. The little cats that were running around there were also totally cute and willingly let us cuddle them.
In the evening we had a fantastic buffet and then we could see a small local group performing some traditional dances and traditions. Afterward, most of us went back to our quarters where the nice staff built a fire in our house (yes, we had an open fireplace in the middle of our house) so my friends and I spent some time around the fire.
Day 8
A tight program was planned for my group. In the morning we took a long but beautiful hike through flowers and orange trees. Of course, we had to make some photo stops along the way and capture the area and ourselves in great pictures.
As we walked along, we saw an off-road parkour going down a hill and the tour guide explained that every year many young men between the ages of 17 and 32 from this part of Thailand get together and have a go-kart race (similar to Mario Kart, but in reality).
When we arrived in Hmong Village, we took a short tour. Our guide told us some cool things, for example, people hang symbols and objects on the front door to not let evil spirits inside.
After returning to the lodge, we learned how to pound rice into glutinous rice using traditional Hmong tools to make a sweet dessert.
We pounded the rice into a very sticky lump, which is then wrapped in a banana leaf and placed on the grill for a few minutes. Then, when it is hard on the outside and soft on the inside, you can dip it in sugar or honey and enjoy it.
Then it was time to embroider some traditional cross stitches, which I really enjoyed. Everyone took the easy pattern, but I went for the advanced and it was so much fun that I kept working on it and trying new patterns even after our Thailand trip.
After lunch, we all packed our things and went to an elephant popoopaper park (yes, it is exactly what the name suggests). Unfortunately, there were no elephants there, only elephant excrement. At this park, we learned how to make paper from the elephants‘ piles and then we got to try it ourselves. Even though it might sound a little repulsive, it’s actually quite a neat thing to do! And it was so fun that each of us took home at least one souvenir – „Poop to go“.
Then we made a quick stop at the hotel to stow our things before continuing on to dinner.
At our last group dinner, we went to a typical local restaurant where you sit on the floor and get your food served on a kind of bench. There were some traditional dances performed with cool costumes. One of the dances was very strange because the dancers danced with extremely long fingernails (I guess this group is especially known for that). Anyway, it was very strange…
After that, my group went to the night market, which was very cool and not at all what I had imagined. Basically, it was like a flea market where people sold all kinds of stuff. I bought a few things there, of course. Funny and unusual for us was the fact that the vendors have an approximate price and then you have to negotiate the price to pay. I negotiated great prices for myself and even got some good deals for other people in my group.
Days 9 & 10
The day of our departure had arrived. In the morning we packed our things and stowed them in the cars that would take us to the airport, but since our flight did not leave until the evening, we could still spend the day in the city, which meant a full program until the end.
At our first stop, we had the opportunity to take a look inside a temple, which was really interesting. Next to this temple was an area with white sculptures and we were curious about what this could be. So we asked the tour guide and he explained that it was a cemetery for noble people. At the temple, we also learned that you can go to jail if you take a photo at the same height as a Buddha statue and that you have to stand lower than the statue if you want to take a photo (this was very difficult for some of us tall people). Afterward, we were able to meet with a real monk and he told us about his religion and his experience. He showed us different ways of meditation and we all realized that we were very tired and almost fell asleep.
After meeting with the monk, we went to a temple on a hill from which you could see the whole city. The name of the temple was Doi Suthep, which stands on the highest mountain in Chiang Mai. Built in 1383, the temple was breathtakingly beautiful and offered a fantastic view.
Coincidentally, the finish line of the Tour de Chiang Mai University (a 3-stage bike race) ran here on the summit that day and so we saw some of the world’s best bike racers struggling up the mountain. One of the fans on the side of the road pointed to our Austin High shirts and said, „Austin! Lance Armstrong!“ … he obviously knew something about Austin.
But before that, we went to a small market where we got some money from our group leaders and had the task to buy unusual food that we normally would not try. And what strange things we didn’t buy …. Worms and fruits unknown to us. One of our group bought three fish and only later found out that they were still alive. I preferred not to try any of the stuff, but others dared to eat some of it. You can do it, but you don’t have to!
Now it was time for my group to say goodbye to Chiang Mai and take off to Bangkok, where we spent another night. The next morning we went via Japan to The Dalles and then to Austin, where we finally met our parents again.
The whole trip was an incredibly exciting and great experience, only that we had to go right back to school the next morning was not so great.