After breakfast we boarded our buses and headed to the Population & Community Development Association, in Chiang Rai. There, we were introduced to brief historical backgrounds and customs of different tribes and to the community-based family planning project. It was an eye-opening experience to get exposure to this comical (and if I must add very effective) approach that the organization took in attempting to increase awareness regarding safe sex. We had lunch in a restaurant named “Cabbage and Condoms” that was run by the organization. We each spent a few minutes exploring the art work and comical phrases written on the walls of the restaurant which underlined important facts about the practice of safe sex. Following lunch we headed to the Chiang Rai airport for our flight back to Bangkok. During this short and cozy flight, we tried to make sense of why we ever took a 12 hr long and painful train ride to Chaing Mai when we could have easily taken a flight? (maybe this was just what was occurring in my mind as I still struggle with features of PTSD from the train ride) :0). Upon arrival to Bangkok, we transferred to Unico Grande Silom Hotel and some of us spent the rest of the day at leisure while others explored on their own. “The girls”, a name that Lilit and I acquired on this trip, went on exploring different spas and scheduled traditional Thai massages which were amazing. At night, we met for our farewell dinner at a local restaurant where, as a result of peer pressure, I found myself participating in karaoke singing “My heart will go on” What a perfect way to end this great trip.

Kesjana Cake- aka Aria

Our morning began with a small talk regarding last night’s adventure walking through the Chaigan Mai night market. Once Anan arrived, we boarded the bus for a long winding ride up the mountain side. We were pleased as Anan (Andy) told us our names in Thai. Unfortunately, he gave no meaning behind them, we are anxiously awaiting the Thai spelling that was sure to follow. Today’s adventure felt like a page from the Discovery channel, holding Teak leaves which make beautiful expensive wood to viewing water buffalo and walking through the Chiang Dao Caves was simply exhilarating. There were a myriad of shapes throughout the cave; images and stone formation gave way to Buddha’s elephant and the open mouth of an alligator. This was only the beginning of the discovery. Our peruse along the Kok River provided a breath of fresh air mixed with mother nature’s picture perfect scenery. Tranquility describes it at best. Onward to visit one of the five tribes of Thailand’s Chiang Rai Golden Triangle. Just off the river banks we exited our boats which resembled a long canoe, to explore the hilltop way of life on foot, in doing so we purchased hand made scarfs and took plenty of photos of the lively children. Our last stop before heading to our new home for two days was the tribal home of Lahu upon deboarding the boat we observed other tourists riding elephants in the river bank and the most amazing thing seen was an infant no more than 18mo old being placed in a cage with a large snake. This opened the door for our group to hold a snake and yes we all declined. We must have a little sense lol…. Oh before I forget Jennie, Jennifer, Kasjana, Lilit and I were scared half to death when our boat hit a large rock in the water, had it been filmed we would have won the ten grand for the funniest video. Overall, today was exciting as each day has proved to be more exciting than the next. Can’t wait for tomorrow’s adventures. Until then Sa Wat Dee Kha – my standard Thai greeting meaning goodbye from a female.

Sytera Lynn Sanders in Thia Sunsasani

We arrived in Chang Mai after a grueling train ride on the “Night Train” from Ayuthaya. The 13 hour overnight journey started the evening before and included “first class” accommodations in a tiny room that accommodated two passengers sharing bunk beds and one tiny sink. There was barely room for the luggage. The air conditioning started out strong, but was greatly diminished overnight to our chagrin. We also discovered a short time into our ride that most rooms had stowaway critters, specifically some friendly Thailand bugs. The promised shower on the train (in the communal bathroom area) turned out to be little more than a hose and so we did without showers that evening.

Upon our arrival from our luxury train trip, we were happily whisked to the Chiang Mai Plaza Hotel. It was a truly beautiful hotel with clean, spacious, well air-conditioned rooms and pristine showers. We all scrubbed up and had a good breakfast before heading off to the Arts and Cultural Center to learn more about the history of Chiang Mai. After our history lesson, we had a Burmese buffet lunch that was excellent. The first half of the afternoon was filled with shopping at the World’s Largest Jewelry and Gem Store and then a Thai silk factory. Our group definitely gave a boost to the Thai economy with these last two stops. We then enjoyed tea time at the private residence of author and ceramics collector John Shaw and his wife. John gave us a brief explanation of his extensive collection of Thai pottery, most pieces many hundreds of years old. We said our good byes to our gracious hosts and headed to the summit of Doi Suthep mountain and the 600 year old temple of Wat Phra Doi Suthep. Although we had already seen several temples, we were in awe of the beauty of this one. Perhaps this temple affected us so because the monks were praying and chanting together creating a moving, pious experience.

After our jam packed day, we enjoyed dinner and a variety of traditional Thai dancing. In fact, our group and many of the other restaurant patrons took part in the final dance of the evening. The audience participation number was a success except for a few over served seasoned European tourists. We ended our evening perusing various Thai wares at the Night Market in Chiang Mai.

Jeff & Christina.

Had breakfast at Unico Grande Silom Hotel and checked out for the rest of the trip en route to Chiang Mai. Our first stop was at Ban Pa Inn Summer Palace where we explored amazing European, Chinese and Thai style architecture. Most of my attire for Thailand included cute dresses but upon arrival at Ban Pa Inn Summer Palace I was not allowed to show off my cute strapless dress. Instead, I ended up wearing a traditional Thai wrap around skirt and a man’s yellow shirt with little bunnies. However, I made it work as you can see in the pictures We then headed to a restaurant on the river where we ate traditional Thai lunch with the group. During lunch we began to take note of all the little lizards running up the walls and ceiling. Even though they’re harmless and somewhat cute I can do without the little critters. For dinner we headed to a cute bar called Tony’s place. We ended up meeting Tony and talked about his time in the U.S. We also met a cute “ladyboy” who enjoyed shaking his bum for us on numerous occasions. After dinner we drove to the train station where we boarded a train for the longest 12 hours of my life to Chiange Mai.

Thankfully, we were so tired from our first day that we went right to bed… because we had to leave our hotel at 7:30 a.m. the next morning!

After breakfast and a lot of coffee, we drove to Wat Raikhing where we boarded on a traditional rice barge for a cruise along the Tachine River. Coconut drinks in tow, we arrived at Rose Garden Riverside.

Rose Garden Riverside was composed of many traditional Thai homes. These Thai homes are currently used to teach people about the Thai culture and life. During our experience, we learned many things about the Thai culture. We were shown Thai dances, cooking, pottery, herbal remedies, flower arrangements. I personally found the most interesting experience was the Thai ettiqute of greeting. I found this to be most interesting because when I first arrived in Thailand there were many instances when people would do this bow gesture in greeting me. Keeping what I learned in my diversity class alive, I thought it would be more offensive if I bowed inappropriately rather than not bowing at all. I was sure that there was a certain way to go about the bowing process and pretending to know what I was doing would probably not have helped my situation. I think when I learned how to properly bow and greet people was when I first began to really connect with my current Thailand experience. We ended our experience at Rose Garden Riverside with a traditional Thai massage, using the herbal remedies we made earlier that day. I found it to be key in further developing my cultural awareness and learning more about the Thai people.
~ Jenny Thoma, MACC

On our first day in Thailand we visited the Grand Palace and learned about the Royal Family. Thailand is a wealthier country than I expected. Almost everything at the Royal Palace is covered in gold. Gold/Yellow are the colors of the King. The Thia people are very proud of their king and believe that he loves his people. We quickly bonded over our first lunch at the Navy Club. We were served family style and had the two men in the group try each dish first. I learned that I can eat a fish with the head and tail and fins right on it. Some people ate huge river prawns and other types of sea food I have never seen before. In the evening we enjoyed a Thia music and dance performance. The costumes are very beautiful. We have also learned that the monsoon season came early so we have experienced some incredible storms.