June 4th... Mandarin Oriental Resort

Today we had to be ready by 8:30 in the morning to go and tour one of the top rated hotel groups in the world. The hotel is called the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and it was a very cool hotel and resort that they have tucked away from Chiang Mai. We entered and we were in a courtyard with old Mercedes Bends limos that were waiting to take the guests to destinations around the city. We were taken into a large room where we listened to one of the main people from the hotel tell us about what Mandarin Hotels do and what they are trying to accomplish as a hotel group. After the hour or so presentation we were given a tour of the hotel where we got to tour rooms that were priced at just over $500 dollars a night to one room that was priced at $1500 per night. We asked a question about what the most expensive room in the hotel was and they told us it was a set of 6 separate bungalows that could sleep up to 10 people for just over $6000 dollars a night. This hotel has four restaurants including a traditional Thai, Chinese, Malaysian, and French restaurants all scattered around the hotel. There were two themes to the hotel and they were oriental and colonial so as a result there were two different themed rooms at this hotel. Comparing this to the Ritz Carlton in California that I have been to, I would say this hotel has a much more resort feel to it compared to the Ritz that I was at because it was spread out over 60 acres and you didn’t feel like you were at a hotel. We then had a light lunch at the hotel and left to return back to the International Center to change out of our school uniforms and into some more comfortable ones for our traditional Thai cooking class.

We got into some vans and left to go to a market to pick up all of the fresh ingredients to learn how to make our dishes. We had to barter with the people selling the vegetables and we bought all of our stuff that was on our list for 60 baht when we could have spent 200 so we felt good about ourselves. We then got to the cooking kitchen where everyone had their own Wok and cooking station which was really cool and hands on. We learned how to prepare and cook Pad-Thai, Shrimp tom-yum, chicken red curry with noodles, and sweet sticky rice with mango. It was a great learning experience and I look forward to cooking Pad-Thai for friends and family when I get home to the States.

We then got home and all passed out from being so tired at about 7 at night to sleep all night till 7 the next morning where we had to do it all over again.

My camera was dead so... I don't have any pics yet...

June 3rd.... Finally Friday!

Today we had class like normal and then it was the opening day of the shop where we all showed off our new stands and the products that we were going to sell. Our smoothie stand was one of the most popular stands there and we were very busy selling smoothies and not French fries. We thought the French fries would sell very well here but Thais do not like to branch out of their comfort zone and we only sold 9 plates of fries for the day which was only 90 baht. We sold out of some flavors of smoothies by the middle of the day and we found out which smoothies sold the best and which sold the worst and we eliminated those flavors from our menu as a result. We closed at 4 with total revenue for the day of 2100 baht which is not bad at all for our first day! (Other teams did not even sell 1000). I think we were one of the best selling stands for the day and I think that we will be able to make a very good profit for the two weeks that we are working and get some of our money back in our pockets to spend in at other occasions.

Once we got home we had about 5 hours of down time that we had available to us to do something for ourselves for a change. I desperately needed a haircut so I walked down the main road and found a salon that was doing haircuts for 300baht (kinda pricey right?) but I figured that in the states I would have paid about 15 for a good haircut and so I walked in and received a very good haircut and they washed and conditioned my hair so that was pretty nice all for only 300 baht. I left and came back to the international center where we all decided to go to the Italian restaurant to have some pizza and beer to start the night off right. I had a nice 8 inch pizza and a large beer for just over 7 dollars US and then we went to the club called the warm up where we preceded to drink, get hammered, and then attempt to dance on the stage where we got kicked off. It was a great night and definitely one to remember.

Oasis Spa Tour

Oasis Spa tour

This is the second week of school and we all look very tired today not wanting to get up and out of bed. We had the usual classes and then for the small business class we had the opportunity to see a world class spa that was started here in Chang-Mai. We got to the spa and were greeted by some beautiful women who gave us some water and we waited to meet the CEO of the Oasis spa. We met with the owner and asked him many questions about how his business runs and functions being so high class and expensive on Thai standards. He explained to us everything that we wanted to know and gave us a tour of all of the facilities where the massages and treatments are given to the guests. We then were told that the best three questions get a free massage and that we all were going to get 50% off of any spa treatment at the end of the tour so that gave more incentive for the girls to start firing off questions. Ironically two guys asked some of the best questions and they were awarded the free spa treatments. We then gave our thanks to the owner and got back in the taxi's to return back to the international center to do homework for the remaining night.

Orphanage

We got up today at 8 to be ready to go at 9 to go to an orphanage where we were going to play games and have lunch with the boys 5 years old and up and then later play with the younger kids 1-5 years old. We got to the orphanage and we were promptly volunteered to play soccer with the boys… These kids were very very good at soccer and out ran us by about 10 times but, we somehow beat the kids and won 3-1… by this point we are all very hot and bothered and need to sit in front of a fan or some AC. Nope… we are then prompted to paint on the walls with the kids in a room that was donated or something by our program. We then sponsored a noodle lunch with the kids and from being so dehydrated and hot I almost couldn’t stomach the food… it wasn’t just me either it was about half of the members of our group that felt this way too. Our Thai buddies then performed some Thai chants and such and then it was our turn to perform so we did the Macarena, the itsy bitsy spider, and head shoulders knees and toes. We also bought some ping-pong tables for the kids to play on so we then played some intense ping pong and some volleyball that we also brought with us to play. I have to say that I am not the biggest fan of the 7-12 age group of little boys because they continue to do things when they are told to stop 3,4,5 times and they are incredibly disrespectful towards all of us that are there and the teachers that are running this program. All in all I really did not enjoy this part of the orphanage but the next part was probably the coolest thing we have done thus far in a community service way...

We then went to the toddler cafeteria where the little guys and girls got up from their naps and it was time for milk and cake. Once the milk and the cake was put in front of them they were all very happy and munched on it all very quickly… then we brought out our cameras to take pictures of the cute little kids and they were infatuated with our cameras and wanted to push buttons and see themselves on the screens… when we got up from the tables every single one of the little kids wanted one of us to pick them up and just hold them. It was really sad that all these little kids just wanted to be held and carried around the little play area that we took them too. They for a time most of us had two toddlers in our arms or three crawling all over us starving for attention. We played with them for about an hour and then most of the little guys got tired and they went back to sleep and we all hit the taxis to go to Patriyas house for dinner.

Dinner at Patriyas house was AMAZING and we ate till our hearts content… we then went home and got ready to go to the Monkey club because this is the first night that the curfew has been lifted since we have been to Chang-Mai. The monkey club was crazy and we met people from California, Canada, Dominican Republic, and St. Louis. It was blast and we all got home at about 1 and promptly passed out haha!!!
That’s it for today!

Class and the Hike up the Mountain

Fourth day of class… today we had a normal day in professor Peters class but then we had a guest speaker in professor Patriyas which was a very established professor in the school of finance and told us that he will be teaching at WSU Vancouver in sometime. His lecture was about doing business in Thailand and the culture of Thailand which I thought was a little redundant for us because we have been learning about the culture of Thailand for the last 6 months but it was informative and I learned a few things. Then we had to present our findings of the field trip in our small business class where every group presented on their particular road they visited. It was interesting to see all the different regions of the city and all the different offerings that it had. We then were done by three and had only an hour to relax before embarking on a 7 mile hike up the mountain for Vesik day which is the biggest Buddha holiday in Thailand. The hike was fun it only took us Americans 2 hours to walk up the mountain compared to the Thai buddies which took about 3 hours to get up the mountain. The worst part was when we got to the last hill which was 300 steps up to the temple, we all hit the wall at this point and were gasping for air and took the longest to get up these stairs. Once on top we were able to take photos of the entire city of Chang-Mai and we then went into the temple which I think was the coolest looking one that I have seen yet. I lit a candle that signified good luck and prosperity and was correlated with the day I was born. We then took more photos as it got dark and the city lit up with the lights which looked very cool. Sore and very tired we walked down the stairs to get some really good street food and to re-hydrate because we had sweat a lot and it rained on us on the way up which made us feel even more gross.

The professors had arranged taxis to take us down the hill so we didn’t have to walk it again but with the thousands of people walking up the hill now it took us about 3 hours to get all the way down the hill and to the International Center. The freshman at the university are forced to walk up the hill and are hazed by the upper classmen pretty tough, we saw freshman tied together walking up the mountain, we saw freshman being pulled up by cars etc… it was like being in the “Dazed and Confused” movie where everyone in the city just accepts the hazing and almost supports what they are doing haha!

We then got home and took a shower and passed out hard for about 12 hours.

Posts are Coming!

Sorry I have been really really busy with school and all the stuff we have been doing.. I promise my tonight your morning I will get everything caught up!

We just have two projects due and we are opening up a business all on Thursday! here we go!

Second Day of Class

Today was a very boring day... nothing out of the ordinary, we got into groups with other Thai students and overcoming the language barrier is going to be the hardest portion of the small business management class. We get to take a commercial tour of Chang-Mai tomorrow so that should be a good time! We already have presentations next week to get ready for in our other classes so we all have been busy doing homework and preparing for class tomorrow.

Oh yesterday we dropped off our laundry and we picked it up today and it was only 70 baht for 14 pieces of clothing to wash, dry, and fold... all I have to say is WOW! 5 baht to wash and dry something is very very very cheap!

Thats all for today! tomorrow will be more interesting I hope!

First Day Of School and Fish Pedicure

Today we had the first day of classes where we had to get up at 7 in the morning to be sure that we were ready when the taxi truck picked us up to drive us to the business school which is about 2 miles away from the International Center that we are staying in.

We had our three classes and in between our second and third class we get a catered lunch everyday so that is something to look forward to trying new traditional Thai dishes. We then met the Thai professor who is going to be teaching our small business management class and she explained the class and told us about our project where we are going to start our own business and sell to the business students that attend the college.

We then had some down time on campus waiting to meet with the president of the university. We drove to the administration building and went into the very nice conference hall and met with the Vice President because the president had something come up at the last minute that he had to attend to. We learned all about the university and the history of all of the colleges. Then we took some photos and exchanged some gifts with each other and we were able to finally go home after a long day at class.

We all worked on our homework and such and then we all thought it sounded to go to the Mexican restaurant down the street so we all took the 10 minute walk to the restaurant called 'Manuels' and had something other than tradional Thai food for a change. (that wasn't McDonalds) This place had pitchers of margaritas for only 6 USD so we all decided to have a pitcher and when those were all done the girls saw a sign for a spa on the second level so they decided to check it out. We also saw a sign for a sports bar on the same level so we wanted to check that out as well. When we got up the stairs we saw a spa for your feet where you put them into a tank full of sucker fish and they eat all of your dead skin!!! We all contemplated doing it and then decided to do it because we are only going to be in Thailand once right??? When I put my feet in it was one of the strangest sensations I have even felt... In the beginning it felt like they were all tickling my feet and then after about 10 minutes it just feels like your feet have gone numb and you can finally relax and try and read a magazine...(that was all in Thai so we looked at the pictures)

All in all it was a really cool experience and my feet were really soft after wards so I guess it worked... the last photo is not me it is another one of the girls in the group but I wanted to show you an up close pic of the fishys!!!

Thats it for today... day two of class tomorrow!

Street Market

Today we had a free day to sleep in and do whatever we wanted to do and to start studying… So for the first few hours I read the readings that we needed to get done before class on Monday and then we went to the night time street market which was one of the coolest things that I have ever been to.

The market was about the length of about 30-40 city square blocks and there were merchants lining every inch of the streets selling everything from food to high priced art. I wish I would have brought my camera to this but I was then told by our Thai buddies that they do this every Sunday from 4-9ish so the next time I will get a picture to document the incredible amount of vendors and people that show up to this thing.

While walking around I noticed a lot more tourists and American looking people and the languages that were spoken were primarily English and English-English from the UK. I probably spent around 1000 baht on everything that I bought but I think I now have everything that I need to give gifts to everyone that should be getting one… throughout the street market there were so many food stands that I stopped and tried the food the other members were joking and poking fun of my adventuredness and appetite for all the new foods that I tried… Again next time that I go to this fair I will make sure to bring my camera and document all of the good foods that I have tried.

That’s it for today… School starts tomorrow... Scary!

Tour Around Chang-Mai

Today we had a free morning and then at noon our Thai buddies picked us up and they took us around Chang-Mai to a few temples and then to a major shopping mall where we could pick up some supplies like shampoo and soap because we have been using our travel size soaps for the last week or so. We then walked around this mall and picked up some more gifts for our loved ones and then we stopped for lunch at McDonalds because we all have been craving something American and greasy… In Thailand they have two burgers that are doubles of what we have in the states, they have the double fish fillet and they also have the double Big Mac. So I decided to try the double BigMac and let me tell you it was way too good not to be in the states. I bet McDonalds won’t introduce it because of the media backlash they would receive and the obesity issues that we have in the US. But, it was delicious and very fulfilling compared to eating the same burger in the states where you are eating mostly bread.

We then got back in the taxis and made our way back to the international center where we thanked our Thai buddies for all of their help. We then quickly dropped off our gifts and things and made our way to 7-11 to get some booze for the night because we heard that tonight was going to be the last night of the curfew in Thailand so we couldn’t go out for yet again another night. The 7-11’s here in Thailand are just like the Starbucks in Seattle, they are everywhere and in some places they are only a few blocks away from each other. They sell everything that you can in the states but they also sell hard alcohol behind the counter so we naturally flock to that area curious about the new liquors and have tried just about everything that we don’t have in the states.

We then came back to the International center and had dinner at the restaurant on the first floor where I had a dish of Pad-See-Ew for only 2 bucks which was very nice! We then came back up to play some drinking games and to hang out because again we couldn’t leave the international center because of the curfew set in place by the Thai government.
Tomorrow we have a free day to study and get ready for class that starts on Monday…

Second Day in Chang-Mai

Today was the first day that we had the opportunity to sleep in and catch up on some much needed sleep that we have been missing. I did not get up until 10 and took my time getting ready and had the opportunity to call loved ones and get a good breakfast from the restaurant on the ground floor of the international center. We then had to be dressed in the Chang-Mai university uniforms for the orientation and introduction to our Thai buddies. We arrived at the business school building and were directed into the MBA classroom where the dean of the college and other high officials of the university spoke and welcomed us to the university and to Thailand.

We then were given a tour of the college of business building and then had a “get to know you” session with all of the students and Thai buddies. We then had a tour of Chang-Mai university and along the way we stopped their equivalent of the bookie and picked up some supplies that we needed and other members of the group picked up their uniforms that they were planning on buying here.

We then went back to the International center where we were able to change and get into little more comfortable clothes to go to dinner with everyone in the group. We arrived at the dinner house after taking a taxi and we had to check our shoes at the door because they were not allowed in the dinner house. The reason why we couldn’t wear our shoes was because we had a traditional Thai dinner which consisted of two types of rice, chicken, pork, vegetables, and fruit to end the meal that was served to us from bowls of food while we were sitting on the floor of the restaurant. It was the coolest experience I have ever had, there were traditional Thai dancers that preformed many different dances and then at the end they invited us all up to dance with them. Being as tall as I was I kind of scared the tiny little Asian ladies and I looked a little ridiculous but it was fun and it got me out of my comfort zone. I also am not the best person at sitting cross-legged for more than 20 minutes but was able to endure my feet going completely numb by being able to stretch my legs out periodically throughout the meal because I was sitting at the end of the line of people.

When it was all over we left the restaurant to a mini fireworks show and then boarded the taxis and returned to the international center before the curfew time and then were given the opportunity to catch up on talking to loved ones and to get our journals taken care of and to party a little bit because well it is Friday and we cannot go out to the bars and live up Chang-Mai on the weekend before school starts like we would if we were in Pullman. So tonight we are going to drink like dormies do and drink in our rooms and hang out with each other and continue to get to know one another and watch TV that we don’t understand haha!
Well that’s it for today… No Photos because the battery didn't charge right.. will have pics later when people upload them for me

Leaving KohMak Island and Arriving at Chang-Mai

Today we got up and ate breakfast again at the resort and needed to leave by 8:30 in order to catch the boat back to the mainland. We made it in time and I broke the front hatch when boarded the boat and felt really bad but then another member got in and did the same thing so I didn’t feel that bad anymore. We then got to the pier and the bus driver was there waiting for us to get on and start the 6 hour journey to the Bangkok airport. Along the way a fellow member told me that she had received an email from the state department explaining the situation in Thailand and what the new curfew in place meant for traveling Americans in the country. The new curfew has been set in place to allow the government to find and remove all remaining rebels that are left after the leaders of the red shirts have surrendered. I have been getting many calls and facebook messages from people who are worried about me because they see what is going on in Bangkok on American media which really butchers what is really going on here. All of the violence is centralized and we have not been close to any of it throughout our trip, our leader would not intentionally take us into harms way so I have always felt VERY safe here in the country and am planning on coming back the next time that I can.

Along the way to the airport we had to pass through many checkpoints that have been erected by the government to prevent the rebels from moving and getting mobile. When we got to the airport we had to pass through three checkpoints again run by the military and were then finally allowed to go into the airport. It is nice to see the level of security so high at the airport which has always been a high target for any terrorists rebels.

We got on an Airbus A330 that was only 50% full so I had an entire row of three seats to myself that I was able to sprawl out and read my book that I have been trying to finish in the last few days. The flight only lasted about 45 minutes and then we landed in Chang-Mai where we were greeted by a few of our Thai buddies and the person who is in charge of getting everything set up for our arrival in Chang-Mai.

We then were put into taxis which are pickup trucks with beds modified with benches we we can sit and enjoy the nice breeze as the driver gets us to the international student center. We arrived at the student center only after a 5 minute drive from the airport and were given our keys to our rooms that we are going to be living in for the next four weeks.

We got all settled in and had Bank the only Thai student go out and get us some street food Pad-Thai because we were not allowed to leave the confines of the international center because we are Americans and they will not let us roam the streets with the curfew that we are currently under because of the rebels that are causing havoc in areas of the country.

Well again today has been quite the busy day and tomorrow should be an even more busy day with the welcome ceremony and other things that we have to do as a group.

Snorkeling at KohMak Resort

Today we had to be up and ready to get on the boat at 9:30 in the morning to go to a chain of islands that have coral reefs that are around them. We had the university pay for us to go on this trip which was 20 bucks per person or about 700 baht (kinda pricey for Thailand right?). it took about an hour to get out to the islands where we were to go snorkeling. The first island was filled with many fish and brilliantly bright coral with colors of blue and yellow that I have never seen before. We then went to a beach and had lunch which was provided for us. They guides freshly cut some pineapple and mango's for us to eat in addition to the fried rice lunch we had.

We then went to a small island where we had the guide swim us around it, looking at the island it looked that it would be easy to navigate around the island and it would not be that hard. It was easy up until we go in the current of the waves that we crashing towards us on the opposite side. It was a little scary trying to swim when you are 5 feet above sea urchins that will sting and make you feel like crap for awhile, but we survived and got back to the boat. This island had the same types of coral and again the colors were incredible and nothing like I have ever seen before. The last island was the best because of the varying wildlife that we saw under the water. This island had a few areas that were completely covered in sea enmities where a cousin of the clown fish lived. There were so many I wish I would have had an underwater camera to take a picture to show everyone the incredible wildlife and colors of the coral. After this island we returned our stuff back to the guides and then relaxed as we took the hour to get back to the resort. I applied sunscreen 4 times throughout this trip but I still somehow got burned on my back and the back of my arms and I was wearing a life jacket to avoid getting burned and still managed to pull that one off.

We then got back to the resort and immediately took a shower to get the salt water off of our skin and out of our hair and had a few hours of down time access the internet and for some of the members of the group to get massages that they have wanted to get. I have no desire to get a massage in Thailand or any place… I don’t know I’m just kind of weird. We had dinner at 6 and then proceeded to talk and hang out as a group and kind of bonded a little more that night… I completely lost track on time and forgot to get online and Skype my girlfriend after dinner and I believe that I am in the doghouse for that… We went to bed late and had to get up early to catch the 9am boat back to the mainland to catch our flight to Chang-Mai, so the next post will be the trip to Chang-Mai and entering Bangkok while the rebels are burning down buildings and such... I will post pictures showing what we see from the window of our bus.

Leaving the Swedish Resort to KohMak Island

Today we got up at the crack of dawn to leave the Swedish resort to take a 2.5 hour bus ride to the southeastern-most point of Thailand where we boarded a boat to take us to the very remote island of Koh Mak. On the bus ride we passed a procession of 4 monks and their entire villages that they are associated with driving to the local temple because these monks just ordained and are going to be monks for the first time in their lives. In the procession of cars there were trucks with entire bands in the back of the pickups and everyone was yelling and having a great time celebrating the monks and their decision to ordain.

We stopped along the way at a grocery store with the intention of getting some water and supplies for the island… but all of us college kids decided it would be a better idea to buy booze for the island and lots of it… we bought 2400 Baht worth or booze (which is 80 bucks) but if we were to buy that much in the states it would have been at least over 200 bucks easy. We then got to the island and it has some of the most breathtaking scenery and an incredible setting. I am definitely coming back to this exact resort and staying for two or three weeks in the near future. The food is cheap the rooms are cheap and there are NO tourists at all. They said that the island of Phuket was like this 30 years ago before it was found as a tourist destination. We are sleeping in little huts that have mosquito nets so we can open the windows and have the nice sea breeze come into our little huts. The huts are placed so when the tide is in we are sleeping over the water and walk along little raised pathways.

We got the resort in the afternoon and we were given free time to chill and take care of some personal things that we all have been needing to do. I was able to update all of my journals and my blogs because we finally had internet and it was “good” enough to get onto sites that required more bandwidth. We had dinner provided by the university and it was very good in my opinion, other people in our group are not big seafood people and they have been raising their noses to lots of stuff. There are a few extremely picky eaters where many times they have just had rice and nothing else.

Visiting the Rural School

Today we got up at a little early to go and meet up with the kids at the rural school to give all the gifts that we brought from the States. We arrived and the little kids were waiting in lines segregated by grade and they had been there for the last 30 minutes because we were a little late getting to the school. When we got there the kids had a traditional Thai dance ready to perform for us which was very fun and cool to see a variation of the dance that we are learning to perform In front of the entire university in Chang Mai. We then were asked to go up and dance with the kids which was very fun. We then started playing games with the entire school and learned a very fun game that I will run as a drill when I am a basketball coach in later years. The game is like this; you have a balloon with a rubber band tied to the end where you blow up the balloon, then you put the rubber band around one of your legs so the balloon is secured to you leg. Then the object of the game is to smash everyone elses balloon with you feet and to not have anyone smash your balloon, the last person standing wins. We then did sack races and then made our way down to the new playground that we bought for the kids this year. This playground cost our program 500 US dollars and it bought about 5000 dollars worth of stuff if you were to pay for it in the US. We had a dedicating ceremony and then we were told that we needed to paint the fence around the play ground so we then preceded to paint the fence in 100 degree heat and directly in the sun… My arms were very burnt after this but I didn’t notice that until later in the day when I could finally feel them.

Then we were taken to the cafeteria to have some lunch which we provided of hot noodle soup which again cost us 100 US dollars and it fed the entire school of 100 students and additional faculty and our group as well. The kids were really happy for the good food and were very excited looking at all of the toys that we had brought to the states. We then put all of the toys and gifts on the front table and preceded to teach the entire school the “itsy bitsy spider” and “mary had a little lamb” that was fun to see the younger kids have a good time with the songs. Then we gave out all of the toys and rain jackets to all of the kids at the school. They were very excited to have all the new things to play with and it was fun teaching these kids how to throw a Frisbee and what a whiffle ball is and what you do with them. It was very humbling to see these kids get ecstatic over receiving the smallest gift just because it was from the United States and because it came from us.

We then were given the opportunity to go into the classrooms and teach the little kids some small English phrases and things like that. I was chosen to go into the first grade classroom so this was the first day of the semester and they were very shy but they knew how to count to 10 and how to say hello so we practiced that and they did alright but they were again very shy and I think quite scared of me and how tall I was. On another note I have been pointed out so many times because of my height, It is almost getting annoying that anytime that we go into a grocery store or something like that we not only stick out like sore thumbs because we are American but I do especially because I am one of the taller people that they have ever seen in their lifetime.

After hanging out in the classrooms for about 45 minutes we were directed to go back to cafeteria to say our goodbyes and hop back on the bus to go back to the Swedish village. Thinking back on the day and what we as WSU students have done for this school is amazing and if we were not allowed to go on this trip because of the education abroad office freaking out we would have never been able to have the playground built and been able to give these kids the much needed rain jackets and toys that the kids love so much.
When we were back the village we celebrated one of the members birthday the only good way a group of Pullman kids could do…. We ended up drinking outside in the outdoor sitting area and watching an incredible thunderstorm roll in and dump rain on us for about 45min then it was gone and the humidity was gone for a short time.
Well that’s about it for today… we have to get up early tomorrow again to get on the bus to get to the private island on time.