The Arrival

First day:

I arrived in Thailand at 11:45 am, March 26th…my 21st birthday! I’ll be honest: I was extremely bummed I couldn’t celebrate my 21st birthday in America, but I kept reminding myself of the amazing experience I was about to have for the next 2 and a half months. I was also worried no one on this trip would know it was my birthday, but thank god for facebook, because some of the girls who were on the same plane as me knew it was and made sure everyone else did too. On the flight from Taipei, Taiwan to Chiang Mai, Thailand, I ordered a beer (yes, at 9 am in the morning…it was my 21st birthday, give me a break!) and 3 new friends of mine kept sending up screwdrivers to me (orange + vodka). It was pretty funny – the Chinese flight attendants kept asking me if I really wanted another one after I kept finishing my drinks.

I finally arrived in Chiang Mai, which would be my new home for the next 4 weeks. There were about 15 of us on the flight, and one of the professors, Dr. Waldorf, was waiting there to pick us up. When I stepped outside of the air conditioned building, a burst of heat rushed to my head and I instantly starting sweating. It was easily around 80-90 degrees (something I need to get used to…it might take awhile)! We took a red truck, or a sun tao, to the Chiang Mai Flora Hotel. A sun tao is a truck w/ a cover over the back w/ benches inside for people to sit on (around 8-10 people can fit in it).



A bunch of Sung Taos at the mall.






They are pretty convenient since they can fit a good amount of people in it. Kind of hot, but fun. We arrived at the Chiang Mai Flora, which we will be staying at until Monday, April 6th until we move to live in the IC (International Center). Kathleen (a friend from Orchesis) is my roommate for the whole trip. Pictures of our room & hotel:














awkward bathroom/shower....everything gets wet when you shower :]









we always sit and talk here :]









After settling in we got food. I was so excited to finally eat Thai food! My first meal? Pad thai and a Thai iced tea :] so good! A thing I realized about Thai restaurants and their menus is that they have at least over 100 things on their menu to offer. It’s insane…it makes ordering so much harder since there are so many things to choose from.


Total amount of my meal? Around 4 dollars. I love Thailand.



me and my first meal :]






We went to the mall, which was pretty small. They have vendors everywhere inside as well as many stores. Their one big store, equivalent to a Wal-Mart mixed with Costco, is called Tesco. Nothing too exciting.

At night, everyone went out to a bar called “Monkey” since they were giving out free drinks for a couple of hours (beer or coke & whiskey). Whiskey seems to be HUGE here in Thailand, especially the brand, Johnny Walker (his picture is everywhere). I hate whiskey but I am starting to like it more and more everyday since it’s so common. Another thing about Thai bars I observed is that Thai people drink, socialize, and eat food; no one really dances (such a bummer for me). Even Thai restaurants are open till 11 or 12 pm (healthier midnight snack than Taco Bell!). The bar was fun still, even though there was no dancing. It was a good time.

Lastly, we all went up to the rooftop and all hung out and looked at the view over Chiang Mai. It was so nice to take in the view and let this fact soak in my head: that I would be here till June.