Factory Tours

We went to five different types of factories: pottery, gemstone, silver, silk, and wood. They were all very impressive and I couldn't believe that people do this day-to-day as their job. Some of the things they did seemed to repetitive (like when making silk) but I guess it's something they just get used to. More about that below :]


Pottery:
I have never seen so much pottery in my life. It was amazing to see them mold and shape things so perfectly by hand (something I have no talent for!). When they engrave things in the pottery they just use a thin stick...I would never have that much patience for doing that. I have no idea how they made all the different things look all the same...it was perfect.







Some more pictures:































Gemstone:
Unfortunately, we couldn't take pictures inside. Gemstone was alright - they showed us how they shape all their diamonds and gems and how they put them into silver or gold. After we saw the factory we went into this HUGE room that was full sparkles (aka jewelery). It was funny, I was just looking at diamond rings (no intention of buying one) and a lady was trying to get me to buy something and followed me all through the room trying to get me to buy something. I have never seen more beautiful jewelery in one room!





Silver:
To me, the silver factory wasn't that impressive because we just saw the gemstone factory. It was still nice :] They showed us how you know what's real silver and what's fake. The only thing I really did enjoy about it was the air conditioned showroom and the garden :]




More Pictures:


































Silk:
By far my absolute favorite factory. It was amazing how they turned little bugs into cloth. They had little plant baskets with live silk worms, dead ones, babies, ones that were mating, and ones that turned into fuzz-like things. They had these machines that made the fabric. You boil them first, and somehow they connected the silk worm to the top of a machine to pull the string as it went. Once they have the string, they made it into clothing, scarves, and many other things. It was so cool.

Live silk worms! Mating!











Looks so strange!











Crazy machine to make clothes & materials....lady at work!











Wood:
By the time we got to the wood-carving factory, everyone was super exhausted. I didn't even see anyone carve any wood, I just saw their HUGE showroom. Kind of a bummer now thinking about it, but it's okay :] I walked around their showroom and they had AMAZING carvings. Like pottery, everything was so exact and so precise. I do not get how they do it!!!




I went and sat on the bus after walking around for a bit. I was so tired! We drove home and on the bus ride and I think on the bus ride mosquitoes bit both the top of my eyes :[ I'm super allergic to mosquito and spider bites (I swell like a balloon!) so of course, the next day, my right eye was SWOLLEN. Oh well, I knew I would get eaten alive here. I expected to be swollen and ugly :] haha....more to come!

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.

Sa wa ti kha!

Sa wa ti kha family & friends!

I wasn’t going to do a blog at first but I changed my mind. I have just done so many things already that I don’t want to forget, and I thought typing a blog would be easier for me to keep track of what I’ve done (not to mention to give you all an idea of what I have experienced so far). I’ve only been here 6 days but it feels like I’ve been here for months. It still hasn’t really hit me yet that I am here in THAILAND for 10 weeks, but I’m sure it’s bound to at some point.

This first couple entries may take some time to post since I have 6 days of a billion things to cover (sorry!) but I will try to keep this updated as much as possible. Internet is pretty easy to access here, but it’s incredibly slow sometimes.

So, here it goes…… :]