Today was rather unexceptional as it was just lectures and travel. We started out with a company visit that was at the hotel where we learned about the management of the hotel. I didn’t know much about the hospitality industry previously but it was super interesting to learn about. The most interesting thing we learned was that the hotel has to be at at least 50% occupancy to turn a profit. I actually really liked the hotel visit and feel like I learned about both Tara Angkor Hotel and Cambodia through their discussion of the labor force.
After that we debriefed what we’d learned while in Cambodia in preparation for our second exam. It was a helpful exercise.
Following that, we headed to the airport. We had time for a quick lunch at the airport and then flew to Bangkok in a plane that was bigger than I expected. I appreciated the down time but the plane ride was too short to get a good nap in and they kept waking me up to give me food and then take the food back. Overall, it was alright. Air travel is never great.
When we landed we went through customs. It took me forever because the guy was texting instead of processing me. Next we got on the bus for two hours to head to Pattaya. Once there, we had dinner at a seafood restaurant. It was really good! My favorite thing was a coconut ginger chicken dish. Afterwards we stopped by the 7/11. The most interesting thing I saw there was a chicken curry pizza flavored pack of Lays potato chips.
After that we went to the hotel to drop off our stuff. We stayed at a 5-star hotel in Pattaya and it was gorgeous! Checking in was a breeze but we had a quick turnaround to get downstairs because the tour bus offered to drive us to the walking street. The hotel was called the Mövenpick.
Finally, we went out to the walking street. There were a lot of bizarre things that I’ve never seen at home but it was super fun.
I was really sad to leave Cambodia but I’m really looking forward to our time in Pattaya!
Allison Around the World 