Southeast Asia Day 11

Today was mostly academic. In the morning, we had breakfast in the hotel and then headed for Mae Jo University.

When we arrived, we were greeted with a lecture by the University President. He told us about the school as well as the agriculture in the region. We are partnered with an ecotourism exchange program here and it’s an agricultural school. It was actually really interesting to hear about the industry.

After this lecture we went to the market on campus. It was small and very different from other experiences we’ve had at markets. Everything was very cheap and there was no bargaining. There were no tourists other than us and no one begged us to buy from them. Items were mostly unique to each stand and many stands allowed us to try things to see if we liked them with no expectation that we’d buy. It was a very pleasant experience. I got a Thai Iced Tea and a little package of Thai desserts. I didn’t know what was in either but both were pretty good.

After the visit to the market, we went back to the classroom to listen to a lecture on ecotourism. Our lecturer was very sweet but super nervous. She did a great job and we learned a lot about ecotourism both in Thailand and in Taiwan because they send students there on ecotourism trips. I love the environment so I really liked the lecture.

Next we had lunch. They brought it right outside the classroom so we could eat there. It was a very delicious cabbage soup as well as a red curry with chicken. They said it was not too spicy and I believed them but that turned out to be a mistake. It was still delicious and I powered through the spice.

After lunch we went to see the Royal Project. This was essentially a huge biodiverse forest. It was started 37 years ago and there was no wildlife in the area. It exists to research good farming practices and share that information with Thai farmers. It was started by the late Thai King Rama IX, a beloved man here. I thought it was beautiful and really loved to see all of the different plants.

Next we got to stop by a sporting event. This was unexpected for us but we heard the loud music and asked to go. Turns out, it was sport day for all of the staff of the facility. The game they were playoff was called Chair Ball. It’s played by both teams having someone stand on a chair with a basket and the objective is to shoot the ball into the basket (chair person can move the basket to catch it but cannot leave their chair). Other than that it seemed to be played mostly like handball. Everyone was really excited to be there and having a lot of fun so I really liked the energy. It was fun to go off script a little just because we saw something that interested us.

Next we got back on the bus to head back to the university. We debriefed the day and had dinner. At dinner there was a dish with really delicious pork belly, but the other dish was once again a bit too spicy for me. I managed to eat all of my meat but was still a little hungry.

After dinner we went back to the hotel. We did a little schoolwork and then headed out to the night bazaar. We actually stopped by McDonald’s and I got a Happy Meal which was much needed after kind of a rough day. I really loved everything at the night market. It was very different from the one in Vietnam in that the vendors weren’t as aggressive, the stuff looked somewhat unique, and it wasn’t just a bunch of knockoffs of American brands. Everything was beautiful and really fit my taste, but I only brought an already-full carryon to Chiang Mai so I didn’t buy much. I hope the market is this good in Bangkok.

When we returned home there was a teeny tiny lizard on my bed. Lauren caught him and we both took pictures with him and took him outside. I started calling him Sylvester because it seemed fitting. I love reptiles so it was fun. I know it should’ve freaked me out because he was on my bed but I loved him so much I didn’t care.

Today was our first (of two) full days in Chiang Mai. So far it’s been tougher than other places we’ve been. Today was really exhausting so I hope tomorrow will be better. I am looking forward to seeing more farming tomorrow!