Time Flies After Thailand

My Mom and Dad stayed here

Time Flies After Thailand

HOT POT!

I’ll admit, my blogging enthusiasm hasn’t been up to par in the recent month. This isn’t due to inactivity; rather, quite the opposite. After returning from spending a week with my family amongst the sun-soaked mountains of Chiang Mai, Thailand, I returned to throw myself completely into a life of constant study. This has involved a disciplined yet reclusive routine. After completing classes, I would return to my apartment, flip on the space heater, scarf down a day old “Fat Sister” (fried rice from our favorite local street food vender), light up my cheap “Ocean Breeze” Chinese incense, turn on my study soundtrack (“Explosions in the Sky”), and crank out two hours GMAT, one hour Chinese. Tuesday and Thursday nights became long this semester, with Chinese night classes. Nevertheless, I completed my hour goals and caught up.. just waiting for Christmas season to make me behind again.

Riding an elephant

Thailand was a magical place. Pictures will do it better justice than will my words. Reuniting with my parents and sister was a blessing. For the first time in years, I was spending time abroad with one of my siblings. The fact that both of us are grown adults made it even more exciting. A couple of days in Bangkok were enough for visiting the incredible but repetitive Buddhist temples and shrines. I also got briefly familiar with Elise’s Global Semester crew, which made me reminiscent of my semester abroad in Ireland only three years ago (see www.thomasinireland.blogspot.com). After Bangkok, we experienced a 3-day stay in Chiang Mai, Thailand’s northern, culture-keeping city.  A mere three days led us to enjoy the delicious Thai food (think sweet AND spicy), visit several Buddhist temples including one with a live, living (maybe?) meditating monk, and a spectacular trek through Thailand’s jungles, each of us atop our own massive elephant. The experience was full, and our accommodations were as posh as could be. After spending months backpacking around twisting turning roads in Guatemala and embracing the dirty squatters of Chinese bar bathrooms, having a smooth Gin and Tonic poolside was a refreshing splash of reality in another way traveling can be enjoyed.

Old Duck Soup with Mom and Dad

Meditating, (e)motionless monk

Chinese Dishes with my Chinese Family

On a riverboat in Bangkok

Learning about elephants

A scene from the JUNGLE BOOK

The whole experience was topped off by a visit to “CAPTAIN JACK’S,” a high-scale seafood restaurant near our gorgeous in Bangkok. After regressing back to Bangkok from our return flight from Chiang Mai, we jumped on Sangri-La Hotel’s complementary boat ferry and made our way down the river to our five star meal. I ended up polishing off spendy but extensive seafood platter with Elise while we overlooked the river. Could anything had gone better? Well, maybe if Dad and I had remembered to wear PANTS… (we had to borrow quite a few pairs on the trip)