Fieldwork and Documentation

Post-trip Retrospection

Connect Exchanging stories with my fellow batch mates, I learnt of the colourfulness of Chiang Mai and in a more humanistic way, the complexities of the human perspective. Although all of us were in the same city, our experiences were vastly different given not just our separate itineraries, but the differing group dynamics. It reminded…

DAY FIVE

Through a foreign lens During the Leadership Amazing Race, we had an interesting encounter with two German tourists. Deciding to share a taxi, we hopped onto one where we met the middle-aged couple. Our student leader then began to strike a conversation with them. We learnt that it was their umpteen time in Chiang Mai…

DAY FOUR

Rightness/wrongness We had several interviews today and were exposed to a diversity of opinions on elephant tourism. In the morning, we re-interviewed our tour guide to learn more about the attitudes of tour companies and tourists on elephant tourism. (He requested for a second interview due to details he was not keen on disclosing publicly.)…

DAY THREE

“Truth is relative.” This is a philosophy that I thought I would never subscribe to but today, I was reminded that there is truth in this statement (although relative). Doi Suthap It was my first time entering a temple at Doi Suthap. I was greeted by the smell of incense and the sight of crowds…

DAY TWO

Two days in at the Elephant Nature Park, and I was already getting used to the slow pace of life. The morning started with a big hearty vegetarian breakfast, followed by a tour around the park where we got acquainted with the elephants. We learnt about the stories behind their injuries and their behavior towards…

DAY ONE

Breaking Arriving at the Elephant Nature Park, I was taken aback – not by the magnificence of the elephants, or the close proximity to these gentle giants (don’t get me wrong, they were awesome too!) – but it was the brokenness and sheer dejectedness of the elephants that got to me. Broken backs, battered feet…

Post trip reflections

(*For my post trip reflections, I have decided to use a more Q&A style where I can directly answer the questions I posted in my pre-trip reflections.) Questions posed in Pre-trip Reflection: Q1)Can the creative Chiang Mai project really preserve the essence of the Thai culture while advocating so much changes? Can the past really…

Day 5

“A leader can’t need the approval of anyone else. A leader has to find that approval from within.” Steve Rogers, Captain America Secret Avengers 21.1 GREAT. JUST GREAT. For a person who can’t find her way around Singapore even with google maps, a amazing race around Chiang Mai seemed like the worst thing I…

Day 4

If Doi Suthep was the closest thing we have to heaven, the white temple would be the closest thing we have to… the Ice Castle in frozen? The white temple glistened brightly under the harsh sunlight. You couldn’t look at it without squirning your eyes uncomfortably. To enter the temple, you even have to…

Day 3:

The locals believed that the top of the mountain of Doi Suthep is the closest point to heaven in Chiang Mai. Standing on the top of the mountain, it’s easy to see why anyone would have thought that way. You could see the entire skyline of Chiang Mai set against the majestic mountains and…