DAY 0 + 1 (4 JAN) ❊ CHIANG MAI – CHIANG RAI ❊

(DAY 0) ? –> ? –> ☺️

Before boarding the plane to Chiang Mai yesterday, I was filled with knots of anxiety and fear not only because I was so unsure of what to expect from this trip, but also because I felt extremely out of place in that moment. Having not gone for the USP and Hall camps, I did not know many people from USP, and so was very nervous about not being able to make any friends and being left out. Walking into the airport alone and seeing everyone with their groups of friends, I was so sure that I was going to be extremely miserable for the next week. My anxiety somewhat subsided after finding my Healthcare group members and talking to them a little, and it was rather comforting and reassuring to see that they all seemed welcoming and friendly.

The next few hours whizzed by quickly as we checked into the beautiful hotel (definitely one of the nicest I’ve stayed in) which is located in one of the liveliest parts of Chiang Mai, and settled in. Our group left the hotel and went to a nearby night bazaar to have some scrumptious Northern Thai food for dinner. Prior to the trip, my sister told me that I absolutely had to try khao soi (curry noodles) and Sai Oua (sausages), and those were the 2 dishes we had for dinner!

(Day 1) ? –> ? –> ?

We woke up bright and early and embarked on a long bus ride from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai. Upon reaching the hotel, we had a quick lunch because we had a interview session with Dr. Jirayu Maneerat at 1230pm. Most of the Healthcare group went up to the rooms to prep the interview space, while Dion, Mohn and I waited for the doctor to arrive such that we could escort her upstairs. Soon it was 130pm, and Dr. Jirayu was still nowhere to be found; she did not pick up any calls either. At that point in time we thought she was not going to turn up and were left feeling so anxious and demoralized, especially so since it was our first interview scheduled with someone so important. But thankfully, she arrived after an hour due to some miscommunication. we were so relived, but still a touch anxious because we did not know how to go about our first interview. However, I think my group pulled it off really well and we managed to get a lot of interesting options from her! It was also a really successful day because we managed to get about 8 interviews and 10 surveys from passers-by at the mall, but we had to get a lot of help from Mohn who very graciously and sleflessly helped us! It was tough at the start as many people were shy and were not comfortable being interviewed on camera, however it soon got better as the hours passed as we persisted and approached anyone we could. As the numbers of interviews and surveys increased, so did our confidence and team morale.

After an afternoon of hard work, we headed over to the Tulip festival where we were surrounded by thousands, maybe even millions of varying species of flora. Being surrounded by such beauty definitely helped to calm my nerves down and helped to take my mind off all my worries and fears. Upon showing my family pictures of all their favourite flowers I managed to find at the festival, they teased me about clearly just being on a holiday and not doing any work. Their joke however really made me think about how lucky and fortunate I am to have the opportunity to experience such a wonderful sight.

Throughout the day, my group realised that we could not find many smokers around Chiang Mai, much less Chiang Rai. It definitely took a toll on our group’s confidence in our project because at that point in time, it seemed like we did not have anything to do our project on, like we should just scrap the entire project and pick an entirely new topic. So after dinner, our sub group met up and tried to think of a direction in which our project could go. We were so lost and helpless and so ready to give up, but Yijin, one of the seniors attached to our group, joined our meeting and kindly helped us find a solution. After much discussion, we found the light and managed to twist the project in a way where we could still work with the information we had. Exhausted after all that thinking, we showered and headed straight to bed.