Day 0/3 Jan: We’re here!

With my passport and boarding ticket in hand, our journey to Chiang Mai, Thailand, had officially started. Making way towards my seat, I was filled with a buzzing excitement and nervousness for the flight and adventure ahead. Two hours passed quickly and before I knew it, we had touched down in Northern Thailand with the plane racing down the runaway, causing the distant mountains to blend into a green blur beyond my window. After settling our entry through the airport and collecting our baggage, the bus ride to our hotel as described by our tour guide, Mr Happy, was too brief to take the city in. The street scenes whizzed by quickly with my eyes following from left to right. Having been to Thailand the year before, the new sights and sounds did not surprise me as much as they did fill me with nostalgia in seeing motorcycles weaving through traffic, the small street shops and the familiar rugged roads so distinct from Singapore’s smooth, paved ones.

Reaching the hotel, Le Meridien, we were greeted by tall gleaming walls and the incredibly friendly staff. We also met the Chiang Mai University students from the faculty of political science who would be guiding us throughout our stay. Their enthusiasm in interacting with us set a very welcoming tone in which we responded with cheers and hurrahs each time they introduced themselves. I look forward in getting to know more about our student attached, Fye, as she teaches us more about Chiang Mai in her own perspective. With our windbreakers on, the first group picture commemorated the beginning of a new friendship with our Thai friends.

Too overwhelmed with the prospects of being in a new country, my group and I explored the Sunday Night Market Walking Street nearby our hotel. There we had our first taste of Thailand, literally, enjoying a dinner of Pad Thai, among other street foods. Remembering how much I had enjoyed the iced milk tea in Phuket, my dinner was finished off with one, leaving me wanting more. The brightly lit streets packed with locals and tourists alike seemed to have the same idea as us as we walked up and down the long streets, stopping every so often to admire the local crafts for sale and listen to the street music. Everything and anything you could think of seemed to be selling from intricately made, giant dreamcatchers, hand carved soap, to knock-off T-shirts. Just as the stalls were closing, seemingly to start from the farthest end of the Sunday Walking Street, we slowly made our way back to Le Meridien, full of the bustling sights, sounds, and food for the day. With a full schedule ahead tomorrow, we quickly settled in with the twinkling night lights outside our window being our last sight before drifting off.