Post-Trip Reflections

For me, this Chiang Mai trip was a continuous journey of self-discovery and personal growth. Before setting off for the trip, I was full of apprehension and anticipation, because I had never been to Chiang Mai before, and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the trip. There was one thing that I was absolutely certain of though – I wanted to grow and broaden my world views from this trip, and sure enough, Chiang Mai did not disappoint! Although tumultuous at times, this trip has ultimately been very fulfilling for me, and it has taught me to step out of my comfort zone and seek greater self-improvement.

I think one of my most important takeaways from the trip was learning to become a more confident person as well as a better communicator. In my group, I helped to film most of the videos, and I often had to take the first step to approach complete strangers for interviews and surveys. Having to approach people in a completely foreign land was really unnerving, and I was very worried about being rejected or brushed off.

However, as we carried out more interviews, my confidence gradually grew as I began to realise that my worries were completely unfounded in the first place – most people that we encountered were so warm and approachable! I found myself stepping up to approach more people, and even having personal conversations with some of them! That being said, there were definitely intimidating situations, such as an instance when a Taiwanese family that we approached was suspicious of our intentions, and demanded for proof that we were from NTU. Despite their coldness, we remained polite and friendly, and they eventually warmed up to us and even offered us pineapple tarts! Through this, I have learnt that there is truly no better means of communication than a genuine smile, a friendly disposition, and a sincere personal interest in the conversation. This trip has indeed empowered me to become a more confident person who is no longer as shy and hesitant about approaching new people. It has also taught me the invaluable skills of establishing stronger interpersonal connections and I really feel that I have become much better at engaging others in meaningful conversation.

In addition, I feel that my 2-days-1-night visit to the Elephant Nature Park was the most impactful experience of the trip, and it truly led me to grow in ways I never expected.

For starters, our visit to the Elephant Nature Park really pushed me to take steps to confront my fears in unexpected ways. Since young, I’ve always had an irrational fear of cats and dogs, and I was really chagrinned at the start to find out that the Elephant Nature Park that we visited was teeming with them! For a significant part of my time there, I found myself treading in caution and anxiety, as there were simply too many cats and dogs that were roaming around the area. Being shoved into such an environment and having to conduct research there really pushed me out of my comfort zone, but I eventually learnt how to calm down and keep my fear in check. By the end of my stay at the elephant park, I was able to walk alongside dogs without feeling the strong impulse to run away, and I even touched one of them! Most importantly, as someone who has spent most of her life running away from these animals, I feel that I have really grown as a person in attempting to overcome my fears. Though I cannot say that my fear of cats and dogs has been entirely overcome, I am proud to acknowledge that these fears have diminished, and I have definitely learnt how to keep my cool whenever a cat or dog comes close!

In addition, the Elephant Nature Park trip has also cultivated a greater sense of curiosity for knowledge within myself. Before heading to Chiang Mai, I was rather indifferent towards the research topic of elephant tourism. Even though I had read several articles about the way elephants were being abused in such elephant camps, I did not take up a personal interest in the issue as I’d never interacted with elephants before, and I was fully expecting the research process to be really tedious and unexciting. However, upon heading to the Elephant Nature Park and witnessing the effects of elephant tourism on these creatures in the form of large scars, blindness and other deformities, I finally realised how endearing elephants can actually be, and how our research topic may actually support a change in Chiang Mai’s elephant tourism landscape. I now feel more empathy for the elephants, which has in turn inspired a genuine curiosity to find out more about the deeper impacts of elephant tourism as well as to uncover different solutions that can help improve the situation.

While this trip has definitely helped me to grow as a person, there were definitely instances where I felt that I could have done more to improve.

For example, during the leadership amazing race, I felt that I should have stepped up to take more initiative to improve our group’s efficiency. I’ve always been a really sensitive and unconfident girl since young, so being the follower in the group always felt like the most natural option for me. As I grew into a young adult, I gradually learnt how to love myself more, how to stick up for my own opinions and decisions, and even how to be a good leader. Hence, at the end of the leadership amazing race, I was really quite disappointed with myself when I reflected and realised that I’d unwittingly withdrawn myself into the background, and settled for simply following the lead of others rather than taking initiative of my own during the race. In the end, my group came in last for the race. Of course, in a group where everyone had really strong personalities, it would have been tough to work together if everyone tried desperately to assert themselves. However, upon looking back, there were definitely instances where my group felt lost and confused. If I had simply stepped up to take more initiative, I could have easily filled these gaps to motivate the group more and contribute in making decisions. If I could have a do-over, I’d definitely have poured more effort and enthusiasm into completing the race, to make the most out of the experience and learn new things about myself. I guess this regret also served as a learning point for me – to take initiative whenever necessary, rather than settle for being a mere passive follower.

There were also some hiccups during our research process, such as when we realised that the survey questions that we’d crafted before the trip were sorely inadequate, and we had to resort to coming up with verbal survey questions on the spot. This led to quite a bit of fumbling on our part while surveying the tourists, and some of the tourists couldn’t understand us very well. On looking back, we could probably have done better by putting in the effort to review our survey questions before setting off for Chiang Mai. This would have ensured a smoother and more efficient research process, and I will definitely take note of this when conducting future research.

To end off, I’m really thankful for this Chiang Mai trip. Without this trip, I would never have the opportunity to attain so much self-discovery and personal growth in just one week! With the help of our Thai buddy, I really experienced a deeper taste of Chiang Mai’s culture, and I am glad to have skipped the generic tourist route in exchange for this once-in-a-lifetime experience! For someone who has always been rather apathetic towards animals, I never expected that I would actually develop a genuine concern and empathy for the elephants.

All the elephants that we met during our time there had really sad eyes, and their bodies bore innumerable proof of their past torture and pain. While their scars and traumatic memories can never be erased, at least they are now in the better care of conservation parks that can give them the better care that they rightfully deserve.

Even though this trip may have ended, our research work still continues. Here’s hoping that our research may stir the waves of change that will save these elephants from the plight of exploitation!