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 coexist harmoniously with the future?

Definitely. Most of those whom we have interviewed told us that they do not believe that the development Chiang Mai will hinder efforts at heritage preservation. (As said in Day 1 reflections! )

 

Q2)Is the Thai culture portrayed in the media the truth or is it merely a carefully construed marketing ploy to develop their tourism industry?

In my opinion, Chiang Mai lived up to it’s reputation. It is a genuinely beautiful place.

Chiang Mai felt like a teenager going through a secret rebellious phase. In the day, it behaves like a good student, with it’s peaceful and highly religious community. When the night falls, it  swiftly transforms into a wild party animal with it’s interesting nightlife. This is the charm of Chiang Mai. Where everything seemed paradoxical and at odds with one another.

But objectively speaking, I really cannot give a satisfying answer to this question. Since we are doing our research on heritage, we really did not meet anyone that could answer this question truthfully and objectively. I didn’t ask my CMU friends either (I was afraid that the question will be offensive to them)

 

3)How different is the lifestyle of the CMU students from ours?

Well, they probably party way harder than we do in Singapore. Chiang Mai students have a slower pace of life, and they are generally more laidback than us.

And I have never truly appreciated how fortunate I was to be born into a bilingual education system- with both languages ended up being the global language! For my thai counterparts, they have to make deliberate effort to pick up new languages at university . Many of them ended up with a minor in English or chinese. And for that, I am thankful.

 

Most impactful experience:

I would choose the Doi Suthep temple for personal reasons. It inspired me rethink about the direction of my life and where i will be going. It reminded me to stay in the  moment and pay more attention to mother nature. I can still fixated by the peace and serenity the temple brings. And their  breathtaking scenery.

 

Most importantly, it reminded me that LIfe is simply too short to be wasted rushing through it.

 

Gratitude

All that I can think of right now is how grateful I am to be able to go all the way to Chiang Mai as a USP scholar. This is the first trip to Thailand  (and certainly will but be the last. time ) and I love it so much.

I am grateful to all of the TOP Professors who put in so much time and energy to ensure that we can have a great trip. In addition, I have never learnt so much information about Chiang Mai and for that I am thankful for the lecture by the CMU Professor.  

I will also have to thank my CMU senior attached Son, was extremely patient with us and brought us to the best places in Chiang Mai. (Student night bazaar that sells so much cheap and pretty clothes!! )

And lastly, I am grateful that the heritage group has the best group mates one could ever asked for. Thank you so much for being so amazingly understanding and encouraging in our 7 days of adventure. :))