2. Daily Postings Assignment Chiangmai Study Trip 2015/16 Tourism

University Scholars Programme

Day 0: Sunday Highs

Upon stepping foot on Chiang Mai soil, we were greeted warmly by the Le Meridien hotel staff, who presented us with flower garlands and took pictures with us. It occurred to me that this sort of treatment would never occur in Singapore. The Thais’ hospitality shone in stark contrast to Singapore’s jadedness. However, I noticed later…

Day 2 [Jan 5]

Wat Rong Khun (The White Temple) The renown White Temple (Wat Rong Khun) was our first stop of the day en route back to Chiangmai. Upon arrival at the temple grounds, we got down to conducting interviews with the people working there, specifically the secretary of the temple and shop owners. I was looking forward…

Post-trip Reflections

The week I spent in Chiang Mai had ups and downs, with some expectations met and some expectations unprecedentedly surpassed. One expectation that was met was that of being challenged to think in new ways, be more open minded to concepts and ideas that are foreign to me. For example, on Day 1, Dr Vithi…

Day Five: Leadership

We had the leadership session today in the afternoon, and it was the general agreement that it was a pretty good session. The session began with a mini workshop on how to introduce yourself to someone you’ve just met – from how to shake hands to what to say and how to say it. I…

Day Four: Black or White

Today was an interesting day because of contrast between the two sites we visited, the White Temple and the Black Temple. We visited the White Temple first. As its name suggests, the White Temple is indeed painted mostly white or off-white. It is a majestic piece of architecture adorned with glittery, eye-catching tiling and intricate…

Day Two: Heritage Beyond Words

Today we visited the Fulldome.pro headquarters. I was not entirely sure what to expect despite having done some reading up online, but I certainly hadn’t been expecting the warm hospitality and scenic, peaceful work environment of the area. The office was perched atop a small picturesque hill, the sides of which were littered with many…

Day One: New Perspectives

Hello from Chiang Mai! Yesterday we got to eat out in one of the local restaurants. The food took a long time to arrive but it was good. For some reason though, my stomach felt a little queasy afterwards. I didn’t feel sick, just a bit uncomfortable. It just goes to show how something as…

Hurry, there’s a smoker in front!

To be honest, I do not have a very good impression with smokers. I do not deny that there were times when I purposely walked away from the smokers or made it obvious that I disapprove of their actions. Smoking is often associated with drinking alcohol but I think many, like myself, are more acceptable…

Day Five – Don’t be a Kopi cat, be a leader!

That is the motto my group came up with during the Leadership Amazing Race and we decided that being punny is an essential and necessary skill to be a leader. Actually I did not expect much from this race, because of the short duration. Yet unexpectedly, it proved to be an excellent opportunity to learn…

Day Four – 1000฿ for me??

The only bright (and red) side of doing a research on smoking is that we get to visit shady red light districts. I have to first clarify that we only did observations and none of our boys got naughty. It was indeed an eye-opening experience, though we did not enter the shops and only…