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

University Scholars Programme

Day #3: Locals’ Life.

Wednesday, 2016, 7 January. The day was relatively relaxing and we started off with a mass group visit to Doi Suthep in the morning. Other than that, we had the rest of the day to ourselves, and we embarked on a short exploration of what it’s like to be a local student in Chiang Mai….

Day #2: Humans’ handiwork.

Tuesday, 2016, 6 January. We visited Wat Rong Khun (the White Temple) today, an exquisite creation with pearly white and shiny specks gleaming under the sun. Imagine the amount of devotion and effort invested by Mr Chalermchai (the artist) in this delicate piece of artwork! It is no wonder Mr Chalermchai was so furious as to…

Post-trip Reflections

I wished the trip was longer. Although there was work involved, I thought that we enjoyed ourselves in the process of work and certainly learned quite a bit. Objectives wise, the trip definitely fulfilled the role of giving me an intense exposure to fieldwork and research. I haven’t went out onto the streets and interviewed…

Day 5 – Young and Beautiful

We went to Tourism Authority Thailand (TAT) for an information session with the director. It was a very informative session, learning all about tourism in Thailand. I didn’t know that business meetings, golfers and wellness trips made up quite a portion of the tourism in Chiang Mai. Very enriching experience. We went to chill out at…

Day 4 – Keep Calm and Carry On

Went to CMU for a lecture. It was interesting attending a lecture at CMU and learning the history of Chiang Mai and how globalisation has affected the city. Next up was the Amazing Race where we learned about leadership. It was a truly amazing experience. Fun, laughter, joy and stress. I would say the most…

Day 3 – Meditation

Visit to Doi Suthep Temple. Climbed 306 steps to the top. Followed Peter our tour guide in the temple. He gave us a brief on Buddha, on how he attained enlightenment and the significance of each individual’s day of birth with respect to a Buddha image. Each person’s day of birth corresponds to a certain…

Day 2 – Temple of Art

We left Chiang Rai for Chiang Mai in the morning. Our first destination was the White Temple. It was a very magnificent temple, with the intricate details of the structure and the pure white colour. The temple is a temple of art and not meant for any worship. We interviewed the security guards and taxi…

Day 1 – Tribal Experience

We started off the day with the bus ride to Chiang Rai, stopping midway at a hot spring. It was a great place to warm up for our interviews (pun intended) – not too crowded and everyone looks friendly. We found that having the Chiang Mai University (CMU) student attached to us was extremely critical to…

Day 5 [Jan 8]

Today was the last day of our TOPS so we had to make sure that all the loose ends were tied up. We also had to ensure that we managed to get the footages that we had planned to document. The visit and tea session at the local tourism authority proved to be an informative…

Day 4 [Jan 7]

My group headed to CMU for a guest lecture on globalization by one of the professors. It was indeed an eye-opener to get to understand the impact from the perspective of Chiangmai. We planned to conduct a focus group discussion with some of the CMU students as arranged by May, our CMU attached student, during…