Fieldwork and Documentation

Day 4 (7th Jan)

We went to Chiang Mai University for the school visit and a lecture there. We were also privileged to have the chance to meet the dean of the Political Science division and she speaks such fluent English, which was something that was unexpected for me. Maybe it is due to the preconceived notion of Thai’s…

Day 3 (6th Jan)

We went to Doi Suthep for a visit and the temple was amazing, though the location is up on the hill itself and the trip itself is a bit torturous. But the view at the observation deck is nothing short of amazing. Did the people decide to build such an observation deck because of the…

Day 2 (5th Jan)

We went to the White Temple today. The White Temple itself was stunning itself with the sun rays reflecting on the temple, making it glow and enhancing its beauty. It looks like a dazzling diamond on the ground. I envy the Thais that they are able to have such a majestic structure in their country,…

Day 1 (4th Jan)

We went to Chiang Rai today, and we passed the Hot Spring town as a rest stop. The place was filled with tourists as expected. But I was surprised that not many people went to try the hot springs. The town has a rustic feel to it like the ones that you see in American…

Post-Trip Reflections

TOPS has been nothing short of an amazing learning journey for me. The idea of research while travelling overseas made the trip an even more meaningful one as it forces me to be more aware to the happenings around me and it also greatly heightened my appreciation of a culture that is so uniquely different…

Day #5: Another Layer Off.

Friday, 2016, 8 January. The day started off with a two hour long interview with the president of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), and through this interview, we have gained various new insights from his affirmative disposition towards tourism in Thailand. Instead of focusing all the attention on criticizing the negative behaviors of the…

Day #4: Friends & Impressions.

Thursday, 2016, 8 January. The highlight of the day would be the Leadership Amazing Race. The activity planned for us was truly unlike any other training courses I have attended and it was an immensely introspective one indeed. There was a certain degree of unease even before the race commenced, as we were abandoned in…

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…