Fieldwork and Documentation

DAY 4 (7 JAN) ⚚ CHIANG MAI UNIVERSITY ⚚

(Day 4) ?? –> ? –> ? –> ? Our 4th official day in Chiang Mai was a work filled one as we had many interview sessions lined up for the morning and afternoon. We were scheduled for an interview session with a doctor the morning, a lecture at the school of Political Sciences, an interview with the dean of Nursing, a…

DAY 3 (6 JAN) ☀︎ DOI SUTHEP ☀︎

(DAY 3) ? –> ? –> ? –> ? We started the day off later than usual, so I was feeling pretty energized and excited for the day ahead! Our first stop of the day was the Doi Suthep temple. I have heard a lot about the beauty and magnificence of this temple and was really looking forward to catching a…

DAY 2 (5 JAN) ❀ WHITE TEMPLE ❀

(DAY 2) ? –> ? –> ? –> ?‍?‍?‍? We kicked off Day 1 at the white temple, an extremely majestic temple that was sparkling and glittering in shades of silver and white. It was by far the most spectacular temple I had ever seen in my life, and I was captivated at every turn and corner. Despite being Catholic, it was so…

DAY 0 + 1 (4 JAN) ❊ CHIANG MAI – CHIANG RAI ❊

(DAY 0) ? –> ? –> ☺️ Before boarding the plane to Chiang Mai yesterday, I was filled with knots of anxiety and fear not only because I was so unsure of what to expect from this trip, but also because I felt extremely out of place in that moment. Having not gone for the USP and Hall camps, I…

Post Trip Reflections

This was a trip of many firsts for me; first time going to Thailand, first time conducting street interviews, first time conducting an interview in Chinese, first time climbing a waterfall. With this many unknowns, the trip was a mixture of expectations and apprehension for me. Firstly, the trip had been a realistic test of…

Day 5 (8th Jan): Cerulean

I started off my last day in Chiang Mai with a 2 hour long interview with the Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (Chiang Mai branch) in the morning. He gave us deeper insights to the tourism industry in Chiang Mai and tried his best to answer all our questions even though he just…

Day 4 (7th Jan): Spectrum

Globalisation. In recent years, the word has become ubiquitous in our lexicon for culture, economics, tourism; a phenomenon that has permeated inextricably into our everyday lives. The lecture at Chiang Mai University this morning covered many issues stemming from globalisation, ranging from technology to migration to climate change. As the overarching theme of our study…

Day 3 (6th Jan): Scintillating Gold

“Try to imagine a life without timekeeping. You probably can’t. You know the month, the year, the day of the week. There is a clock on your wall or the dashboard of your car. You have a schedule, a calendar, a time for dinner or a movie. Yet all around you, timekeeping is ignored. Birds…

Day 2 (5th Jan): Iridescent White

Today was a day of surprises as we got down to work interviewing more Thai locals and Chinese tourists today at the White Temple (Wat Rong Khun) in Chiang Rai and back in Chiang Mai. The White Temple (Wat Rong Khun) Its architectural design and the temple artwork was really beautiful. The lack of cloud…

Day 1 (4th Jan): Ochre

As tourists, there is an expectation to experience something different, something new in another country. Today’s visit to the Hill Tribe Village offered me a different perspective on such expectations. The village was home to members of 5 different tribes who were originally from mountains in Burma or Laos, selling handicrafts unique to their tribe’s…