Fieldwork and Documentation

Day 3

At Doi Suthep this morning, Shaeba and I sat at one of the corners of the temple, talking. We observed that the temple was a very sacred place to the local Thai people. There was this particular scene that we observed, where the local thai people entered one of the temples kneeling, and remained very…

Day 2

Tonight I had a conversation with one of the CMU students attached to my group. Her name is Yok, and she is my roommate. I was out watching the Muay Thai fights near the hotel, and had just returned to the room. We started off discussing the Muay Thai show, and I told her how…

Day 1

In my pre-trip reflections, I wrote about wanting to be a global citizen, seeing myself and the people around me as all part of a larger global community. I found that I came to Chiang Mai really viewing the place and the people around with new eyes, wanting to relate to them on a deeper…

Post Trip Reflections

Now back in the comforts of my home, I look back to my USP Study Trip with fond memories. I can appreciate how it has allowed me to immerse myself in the research completely, to think deeply about the issues of heritage preservation, as well as consider various forms of documentation to best suit…

Post-trip Reflections /หลังจาก/

It has been more than a week since flying back from Chiang Mai. I’ve slowly attuned myself to the routine of school, to the heartbeat of the new semester. Yet, Chiang Mai continues to tug gently at me, pulling my thoughts towards its charming quaintness. It has a sort of beauty in being torn between…

Daily Reflections Day 6 /ห้า/

Today we took a break from our research! During breakfast that morning, we decided to explore Warorot Market for a taste of everyday life for the people in Chiang Mai. There was something in the spontaneity of the whole thing that made the experience an exciting one for me. The simplicity of the market was…

Daily Reflections Day 5 /สี่/

Our trip to Chiang Rai today marks our last chance to collect research data. The journey there was filled with highs and lows, literally. But the bumpiness only made it more memorable as we took turns to be jolted awake during the bus ride. We visited the famous White Temple, or Wat Rong Khun, first….

Daily Reflections Day 4 /สาม/

Thailand is a country well-known for its devotion to Buddhism. One of the first things I saw when I touched down in Chiang Mai was a sign in the airport that warned: “the image of Buddha is not to be treated with disrespect”. It then proceeded to list all the acts that were punishable by…

Daily Reflections Day 3 /สอง/

We started out the day with more focus because we had already settled the direction of our research last night. We were also a lot more systematic and efficient when conducting interviews because we decided on specific roles for everyone the night before. The practice that we had from the first day helped in…

Daily Reflections Day 2 /หนึ่ง/

The first thing on our research itinerary was a lecture at Chiang Mai University, done by one of the professors in the department of history and culture. We had a good night of shopping and bargaining in the Walking Market last night to initiate ourselves into this beautiful city, but it was time to get…