Cassia Phuket Beach Resort  Our time in Phuket was both incredibly fun and very informative. Aside from enjoying the beach as pictured and the beautiful sunsets that come with it, we also took time to learn how this part of the country has recovered from the Tsunami that absolutely devastated the local economy in 2004. One of the first things I noticed when I stepped outside the van was the…

When traveling abroad there are some things you should always carry around with you. Some of these essentials are taken for granted in the United States. It’s not until you spend a few days in another country that you realize the luxury of these seemingly necessary items. After spending two weeks in Thailand, here is what I now carry around with me. 1. Hand sanitizer Most bathrooms in Thailand do…

On Friday May 10th we spoke with several faculty and other professionals who were involved at different levels with the Tham Luang Cave rescue. The cave rescue occurred in 2018 after 12 young Thai soccer players and their coach became trapped in Tham Luang due to rising water levels following a large storm. These boys were several kilometers deep into the cave and had no way of getting food or…

Thousands of tourists from dozens of countries flock to Thailand each year. Despite the diverse set of customs that these tourists bring with them, all are made to feel welcome by the Thai people. Through my daily interaction with the students on our trip from Kasetsart University, I have been consistently impressed by their deep expression of hospitality, respect, and their ability to remain calm and pleasant with heat, stress,…

Bangkok has been a wonderful and new adventure! I am so grateful for the opportunity to interact with our Thai peers from Kasetsart University to gain incredible insight that we would not ever experience as tourists. Not only have they been knowledgeable guides, navigators, and communicators, but gracious and kind new friends that I will remember forever. Notably, our day at the Chat u Chack market was a blast, weaving…

Hi everyone! For my final Thailand project, I will be discussing how the nation’s geography affect their economic structure and plan to focus on the agriculture and service industries. During our first week in Thailand, we visited the Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) to learn more about how they work to support the country’s many, many farmers. First, our whole group was very thankful for their hospitality as…

On May 14th we spent the morning at Elephant Haven in Kanchanaburi, Thailand. We got to do numerous things with the elephants from bathing them in the river to feeding them watermelons. It was an unforgettable experience that I’m sure left everyone, including myself, in awe. Personally, I was anticipating the interactions that I would have with the elephants for as long as I’ve known that I’d be coming to…

Yesterday we visited Elephant Haven in Sai Yok, Thailand. There we helped care for the elephants by bathing and feeding them. At first we were all astonished by the sheer size of these gentle giants. Eventually we became more comfortable and stepped into the water with them to bathe them. We quickly learned their gentle and careful nature and found out that each elephant had a vastly different personality. Although…

About 10 minutes upstream from the Yoko River Kwai Resort is an elephant sanctuary which is two fold in its mission; to help the elephants used in the logging industry of Thailand and to further preserve their species. The three elephants we worked with in particular were very young when the practice became illegal, between 18-22 years old, and every elephant is paired with a trainer for life. These animals…

This morning we went to an elephant sanctuary and fed & bathed several Asian elephants. Decades ago, wild elephants were captured and used as beasts of burden, especially for logging and carrying heavy objects. Since this practice has been outlawed, the captured elephants had nowhere to go. In the wild, elephants travel in herds of several dozen and a single elephant wouldn’t survive in the wild and probably wouldn’t be…