Week Thirteen & Fourteen: Thailand

I cannot believe I only have a little over two week lefts of my study abroad trip! When I think about the very first day of move-in with all these what-ifs and questions brewing inside of me, it is crazy to think of how far I’ve come since then.

I left off the last blog post with my wonderful trip to Disneyland. On Thursday of week twelve (December 15), I had to wake up very early to register for my winter quarter classes. Luckily, I got into all the classes I needed, and it makes me excited to go back.

That afternoon, I took a walk by myself to Zhabei Park, a lovely and serene park just a couple minutes from campus. Just outside the entrance gate were many locals surrounding a couple benches and tables. In the center, there were a few women playing cards games.

Once inside the park, I plugged into my calming music playlist and began to wander. One thing I love about China is their attentiveness and preservation of natural beauty. Many people of all ages were walking around, relaxing, and a few people were hitting the ball around. Several beautiful bridges allowed one to see the trees and water from many perspectives. It was a peaceful time for me to reflect and let my mind to wander. I know we all need that sometimes.

On Friday, after Chinese class, my Entrepreneur class took a field trip with my professor to the office Senasic, the first ever tire pressure sensor technology in China. It was interesting to see how quickly the company has accoutered in only three months. It was also cool to hear about a product I never knew existed.

On Saturday, the whole USAC group took our last field trip to the Xitang Water Village. And for the last time, we all piled on that all-to-well-known bus of ours and made our way to Xitang. Once we arrived, we walked to a dock, and groups of us split off into gondolas. It was a nice ride where we were low to the water and had a beautiful view of the ancient town from all sides. For the duration of the gondola ride, we chatted and took photos.

After getting off, we walked around the town, checked out the shops, and arrived at the restaurant for a group lunch. Just a little later, we gathered up our stuff and had a couple of hours to pillage around the town. I went off with Elizabeth. We were able to make it all the way down the other side of the village. Many of the clothing shops sold traditional Chinese clothing with vibrant colors and designs. There were the usual food stands, like fruit cups, stinky tofu, and lots of meat. One stand though stood out to us. It was a wine stand, with large porcelain jugs for tasting. We pointed to one of the jars for a sample and instantly fell in love. Now, I usually don’t buy wine or any alcoholic beverage for that matter, but this tasted so good! The both of us bought a small bottle of lychee wine.

That same night, my parents arrived in Shanghai!! So after some rest of both of our ends, I met them both with big hugs and a few tears at the hotel they were staying at just minutes away. It felt so nice to see them, but it was also a little strange. Nonetheless, I began the tour of my little piece of Shanghai. I showed them around Yanchang Rd. For dinner, we ate at a highly raved noodle joint, and we all loved it so much. As you might guess, we were all exhausted from our travels, so we said goodbye for the night, and decided to meet up the next morning to explore more of Shanghai.

The next morning, before heading off to People’s Square, I dropped off a large duffle bag full of snacks that my parents brought for me including some caramel chocolates, hot Cheetos, buttered popcorn, and some candies. Taking my first bite into my most-loved American snacks never felt so tasty in my life!! Anyway, on Sunday morning, I showed my parents how to get around on the metro, and we arrived at People’s Square. We walked the famous Nanjing Rd until we reached the Bund. It wasn’t too busy because it was pouring, pouring so hard we had to buy some cheap umbrellas. Regardless, it was still a beautiful view, seeing the Pearl Tower. Our next stop was to Tianzifang, the quaint art market nestled inside the French Concession. We didn’t spend too much time there because we were all tired. But my mum loved it. After returning to our beds for a nap, we regroup that evening to grab dinner along with some of my friends. Luckily, my favorite noodle soup dive was open, so we all ordered our food and had a nice chat.

On Monday, my class resumed, and since it was my busy day, I didn’t get a chance to visit with my parents. Still, they wasted no time and did some exploring of their own to Yuyuan Gardens. That night, I met up with my parents, and we grabbed dinner. At first, we tried a fancy Chinese restaurant, but it wasn’t as good as we’d hope. So, I settled for some pasta at Wagas, my favorite place for American comfort food. We felt like we needed to do something else with our timing running out. So as a last minute plan, we took a Didi to the Pearl Tower to see it at night, which I had not done yet. It was such a cool experience. Our ticket was good for all the levels of the Pearl Tower. Our first stop was to the top of the tower. It felt an awful lot like the Space Needle, with the 360-degree view of the city and a revolving restaurant. While it was cool, the level below was the best part, with a see-through floor which was super trippy. I had to conquer my somewhat fear of heights to walk on the see-through floor. The photos came out awesome, with the lights of the city buildings reflecting on my face. We stayed at the Pearl Tower until closing time and then headed home to sleep.

Come Tuesday, I had class, but immediately after, I met up with my parents for lunch. We didn’t have too much time until we need to catch our flight to Thailand. However, I was able to treat them to a meal at my cafeteria. The food is so delicious! Shortly after eating, I took them to Zhabei park, and we had a nice chat just enjoying our last few moments in Shanghai together.

We took a Didi to the Maglev (a high-speed train which levitates off the ground and goes almost over 350MPH). It only took less than ten short minutes, and we arrived at the airport. Once through the gruesome tasks of security and customers, we had some time to relax and grab food at a very plush lounge.

At around 11:00 PM, we finally arrived in beautiful warm Thailand!! I do have to say, the adjustment to the humid and sunny weather was a little shocking but refreshing. Our room was beautiful, with a tall ceiling, elegant bedding, and some artwork hung on the walls. All of us were tired, so we passed out right away. The next morning, we got to relax near the pool and have a tasty breakfast. The ambiance of the hotel was so pretty and relaxing. After eating, we explored the town. I instantly fell in love. The town was small, quaint, and the people were friendly. First, we came across a temple with many types of statues, natural structures, and a serene pond with huge floating lily pads. There was a creaky bamboo bridge overlooking the pond.

For lunch, we found a small cute outdoor place that sold the yummiest mango passionfruit smoothies. I paired the smoothie with some pad Thai, and it was the perfect lunch! Following lunch, we found a peaceful massage place right across our hotel, and I got a head, shoulder, and back massage which was much needed.

For the next few days, it was yummy smoothies, Thai food, and massage during the day. The Lantern Festival is the biggest global event in Thailand with probably one million visitors from all parts of the world. The first night of the festival was also my mom’s birthday! During the day, we grabbed lunch and came back to the hotel where we were invited to make Thai Krathong, a water float with the base made out of a banana trunk, wrapped in banana leaves and festooned with an assortment of flowers. Once made, the tradition is to light a candle or an incense stick and realize the float onto the water as a token for hope and gratefulness. Afterward, the hotel surprised my mom with a birthday brownie which was so kind and meant so much to her! That same night was the first night of the festival. The opening ceremony was held just outside the old part of town with the famous gated landscape. Once inside the gate, we were faced with dozens of yellow lanterns strung from a tall shaft.

We found ourselves walking the pedestrian road which led to the river. Along the way, we saw our first glimpse of the fire lanterns floating magically into the air. Thousands of people swarmed the streets taking photos and rushing here and there with unlit lanterns pressed against their bodies. We snagged a few of our lanterns and decided to enter a beautiful gold temple. It was still crowded, but not so much as the streets. Once inside, we found an open space to watch as many people inside the temple fired up hundreds of lanterns. An eruption of laughter and applause filled the night as there seemed to be nothing but smiles and joy that night. Then, we lit three of our lanterns, took some photos, and exchanged many hugs. The whole night sky looked similar to the one scene in Tangled where Rapunzel and Flynn at watching the lanterns from their boat (if you’ve ever seen the movie, you would know!). That night, we ended up making it all the way down the street to the river; however, it was a struggle because of the mass amount of people.

The next day, we did the same drill all over again. Expect, for the second day; there was a parade that lasted for over three hours. We walked to the same area as the gate and the lanterns and were able to see the parade floats before they began to march. Many of them were extravagant, festooned in neon lights, elephants, jewels, and Thai figures. We also sent more fire lanterns at the same temple. For dinner, we grabbed some Italian food!

On Saturday, we all woke up early and took a van to an elephant sanctuary. When we arrived, we had to put on a suitable outfit for petting and feeding the animals. Before interacting with them, we had a brief lesson on how to approach them and learned some commands: “bon” is to summon their attention. Then, as you feed them bananas, you pat their trunk and say “didi.” After feeding them tons of bananas, we joined them in a mud pit. We got our hands and feet dirty, literally, by scooping up piles of mud and rubbing it against the elephant’s skin. It was a little bit weird, but I knew I was only going to do this once in my life (probably) so I went for it. After sudsing the animals with mud, we all transferred to the water pool where we were handed one bucket and a brush. We then splashed water onto the elephants and scrubbed them clean. It was really fun! Our last stop was to make the elephants a food supplement consisting of cut up banana, ginger, and dates. We put the ingredients together and used a mortar and pestle (Thai cookware) to grind the mixings together. Once smashed into a gooey consistency, we scooped it up and molded into a ball with our hands. We then walked back to the elephants to feed it to them; It was said to help with their digestion.

Since we were all dirty from playing in the mud, we showered off, changed into our own clothes, and gathered for an AMAZING Pad Thai lunch with lime squeezed over the noodles for the perfect touch. We chatted with our group, sharing lantern festival stories. Sadly, it was time to pack up and leave the sanctuary. Our family was the first to get dropped off. The last place we stayed at in Thailand was Joy’s House, the same guesthouse that we stayed at over six years ago. While checking in, to my dismay, I caught a glimpse of a familiar looking girl. When I slowly approached her, we look at each other, and our eyes instantly glowed. It was Leonie, my friend who I met several years ago! We hugged and did the usual “I can’t believe it’s you” whole thing. Check out the before and now photos of us two!!

We ended up staying at Joy House for dinner, and I had a chance to catch up with Leonie for a short but sweet time. After relaxing and hanging out at Joy’s House, it was time to go to bed. I woke up early for my last morning my Thailand. I quickly packed up my belongings, ate breakfast, and said my goodbyes.

I was unwillingly stuck at the airport for over six hours because my flight was canceled, and I was not informed about the change. Luckily after many explanations to multiple airport counters and calls later, I was put onto a 3:30 PM flight and arrived at my dorm that same night. It was an exhausting day, but on the plane ride, I was already missing Thailand!

Now, we arrive at week fourteen. As you probably know by now, on Monday, classes resumed like normal. It was so great to see my friends again, catch up, and share photos of my trip. After classes, I went on my own to People’s Square to explore, buy a few souvenirs and allow time just to think and ponder. My parents had two more days in Thailand and had just several hours back in Shanghai before returning back home. So after class, I met up with them at the Jin Mao Tower to say goodbye and have lunch together. The Jin Mao tower, located in the financial district, was a beautiful hotel with a spectacular 360-degree view of the city. It was a fancy hotel, and it was fun to have dinner there!

And now, my friends, we have reached the (almost) end of this week. It’s Thursday now, as I’m finishing up this blog post. I still can’t believe I’m going returning home in two weeks. I really need to hunker down on my final projects and tests. I have just a few more things I want to squeeze in before my time is up. We have a farewell dinner on December 14th, where I’m sure some tears will be shed. But for now, I’m going to enjoy the rest of my time here in Shanghai and ace through my finals! Stay tuned for my last blog post! And I almost forgot I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving. The best part of mine was seeing my parents <3