The End

So I’m sitting here in the Frankfurt airport (not enjoying my 6 hour layover) and I can’t believe that it’s actually over. Actually, I guess I can believe it since I just paid 3 Euros ($4.35) for a water that would have cost 7 baht ($.24) in Thailand… and because I cried when I said good bye to Pi Da on Friday afternoon and then again when I got to the airport (which was very awkward given I had never met the driver I was with and he didn’t speak English). It’s going to be strange to not spend all my time with the same 15 people. When I was reading the pre-departure guide before going to Thailand, I never thought I would actually have the “reverse culture shock” that they warned us about. I’m realizing that I most definitely am experiencing it. I keep wanting to say “sawasdee ka” and “kop kun ka” to everyone while wai-ing. I am confused when I have to spend more than $1 or $2 on my meals and I’m starting to remember that not everyone in the world is as friendly as the average Thai person.

As I look back on this trip, it has been probably one of the most amazing experiences of my life. From being immersed in the Thai culture, meeting the great American students, and learning about bioethics in an entirely new context, I have loved this summer.

A boat cruise and my last night in Thailand

Boat tour

On Thursday, we headed to Siriraj Hospital, which is a huge public hospital in Bangkok where we heard many lectures and got a tour of the IVF clinic as well as the genetics lab. Later that night, we all headed to a cruise boat on the Mae Nam Chao Phraya (“River of Kings”). The boat took us along the river and gave us a beautiful view of many temples and the Grand Palace from the water. There was another all you can eat buffet (I really love this country) with tons and tons of delicious food. I was particularly excited to see more of the coconut milk desserts (karan croch). As we ate and enjoyed the view, there were several musical acts including a Thai band, traditional Thai dancing, and eventually a band that played more upbeat music that people could dance to, including “Country Roads” and a grand finale of “Waka Waka,” which I was particularly excited about. While we were standing on the deck of this boat, surrounded by the beautiful lights of Bangkok at night, it started to hit me that I was leaving this amazing place. It was hard to believe that five weeks had already flown by. I most certainly was not ready to leave- I don’t know how anyone could ever be ready to leave a place like Thailand where the food is delicious, the sites are gorgeous, and the people never seem to stop smiling. As we filmed more scenes for “Bahts on Bahts on Bahts,” I started to realize how much I was going to miss everyone whom I’ve come to know here, the American and Thai students, as well as all the others who have helped us make the most of our time. While Dylon kept telling me he was going to cry when we left, Larry offered a less depressing view. He said, “I really feel fulfilled after this trip. I think that we really got the most out of these past fives weeks. You know there are some trips where you leave saying, ‘I wish I had done this and that.’ I don’t feel that way leaving Bangkok.” And I have to say, as much as I felt a knot in my throat while standing on that deck, Larry was right. We have done so much on this trip and experienced so many amazing things- almost everything on the “Highlights” list in my Lonely Planet Bangkok book: 1. Grand Palace & Wat Phra Kaew, 2. Mae Nam Chao Phraya cruise, 3. Wat Pho, 4. Chinatown, 6. Chatuchak Weekend Market, 7. Dusit Palace Park, 9. Jim Thompson’s House, 11. Mah Boon Krong, 12. Food Markets & Street Stalls, 13. Skytrain. Even though we missed: 5. Wat Arun, 8. Wat Saket & Golden Mount, and 10. Wat Mahathat & Amulet Market, we did so much more beyond the guidebook. Our time here has been like a fairytale and I honestly don’t know what I did to deserve such an incredible experience. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves though, we still had one more night and we were certainly going to make it worthwhile.

Performance on the cruise

The rain is coming

Friday was Queen’s Birthday and Mother’s Day so, after our presentations were finished, we headed into Bangkok to see a celebration where everyone lights candles and sings happy birthday to the Queen. Nearly the entire time we’ve been in Bangkok, city has been slowly acquiring more decorations in preparation for this day. As we arrived downtown, there were tons of people gathering outside the Grand Palace where the big celebration would be occurring. Unfortunately, shortly after we arrived, so did the rain clouds and then the torrential down pour. We should have taken the hint from the dozens of Thai people running away from the celebration to buses and other shelter. Instead, we kept on walking and got caught in the downpour…with only one umbrella between the 12 of us. Soaked to the skin, we waited under a tent that surrounded the field that was the main location of the celebration. Eventually, we decided that the rain was never going to stop and when it slowed up somewhat, we made a run for Khao San Road in search of dinner and a place where we could dry off. I bought a new shirt because I felt like I might freeze to death and we found a restaurant. It seemed appropriate to end my time in Thailand the same way I started it- chicken fried rice and a Chang beer. After ordering food and drying off, we heard what sounded a like a stick of dynamite going off 10 feet away. Really, it was just the fireworks for the celebration, which were so close to us that the entire restaurant shook every time they went off. Even though we might as well have been lighting the fireworks ourselves we were so close, we watched them on a TV screen instead of in person...Later, Dylon, who had stayed at the celebration with Jenn, told us he literally saw the fireworks leaving the ground. Safe. After dinner, we hung out on Khao San and enjoyed our last night in Thailand together.

Sarah's umbrella... yet she's not using

On Saturday, people began leaving one by one for the airport. As I didn’t leave until 8:45 pm, I spent the day with Carla and Jenn (who are staying for a 2 week internship) trading pictures and music, as well as watching the final product of “Bahts on Bahts on Bahts” way too many times. Here’s the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QjCiuF9n40. It’s a pretty good representation of my summer… or at least the people I spent it with.

The HIV Temple and Ayutthaya

On Tuesday morning, we headed out on an overnight field trip to the HIV Temple at Lopburi and Ayutthaya. Because a rough draft of the final papers was due for the Thai students on Wednesday and, I imagine, this trip is the equivalent of a New Yorker going to Times Square, they were given the option to not attend. Amy and Suk still decided to go… actually Suk was absent when the announcement was made that it was optional so he was sort of tricked into attending but we were happy to have him!

HIV Temple

Anyway, after about 2 hours of driving, we arrived at the HIV Temple and were met at the gate for a tour. The first place we were taken was a building that houses several bodies that were donated to the temple. The bodies are kept in metal cages and are at various levels of decomposition depending on their age. They are victims of AIDs with a wide range of ages, from small children to adults. There was one body that had mold all over it because o f a skin reaction to the chemicals used to preserve the bodies. This body had to be kept in a glass case instead and could not be disposed despite the adverse reaction because there were legal documents asserting that it was to be donated to the temple. For some, the idea of donating the body to the temple is controversial because Buddhists believe that the body must be cremated in order for the cycle of birth and rebirth to continue. Several human rights groups have criticized the temple for keeping the bodies out in the open and on display like this but the temple believes that it is an important reminder of the importance of valuing life. In the same room was a glass box with hundreds of white bags of ashes of AIDs victims that had not been claimed by the families of the deceased. We learned that misconceptions of HIV and AIDs were incredibly widespread in Thailand in past years and are only now improving. Earlier, people often thought that HIV could be spread just by skin to skin contact such as a handshake so when a member of their family was discovered to have it, they would often been ostracized or abandoned. We were told of taxis pulling up in front of the temple and sick people being pushed out and left sitting at the gate alone. After walking around the eerie building with cages of bodies, we headed outside and saw the various places where people could pray as well as little houses where HIV patients who were stable yet not quite ready to return to society could live as an intermediate step following their stay in the wards at the temple. We passed a group of statues created from the bones of HIV/AIDs patients that were created with the hope that misconceptions about the spread of the disease could be further reduced. We went on to see more housing, a gift shop that sold crafts created by the patients, and prayer area with more huge glass boxes of unclaimed ashes. We also walked through another building that displayed several jars of organs donated to the temple for display and study. The last part of the tour was the most interesting- we walked through one of the wards of HIV patients. They were mostly lying in their beds, which held everything they possessed (food, bottles of water, toys, books, trinkets). Often, it seemed there was little room for the patient in the bed with all the other stuff. The ward was not air conditioned because air conditioning contributes to the spread of TB so in the hot and humid summers of Thailand, the patients often lie in their beds wearing diapers only because they are too weak to stand or have lost the ability to move their legs. The patients are not treated at the temple; they are taken to a nearby hospital for treatment but return to the temple to stay, possibly because the hospital is too full to offer them a bed. The patients at the temple work together to care for each other by helping with tasks, such as changing the sheets and passing out donated food.
 

Sculptures from the bone resin of AIDs victims

Seeing all of this first hand was an incredible experience, perhaps one of my favorites on the trip. It was touching to see the generosity of the people working there as well as the monks, volunteers, and other patients. We were told that, at first, the monk who allowed the HIV patients to live in the temple with him faced challenges because people stopped donating food to him because of fear of the disease. (Side note: monks do not have any personal possessions and live solely off of donations of food and robes, etc. They walk the streets every morning at approximately 6 am to collect their food for the day and only eat before noon.) Each day, he found himself having to walk further and further from his temple to collect enough food to provide for himself and the HIV patients. It was heartening to see that this had changed as the beds were overflowing with food from donations. This, without a doubt was one of the most emotionally charged places we’ve visited during our time in Thailand; despite the sadness brought by the thousands of bags of ashes and the weakened patients, the collaboration of the patients, their smiles, and “sawasdee kas” directed at us created a feeling of hope for the future.

Merging on an elephant

After a quick lunch, I promptly fell asleep on the bus and woke up 3 hours later, VERY disoriented. We were ushered off the bus, directed to a line, and handed tickets. Seconds later, I was sitting on an elephant with Erin. For all I knew, the elephant could have been taking me to Cambodia (it wasn’t). We started off on our elephant ride by crossing a street and almost getting hit by a motorbike that was driven by a woman as her very young son stood in front of her with his hands on the handle bar. Safe. We walked along the busy road but had great views of ancient ruins. As my sleepiness wore off, I figured out that we were in Ayutthaya, which was the former capital of Thailand before being sacked by the Burmese. Our 15-minute elephant ride was a joke- it was literally along a road equivalent to Charles Street in Baltimore or JPA in Charlottesville. Erin and I decided we had “merged” using an elephant which was hilarious to think about. At least it made for entertaining photographs. Following our elephant ride, we walked around ruins that were the former grand palace. It was particularly cool to see because it was the exact same as the new grand palace in Bangkok which we went to see the second day we were in Thailand so I could somewhat imagine what each crumbling wall had used to look like.

Temple

That night, we headed to a group dinner at a restaurant on one of the several rivers that runs through Ayutthaya. Pi Da had ordered a variety of delicious Thai dishes that we all tried. Back at our hotel, very full and happy, we decided to work on creating a music video that we had been planning for a while. It all started out as a joke when we took a Tuk Tuk in Hua Hin to ride elephants. As we sped along on the highway, the driver turned on Lady Gaga on full blast. We had all laughed about how funny it would be to have a music video that took place in the Tuk Tuk with baths flying everywhere and thus, the idea for “Bahts on Bahts on Bahts” was born. On Monday, we had mentioned this to Larry right before class and told him that we thought he should be the rapper. By the end of the first lecture, Larry had whipped out several incredible verses. After filming a few scenes and getting some VERY bizarre looks from other people in the hotel, we headed to bed.

Bahts on Bahts on Bahts

Wednesday morning, we checked out and headed to one temple and two museums. Even beyond yesterday, I was in awe of the ruins because I don’t think that I’ve ever seen anything as old as these. They were built in 1350 when Ayutthaya was founded. The first museum explained the history of Ayutthaya and had models showing what it used to look like. The second museum was an art museum, which had a variety of beautiful artifacts including old Buddhas and wall carvings. Next, we headed to another hotel for an amazing all-you-can-eat buffet. Where I had one of my favorite Thai food items, something called “karon croch” (in Thai). It is basically coconut milk that is poured into a little pan slightly bigger than a half dollar coin. The heat causes the milk to brown on the outside and makes it into a little pie-like desert. They put sometimes put corn or a green herb in the middle, which remains somewhat liquid despite the outside crispiness. After two more temples and dozens more photographs, we headed back to Bangkok, tired but satisfied with our busy days.

A beauty hospital, acupuncture, weekend markets, and bribing the police

I leave Thailand to head back to the US on Saturday, just a few days away and I am getting very sad to leave this amazing country.  The past week has been so amazing because of our new Thai friends that we are taking class with, as well as some great field trips. 

After returning from Koh Samet, we began our bioethics class on Monday with the new Thai students.  It has been great to have their perspective on the bioethics issues that we are discussing.  On Monday night, MUIC threw an elaborate welcome/farewell dinner as some students from the first session would be leaving and other students had arrived.  The dinner was held in the 6th floor hotel that is part of the MUIC tourism training program and included delicious food and live music performed by students in the school of music.  Many faculty members of MUIC thanked us for coming and welcomed the new students with very nice speeches.  It left me feeling embarrassed by their gratitude for my presence in Thailand- I really felt like I should be thanking them for all their kindness and hospitality during my stay. 

On Tuesday, we headed to the National Cancer Institute where we were spoken to by a researcher.  It was incredibly interesting to hear the perspective of a doctor who works in the public sector where he receives very little pay in comparison to the private sector doctors.  One student asked him why he didn't work in the private sector and he basically said that he had turned down an offer to do so because he thinks that there is more to life than money.  The shortage of doctors in Thailand's public health sector demonstrates that most doctors do not share his charitable attitude.. 

On Friday, we had another field trip that offered a great contrast to this trip.  We headed to Yanhee Hospital in Bangkok.  Yanhee is a beauty hospital that specializes in elective procedures, specifically plastic surgery, sex changes, etc.  The nurses who work there are all incredibly beautiful and most of them wear heels while working.  I have never been in a building with more mirrors.  As we toured the hospital, it reminded me of a shopping mall.  Throughout the various departments, there were dozens of brochures advertising the services and prices of the various procedures that were offered.  This private hospital offers top of the line care and is internationally certified.  It caters to both foreigners and Thais.  Our lecturers described the ways in which the hospital sold its services, focusing on health AND beauty.  The hospital even hosts a beauty contest known as Miss Yanhee.  One of the runners-up of the contest later went on to compete in the Miss Thailand competition.  The prevalence and prominence of this hospital's sex change operations was clear as one of the winners of the beauty contest one year had formerly been a man.  The prevalence of this procedure is something that we have all observed throughout our time here.  Nearly every time we go into Bangkok, we see a few "lady-boys," whether it be in a restaurant as our waiter, in the hospital as our tour guide, or just walking around the mall.  They are much more common here than they are in the US.  Sometimes we don't even realize it until they speak or until we notice that their hands or feet don't quite match their other delicate features. 

Friday afternoon, we headed to Golden Jubilee Medical Center where we learned about alternative medicine and even got to try some out.  Several of us got to try acupuncture, cupping, Thai massage, and other alternative medical treatments.  The doctor was leading a few of us in some stretches to help with back pain from poor posture and when she adjusted my hand position, she noticed my sweaty palms... and proceeded to tell me that they were caused by a misalignment in my spine and observed that my shoulders are not even.  She told me that to cure my sweaty hand problem, I should go to a chiropractor to correct my spine issue.  The alternative medicine experience was definitely one of my favorite trips because it was so interactive.

Saturday morning we headed to Chatuchak weekend market which is a huge outdoor market that is perhaps the most overwhelming shopping experience I've ever had.  Chatuchak is an expansive flea market where bargaining is imperative and everything from cats in costume, bracelets, soccer jerseys, spices, and handbags are sold.  After spending a few hours getting lost among the hundreds of stands, Erin, Carla and I left to meet Praew at Platinum fashion mall.  Platinum is basically Chatuchak moved indoors and limited to women's clothing.  The same bargaining is expected and the prices are dirt cheap but shopping was slightly difficult as they don't allow you to try the clothes on.. for non-size 0 Thai girls, this leaves a lot to chance and guess work.  For the most part, the vendors were helpful in determining if something would fit but there was often only one size sold.  Platinum was so overwhelmingly large- the directory is about half an inch thick with multiple tabs and fold out pages.  We were so grateful that Praew was there to help us navigate the narrow aisles and speak Thai to the vendors on our behalf.  We were also very grateful to finally collapse into the comfort of an air conditioned cab after a long day of Thai-style shopping, which, in my opinion, is much more tiring than shopping in America for several reasons: the narrow aisles, hundreds of people, bargaining, small sizes, and the language barrier. 

Sunday morning, we continued our weekend of markets by heading to Rachaburi for a floating market.  Since we first arrived in Thailand, we have wanted to see one of these markets and we finally made the trip.  At around 9 am, me, Erin, Sarah, Roman, Tamar, and Larry piled into a cab.  Now you might notice that 6 don't fit into the standard cab.  Despite the fact that Rachaburi is about 80 km away from where we live, the cab driver had no problem with us squeezing 2 extra people in the cab as long as we paid him for his services.  About an hour later, we finally emerged at the floating market which is a series of canals along which there are dozens of stands.  In the canals are many boats selling food and other items.  We paid for a 30 minute boat ride which took us up and down the canals.  As we moved along, we waved over boats carrying food or items which we wanted to purchase.  Larry and Sarah bought the typical pointy hats and we all got some delicious snacks including some egg rolls and mango (which I'm really going to miss back in the US).  All the boating vendors help each other out and at one point, I watched one vendor throw some baht to another vendor in a plastic bag so they could provide the necessary change for a purchase.  Just as the roads of Thailand are overwhelmed by traffic, the canals were as well.  During our ride, we ran into several other boats and had to go through several tricky maneuvers to make it to our destination.  After our boat ride, we walked around the edge of the canal and were surprised by a baby elephant who tapped me on the shoulder with his trunk.  Roman bought some food for the elephant and we all got to watch it sit, lie down, and bow as it was fed.  On our ride back to Salaya, we were pulled over which was a pretty exciting experience.  Although we were blatantly violating traffic laws with 2 people in the front seat and 4 people in the back seat, the driver just paid the police officer 200 baht and he sent us on our way.  Later we were telling one of our Thai friends this story and he was unsurprised.  He knew someone who didn't have a driver's license and was pulled over for drinking and driving.  The cop demanded 3,000 baht or threatened to take him to jail but the boy simply said, "I'll pay you 500 baht" ($15) and drove away without so much as a warning... only in Thailand (something that we've started to say every time something absurd happens).

With less than a week less, I'm getting very sad to leave.  Thailand has been such an amazing experience for so many reasons.  We have lots of plans for our last few days though, so I have many things to look forward to before I land in Dulles on Sunday.

I haven't uploaded the pictures that go along with this blog yet but I will add them once I do!   

Koh Samet: New friends, seafood feast, and playing with fire

On Friday morning, a huge bus picked us up from our dorm for the three hour drive towards Koh Samet which is an island in the Gulf of Thailand.  Having finished our first class on Medical Anthropology, we were joined on this trip by several Thai students who would be studying with us in our second class as well as 2 new American students and 1 Canadian student.  During our bus ride, we sat with our assigned roommate (Thai students were matched with non-Thai students) and got to know everyone.  The American students were even given Thai nicknames- mine was Me-ow (very fitting given my love of cats).  Most of the others' nicknames had meanings like "sweet" or "orange," mine i just the noise that a cat makes but it was still exciting.  We finally arrived at a dock where we got on a speed boat to Koh Samet.  We had no idea what we were getting into. The speed boat ride was probably scarier than touching a tiger and I spent half the time being concerned that I was going to be thrown from the boat as, in true Thai fashion, there seemed to be no speed limit or any other safety measures taken for our ride.  Once at Koh Samet, we headed for the beach immediately and swam until getting ready for dinner.  Our dinner was a delicious seafood feast organized by the program.  We ate at a long table right on the beach and after we were all very full there was an amazing fire show performed by 2 young boys and an older man.  Later we headed to a beach bar closer to our resort where we took part in some fire limbo... Thailand has a lot of safety regulations (not).  I even got to swing a chain with a fireball at the end of it to light the limbo pole on fire.  Saturday and Sunday were incredibly relaxing and were just spent on the beach getting to know our new Thai friends who are all so friendly and nice.  Our professor joked that all panels who plan on making decisions should start with a relaxing trip to the beach in order to create a good environment before intense discussion.  Now that we have Thai students in our group, the dynamic has changed completely.  It is so great to have students our own age to show us around, help us with the language and culture, hang out with, and generally get to know.  I am so excited to participate in class for the next two weeks with them!  Even having all just met, Koh Samet was so much fun because all the students were so welcoming, helpful, and generally excited about the opportunity to meet us.

Boat ride

Playing with fire

Fire Limbo

Beach at Koh Samet