1:21’s Trip to ChiangMai

I believe I speak for the twenty-one of us when I say that we all did not expect the sweltering heat when we stepped out of the airport and into Chiang Mai on day 1. Based on the book that we received before the trip, we all expected the weather to be a cooling 18 degrees celsius to 34 degrees celsius. Well, the weather that greeted us when we arrived was safely above 34 degrees celsius, or so it felt.

The streets of Chiang Mai

Not being a fond lover of hot weather, I was complaining in my mind about the excruciating heat that failed to let up. I was extremely amazed by the smiles on the locals’ faces. The bus drivers that drove us to our guesthouse had wide smiles on their faces. It was seriously as if they did not feel the heat at all. It was amazing how despite the merciless heat, they did not show their displeasure or irritation in the least bit. At that moment, it struck me how pampered Singapore teenagers like us are. We complain at the slightest bit of rise in temperature from our normal comfort zone.

The laid-back citizens of Chiang Mai were the complete opposite. Even though they might feel irritated (well, who wouldn’t? The weather was sweltering.), they never showed it, always putting up a good face. It was really quite amazing how much of a good sport they were. Our bus drivers weren’t the only people smiling at us and giving us excellent service. Storekeepers and other people we bought stuff from just smiled at us with such a warm smile that one really wondered if they felt the heat at all, seriously.

Chiang Mai weather, in a way, allowed me to realise that Thailand is indeed the land of smiles, through and through. (:

- Grace Yeoh

The gang met up for our final meeting before we set foot in Chiang..Chiang Mai at Vivocity’s LJS =) We waited and waited and waited some more (hah).

We did our last minute checking of our names for the flights, distributing our ‘shit’ green teeshirts(which rockzzz btw..thanks to the design team!) .

All of us could not wait for Friday.Yes THE day where we’ll fly off to Chiang Mai. Bye bye Singapore.Hello Chiang Mai!! But before we do that, we have to scramble to finish packing the stuff (oh god) first. Toothbrush.. not checked. Soap.. not checked…

NOTE
Next meeting venue: Changi Airport T1
Time: 5.30am
Row:1

OK.yeayy.

Here we come Chiang Mai !!!

Altogether now: one baht, two baht,three baht..

hello visitor!

this is onetwentyone (1:21)’s blog for the Study Trip to ChiangMai ‘08.Within these pages, you’ll find glimpses of our experiences, cultural immersions, learning points during the course of the trip, and other interesting day-to-day happenings =)