2 months has it been, since I made my way here to Thailand. Many times have I been to Thailand, but I will never get used to this immense humidity and overwhelming heat. Apparently, this is already the ‘cold’ season. Everything is moving so fast and there is noise everywhere – Welcome to Bangkok.
And I am lost already. The taxi driver scams you. The heat drives you crazy. The vehicles are always right behind or beside you. The people don’t understand you. But I promise, it is worth it.
This city will blow your mind. Crazy shopping malls are lining up in Siam, in Sukhumvit and many other places. Inbetween those modern and amazing designed malls, you find the streets of Bangkok, always and forever stuck in a traffic jam. Do never try to get a taxi in this mess. A motorcycle is a bit more expensive, but you actually move. The BTS or the MRT, the cities trainsystem, are very convenient in this chaos. Best is to use Google Maps or other apps for orientation, even though the GPS signals are pretty bad in Bangkok. It is also good to check your taxi driver, since most of the time they will try to scam you. Everybody of the students here can ensure you of that. There are helpful apps like ‘Grab’, for getting a taxi or motorcycle, or ChulaPopBus, for the school’s shuttle bus, or ViaBus, for all buses in Bangkok. If you want to have a wild and all in all crazy night-out, there is Street Khao San for you. For a slightly more classic night, you might want to go to Street Sukhumvit.
Chulalongkorn University is the most well-respected and honored university in Thailand. It was named after Thailand’s beloved King Chulalongkorn. Being known for its technologies, researches and innovations, students are seen as the higher class or elite here in Thailand. As you will most-likely wear the Chula-Uniform, you will be stared at. Something everyone really enjoys is the campus as well as its sport options. We have a big swimming pool, a gym with air-conditioning, as well as many clubs like boxing, badminton, basketball, tennis. Our professors are all different nationalities, all are so friendly and funny, but also impressively experienced in their fields. Talking about their work experiences and sharing case studies, we get a good insight on the practical aspect. The workload until now is very manageable. As I am interested in working in Thailand after graduation, my professor invited me to come to his other classes to get some connections, which is very helpful too. As a school from the government, they spend their income on breathtaking trips – you certainly do not want to miss.
As a school trip planned by our Ahjan (thai: ‘professor’), we went to the Mangrove Forest Klong Klone in Amphawa. We had a blast. As we stomped into the mud, up to our knees, surrounded by vicious monkeys, we all planted mangrove trees. By the time we got back on the boat, we could only defend ourselves throwing bananas at the attacking monkeys. All traumatized by the armee of monkeys, we had to take a break in the water. We fought each other pretty hard, our only weapon – mud. Those on the water board had the advantage.
By the time we got back to the base, we showered and had the tables loaded with food waiting for us. As the next destination, we visited the King Rama II Memorial Park and the Floating Market in Amphawa. It is a classic tourist attraction. All in all, a very unique class trip and a once-in-a-lifetime-experience for sure.
A long drive into the deeps of the jungle revealed us a piece of paradies, the Sai Yok River. Our resort had rooms right on the water. You could jump into the river from your back door, if it wasn’t too strong obviously. At one point they pulled us up the river and we all jumped into the strong waters, getting drifted by the flow of the water. Apart from that, we enjoyed the pools and amazing sight in the wilderness. The feasts we had were amazing too. As part of this whole stunning experience, we visited the Muang Sing Historical Park, which is a very old temple build by the Cambodian. Also, the Railway of Death was a huge topic here. As we walked on the bridge of this railway and later went to see the Hellfire Pass Path.
It has been breathtaking 2 months that we spend. I can only recommend this school and country to all students, who want to live life and enjoy a completely whole world and culture. For us, it has only started.
