Thailand

Thailand was really a mixed bag. For me it unfortunately represents one of the low points for our trip. Luckily with a little help from my friends I was able to turn it around and have several great memories. Thailand was our vacation time. Some people met their parents while the rest either went to the beaches or to Chaing Mai. I, figuring I would get the most out of Thailand, went to chaing Mai. My companions flew, but I (being both cheap and harboring a distrust for small planes) made the fateful decision to take the train. The train ride stretched to be 16 hours. The beauty was lost on me as my body was racked by lack of sleep and food poisoning from the pad Thai I had consumed in the train station (one of my dumbist decisions on the trip). I had only been seperated from my global friends for 24 hours but I felt alone and wanted nothing more than to find them. I stumbled through the streets of Thailand, getting lost twice on my way to the hotel, before a kind Thai man, no doubt seeing my heavy mental and physical baggage, pointed me in the right direction. I finally found my hotel, and saw my friends sitting outside the pool. I don't know if I've ever been happier to see them. I collapsed in someones arms (Katie? Doesn't matter) while the others surrounded me, concern evident on their faces. I was sick for the next two days, rarely leaving the hotel room. After the second day I had recovered remarkably. I met my friends Drew and Emily who are on Term in Asia and were able to show me around, bringing me to the night market and showing me some of the cool parts of the city. My last full day I was finally able to take advantage of Chaing Mai. My friends and I went ziplining in the jungle with the Gibbons (my new favorite primate). It was an exhilarating time, adreneline pumping through us as we were flying through the jungles on just a thin wire. Our guides were entertaining as well and made sure we got the most out of our experience. Afterwards we had a delicious lunch and saw the nearby waterfall. When we returned I met up with my term in Asia friends again. After they left (they are living with host families and thus confined to a schedule) I met up with my global group and we went to a karaoke bar and thouroughly embarrassed ourselves singing on stage. (Note to self find and destroy those videos). Thankfully the girls had convinced me to take the plane back to Bangkok, which gave us a leisurely last morning, enjoying banana pancakes and fruit smoothies. My diet for Thailand pretty much consisted of four fruit smotthies a day as I couldn't keep down food. Not complaining at all, those fresh fruit smoothies were incredible. Once we returned to Bangkok we met up with everyone else, swapping hugs and stories like it had been five months, not five days. I had some great experiences in Thailand but was not to sad to leave for Hong Kong the next day. If nothing else being sick and alone in thailand helped me realize the value I placed on the people I am on this trip with. Jordan