Travels So Far: From LAX to YMCA

---

June 5, 2008 (Thu)

So all of a sudden, I’m in Thailand. Chiang Mai Thailand! This has been so awesome. The flights were long, and there were three of them.

First, LAX to Narita Japan. In Japan, we walked around just a little bit and I reveled in the different things there, like the toilet that can spray a stream of water at... well, you know. From Japan we went to Thailand where we arrived at Bangkok.

Here we were taken by shuttle to a classy and expensive hotel called NoveHotel. The lobby was big enough to be a hotel itself and it was elegant and well decorated. The rooms were the most high class I’ve been in. A fancy restroom, a Samsung Tv with what seemd to be surround sound, and an overall well furnished room. Before going to sleep, we went to the lobby restaurant. Although it would probably be the most expensive meal we’ll eat here, it was still a well priced and, of course, very tasty.

A night of shut eye and we were back on a plane. This time, from Bangkok to Chiang Mai using Thailand Airlines. The flight’s feature? A sweet treat of fruit juice which looks like orange juice but is different and much better.

Ajarn Ji, one of our mentors, gave us a warm welcome outside the airport and we made our way to a location which seemed to be many things in one. Most importantly, it had an exquisite international buffet, including Japanese, Chinese, and Thai cuisine. Then, we were off to the YMCA.

Here, we got our rooms and we got our wires for the internet connections. The rooms were nice and the views were amazing, showing the nearby city, mountains, and wats. We set camp and made up our rooms till they reflected our individual needs and interests.

The following days leading to today, and which will probably continue, were characterized by moments of exploration, orientation, rest, and ecstatic humor and good times. We went to the Walking Street in which we checked out the variety of goods and products which were of a very good price, even better if you bargain.

Enter Leah B. - A Health Science major and graduate who’s age is unknown. Here ethnicity is a mix and has spent much of her life not just in California but also Hawaii. She goes to Cal State Fullerton and is part of the Thailand MHIRT program. Here status amongst the gang is ‘mother’. She ate Silk worms with me… Oh, I’m sorry, I’m talking about the Walking Steet again. Yeah, cooked silk worms: crunchy on the outside and buttery in the inside, all worm.

Sometimes we would go to the nearby mall and look around for stuff to buy. It’s pretty big and it’s not lacking in anything really. They have movie theaters, bowling alleys, a hotel, and bookstores too. We’ve gone here at least twice so far, but the most interesting time was when we all went to O Time. It’s a restaurant where mainly guys go, and they go there because you could eat food and the waitresses talk and chat with you while you enjoy. Pretty cool, I think. If only we could go here without mother, maybe us guys can enjoy some flirtatious moments with the Thai waitresses. . . once we learn to speak Thai.

Here at O Time we drank a gang of beer, me being the least though.

Enter Jonathan L. - Also a Cal State Fullteron and Health Sciences Major. Hispanic and a least 6 feet tall. A big guy with a big heart. He’s also one of us MHIRT scholars and is here to do research. With Jonathan, we downed the 3 towers of Chang and, because we left so late, we got the privilage and the nightmare to walk through an empty mall. This was like Resident Evil or Dead Rising, except instead of moaning zombies, it was Thai speaking security who were just as scary. Jonathan buckled up with his backpack strap just to be safe, although that wasn’t the kind of safety Leah was promoting at this time.

Wandered through the various floors, found locked doors which would have lead us to freedom, and used the restrooms. One guard yelled at us “You get out!!”

“We’re trying to get out.”
“Oh…ok..you go that way, then this way……”

Following the this way and that way, we finally found an elevator that led to the exit. As they say on video games, “Level Complete!”. We also play frogger as we go up and down the streets, and hopskotch when we’re on the muddy sidewalk, and Crazy Taxi when we’re using the red taxis.

Every nite here in the YMCA, we like to watch “The Office”

Enter Jordan A. - Also a Cal State Fullerton in Health Sciences, he has worked and gained much experience as a bartender at home. He is part Filipino and recently took Research Methods with Leah in Fullerton. He’s the one with “The Office” on DVD and we always go to his room after a nite of craziness to relax and get some laughs. Leah and Jonathan always end up dozing off while Jordan and I watch Micheal Scott and Dwight Schrute do the silliest things in the office. The four of us are affiliated with characters in the show:

Jeff: Dwight
Leah: Pam or Angela
Jonathan: Jim
Jordan: Oscar

We also like going to the Slim, which is a bar nearby owned and run by the lovely Jenny and here cute girlie friends. We went last nite where we drank beer and various Karaoke songs. One of them goes like this:

“U oh, wh’re in trouble, something somethikng something burst bubble uh oh”
Something like that.
The police came after us and we didn’t have a train. So we rain away and…”

Yeah, something like that. It’s a fun song, and Jenny felt we could really sing it well, and we did. We didn’t see the elephant though. I really wanna see that thing myself. It’s an elephant which kindly greets you, and you could feed it too. Pretty cool.

Of course, its not all about fun and games here in Thailand. We also went to the university where we began our first steps in doing our research. We got a tour with Ajarn Ji as our guide. We went through the hospitals, visited the library, and saw all the medical students. We then had an orientation meeting with Dr. Phongtape and the mentors

Ajarn Kriengkrai
Ajarn Boontuan
Ajarn Nisit
Ajarn Ji.

We ate a delicious lunch, “Most delicious!” as Dr. Phongtape would say, and discussed the agenda for our research. The next day we went to 5 factory sites. Four of them we would choose from. Two dealing with furniture and two with metals. We thought the 6th one was a factory but it was actual a restaurant, where we grubbed on Kai and vegetables.

As of right now, we’re in Wawee Café and we’re just using our laptops to do research or just type out fun stuff like this.


Entry Glossary


LAX - Los Angeles Airport

Ajarn - Said before a professors name here in Thailand. This designates them professor.

Walking Street - An outdoor market which takes place on two streets here in Chiang Mai, which cross making an cross. This occurs every Sunday afternoon.

Wat - Any Buddhist temple here in Thailand which consists of various buildings within a usually enclosed plot of land.

YMCA - Young Men's Christian Association

Chang - A Thai brand of beer.

Health Science - The applied science dealing with health, and it includes many sub disciplines.

Silk Worms - The larva or caterpillar of Bombyx mori (Latin: "silkworm of the mulberry tree"), the domesticated silkmoth.

MHIRT - Minority Health and Health Disparities International Research Training Program (no, really, this is what it stands for).

Resident Evil - A video game in which you go around shooting zombies.

Dead Rising - A video game in which you go around shooting zombies.

Frogger - A video game which requires you navigate a frog through traffic.

Hopskotch - A children's game in which players hop over squares drawn on the ground.

The Office - A TV series which depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.

Research Methods - A class in colleges which teach the students about doing research and how to conduct it.

Kai - Chicken (in Thai).

Glossary - Part of a literary work which defines certain words within it.

---