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Published: April 14th 2006
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Day 1 (10th July 2005)
If there was something for me to acclaim about during my 4 years in University, it has to be my minor contribution in 2 overseas community service projects in Thailand. I am privileged to be given the opportunity to serve the community twice in Dec 2004 and the more recent
Project Rakchuay aka Love Help in July 2005 .
16 of us were into this expedition - 5 guys and 11 gals to make some improvements for the drainage systems for the Karen Hill Tribe in Mae Wang, Chiang Mai. Preparation for the expedition started early in March 2005 to raise funds for the project involving the sale of T-shirts, newspaper collecting at AMK and car washing at Bedok Central.
Months of preparation brought us to the afternoon of 10th July 2005 where 6 of us who were the advanced party set off earlier than the rest. The rest of the team was to join us the following day in 11th July 2005.
Our Tiger Airways flight to Chiang Mai lasted slightly over 3 hours to bring us to the 2nd largest city of Thailand. Just a year ago, there were no
direct budget connections between Singapore and Chiang Mai. We had to stop by at Bangkok Airport and continue our overnight train journey to Chiang Mai via the 12 hour north bound train (It was a nice experience too!).
Chiang Mai Airport is located 3km to the west of the city and its light blue decor reminded me of a polyclinic. While queuing to clear the Thai customs, I was lamenting to D that the whole wait brought back memories of queuing for registration at AMK polyclinic. At the airport, posters of the 2 pandas -
Chuan Chuan and Lin Hui were everywhere in the arrival hall and yes, we would be making a trip to visit them the next day while waiting for the rest of the team to arrive.
Our accommodation for the night is located in the heart of Chiang Mai City, CM Bluehouse manned by the friendly Khun Jimmy. It is a basic guesthouse that is affordable and comfortable even though the summer heat is kind of unbearable.
After a quick rest, we took a red Song Tak to Tesco Hypermarket to load up provisions which we would be bringing to the village
in Day 3. Of course, no visit to Thailand would be complete without browsing through the colorful nite markets. We did embark on our shopping spree during Day 1 of our campaign!
We did lost our way to CM Bluehouse as we were not very familiar with the locality. We stepped into an internet café and the owner was helpful to bring me on his bike to where our guesthouse was. It was a fun ride even though I was supposed to remember the route in order to bring the rest of the team back safely.
Of course, I didn’t disappoint 😊
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