Thailand Days 24 - 25: Khao Yai to Bangkok / Bangkok Day 1

(First part of this post written on 6/13)

Greetings from Bangkok on our penultimate day. Since my last post...

6/11 Khao Yai Day 2

Started the day off with a morning jaunt. Some students peeled off to to hill sprints (respect but no thank you)--it was fun to look over and watch Keller run a sprint and then use the zip-line (designed for kids but could hold a full-sized human) to return to the starting point on the hill.

Everyone had a relaxed start to the day because being in Khao Yai is all about being in nature and appreciating the surroundings. I don't remember if I linked this post in my last post, but it gives more info on Khao Yai, the Rain Tree, and PB Vineyards.

The resort advertised a picnic in the garden, and while we invited the entire group, Cory and I were the only ones who took the bait. It was truly one of my favorite experiences of the trip. To quote almost every student on this trip, “So cute so cute” or “NARAK JANG!” (thanks for the new Thai vocab, Kale). The standouts from the picnic were the deep-fried pork larb balls and the fruit punch. Cory actually asked for the recipe for the fruit punch, which includes orange, lemon, lime, strawberry syrup, and pineapple.

So cute so cute picnic

Rambutan, oranges, melon balls, ham wraps, larb balls, and cake!

Delicious fruit punch

We gave students the option of participating in a vineyard tour of PB vineyards, which is about a five-minute drive from the Rain Tree resort. Nearly everyone opted in for the tour, and it was their first opportunity to tour a vineyard. I cover PB vineyard in the aforementioned post, so check it out. I appreciate that this particular vineyard had options for grape juice for those who didn’t drink or weren’t of age.

Table grapes at PB Vineyards

After the tour, we all sat down to dinner. It was our last formal group dinner on the trip, so it was a nice opportunity to think about how the students are driving team and to create a little bit of closure to our shared experience.

Students enjoying the grounds at PB Vineyards

6/12 Return to Bangkok

We bid farewell to Khao the following morning and embarked on our journey to our final destination: Bangkok, where we would spend a few free days exploring the city. This is also when we said goodbye to Noi, Lek, X, Bird, Nu, and Boy (drivers). They were an integral part of our trip and we missed them immediately. Thank you for everything you did to support us and our program.

Saying goodbye to our Thai support team

Thank you birds and clips :)

Han and I offered various Bangkok city experiences that students could choose from. Many opted to join us on various excursions while others decided to venture out on their own. 

On our first night in Bangkok, Cory and I ventured into the local parks in search of an indoor basketball court. After consulting with a local, we were directed to a community court located on the backside of Benchakitti Park. Once we signed up as members (for free), Cory had the opportunity to shoot around for a while, and he's quite the baller! Isabel and Lily, I hope y'all can shoot around together in SLC. We ended up having a very late lunch or dinner at an Indian restaurant across the street from our hotel. It was an absolute delight and, in my opinion, one of the best meals I’ve had on this entire trip.

After dinner, we sent out invitations to everyone to join us in Chinatown to immerse ourselves in the sights, sounds, and smells of this unique aspect of the city. It was also an opportunity for many students to experience public transportation for the first time in Bangkok. As we boarded the Metro, we engaged in a discussion about clipping, which we found to be an excellent preparation for being vigilant in public spaces. We also discussed the new challenge of "put pocketing," where you insert a clothespin into someone’s bag.

Dang. Clipped on the metro.

Looking down one of the main streets of Chinatown

Since we had had such a late lunch or dinner, Cory and I weren’t particularly hungry, despite the abundance of delicious food options in Chinatown. We grabbed a cup of coffee and did some people watching, but Chinatown is a little overstimulating for me, so after about a half hour, we were ready to call it and back to the area closer to the hotel. The real dilemma of the evening was whether to buy a fried scorpion on a stick and eat it. I decided against it because I’ve already been experiencing gastrointestinal mayhem for about half of this trip. However, if I encounter another one, I might reconsider.