โรงเรียน [school]

Lunch on Sunday, January 4th 

Our first day of school could not have been better! We met Camellia and Hannah (UT students), Airi and Lisa (Showa, Japan students), and Beau, Boss and Tony (Thai hosts and hostesses) in the lobby of our dorm to walk to school. Travel tip of the day: download the Line app before you come abroad. This allows you to text any phone without Wifi. We tried to download it once we got over here, but the app sends you a verification code via text message, not iMessage, so we can’t create accounts without accessing our data!

L to R: Lisa, Airi, Camellia, Erin, Hannah, Megan

All of our Thai friends (there are 10 total that help us out) are 5^th year students. Here, one attends the Faculty ofPharmacy for six total years to graduate with a Pharm.D., so similar to American programs that only require two years of undergraduate coursework. There are 75-100 students in each class, and the Faculty of Pharmacy has a 1:10 faculty:student ratio. The 5^th year students spend time on rotations in hospitals, primary care clinics, and conducting research. Every student must complete a thesis to graduate, and these get published in books and stored in the Drug Information Center on campus. Mahasarakham University is one of three pharmacy schools in the Northeast, known as the Isan region of Thailand. The entire country has 19 pharmacy schools. Fun fact: The province name where our school is located is Maha Sarakham, but the University name is spelled as one word.

Walking to school with all the students back from their holiday break and just starting a new semester was really fun for us, since we both lived on campus at Auburn for three years. It really does feel like home and it’s great being back at school! #nerdsatheart. The campus is huge and has lots of coffee shops everywhere; a cup of coffee can be found in the hands of almost every student that isn’t riding a motorcycle to class (the main mode of transportation). There’s also a campus and city bus system…the campus bus is free and the city bus is very cheap!

Our main classroom for this rotation, the Rossukon Room, is on the 2^nd floor of the Faculty of Pharmacy. We had a wonderful introduction lecture from our preceptors and learned much about the University and the Province. They then asked us what we hope to learn during the rotation, and requested our feedback at the end of the rotation to improve for future exchange students. It’s truly incredible how much the Thai people care about us, we honestly feel like we are princesses. We could not have asked for better hosts! They even gave us Thai nicknames so we feel like a part of the family. Erin’s is Khao Tan, a Thai sweet crispy rice cakes with caramel or cane sugar drizzle. Megan’s is Kao Mao, a young sticky rice.

After our introduction lecture, the Dean came to greet us and present us with gorgeous Mahasarakham Faculty of Pharmacy paperweights and awesome Mahasarakham University notebooks and calendars. It is the Thai year 2558, which is cool to see in our planners! After taking a festive group picture, we toured the labs, classroom buildings, herbal medicine areas, research facilities, and Drug Information Center. We learned that the students here focus heavily on pharmacognosy, or the study of natural medicines. They must be able to recognize all the herbals and give their name and medical indication for an exam. In the center of the building, there is a Buddha of Pharmacy (Phra Phai Sat) to offer support and guidance for the students.

Next, we walked across the street to the Office of the President where we met with the Vice President for Administrations and Assistant to the President for International Affairs, a wonderful Thai woman who was very interested in hearing about potential plans to expand the program. Currently, two Thai students attend the University of Tennessee each September, but it is very, very expensive for them to sponsor students to come to America. We want to look into fundraising to help start an exchange program with Auburn. We also watched the schools promotion video for the US-Thai Consortium meeting, which helped us learn more about the University. It was very impressive. The University motto in the video was “Public Devotion Is A Virtue Of The Learned,” which we both loved. The professors were served tea and students served water by staff of the office during the meeting. This culture of grace is very neat to experience. The Office of the President gifted us with very cool flashlights as well! Gifting is a very big part of the culture here. Travel tip: Bring small things like American candy, pens, keychains, etc. to share with your new international friends! 

Six exchange students with the Buddha of Pharmacy

After visiting the Office of the President, we had lunch in a building next door called the MSU Restaurant, which was right across the street from the pharmacy school and overlooked a lake. Our traditional Thai lunch was served in true family style, with many dishes to share, rice, and soup. For dessert, we had Thai “sweet meat” which is like fried dough balls in a coconut milk, which was SOOO good or saaep laai (very delicious) as they say in Isan. Following lunch, we walked back to the Faculty of Pharmacy for a tour of a museum located in the school building that is named for and dedicated to The Beloved Princess, Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. This museum houses a replica of an old apothecary style pharmacy with many herbal medicines, a model of the original hospital in this province, and a mural of traditional medicinal rituals. We are so glad we read The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman as part of our HSOP summer reading, because some of the Buddhist rituals are similar to those practiced by the Hmong in that book.  

We took a break at a campus coffee shop to hang out and grab a snack, and realized we all share a love for Taylor Swift and the movie Frozen. The winner of the Thai version of American Idol won by singing a Thai version of Let It Go! Later in the afternoon, we went to the campus bike shop to rent bikes which we get to keep for our entire stay here. We had fun biking all over campus and stopped to see the gym, swimming pool, stadium, track, and volleyball courts. We even got in a quick game of volleyball, which was lots of fun! Near the stadium we stumbled across outdoor dancing lessons, and they were kind enough to let us join in!! On Friday, January 9^th we get to attend a New Years party at the school, where we will perform a traditional Thai dance. We have another lesson tomorrow night (Wednesday, January 7^th) with our friend Mint.

There is a market on campus called the small market, or thalla noi. To us it’s actually a HUGE and boasts around 100 food stands with everything you could ever want. This is where students eat most of their meals. We had dinner here the first night; we tried Khao poon (Lao rice noodles) with a green curry sauce. For dessert, we had Khanom bueang or cripy pancakes with coconut cream. To get back to our dorm, Mint escorted us home on her motorcycle so that we had enough light on our bikes. The amount of time and effort put into our happiness and safety is overwhelming. We are learning a lot about becoming gracious hostesses and hope to serve others in the same way that we are being treated here.

Upon arriving at home, we explored the dorm complex a little more. We discovered a washer and dryer on the third flood and then walked around campus to take a picture by the main entrance sign in true Samford Hall fashion. Then, time for bed! Fan-dee (sweet dreams)!

This morning, we were feeling adventurous and decided to wake up early and ride our bikes to the small market. We figured out how to ride on the left side of the road, order coffee, and got these incredible frappuccinos. Have we mentioned the amazing weather?? The bike ride was so pleasant. After our breakfast of champions, we toured the University Mushroom Museum, which houses over 2,000 species of mushrooms, both medical and experimental. Some have active chemical components very similar to hormone structures that have anti-cancer properties.

Today also included a visit to the campus bookstore (we got awesome coffee mugs, go MSU) and the library. Needless to say, we were in heaven. The library here is amazing! It’s four stories and has an entire section dedicated to the Isan (Northeast region) culture. In this section, the bookshelves are shaped like symbols of the culture, such as a sticky rice basket and a Wot, or musical instrument. After our touring we ate lunch at the small market and tried Pad Thai for the first time. Talk about incredible!!!

Following lunch, we had our first lecture. The topic was the Health Care System in Thailand and the Scoring System for the Development of the National List of Essential Drugs. Thailand is the Southeast Asia WHO region and has a population of 67 million people, 14% of whom are over the age of 60 and the average life expectancy is around 75 years. Western medicine was started in 1828 by King Rama III, but there has been a trend in recent years to return to the herbal or natural medicine tradition. HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases are the leading causes of death, but this country has the 4^th highest death rate due to accidents in the world and is also seeing a tremendous rise in non-communicable diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular health. Universal Health Care covers 80% of the population, and health expenditure is 6% of the national GDP. Half of these costs are medication related, as all HIV/AIDs patients are provided free medication. Health care is provided by three main groups, the government (Ministry of Public Health), non-profit organizations like the Red Cross, and the private sector which consists of doctors offices, community pharmacies, and private hospitals. There are five different types of hospitals that are classified by number of beds. In the Northeast Region (of which Maka Sarakham is the heart), there are 1,000 citizens per hospital bed, so they have a huge need for more facilities and healthcare providers. There are about 15,000 pharmacies in Thailand. Here, pharmacists play the role of Consumer Health Protection, or ensuring that patients don’t use bogus products that people claim have medical properties. They can also prescribe medications in groups 4-6, which includes anything but sedatives, hypnotics and controlled substances. Here, steroids are group 1 drugs and codeine is group 2. Benzodiazepines are group 3, antibiotics and NSAIDs are examples of group 4, and our OTCs are separated between 5-6, which a few more things being available over-the-counter here. The Essential Drug list is a national formulary to promote cost effectiveness. Drugs are grouped into 5 categories, A through E. Category A drugs are things like antihistamines or “simple drugs.” Category B is anything with more than one indication. Category C is a “more complicated” drug that can only be prescribed by a specialist—Coreg is category C! Category D drugs are very expensive and if they are used, the prescribed must complete a drug use evaluation. All herbal and traditional medicines are included on this National Formulary as well.

After class (which, not going to lie, it was fun for both of us to be back in class and taking notes!) we toured the MSU Museum and Mini Zoo. This consists of replicas of old Isan style homes and a dedicated room to MSU alumni. Your first year at MSU dictates which generate you are in and since we started pharmacy school in 2011, this makes us the generation of the Yak. This means we are brave! There is a wall dedicated to people of the different generations, and we got to leave our note here. The Mini Zoo was adorable; here, they have deer in the zoo!! Walking through, our Thai friend Prim found a mah kra dare herb on the ground that she gave to us. It has medical properties and is short and spiky; apparently, it hurts elephants when they step on it!

To finish our full but awesome two days, we journeyed into town to rent traditional Thai dress for the party on Friday. Erin got to be the model, and the outfit was so beautiful and intricate. We cannot wait to wear them!! On the way back to the University through town, we stopped at a Vietnamese restaurant for dinner where we again ate family style (which we love). Our favorite thing was Yum pak bung krob, or crispy deep friend Morning Glory. Spicy food is definitely growing on us and we fear when we get back to America nothing will taste seasoned enough. At dinner, our friends taught us how to pronounce the school motto in Thai. They also promised to teach us how to write it, because we think the language is so beautiful and would like to have this written to frame when we get home! In exchange, I am going to give them a copy of the Auburn Creed. 

Tomorrow we will visit the Paleontology Research Center (the only University in Thailand with this type of study) and the Samakkee Primary Care Health Unit. We are excited to experience our first patient interaction in Thailand.

We hope everyone back home has a wonderful day as we’re going to sleep. GOOD LUCK AT YOUR GAME TONIGHT, COLIN ZEEK!

มาที่บ้าน [home]

Our AirAsia experience from Krabi to Don Mueang went much smoother since we prepaid our bags (see Paradise post). We also inadvertently booked Priority tickets back in October when we planned this leg of the trip, so we got to move to the front of the line to check our bags and sit in the front row of the plane! We also received complimentary sandwiches for dinner, and our luggage was the first to come on the conveyor belt when we landed in Bangkok.

On the plane, we planned our time in Bangkok using the Insight Guides: Thailand book that Megan received as a present from Jamie Fairbanks. This was extremely helpful and we highly recommend it to future travelers. Thanks Jamie!!

We had read that is it a good idea to have your destination address printed out for the taxi drivers, so we were prepared with our hotel booking receipt. However, we didn’t think that we printed it in English and the driver couldn’t understand the address. It may be helpful in the future to print two copies, one in English and one using Google Translate in Thai. Luckily we had the phone number, so the driver was able to call the hotel from his cell phone to get us there safely.

We stayed at the Hotel Ibis in Siam Center. It was directly under the National Stadium BTS (Sky Train) station on the Silom line and across the street from MBK, a huge discount shopping mall. Within walking distance we could journey to Siam Square (outdoor shopping), Siam Center (similar to a typical American mall), and Siam Paragon (a mall with very high-end stores and restaurants) as well. The Siam Center BTS station, where the Sukhumvit and Silom lines interchange, was walking distance as well and only one train stop down from our hotel. There is also a Sky Walk directly below the Sky Train path that allowed us to stroll up and down Sukhumvit, a very exciting area of the city, from a birds eye view. This was awesome!

Main entrance to Siam Paragon

We arrived at our hotel the first night around 9:00 PM. After settling in, we started our mission to watch the Outback Bowl (Auburn vs. Wisconsin), which came on at midnight our time. After Comcast Xfinity, Verizon Fios, AT&T, DirectTV, and sketchy Internet TV sites failed us, a friend in America set up his phone so that we could watch the game via Facetime.  While we are sad about the outcome, we are so glad we were able to see our last game as Auburn students! For future Auburn students: we discovered afterward that if you log into the Auburn VPN, you could stream games through ESPN and also use things like Netflix! This is because the VPN gives you an American IP address. Good to know!! Thanks for the tip, Jessica Hoover!

Breakfast wasn’t included in this hotel booking, but there was a pretty awesome buffet available with coffee, tea, multiple juices, pastries, and hot and cold food options for about $8 (245 Baht) each. We cannot talk enough about how delicious the fruit is here, or how strong and yummy the coffee. The hotel staff even provided us with adorable “take-away” coffee cups when we left to tour for the day, which our coffee-addict selves greatly appreciated.

We taxied from our hotel to the Grand Palace around 8:00 AM so that we were there when it opened at 8:30. We highly recommend going early in the morning like this, as the crowds and the heat intensify in the afternoon. It is 500 Baht to enter and you must have cash. Also, it’s extremely important to dress appropriately! Your knees and shoulders must be covered or you have to wait in a very long line to get sarongs and wraps to cover. We were pleased when the Thai women greeting visitors said we dressed very politely. After walking in the Foreigner line through the gates, we were inside the Palace walls. Words cannot describe the splendor and the intricacy of every inch of the Palace. The buildings are adorned with colored glass that sparkles magically in the sun—gorgeous, not gaudy. Everywhere you look there are the most beautiful buildings, religious symbols, paintings, statues, etc. Something that still surprises us is that even though we were truly in one of the most beautiful places in the world, many of the tourists wanted to take pictures with us because pale blonde people are an enigma to them. A group of Thai students even interviewed us for one of their school projects!

The main attraction within the Grand Palace complex is Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha). This Buddha, made of jade, is the country’s moved revered religious image. It is EXTREMELY crowded inside the temple but this should not deter you from moving with the crowd to see it. The only other slight negative to mention is that bathrooms in the heavy tourism areas leave much to be desired. We highly recommend bringing a tissue packet, wipes, and hand sanitizer. Paper products in general are not very common here, and often the public bathrooms don’t have toilet paper or paper towels. Some of the Thai plumbing system cannot handle flushing paper. (Note: restaurants have tiny napkins too).

While inside the Grand Palace walls we also toured the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles, where we learned about the history of the silk trade and got to see many of the Queen’s beautiful garments. This museum was recently renovated—it is beautiful and very interesting! Super nice bathrooms and AC, too :)

Upon leaving the Grand Palace, we walked past the park to Lak Muang, the foundation stone or city pillar where the city’s guardian spirits gravitate. We definitely recommend stopping by here, it was also absolutely beautiful and a very cool experience to watch the Thai people come to worship. The offerings included garlands of marigolds (yellow for the King), oils, lotus flowers, incense, and candles. Directly outside the shrine that houses the pillars are posts where one ties three brightly colored taffeta cloths to complete the ritual. We read about this after we visited and feel very fortunate to have witnessed such a special process. 

Next we walked to Wat Pho, The Temple of the Reclining Buddha. It’s very easy to get around the historic district thanks to nice street maps everywhere. It is 100 Baht to visit Wat Pho and you must have exact change and again, be dressed appropriately!! This Temple does give you free water, which was an added bonus. Wat Pho houses the massively impressive Reclining Buddha, easily the largest monument we have ever seen! Outside the house where the Buddha lies are many chedi and smaller Buddha temples. This whole complex was breathtaking so we definitely recommend exploring the whole thing after seeing the Reclining Buddha.

Ready for a break, we bought fruit from a street stand and had a picnic by the Chao Phraya river. Across the river, we could see the famous Wat Arun. We decided not to journey across because much of the temple was under construction, and the line for river boats was very crowded due to the holiday season and fabulous weather. After our picnic we journeyed to the Flower Market, an outdoor market with flowers in every square inch! This was a neat experience because we walked through less touristy parts of the city and got a real feel for the culture of Bangkok. It’s so neat how they cook, sell produce, etc. It was also cool seeing the Thai women weaving the religious garlands out of jasmine and marigold flowers. The flowers almost look like beads!

From the river, it was quite a ways back to our hotel, so far that a Tuk Tuk couldn’t take us. This provided the opportunity to hail our first cab from the street and learn a few things about how tourists get scammed. At the max, a cab ride across town should cost about 150 Baht and the taxi drivers should always run the meter. Our driver said it was too far and tried to wayyy overcharged us. We bargained down to 250 Baht and just took the ride at that point because he was the second person to tell us it was too far, and we wanted to get home! Our Thai friends later told us that it is illegal for the taxis to not run the meter and if anyone says that again, we should mention we will talk to the police or simply wait for a taxi that doesn’t argue with us.  Side note about taxis: An illuminated red sign on the front right of the dashboard means it is vacant. Aside from that one taxi driver, even Thai person we have met has been incredibly welcoming, nice, and generous!

Back near Siam Center, we ventured to the Erawan Shrine. This was where Erin’s mom prayed when her parents lived in Bangkok and they wanted to have another child. A few weeks later, Mrs. McCreary discovered she was pregnant with Erin. It was a surreal moment for us both to thank the Brahma for a blessed life and ask for guidance in our futures! We wanted to participate in the ritual at this Shrine since it is so special. The Thai people told us how the Brahma has four faces, so we purchased four marigold garlands, four candles, and enough incense to leave at all four alters. We were glad, as the Thai say, that we were able to “make Buddha happy.” This Shrine also has gorgeous female dancers that you can watch every hour.

We walked the Sky Walk to MBK for dinner, and ate at the most unique food court we’ve ever seen. It was an open, international cafeteria with each station offering foods from countries all over the world. You received a card when you entered, and as you selected different foods they swiped your card. Upon exiting, you simply handed them the card and paid the total. It was so efficient! Continuing with our ice-cream-cone-a-day tradition we stopped by Swensen’s on our way out for a take-away sundae. We both opted for a scoop of delicious macadamia nut and a scoop of tasty chewy chocolate. 

That night, we took the Sukhumvit BTS line to Nana Station and walked to Soi 11 (soi means lane, or the smaller roads off the main Sukhumvit area) to see where Erin’s parents lived. The apartment complex is now the President Palace hotel. According to the hotel workers, the entire Sukhumvit area was converted to hotels, restaurants, and bars about 8-9 years ago. You need a key card to access the hotel now, but luckily the workers were extremely nice and loved Erin’s life story. They brought us to the 11^th floor, where she lived, and even gave us a tour of the pool (which hasn’t changed, and is where Erin learned to swim!). We had a very, very full day but it was so awesome!

On Saturday, we ate breakfast at an adorable restaurant by our hotel called A Journey. We thought it was appropriate, and the coffee was quite tasty. We also tried some street food as a breakfast snack. Thai coconut pudding is like a stuffed coconut pancake—highly recommended! Friends of Erin’s dad from DEA, Myra and Sophon Sariwatta, picked us up after breakfast and took us to the Chatuchak Weekend Market. As the name implies, this is only open on the weekends. Talk about a fantastic assault on every single one of our senses. There are 15,000 outdoor booths selling anything you could thing of, including gorgeous Thai pottery, wooden carvings, and silks. There is also a pet area, foods with everything from dried fruit to massive raw fish, woven baskets, stationery, clothes, etc. Erin was pretty sad to discover that her feet are too big for the beautiful Thai sandals. We walked around for four hours and had no concept of that much time passing! We were so grateful to have them with us to explain some of the cultural merchandise and help us barter for great prices. Market recommendations: bring sunscreen, water bottles, and a large bag to store your purchases! Megan’s mom bought Megan the perfect bag for us to bring, thank you! The Sariwatta’s treated us to coconut ice cream that is served inside a coconut. We were adventurous and tried palm seeds as a topping, which were chewy and yummy. When we left the market, we went to lunch in Nonthaburi Province, a suburb of Bangkok where the Sariwatta’s live. This was delicious and we are so glad we got to spend time with such wonderful people. They also gave us a great tip: if ever you need help in Thailand, we can call +66 02 205 4000 and ask to be put through to the American Services Duty Officer. This is the number for the American Embassy.

After being dropped off at the hotel and freshening up, we decided to go visit Sky Bar which was an easy BTS ride from our hotel on the Silom line. This bar was made famous in The Hangover II, but we were more interested in the gorgeous views. Also, we couldn’t resist since Sky Bar is a very popular attraction in Auburn—we wanted to compare. As much as we love Auburn, we have to say Bangkok wins this one. The view was marvelous and the drinks were so delicious and unique! Erin’s had aloe and parmesan cheese, and Megan’s had sage and hazelnut liqueur. It’s free to go up to the bar, but the drinks are a little pricey. The spectacular views and ambiance are worth every penny.

Today, we enjoyed a pleasant brunch in the hotel lobby and then taxied back to Don Mueang where we flew to Khon Kaen airport in the North. We’re quite good at navigating the airports now and got to our gate in less than an hour, thanks to having boarding passes printed and prepaying for our bags. Our Thai pharmacy student hosts met us at the airport. It is about an hour drive from Khon Kaen to Mahasarakham University but the time passed quickly getting to know our new friends! Once we arrived, we dropped our luggage off at our dorm and then went to lunch at a local outdoor restaurant where we tried papaya salad (both spicy and sweet versions) and sticky rice. We met the University of Tennessee students and Showa University (Japan) students that are also on this rotation with us and we all took a tour of campus with our Thai hosts and hostesses. Jessica and Zach, they asked about you! We told them all the wonderful things you all had told us about Mahasarakham and how you were absolutely right—we’re loving every second of Thailand. After walking around campus, we went into town to see the night market and the local mall, and to stop at The Big C to get toiletries and groceries. The Big C is shockingly similar to Wal-Mart. Our new friends are SO incredibly nice and we cannot wait to get to know everyone better!

Our room is huge (pictures to come) and has a balcony! We are all housed in Condo 1, and our three rooms are all in a row which is very convenient. The mosquitos are intense here but thank goodness Megan brought bug spray. Travel tip: make sure to bring a big bottle. The University is quite large and reminds us a lot of Auburn. School or Colleges are called Faculty here, so tomorrow we start our first day at the Faculty of Pharmacy. We are so excited!!

Time for our first nights sleep in our new home for the next month. On a closing note, Megan just caught a lizard in our bathroom and released it off our balcony, so she is Erin’s hero and also awesome.

We would also like to give a shout out to our dear friend Sara Ransom who got ENGAGED today! The magical fortune of the Erawan Shrine is already working :)

สวรรค์ [paradise]

We have had an incredible few days at Ao Nang Beach in Krabi, Thailand. Its almost hard to find words and pictures to truly capture the beauty and uniqueness of this experience!

After a fabulous brunch buffet at our hotel (and finding the Steelers game on in Bangkok at 8:30 AM!), it was time to travel to the beach. Our taxi ride to Don Mueang Airport gave us a few learning moments.  The driver asked when he picked us up if the highway was okay – we said yes and realized this just meant that we would have to pay the tolls as we drove through the city which only came out to about $5 after 3 tolls. We flew AirAsia and knew to check in early and print our boarding passes before arriving at the airport, as they would charge a fee for doing this at the airport. AirAsia charges per kilogram for baggage so we thought we were being smart to upgrade our checked bag to 25kg from the free 20kg. This was only $17 total round trip for both of us when done in advance. However, when we arrived at the airport, we realized our carry-on bags exceed the allowed 7kg and that we would have to check those too. Our luggage (four bags) totaled 74kg – just 24kg over our allotted 50kg!! It is 400 Bhat per kilogram if you pay at the airport – about $300, yikes! We did get a little lucky with a math error by the AirAsia employee and only ended up having to pay for 10kg of extra weight. That’s one travel blunder out of the way for this trip! We learned that you can go to manage your booking tab on the AirAsia website and have upgraded ourselves to 40kg each for the flight home. This only cost $35 – so we should be well covered for the way back to Bangkok. We DEFINITELY recommend paying for baggage in advance!

Since arriving in Krabi our trip has been amazing! We pre-booked an all-inclusive tour with Krabi Sea Tour and Travel since we had heard such great things from previous Auburn students about this tour group.  The driver from the airport was very nice and gave us lots of great information! He taught us how to say thank you in Thai “kob khun ka” – we have enjoyed saying this to generous Thai people we have interacted with as it truly makes them smile. :) Maybe its just our funny accent though! He also informed us that if future Auburn students come they should mention us when they contact them and they will give a discount.  We were intrigued during our drive by the mountains all around us; when we asked him what they were called, he told us they are called limestone! He told us too that the Krabi area is predominantly an agricultural area that produces most of the world’s palm oil and rubber from rubber trees.

Our hotel, the Ao Nang Silver Orchid, was great. It had a gorgeous pool area, allowed us to easily walk anywhere we needed, and included a complimentary breakfast each day. We loved the pineapples cut like sunshine, trying dragonfruit for the first time, pineapple orange jelly for our toast, and strong delicious coffee.  

On our first full day we opted to do the Phi Phi Island tour. We were picked up at our hotel and a speedboat took us on our island hopping adventure. The views were absolutely phenomenal; everywhere you looked it was like a postcard with floating limestone islands in the bright teal-turquoisy sea.  Our first stop was Bamboo Island, and then we stopped along the limestone cliffs of Koh Phi Phi to swim and snorkel. The boat then docked on Koh Phi Phi for lunch and a walk around the town, which is a big destination for diving excursions. Erin got to hold a monkey, which was soft and playful. The afternoon was filled with gorgeous sites from the boat of Viking cave and Phi Phi Leh lagoon.  Our last stop was Maya Bay, which was the site where the movie ‘The Beach’ was filmed. We trekked across this island to see Loh Sa Ma Bay as well. After our boat ride back, we took our first tuk-tuk ride back the hotel, which is like riding in the back of a truck with seats and a roof over your head. It was fun and a little scary, as the drivers in Thailand are speedy and fearless. The drivers seat is located on the right side of the car, like the United Kingdom, and there are lots of mopeds zipping in and out of traffic. We made it back safely though, just in time to catch the stunning sunset on the Andaman Sea. 

New Years Eve was a surreal day. We took a Four Island tour and really enjoyed the time to relax and lay on the beaches. We stopped at the Phra Nang Cave on Railay beach first (the most gorgeous beach in the world accompanied by quite an interesting shrine...we'll let you Google it), then Tup Island. Since it was low tide, we walked across to Moore Island.  Then we cruised by Chicken Island for a photo opp and stopped at Poda Island and had a picnic lunch of rice and chicken on the beach. We did get slightly sunburned…the sun is definitely stronger in Thailand. We applied our SPF 30 almost hourly, but still got crispy! (Day 2 update: ouch.)

Ringing in the New Year at Ao Nang beach was an unforgettable experience and an auspicious beginning to 2015! We are both so excited for all this new year will hold with graduation from pharmacy school, moving to new cities, and starting a new jobs!  All along the beach people from all across the world lit fire lanterns that floated into the sky – it was magical (think the movie Tangled J) and fireworks were lighting up the sky in every direction. There were a few scary moments with local children lighting huge fireworks literally right in front of us on the beach, but it was very festive.  Another really cool aspect of New Years Eve and really our whole time in Thailand so far is how international it is – there truly have been people from all over the world and being an American is very much a minority. People are even asking us what part of Europe we are from… they don’t expect us to be American!

2015 got off to a great start—we’re even having some celebrity-esque moments. We were picked up at our hotel in our own private van with a driver and fun tour guide, Mr. Kent, who graciously took lots of pictures for us. We toured the sights and scenes around Krabi on our way to the airport for our flight back to Bangkok. We stopped at the crab statue along the Krabi river, which has crabs only found along this river – they are tiny but have one white claw that is a lot larger than their other claw. Our next site was the Tiger Cave Temple. The story is that monks were able to hold a tiger in the impressive limestone cave so they have built a temple in its honor high upon the mountains. This was a very touristy area, but really neat to see the caves, a 1000 year old tree, and places that monks live.  Our last stop was at the local department store called Tescos, which reminded us of a mall. It had everything from jewelry stands, a pharmacy, a grocery store, and even a Dairy Queen. We enjoyed our 30 cent vanilla cones!  

We have had fabulous food the past few days, especially along the streets in Ao Nang. The first night we arrived we went to a restaurant we decided looked magical and both had great chicken dishes with incredible mango and coconut sticky rice for dessert. On our second night we went for the delicious coconut and honey Thai pancakes and the freshest mango and papaya fruit smoothies from street vendors. On New Years Eve we finally tried the really yummy looking grilled corn on a stick we had been eyeing from a lady who cooked awesome looking dishes for an entire restaurant solely with 3 pots and a grill. The corn wasn’t as juicy as we were expecting but has a yummy salty-sweet seasoning. We also treated ourselves to Swiss Ice Cream and delicious drinks served in coconuts. For lunch on our way out of Krabi, our tour guide took us to a neat restaurant tucked away on a pond. Megan had the best fried rice she’d ever had with shrimp and Erin experienced the yummy Thai spiciness with her cashew chicken.

We are now back in Bangkok until we travel to Maha Sarakham on January 4^th and will update soon with what we do, see, and eat in this vast, exciting city!  We're currently trying to find a way to stream ESPN2 so that we can watch the Outback Bowl...experiencing technical difficulties so wish us luck! And War Eagle!