Each year, the American Community School in Abu Dhabi organizes an educational class trip for middle school students called Week Without Walls. The 6th graders go to Selcuk, Turkey, the 7th graders go to Cappadocia, also in Turkey, and the 8th graders go to Chiang Mai, located in the mountains of northern Thailand. A limited number of parents are invited to participate as chaperones. I decided that I would be way too jealous of Hannah if she got to go to Thailand without me, so I quickly signed up to go too.
After a long overnight flight through Bangkok, we arrived in Chiang Mai, which literally means "Old City". Most of the city is full of two or three story buildings with electrical wires running all over the place overhead and some of the calmest and best fed stray dogs I have ever seen. The original city is surrounded by a moat with an adjacent modern thoroughfare running along side it which we followed for extended periods of time in our busses. Colorful overhead archways separate different neighborhoods and remnants of the old defense wall are still visible in some areas.
Our first stop was Wat Chedi Luang, an old Buddhist temple surrounded by newer ones. Monks were happy to talk about Buddhism with anyone who cared to listen at an open air "Monk Chat" next to the temple.
In the evening we went to the Cultural Center for traditional Thai food and dancing. We sat directly on a heavily carpeted floor with cushions all over. Our students enjoyed the event, but they were tired by the day's activities and some actually fell asleep.
The next morning my group of students headed off for a hike in the mountains. We walked through rice fields where many farmers still wear traditional straw hats and do their work by hand. We also saw banana trees, corn and soy bean fields. We hiked through a lush deciduous forest, similar to what you might expect to find in the states except for the fact that there was also lots of bamboo growing all over the place. Continuing alongside a mountain creek, we stopped for a lunch of lard nar served in banana leaves at a waterfall that was big enough for our group of 45 students to stand under all at the same time.
Our day ended at an ethnic Karen village. The village has homes perched high on wooden columns, accessible via ladders, with pigs, chickens, cats, and dogs wandering around underneath. Occasionally enormous banana spiders, about 4" long, can be sighted on webs in the surrounding trees.
Over the years, ACS has donated computers, library book shelves, and more to the local Samosornlion Rattanakosin School. Once we arrived, the ACS students had a small ceremonial gift exchange with the local students, followed by a serious game of soccer. The Thai students were younger but surprisingly determined and quick on their feet, so it's hard to say who won.
Our guide, Suwat, with a 90 year old woman that lives in the village.
The balcony off of the house that the girls stayed in.
The village is full of people both young and old that don't have much of anything in terms of material possessions, but they are still full of happiness. I'm sure it has something to do with being centered in Buddhist philosophies. They are an interesting juxtaposition against the ACS students that for the most part have easy access to all kinds of material possessions. We had a Thai dinner in an open dining area followed by songs performed by both the Thai and ACS students (most notable, "Chang, Chang, Chang", a fun Thai song all about an elephant and his big trunk and ears). Once the sun set, everyone helped to release enormous lanterns made out of paper and bamboo into the night sky. We then enjoyed a large campfire before settling down for the night. The girls and boys slept in separate homes, which are really open air shelters made out of bamboo frames and banana leaves, lent to us by local villagers.
The lanters. You make a wish and then let it go...
Our adventures continued the next day with a 30 minute trip down the local river in bamboo rafts. Everyone had lots of fun getting wet (or trying to stay dry, which proved to be impossible). We returned to our hotel in Chiang Mai and ended up going neon bowling in the funky mall next to the hotel. Who would have ever thought that we would end up going bowling in Thailand?
On Wednesday we visited the Lampang Elephant Conservation Center. The grounds are well maintained and the elephants abundant, which kept all of our students entertained. We saw some elephants get a bath and perform logging skills with their matouts, or trainers. Logging has been banned in Thailand since 1989, but it is important to keep the elephants active. The elephants also created paintings with their trunks right in front of our very eyes. After the demonstration, the students helped to make elephant dung paper. This sounds disgusting but, since the dung is organically sterilized, the activity is actually good clean fun. The paper is then used for the elephant paintings and other crafts. Our day ended with an elephant ride, right through deep water and up into the jungle.
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In the evening we went to the endless Chiang Mai night market which is made up of small carts strung out along city streets full of t-shirts, jewelry, and local artisanal fare. The goods are already incredibly inexpensive, but everyone is expected to barter. The students had a blast trying to get even better bargains.
The next day we headed back into the mountains to a place called Crazy Horse with an organization called Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures. Everyone, including the chaperones, had a chance to go caving, zip lining (Tyrolean style), rappelling, and rock climbing. This was a great opportunity for the students to gain confidence in themselves and improve teamwork skills. Both Hannah and I discovered that we love to climb, so hopefully we'll get to do more in future travels.
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Our last day there we went to the Thai Farm Cooking School, located in a beautiful valley outside of Chiang Mai, surrounded by mountains. We saw exactly where our ingredients were grown and created some of the best Thai food that we had eaten all week. The farm is owned by Sawat and his Belgian wife Nathalie. They met a decade ago while working at a local tourist agency. Their main focus is the cooking school, but they also help to organize the annual trip for ACS. Their work for the school is outstanding.
I'm pretty sure I've never been a part of so many diverse activities in one week in my life. Our days were full of activities that we would never have thought of doing if this was just a family trip. Keeping track of the students kept me busy, but the trip was still a blast. I'm hoping the other ACS trips are just as fun. Mackenzie will be in 6th grade next year. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to chaperone her trip to Selcuk and then Cappadocia after that...
My group of students (6 out of 85 total) at the Bangkok airport, on our way home to Abu Dhabi.
After a long overnight flight through Bangkok, we arrived in Chiang Mai, which literally means "Old City". Most of the city is full of two or three story buildings with electrical wires running all over the place overhead and some of the calmest and best fed stray dogs I have ever seen. The original city is surrounded by a moat with an adjacent modern thoroughfare running along side it which we followed for extended periods of time in our busses. Colorful overhead archways separate different neighborhoods and remnants of the old defense wall are still visible in some areas.
Our first stop was Wat Chedi Luang, an old Buddhist temple surrounded by newer ones. Monks were happy to talk about Buddhism with anyone who cared to listen at an open air "Monk Chat" next to the temple.
In the evening we went to the Cultural Center for traditional Thai food and dancing. We sat directly on a heavily carpeted floor with cushions all over. Our students enjoyed the event, but they were tired by the day's activities and some actually fell asleep.
The next morning my group of students headed off for a hike in the mountains. We walked through rice fields where many farmers still wear traditional straw hats and do their work by hand. We also saw banana trees, corn and soy bean fields. We hiked through a lush deciduous forest, similar to what you might expect to find in the states except for the fact that there was also lots of bamboo growing all over the place. Continuing alongside a mountain creek, we stopped for a lunch of lard nar served in banana leaves at a waterfall that was big enough for our group of 45 students to stand under all at the same time.
Our day ended at an ethnic Karen village. The village has homes perched high on wooden columns, accessible via ladders, with pigs, chickens, cats, and dogs wandering around underneath. Occasionally enormous banana spiders, about 4" long, can be sighted on webs in the surrounding trees.
Over the years, ACS has donated computers, library book shelves, and more to the local Samosornlion Rattanakosin School. Once we arrived, the ACS students had a small ceremonial gift exchange with the local students, followed by a serious game of soccer. The Thai students were younger but surprisingly determined and quick on their feet, so it's hard to say who won.
Our guide, Suwat, with a 90 year old woman that lives in the village.
The balcony off of the house that the girls stayed in.
The village is full of people both young and old that don't have much of anything in terms of material possessions, but they are still full of happiness. I'm sure it has something to do with being centered in Buddhist philosophies. They are an interesting juxtaposition against the ACS students that for the most part have easy access to all kinds of material possessions. We had a Thai dinner in an open dining area followed by songs performed by both the Thai and ACS students (most notable, "Chang, Chang, Chang", a fun Thai song all about an elephant and his big trunk and ears). Once the sun set, everyone helped to release enormous lanterns made out of paper and bamboo into the night sky. We then enjoyed a large campfire before settling down for the night. The girls and boys slept in separate homes, which are really open air shelters made out of bamboo frames and banana leaves, lent to us by local villagers.
The lanters. You make a wish and then let it go...
Our adventures continued the next day with a 30 minute trip down the local river in bamboo rafts. Everyone had lots of fun getting wet (or trying to stay dry, which proved to be impossible). We returned to our hotel in Chiang Mai and ended up going neon bowling in the funky mall next to the hotel. Who would have ever thought that we would end up going bowling in Thailand?
On Wednesday we visited the Lampang Elephant Conservation Center. The grounds are well maintained and the elephants abundant, which kept all of our students entertained. We saw some elephants get a bath and perform logging skills with their matouts, or trainers. Logging has been banned in Thailand since 1989, but it is important to keep the elephants active. The elephants also created paintings with their trunks right in front of our very eyes. After the demonstration, the students helped to make elephant dung paper. This sounds disgusting but, since the dung is organically sterilized, the activity is actually good clean fun. The paper is then used for the elephant paintings and other crafts. Our day ended with an elephant ride, right through deep water and up into the jungle.
In the evening we went to the endless Chiang Mai night market which is made up of small carts strung out along city streets full of t-shirts, jewelry, and local artisanal fare. The goods are already incredibly inexpensive, but everyone is expected to barter. The students had a blast trying to get even better bargains.
The next day we headed back into the mountains to a place called Crazy Horse with an organization called Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures. Everyone, including the chaperones, had a chance to go caving, zip lining (Tyrolean style), rappelling, and rock climbing. This was a great opportunity for the students to gain confidence in themselves and improve teamwork skills. Both Hannah and I discovered that we love to climb, so hopefully we'll get to do more in future travels.
Our last day there we went to the Thai Farm Cooking School, located in a beautiful valley outside of Chiang Mai, surrounded by mountains. We saw exactly where our ingredients were grown and created some of the best Thai food that we had eaten all week. The farm is owned by Sawat and his Belgian wife Nathalie. They met a decade ago while working at a local tourist agency. Their main focus is the cooking school, but they also help to organize the annual trip for ACS. Their work for the school is outstanding.
I'm pretty sure I've never been a part of so many diverse activities in one week in my life. Our days were full of activities that we would never have thought of doing if this was just a family trip. Keeping track of the students kept me busy, but the trip was still a blast. I'm hoping the other ACS trips are just as fun. Mackenzie will be in 6th grade next year. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to chaperone her trip to Selcuk and then Cappadocia after that...
My group of students (6 out of 85 total) at the Bangkok airport, on our way home to Abu Dhabi.
I don't know why I didn't remember that our kids were in the same grades. What an amazing experience. Not sure about those spiders, though!
ReplyDeleteYou might remember my niece Isa and her (now) husband Roli. They just spent some time in the very same places, doing almost the same things (hiking, elephants, cooking school, temples). I was wondering how they found out about all that stuff. I'm happy you're having such a blast.
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing trip! Your photos and descriptions are great.
ReplyDelete