Korea.: Winter Break

Phuket, Thailand

Charlie's Angels, Phuket

I've been on the road, the plane, on the boat, on the train, on the bus, ...on an elephant for the last few weeks. It felt like I haven't been in my apartment for so long. After Nami Island with my host family and after Christmas, I left for my vacation in Thailand. After Thailand, I went back to my host family for a few days. This past weekend, I took a bus to Gwanju to visit Linh and Ellis. Now I am visiting Connie and her family in Jeonju.

Thailand was perfect timing because I really needed a place with warm weather. The cold makes me feel more lonely here. The snow is beautiful but it could be dangerous and extreme weather usually changes things (bus schedules...school schedules). I felt like a tourist and I felt relaxed. I got to feel what it's like to be an adult ...using my own money to go on vacation. I did all the typical things people do in Thailand. We visited the temples, relaxed on the beach, rode elephants, canoed to the islands, ate exotic fruits and pad thai, ...drank thai tea. It was a well-spent trip.

The one thing that really strikes me about Thailand is the people. Everyone we met were very friendly and helpful. Strangers who saw us looking at our maps would come over and ask if we needed help. The people in Phuket were more personal. They would give us hugs and one of the guys even bought us a snack for our trip home. I definitely felt welcomed and they all told us to come back to visit next time and not to forget about them. It felt a lot of like Vietnam for me... the people, the food, the weather, and the openness. I felt like guests to their country and they were being good hosts.

The thing about Southeast Asia is that the people are still very poor. Thailand is a bit better and more modern compare to other countries in the area but poverty is still very evident. We were really afraid of being ripped off ...and we bargained a lot. Still, we didn't experience any pick pockets or witness anything horrible. In Phuket, we were more cautious with our money since it was more on the countryside but we really didn't need to be. In Vietnam, the locals can pick out the tourists really easily and they would bombard the foreigners with items they want to sell; we didn't get any of that in Thailand.

I really wanted to see the floating market but we didn't have time.

I am lucky because I got a really long break. I got to do everything that I wanted to. Now, I think I am ready to just relax at home and go back to the same routine.