Traveling around Thailand and outside (MUIC)

If you are looking into getting a multiple or single entry visa I have two different opinions about that. When I was getting my visa I didn't know there was a difference but if you would like to hop over to other countries during your term in Thailand make sure you ask the university for a letter so that they allow you to get approved for the multiple entry visa. If you can't do that don't worry. I had a single entry visa and I left the country twice going over to Indonesia and Vietnam. The way I was able to do this was by getting another single entry visa at the airport which was actually pretty easy and cheap, maybe even cheaper than the multiple entry visa. Just make sure you have lots of extra photo id copies so that you can give them one.

With other transportation, I got to experience city buses that cost less than a US dollar to ride, tuk tuks that tend to rip you off since you are a tourist, trains, and lots of night buses which was an experience within itself but very convenient. We would hop on a bus at night and arrive in 7-14 hours later at your destination depending on where you were headed. This might seem long and painful but you just sleep through the night. You save cause it's cheaper transportation and you don't have to pay for a night of sleep somewhere. You would arrive in the morning at so many great places and would be off to explore. Transportation was probably the biggest expense since I was traveling around so much but really it can be very cheap. So make sure you get out there and see everything you can.

I'd recommend Khao Sok and Khao Yai national park. If you want to get scuba certified go to Koh Tao it is one of the cheapest places in the world to do so!

view of Bangkok (such a huge city)

squished in a tuk-tuk

Local city bus 

Thailand MUIC Getting Ready

If you are getting ready to apply for MUIC Thailand, first thing you need to know is that Mahidol University International College is pronounced as you would say Mahidon not Mahidol. Next make sure you send in your application early and make sure you are on it with receiving your acceptance letter because it took a while to get mine in due to a form that wasn't sent to me. Other than that, causing me to receive my visa just barely in time, it was smooth sailing. Yes, you do have to wear a uniform but they are cheap and it makes it easy to know what you can wear for class. 

One thing that I had trouble on deciding was where to live during my time there. Our school gave us quite a few options but really the only options you will really want are between Bundit Home/ House or the September. This is because that is where all the international students live and it feels really great to have that community there for you while your attending school. I stayed at the Bundit Home which was an excellent choice for me. It is a bit cheaper than the September but I believe more students lived there over than the September even though they are both great options and right next door to each other. They are both really great nice clean places to live and I had a room all to myself for about $350 a month! I would have gotten a roommate but the only way you can do this is if you know someone going there since it is an apartment building, they do not match roommates for you. The place is lovely, has air conditioning and sheets already provided for the beds. You can't cook in them but that really isn't necessary especially since just in walking distance there are so many options for food ranging from $1-$3! It was insane how cheap it really was living there. The place also has a really nice pool. 

Some food recommendations I have in the area are what we would just call the pad Thai place it has an orange sign, bean bag cafe for curry, the smoothie guy which I would practice my Thai phrases with, and honestly 711 with their toasties!

Inside Mahidol International college building 

The Groove is a place with lots of food options near the apartments and has live music and bars!

The view from my room at Bundit Home.

The smoothie guy sending us off after our time in Thailand. Such a nice guy!

Why attend MUIC Thailand? Here's why! (Juliana Freire)

Before I even started school at HPU, I knew I wanted to study abroad but I wasn't sure where. There are so many different places in the world I wanted to travel to. I ended up choosing Thailand, one because I heard it was cheap and I could afford it but also because it was a place that would be so different from anywhere, I have ever seen or heard about. Leading up to my trip I was excited and also worried if I had everything and also if my visa would come in on time! 

But nonetheless, I was off on my journey by myself with an open mind and ready to see what Thailand had in store for me. I arrived the day after New Year’s, what a way to start the year! Then just like that, I was experiencing all that Thailand had to offer. I was living just right outside of Bangkok in an area called Salaya. A nice local area by the university which was full of Thai students who were learning in English and about another 100 international students. Although my classes weren't in Thai except my one Thai class, I was truly having the full Thai experience. From pointing at menus to eat or trying to pick up and use some of the words I learned in my Thai class to all our travels around Thailand learning all the transportation ways. 

There was so much to see and experience in Thailand. So many different areas, so much culture, and kind people. I was taking classes Tuesday and Thursdays and then Thursday night I’d be off on a night bus to a different part of Thailand and be back Monday night for school the next day. From traveling up north to visit elephant sanctuaries, temples, and the more typical Thai living spots to down south with islands, beaches, monkeys, and full moon parties to beautiful national parks that I highly recommend! Thailand was such a fun new experience! It does have its poverty but if you go there with an open mind the country can show you so much beauty with all it’s beautiful landscape and people. It’s definitely a place that you’ve got to check out!

Erawan National Park, Thailand

Erawan National Park was quite a trek to reach, but once we did it was so worth it. The main hike has seven levels to it, and it is one of the hottest and most humid hikes out there!

Surrounded by the gorgeous foliage and breathtaking water color (this photo is unfiltered, it was really that cool!!), we hiked all the way up, past some quick sand (quick sand!!!) and some crazy looking monitor lizards, spiders, and monkeys. 

We saw the amazing water fall the entire time, and when we got to the top we put our feet in! The pools were filled with fish that nibble the dead skin off your feet to clean them. This was one of the weirdest feelings ever, but hey, people pay lots of money at spas to get this done so you have to try it! It was refreshing and relaxing since we sweated for an hour to get all the way to the top!

Just your typical sturdy Thai bridge....

Phi Phi Islands-I love Southeast Asian Islands!

The Phi Phi Islands are tiny and right off the large island of Phuket. These two islands are incredible! They are tiny but beautiful and full of nightlife and amazing views. As we ferried to the islands, we could not believe the amazing rock formations. 

Once we arrived, we were in awe of the perfect water color with all of the long-tail boats. The locals were friendly and spoke enough english to get around. Though things here were a little more expensive than Bangkok, it was still cheaper than America! These two islands provided us with one of the best weekend getaways we had this semester. 

We took a cruise around the two islands and enjoyed all the famous locations, lunch, snorkelling, music and new people, and finally a gorgeous sunset. It was incredible! (Blanco Boat party for anyone who wants to know!)

We made new friends and had such a blast. I will return to the islands of southeast Asia because they are pristine!

Loy Krathong Festival-Chiang Mai, Thailand 2018

The Festival of a Lifetime:

Loy Krathong is a festival in Thailand which means to "float a Krathong" (the objects we are holding made of banana tree stump and leaves, flowers, incense, and candles). One floats a krathong in order to pay homage to the river for all the water provides, as well as to apologize for polluting. It was such a unique experience to learn to make these out of the traditional materials from our hostel owner, Nam (Pictured on the far left). He explained why they make Krathongs and showed us how his mother taught him when he was young. 

We bought lanterns off the street (3 for 100 baht = 3 for $3). We took the lanterns to the designated releasing area and found a spot in the crowd (there were so many people there!). Once we found a spot, it was like we were in the movie Tangled! We each released lanterns into the night sky and watched as everyone else's lanterns started to look like stars. 

After releasing the lanterns, there was an amazing parade marching down the street, and all the floats were gorgeous and traditional. I would highly recommend visiting Thailand for this festival!

The people :D

The friends you will make whilst you're gone are lasting and widespread. The people in the areas you go can give you so much more insight and compassion for the world. For me, all the people I encountered were nice, helpful, and caring. Lost? Someone will show you where to go. Someone will explain what to do. Most will stop and help you no matter what they were doing.

One experience characterizes this the most. We had scheduled a Bus home from southern Thailand from which we got the tickets off some website. When we arrived at the bus the teller was unable to process our tickets, however, did everything in her power to get us new tickets and a ride home.

Students proved just as helpful. Beyond just though local Mahidol students, we bonded with many other exchange students from all over the world. Living in the cheaper apartments just outside of campus we had the chance to mingle constantly with a variety of other students. This gave us the opportunity to not only experience the culture we were immersed in but also absorb and learn about many others.

Main suggestion, DON'T be afraid to approach and talk with others. Who knows that person could become a new great friend!

Getting Around!

Suggestion. Although studying is the first priority, you are studying abroad so experience ABROAD. Studying in Thailand allowed us to be close to many other Southeast Asian countries and experience them as well as many parts of Thailand.

Both photos above are from our travels in Vietnam. Being honest I have never had a major desire to go to Vietnam but it turned out to be my most favorite trip of the whole experience, including anywhere in Thailand. The first photo shows the Golden Bridge; it was a location I had seen in a post on facebook that I thought seemed cool, so, we went! A dream almost; the ability to see a photo of someplace than just decide, there! I will travel there! I will experience that! The second photo I just love as it shows the cultural diversity from our usual. I mean you might see this on a busy market day in Chinatown but mostly you don't see this in the United States. The open market, street bargaining, danger of possibly getting hit by a passing motorcyclist; it's a thrill ride full of excitement and adrenaline. 

The photo above shows me at Wat Phra in Cambodia. We only had one day here due to school but we made the most of it visiting the night market then waking up before 5 am to catch the sunrise above the main temple. 

I suggest experiencing all the different ways to travel! Traveled by so many ways: train, bus, plane, ferry, taxi's, and even little trucks called tuk-tuks. 

My final suggestion is to try and experience anything and everything! I loved having no limitations and trying all things no matter how strange from foods to experiences! Above I am eating a scorpion, I also ate a tarantula!

So, long story short, study and get good grades but also don't forget to HAVE FUN!!! 

Thailand Adventures - What I loved and what I didn't

Keili McEvilly

Mahidol University, Thailand

Thailand Adventures - What I loved and what I didn't

The pictures bellow are from Koh Chang island. This place is quiet, cheap, and beautiful! The first is a giant golden buddha temple ( you have to wear sarongs if you have a revealing top and/ or shorts) that over looked a fishing harbor and a long, sandy white beach. The second is at a beach on the pier side (aka: where you get off your ferry) at low tide with some tide pools during my first sunset on the island. I stayed at this hotel last minute (we bought it that day) called win or winning hotel right on that beach... and it was only like $10 a night! The third is an old fishing ship at low tide further down the beach that same night. There are so many fun beaches on this island! Rent mopeds and try to get to the 4 seasons hammocks for me, because I tried long and hard.

 The picture below was taken at my favorite island of the chain off Krabi. Koh Samui Island. This place was amazing. Mostly because I love to dive and stayed at Big Blue Diving hotel where everyday that I dove (everyday) was a free night stay at the hotel! This beach had the BEST sunsets I have ever seen in my life and the best iced tea I have ever tasted. From this beach you can get a personal boat with a few of your new diving buddies and head over to a smaller island, the second picture bellow. It gets crowded after 9 am so go early or expect a crowd and burn your feet. I forgot shoes and got hella blisters.

These are my crazy friends. It was a super weird dynamic here, maybe you will experience this as well, I never felt so close to so many interesting individuals so quickly. We bonded SO incredibly fast. I mean we all just had no friends and no service to people back home so much that we only had each other to depend on and lean on for support. One of my friends fell in love on the trip, more than one of my friends had a heart break, many were traveling for similar reasons as I and some had anterior motives like discovering themselves, mentally restarting, or using it to escape a bad situation back home. Bottom line, these humans are the best and I hang out with them a lot still or FaceTime weekly at least and the all time best adventures of the trip were solely due to their craziness.

This is those great people again at Songkron: THE WORLDS GREATEST HOLIDAY 

You have to go.

 This was my favorite adventure, Song kao Rai National Park ( I think that is the right name). I camped for one night 💞💞 with my boyfriend and everyone was very upset I did not invite them/ stay longer because it is beautiful and there are at least 6 waterfalls (did them all in one day), a beautiful elf temple forest garden, and hot springs. It is super cold and a dangerous drive. Only ride a moped if you are comfortable and experienced, we saw two accidents while we were driving. It is super cold so layer up and tents are more expensive than at other national parks so bring blankets and your own sleeping bag. And bring food, there is very little up here.

 Hope you enjoyed!

PS: here is my youtube I share more of my adventures around Thailand and beyond! 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdPwGGju5MbvVUvUf-ITCjQ?view_as=subscriber

- Keili McEvilly

Moving to Thailand

Keili McEvilly

Moving to Thailand.

When I first began looking at housing in Thailand for my study abroad, I did NOT know where to begin. So I will try to help you out. The two main housing units (for both local and international students) were Bundit Home, Crystal palace,  and The September (which I stayed at). The most expensive was the September, and the least expensive was Bundit home. The picture below is one of the closest friends I made while at MUIC, Aanchal who was born and raised in Thailand. She taught me to shop the street markets like a local, eat fun places like Anyas (which I highly recommend), and she helped me get through Chemistry. Now we txt all the time and plan on traveling together again soon. The best part about living here was how integrated I became with other students from Thailand and around the globe!

Getting around: You do not need a car, or a moped. If you want, you can get a bike because they are very close to campus, also theft is VERY low so a lock is, for the most part, unnecessary. What I did most everyday was take a "bike boy" aka the back part of a local guys moped. I also took taxis (they are like 50 cents more expensive, but way safer. If you do take a taxi, try to carpool and make sure the guy puts the meter on. That goes for every part of Thailand, if they say no ask for a price and try to bargain down or quickly ask them to stop. Ask a local hotel or worker for usual rates.

PS: Here is my youtube channel, I go over a bunch more tips and tricks I discovered from way to many dumb mistakes lol.


Good luck!
- Keili McEvilly

Travel warnings for new travelers to Thailand and most of SEA (outside of campus)

THAILAND 
Travel warnings for new travelers to Thailand and most of SEA (outside of campus): 

 - Don't expect nice toilets... or proper toilets at all in very "local" regions (MUIC has nice toilets don't you worry).
- Side note on the first tip: always pack wet wipes or T.P with you (you will thank me later).
- Buy hand sanitizer before your travels, I never saw any there. 
- 7/11's are amazing here. The coffee, the cheap snacks... love it.
- Bring US cash and exchange it here. Using your card results in a lot of extra fees. 
- For taxis use the app Grab, it has free cancelation so it is better than uber. It is usually cheaper than meter taxis, but you can try to bargain with the meter taxis too for long distances or in Bangkok where grabs will not be as available. 
- Don't pollute! Locals have a way of living that is less eco-conscious due to large amounts of tourism and there is trash EVERYWHERE in such beautiful places! it is tragic. Some tourists and locals saw me picking up trash on the beach on my way in and were very appreciative and some followed in my footsteps. 
- Sun is MUCH stronger here, and the heat is intense. Pack cotton, hats and non- toxic sunscreen (check for oxybenzone). side note: sunscreen takes 30 min to set so keep that in mind before it slides off into the ocean and you turn into a tomato. 
- You may go on aquatic adventures, I bid you please do not step on the reef. It will bite back, and it is immediately harmed when humans make physical contact, in many cases resulting in coral bleaching, aka it KILLS the reef! So spread the knowledge and keep the reef beautiful. 
- carry a personal lock for hostels and to lock the zippers on your bag. I have never had someone steal something while traveling, but it happens to the best of us, so stay aware and prepared. 

                     Enjoy Traveling! X

Studying abroad in Thailand

Hi everyone!

My name is Mariken. I’m doing my semester abroad in Thailand, at Mahidol University.

I thought I was brave when I moved from Norway to Hawaii all by myself, but Thailand has challenged and inspired me on a completely new level.

Little did I know about the Thai language, culture and religion when I moved here, and it was honestly a big cultural shock. My university is located in the suburb of Bangkok, so the locals here barely speak any English, which was really challenging at first. Because I don’t live with all the other international students (most of them live in a huge student accommodation called Bundit), I really get to experience the authentic Thailand. I had the option to move in at Bundit, but chose to stay in my Thai accommodation to embrace the local culture. And trust me, that feeling of finally being able to interact with the locals, having my neighbors smiling at me every morning when I walk to school – it’s incomparable. At first I thought it would be impossible to feel at home here, but now I actually feel like a part of their society. And it’s the best feeling! 

My campus on the other hand, is as international as it can be. MUIC is the college in Thailand with the highest percentage of international students. A lot of our professors are international too. I've literally made friends from all over the world here, which is really cool. The school system is similar to the one in the U.S. Only difference is that we have to wear school uniforms. 

The classes I’m taking here are pretty intense, so most of my weekdays go to lectures, studying at the library, and trying out new food with my friends. Food is a HUGE thing here! Restaurants, street food, and food markets are everywhere. Half of the time I don’t know what I’m eating because of the language barrier, but I have learned to accept that. If locals can eat it, I can probably eat it too 😉

During the weekends we usually travel somewhere. So far I have visited Phetchaburi and Ayutthaya in central Thailand, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in the north, and Kanchanaburi in the west. I also got to travel to Cambodia and Siem Reap one weekend to see Angkor Wat (largest religious monument in the world!). Traveling around here is very cheap. A 3 hour bus ride from Bangkok to the west would cost you $3, and the 11 hour bus ride to the north around $15.

Here are some pictures from my adventure so far:

Visited an elementary school during orientation, and met these cute little ladies.

A young novice monk (samanera) in Wat Pho, Bangkok.

Elephant sanctuary in Chiang Mai.

The White Temple in Chiang Rai.

Sunset in Bangkok.

Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

Thai life high life

Hello everyone,

I went to Thailand for three weeks with my classmates and Dr. Primm as  INTR3933 summer class. We went there in the beginning of May, and basically we learned a lot of Thai cultures, and differences between Thai and America through this trip. I had never been to Thailand before and I love Thai food, so I was so excited to go there and try a lot of real Thai food in Thailand.

Our schedule was like this:

May 10th - arrive at Thailand

May 11th to 13th - Kanchanaburi

May 13th to 15th - Krabi

May 15th to 26th - Chiang Rai

May 26th to 31st - Bangkok

May 31st - leave Thailand

My favorite place was Krabi. Krabi is close to Phuket, and the color of ocean is just amazing. Way better than Hawaii... I had never seen such beautiful turquoise green ocean before...

Anyway I am going to show several memorable things through this trip with tons of pictures.

Yesss, look at the beautiful color of the ocean!!! I fell in love with the place instantly. 

I took those pictures at a beautiful island called Phi Phi island in Krabi, and there are a lot of monkeys living on the islands. We could see a boat crew fed watermelons to monkeys.

Seafood was amazing in Krabi, and we had a gorgeous dinner at a seaside restaurant. But I forgot to take pictures because I was busy with enjoying delicious meals...

The place where we went on train from Bangkok was Kanchanaburi. Kanchanaburi is one of the historically famous places in Thailand, and it is known for the place where there is the Death Railway. Death railway is built during WWII, and Japanese soldiers forced Thai people and soldiers from several countries to build railway under cruel circumstance. A lot of people died because of cruel working condition.We also visited JEATH war museum and Hellfire Pass museum.

 We took a flight to Chiang Rai which is in Northern part of Thailand. We stayed most of the times in Chiang Rai, and experienced a lot of cultural differences... such as staying a house made with bamboos and straws.

the house did not have electricity,

so, they made fire on fireplace inside of their house.

We saw a grandma smoking a corn leaf cigarette :D

Also, we taught English to local students at school for three days. It was difficult to prepare lesson plans because we did not know the levels of students, and we did not want them to get bored with what we teach. However, the students had very positive attitudes for learning English and it was very fun to teach English to them. 

We went a lot of historical sites and popular tourists' sites in Thailand such as White Temple and Golden Triangle. 

Weather was pretty bad when we were in Thailand, and it was one disappointing thing but we could not help with it. However, Thai food were amazing, people are friendly, everything is cheap, and I could not find any bad point of Thailand except water problem. You should not drink tap water, otherwise you will have a stomachache...

Anyway, I had an amazing experience in Thailand. I am so glad that I could go to this trip. If you have a chance to take INTR3933, I highly recommend to take the class.