I’ve spent the past week traveling around Thailand. I went to an island called Koh Chang for a Rotary party at which I was able to see the ocean and the beautiful mountains. I traveled over ten hours in the car to get there and spent even more time on a ferry so that I could be on the island for just over 24 hours, but it was worth it. Although I have a rule that the traveling time (there and back) should be half as long as the time you spend wherever you are going, this trip kind of made that go out the window. It was so gorgeous, and it reaffirmed my opinion that traveling is always worth it. After spending time on Koh Chang, I traveled with Sofia and Erinn and their families to Korat (which took us 2 days). Even though I get carsick easily, I didn’t mind all the time we were spending in the car. It enabled me to see the landscape of this beautiful country that I’m lucky enough to call my home this year. We spent a night in Korat, adding Paulina to our gang. The next morning, we met up with Naomi and Ella, and suddenly we were all off, on our journey to Phu Krahdung.
Phu Kradung was our first and shortest Rotary trip. It was only three nights and “four days” (more like 3), but it was incredible. The first full day, just like every other day on the trip started early. We climbed 5 km up the mountain, and I can honestly say it was the longest 5K of my life (3 hours to be exact, which was very short compared to some people’s 6). I was part of the leading pack: Squad Alpha. We were trailblazers and kept trekking ahead. We climbed as one would pull off a bandaid, quickly to minimize the pain. Unlike pulling off a bandaid, it was an incredibly fun and rewarding experience. Seeing the view at the top was an unparalleled and stunning experience. We hiked another 3km before getting to camp which was far different from what I expected. The campsite had tons of restaurants and stores and domestic deer that roamed about. You could feed them and pet them, and they would bow their heads in a greeting when you would say Sawatt dee ka to them before offering food. Also, there were tons of land leeches that inhibited efficient shower taking and prevented hanging out in many places around camp, but overall, it was such an odd and wonderful place. The next day, we hiked 22km and seemed to pass through every single kind of biome. It went from rainforest to dessert to everything in between. It was strange and wonderful to see pine trees which reminded me of home.
On our last morning, a small group of us got up to watch the sunrise, and I can promise you that everyone who decided to sleep in missed out on a magnificent experience. The hike down, although terrible on my knees was not nearly as difficult as going up. It took us under 2 hours, and consequently, Squad Alpha spent a lot of time waiting at the bottom and shopping in the stores as we waited for the rest of the group to trickle in. People slowly started to leave and soon, I was on my way home as well. So much happened in those few days. I got to know so many people so much better, and I even learned a lot about myself. The trip was incredible, and I’ll always have my photos by which to remember it, but what I think was more important than the physical activities was the people.
Experiencing Phu Krahdung with all the other exchange students and strengthening our bonds, that was what mattered. It’s strange how close you can get to people in a short amount of time and quickly you can completely trust someone. So even though I’ll remember the hiking and the deer, what I’ll remember most about the past week is the laughs I had with friends when we went late night swimming, the deep conversations spoken until 1 am on the front porch, staring up at the stars and being in awe of their surrounding brilliance, the time a friend slept in my lap as we talked about the past and its links to the unpredictability of the future, and the discussions about lifestyle choices and our connection to the world around us. Those individual memories with those individual people, among many others, are what stand out to me. They are what matter, and I’ll carry them with me, more than I’ll carry the view from the top. People are what matter and the memories of them will be what sticks with me forever.
Sam