Last week was a busy week for everyone in our grade: it was experience week! The week to run away from school and take a mini vacation in the middle of the year. The point of experience week is of course, to experience the ‘outside world’ instead of getting cooped up in Hong Kong and doing the same things everyday. The choices for ourgrade this year were to go to Chiang Mai, Thailand or Beijing, China. Most people ended up choosing Thailand, possibly because it was farther away/the itinerary was more enticing and adventurous.
A not-so-good picture of Bangkok.
Having chosen Chiang Mai with some of my friends, I was extremely excited for the chance to get as far away from home as possible. Not that I hated my brother or something family-related, but I was itching to get out and away. At the resort itself, I never actually remember giving a second thought about home (On the flight back, I realized I never thought even once about it). The only problem for me however were the waves of bugs everywhere secluded like puddles (well maybe not so much). My favorite activities were climbing and kayaking, probably because I liked them so much anyway. The sad part about climbing was that I just didn’t seem tall enough to reach one of the climbing stones halfway through resulting in me ‘flying’ through the air on a harness twice- I do have a bit of acrophobia. Hilariously, when conducting a capsizing drill during kayaking, me and Jacelynne, my partner, fell off the boat- but the boat didn’t flip. It took a few tries to get it upside down just to flip it back upright. *sigh* Another point of interest was the closeness to Burma- I was afraid armies would storm in any second! The part I enjoyed least was the flight from Bangkok home- it being a flight home after a week full of fun, and although I have always loved plane rides I ruined it with a movie I didn’t end up enjoying (maybe there wasn’t enough action).
The border to Burma, as we were told. Funny wall you got there?
I think the most memorable, well, memory from this trip was the hilltribe village because it seemed so different from home. It’s not my first time seeing bamboo-reeds-wooden planks houses in real life but it still shook me how people were forced to live in such conditions. I’m sorry to say that I wasn’t really conscious of their conditions until I came home- I was so indifferent! Truthfully, the sad part is these villagers weren’t even accepted in society because they weren’t fully Thai but came from Tibet instead, and treated as outcasts. Why is it so that there must always be people who are helpless in every century, decade after decade? History is cruel and repetitive, hopefully not so in the future.
During this trip, I was a risk-taker and balanced because I tried things I had never tried before and I even volunteered to go first on some activities. I was also balanced because I made sure to keep a balance between my activities, eating and video gaming. I was extremely careful to keep a balance while drinking water and not eating so much junk food so that I had enough energy for the rest of the day.
In the end, I absolutely loved the trip and would love to go on another similar one. I would most definitely enjoy it, and have enjoyed this experience. I am very pleased that everything I thought would be in this trip was included, and more. Overall, this was a wonderful and new experience for everyone I’m sure, and even educational!
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