Thailand Study Tour 2005
In May 2005, Professor Allan Bird and Professor Elizabeth Eckelkamp les a group of 26 participants on a three-week study tour to Thailand. As one of the annual short-term study abroad programs, the 2005 Thailand Study Tour was an overwhelming success. IN addition to on-site lectures by Bird and Eckelkamp, participants received a briefing at the US Embassy in Bangkok and visited foreign and domestic companies in Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
Students took time off from their studies to visit important cultural and historical sites in Thailand, incudling the Grand Palance, Ayuthaya and Wat Phra Kaew, and Wat Po. They also explored the modern side of Thailand by visiting the World Trade Center and Mah Boon Krang as well as riding on the Skytrain and the newly opened Bangkok subway.
With temperatures in Bangkok averaging 97 degrees, students welcomed an overnight train ride complete with sleeper cars and their arrival in the northern city of Chiang Mai, where the temperature was a balmy 90 degrees. Studies were put aside for a few days while students went trekking for a full day which included visiting a hill tribe, riding elephants and taking bamboo rafts down the Ping River.
The final destination was Krabi, located in southern Thailand on the narrow peninsula that stretches down to Malaysia. Known for its beaches, limestone rock formations and caves, and extensive mangrove forests, Krabi Perhaps the highlight of the time in Krabi was a visit to Khao Lak, the area of Thailand most devastated by the tsunami that struck in December, 2004. In preparation for this day, the professors had contacted a day care nd orphanage in advance, so that students could collect donations. Students delivered a sizeable cash donation and eight very large and heavy bags of toys to children at two different locations. At the second orphanage they were able to spend time with the children playing games and sharing in the spirit of optimism that accompanied the signs of recovery in the surrounding village.