One More Month

First week, I endured Midterms which were pretty standard except that they were mostly essay questions as opposed to the traditional multiple choice questions I have come to become very familiar with. The classes that I am taking this semester are half business and the other half electives since I need electives to fulfill my degree plan. I have only received a grade for my class in international business management and I received a grade of B. I studied for this exam but still had some trouble with the essays due to the fact that I am used to multiple choice. My other exams have not been graded yet. The school has a uniform policy and an attendance policy. Both policies are enforced but seem to be quite flexible as far as strictness goes. Thai culture is very easy going.

The following week I visited the area of Krabi. I really enjoyed my trip to Krabi and Phuket as there were many amazing limestone karsts in the Andaman Sea. Krabi is a town on the west coast of southern Thailand at the mouth of the Krabi River where it empties in Phangnga Bay. Phuket is one of Thailand's premier tourist destinations. It is most popular due to the tropical beaches and unreal scenic islands surrounding.This was a wonderful experience. I intend to travel there again before I leave. The flights to Krabi cost 3777 baht (125 USD). I enjoyed a full week here and the scenery was amazing in Ton Sai Railay and Koh Phi Phi. Ton Sai is a very cheap area with rock climbing the beach was quite rocky for swimming but the rock formations were absolutely beautifully carved from the erosion of the limestone over millions of years. Railay was very nice, they had some more pricey accommodations but in the off season they were quite affordable. The best way to travel is with a few friends to split the cost of accommodations. In Ton Sai accommodations were rugged but they only cost about 300 baht (10 USD) for a cottage with two single beds.  In Railay we got a much nicer cottage with a king size bed and a removable cot for 2700 baht (90 USD) per night but it was a beautiful cottage with all the amenities, keep in mind this was split between three people. Koh Phi Phi was nice as it is an island as opposed to a peninsula like Ton Sai and Railay but I think the atmosphere was more fun on the peninsula. Koh Phi Phi is very popular for the movie “The Beach” with Leonardo Dicaprio. In this area we did a boat charter which brought us snorkeling, hiking and to the area where “The Beach” was filmed. This long-tail boat charter cost 250 baht (9 USD) per person but we had a group of 8 people so we got a little discount. All of these areas had monkeys galore as well as amazing sunsets. Basic English is widely spoken, especially in the beach areas. Phuket is a melting pot of Buddhists, Thai-Chinese, Muslims and even sea gypsies. Airfare to Phuket cost 3360 baht or 112 US Dollars.

The third week I enjoyed a bit of golf with another fellow exchange student from Finland. The best courses I have played here are called “Thana City” and “Krungthep Kreeta”. I have played mostly cheaper courses and these are the best by far. I always look at a website called ThaiGolfer for all of my course information prior to deciding where to play. If you play golf here it is suggested that you always visit the courses official website and choose a day of the week that they are offering a promotion.