Ubon Ratchathani - Laos: Graduation Trip
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After graduating from Mahidol Wittayanusor high school in Nakorn Pathom, my roommate, my neighbor Stang, and I decided to go on a trip together. That coincided when my parent just bought a new house in my hometown, Ubon Ratchathani. We thus decided to gather at my hometown and go to Laos, which is two hours from Ubon Ratchathani. Thanks to several sponsors (i.e., Pleng, Prim’s, and my parents), we had a perfect time staying in my hometown and Savannakhet, Laos.
We decided to go to Laos first. We went there by van with a local guide. The first stop was the coffee shop (and a restaurant) named Delta Cofee. We had simple lunch there (i.e., I had Moo-kra-tium (garlic pork) over rice, and my friends had some Thai fried rice). We then went to see several waterfalls, and one of them was the Thad-Pha-Suam waterfalls. The province that we explored is called Savannakhet, which is next to the border between Thailand and Laos. The night at Sabaidee hotel was very comfortable because of the nice weather. We also had some free time in the evening, so we went bicycling around the hotel’s garden. We sure had fun with little things like that!
In fact, my hometown is very famous for this one spot in the Khongchiam district, Sam phan bok (3000 pits in English). People call this place the “Grand Canyon of Thailand,” which is the biggest rock reef in the Mekong River. We went there by van again from my new house and then took a longboat to see the exact spot where the pits were. The place was amazing, and the light that day turned the rocks into this pretty golden color. There were some sand beaches and rock formations spots nearby, for example, Pha Taem national park, Sao Chalieng, and Hard Hongs, so we visited those places as well. I would love to recommend those places if you ever come to my hometown. They are close to one another, but you just need to be careful about the heat! Prepare enough sunblocks and an umbrella if you go.
Back to the city, we spent a couple of days exploring the inner city of Ubon Ratchathani. At that time, there was a new 3D art museum near the Ubon Ratchathani Airport. We took a cab there and spent like half a day doing lots of silly shots. This kind of museum is best when you go with your best friends!
Last but not least, my hometown has this spacious zoo which was founded and blended with massive woods near the city. The zoo was half an open zoo because there was a zone where you can ride a golf car into a herd of unbarred deers and their relatives. The zoo was pretty fun, although there were not many animals back then. Ploy (my roommate) also got to touch a tiny python, which is still quite scary.
A month after that, I was pretty disappointed to leave for the US but also excited to start a new chapter of my life at the same time. After all, we had such a good time together in my hometown and in school. High school time was extremely short whenever I looked back.
In this family trip, we visited several famous places in northern Vietnam, namely, Sapa, Hanoi, and Ninh Binh. For some people, the more they see the world, the less impressive some places appear to them. We also did not find this part of Vietnam outstanding from all the places we have been together, yet it was still charming and gave us vacation vibes. I’d recommend those who like natures to visit Ninh Binh; Sapa is also beautiful, but it seems have some construction going on at the top of Fansipan mountain.
After having to postpone the Visa appointment for a year due to the pandemic situation, my parents have now got their first ever US Visa! A month right after they received their passports, now with the US Visa attached to, they flew from Thailand to the US to visit me in Illinois. To be more accurate, WE flew together from Thailand to Chicago, though on different flights. Our itinerary was to visit Chicago, Washington DC, NYC, and, of course, my beloved corn field city, Champaign.
The spring semester ended on May 12, marking the end of my first year as a Ph.D. student at UIUC. To celebrate the hard work, I invited my boyfriend to come visit me in Champaign. But since Champaign has nothing much to do, we also planned a short trip to Chicago and also Florida! Poy had never been to Disney World before, so we tried so hard to make it happen despite the price of Disney world’s tickets. Poy flew from England to Chicago, so our first short trip happened in Chicago! It was my second time in Chicago, so I tried to visit different places than the last time I went to in January.
I usually don’t travel over spring breaks as they are quite short and most schools in the US have spring breaks around the same time, so everywhere is just crowded. However, this break was special because I went to visit my boyfriend in England! We hadn’t seen each other for a while (aka 8 months at least), so I didn’t hesitate to go there when I had a chance. Though I had been to many countries in Europe, I had never visited England. I went there for 5 days not including the flight time, but I felt like I got a very rich British experience thanks to Poy.