Oh the Places You’ll Go and the People You’ll Meet at Mahidol

Two benefits of dinner out with friends from MUIC:
1) great conversation and 2) they can read the menus!

When the Carolina Southeast Asia Summer Program (SEAS) left for Thailand last week, I didn’t know what to expect. Until then, the program had traveled to the same countries as last year (Singapore and Brunei), and as a return participant and research fellow this year, I’d known how to prepare. However, last year the group traveled to India instead of Thailand, so I couldn’t truly anticipate what I would see or how I would react in Bangkok.

Of course, I had heard about some of the amazing places and things to do in Thailand, with riding an elephant at the very top of that list. And while I hadn’t actually seen The Hangover 2, which takes place in Bangkok, where we would be spending much of our time, I had heard enough about it to know where to draw the line on that list. I’m rather attached to my fingers, thank you very much.

When I arrived in Thailand, I was immediately struck by what I saw on the roadside: the heavy flow of rainbow-colored traffic, about 50% of which seemed to be taxis. The speed and agility of the other half, made up mostly of three-wheeled tuk tuks, large buses, and swarms of motorcycles, most of which hold (at least) two people, sometimes entire families. The four-faced elephant-shaped temple located between the airport and Mahidol University International College (MUIC), where we are staying. The 7/11 stores placed every 200 meters between MUIC and Bangkok. (7/11 runs have become a habitual part of every day, especially for such essentials as sodas and Walls ice cream bars.)

First day of classes at MUIC: looking good in our uniforms!

But I didn’t even have to look beyond the university’s walls to see a different college culture. At MUIC everyone – including the SEAS participants – wear uniforms. A sign in the front lobby reads: “Uniforms, Unity.” Girls wear black skirts (pencil or pleated) and short-sleeved button-down shirts with pens clipped below the collars, closed-toed shoes, brown suede belts and official Mahidol University belt buckles. And the boys wear long black pants, long-sleeved collared shirts, dress shoes, black belts and official school ties and belt buckles.

Of course, as with all schools that require uniforms, no two people wear their uniforms the same way. Some of the boys pop their collars, wear their pants super tight or rather loose or sport vibrantly colored sneakers and girls accessorize to the max with jewelry, flats and belt clasps. We, too, have adapted this method for uniform consumption. Many of us hit up the student stores for MUIC belt jewelry, others considered getting the official Mahidol bowties, and all of us spent well over two hours stuffed inside a small uniform shop trying on different lengths and sizes of skirts and pants.

But the difference in college culture extends beyond the uniform requirement. This week Mahidol seniors are getting ready for graduation. The ceremony isn’t until Thursday, but they’ve already had two run-throughs on Salaya campus, as well as a dress rehearsal at the navy base on Wednesday. You see, a special guest will be attending the ceremony. Each year, graduates receive their diploma from a member of the royal family  - either the popular princess or her elder brother, the prince. You spend three days practicing your walk, as well, to keep from slipping in front of the princess.

All week the campus has been overrun with graduates, their proud families and what must comprise every single photographer in Thailand. Graduates in black gowns decorated with pink, orange and blue ribbons, denoting schools, pose for photographs at the Music School, overlooking a lake and guest house, in front of “Congratulations, Graduate” signs, in front of the flag stand (students stop for the anthem twice daily at 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.) and even in front of the Black Canyon Coffee Shop.

Vendors line the campus square and surrounding streets, selling freshly cut (and silk) roses, teddy bears in caps and gowns and even “Congratulations” pillows. But my favorite item was a t-shirt reading “I am Just Graduated from Mahidol.”

I’ve been waxing about the differences between universities like Mahidol and UNC, but I don’t want to give the wrong impression. Like UNC students, MUIC students have a range of ways to get to class. At UNC you see a slew of walkers, bus riders, bikers, skateboarders and the occasional unicyclist. Similarly, at Mahidol walking, driving (car or bus) and biking trump the list. But unlike the casual UNC bike rider, Mahidol students take it a step further: most bikes hold two people (one person pedals while the other rides on the back seat. When it rains, the person in the back holds an umbrella and during the hottest hours of the afternoon, they’ll hold one (or two!) electric fans, the blades turning in the wind).

The club culture on campus is literally thumping. During our welcome dinner at the university, we were introduced to the Thai cheering team, traditional dance club and kickboxing club. An instructor showed us up in a two-hour kickboxing demonstration/ practice, which left us battered, bruised and begging for more.

Mahidol also has its own Franklin Street. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that Phuttamontol Sai 4 dwarfs our sacred street in size and options. Both streets have the go-to bars and university shops. But while Franklin St. seems to be stuck in a pizza-burger-ice cream rut, Phuttamontol Sai 4 enjoys a variety of cuisine, including a slew of Thai restaurants, a pizzeria and other Western shops and a string of street vendors, selling excellent (and cheap!) cuisine, like sweet pork noodle soup and chicken kabobs.

As for dessert, Phuttamontol Sai 4’s Sugarland equivalent is Ton Kok, which specializes in light, spongy chocolate and orange cakes, with the latter tasting as if you’ve actually bitten into an orange in cake form and both topped with a succulent gelatin ganache, And Ice Manias is Phuttamontol Sai 4’s version of Yopo/ Cold Stone. Here, the vendor makes each person’s ice cream order by hand. You have your choice of three flavors (chocolate, vanilla or yogurt), two mix-ins and one topping. The vendor pours a cup of the flavored sauce onto an icy white metal board, where it freezes over. He then spreads it into a thin sheet, and adds one of your mix-ins (say chopped raspberries or banana), scrapes the newly-formed ice cream into six roll-ups and adds your second mix-in, say chocolate chips or red bean. And finally, he garnishes the artwork with your choice of chocolate, raspberry or caramel syrup. Each ice cream takes about 10 minutes to make, so the line forms quickly but is well worth the wait.

With the university about two hours (with considerable traffic) outside of Bangkok, I’m struck by how much I still have left to see and do both on campus and in the city in the last week we have left in Thailand. Luckily, even though we can’t go into Bangkok every day, I never feel like I’m missing out. After all, on the nights I have to stay in to study, I’m still confronted with new experiences. Halfway through an early morning run on Sunday, I was stopped for the playing of the National Anthem. Rushing off to class, we’ve had to navigate precarious detours around graduation photography shoots. And setting out for a quick dinner on Phuttamontol Sai 4’s, we’ve been whisked away by our new school friends, who have helped us navigate our way through the Thai menus.

We have a lot planned for our last week in Thailand: taking a riverboat cruise, shopping at the floating markets, watching a Thai boxing match, and heading to the rooftop bar made famous by The Hangover 2, to name a few. But the moments I’ll treasure most probably won’t happen on the water, in a boxing ring, or even in sacred Hangover territory. I won’t need to lose a finger to remember Thailand. Rather my experience will be marked not by what I have lost, but by what I have gained: a host of new friends and a few boxing bruises.