It is the second week back on campus after a 6 week break and all I can think about was what I did over our vacation. The great thing about being a student is that you have a winter break in the first place. While last year my entire break was consumed with preparing for internship interviews in January, this year I had the entire 6 weeks to myself.
I have had many people that I trust tell me about how incredible their vacations to Thailand were. After a long time of listening to them it was my turn to make the trip myself. I voiced my interest this fall and immediately 3 classmates said that they would travel with me. With 6 weeks to kill we decided to start in Thailand and then make our way to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Hong Kong. In total we would travel 23 days and get back to school the day before it starts.
I could go on about what we did in each city but I will focus on the highlights and what I learned on my trip.
- A speedboat tour of Phan Nga Bay in Thailand had me thinking “this is the most beautiful place I have ever been” multiple times
- Feeding and riding elephants in Chiang Mai, Thailand made me so happy that I now use it as my “happy place” whenever I am having a bad day.
- Being in a cage with live tigers makes you appreciate the power of nature
- You can buy things in Vietnam for cheap… like reaaallllyyyyy cheap
- I will never forget seeing Angkor Wat temple at sunrise. It’s also mind blowing to realize something so grand was built 1000 years ago
- Hong Kong feels like NYC but cleaner and more crowded. I don’t know how that’s possible
- When I go to work as a brand manager I need to figure out how to secure ad space that brands have in Hong Kong. The side of a building (http://www.my-lifestyle-news.com/2013/04/ermenegildo-zegna-wrap-one-peking.html) or an entire subway station (http://www.coca-colaconversations.com/2011/04/the-hong-kong-125th-anniversary-time-tunnel.html) are options for enormous takeovers.
In conclusion I loved my trip. Even the ridiculous week of jetlag was worth it! Unfortunately playtime is over and I have to think about school once again… except for when I’m thinking about elephants.