Day 22 Bangkok/United States

On Day 22 the group left the hotel early to go to the airport. Half of the group was leaving to go back to the U.S. while the other half stayed in Thailand for their food marketing internship with Dr. Duke. We said our goodbyes at the airport in Bangkok and then went our separate ways. After several hours in the air, our group finally arrived back in Kalamazoo, MI. After countless new experiences our journey had finally come to a close. It had been an amazing trip that would never be forgotten.

Day 21 Phuket/Bangkok

On Day 21 the group left Phi Phi by boat to meet vans on Phuket Island to take us to the Phuket Airport. We spent a couple hours in the airport waiting for our flight, and after 6 hours in the air we arrived in Bangkok and immediately went to dinner at a nearby hotel. The dinner was a huge buffet with all different kinds of food, it was one of the best meals we had enjoyed on the trip. After eating dinner we went to our hotel and met with Mr. Sandy to receive our tailored suits that were now completed. After admiring our new suits, we went to bed to rest for a long travel day that awaited us.

Day 20 Phi Phi

On our group's last day in Phi Phi it was a free day. We were able to do whatever we wanted during the day until we needed to meet up for Dr. Duke's birthday dinner. Most students chose to relax around the pool or go shopping because there was a slight overcast in the sky. We met at the hotel's restaurant at 7 and most of us enjoyed a delicious steak dinner or pasta dish. After dinner we went to the beach for Phi Phi's half-moon celebration. This is a smaller version of the famous full-moon celebration, which occurs when there is a full moon in the sky. After the night's festivities we went back to the hotel to rest.

Day 19 Phi Phi

On Day 19 the group woke up early to go on a snorkeling and scenic boat tour. It was hands-down the best snorkeling we had done on the trip. The water was so clear, and there was a ton of different kinds of fish in the reef. After snorkeling we went out to dinner to Breaker's, probably the most american dinner we have had all trip. After dinner we went to a Thai Boxing Event at a local bar right next to breaker's. A few members were able to hop in the ring to participate in some of the night's activities. After Thai boxing we went back on socialize more at the local beach bars and clubs and then went to sleep shortly after.

Day 18 Phi Phi

The group was able to sleep in on Day 18, a rare luxury for the trip which was much needed. We traveled by speed boat to Phi Phi Island, arguably the most beautiful destination of the trip. Before we checked into the hotel we visited a beach that was in a cove on the island. It was a beautiful location where we were able to spend a couple hours swimming and relaxing before going to the hotel. After we checked in we visited some of the local shops and ate some food. We met for dinner a few hours later at a restaurant on the beach. After dinner we went to see some local fire shows at some of the surrounding bars/clubs. Some of the activities that we enjoyed were fire jump roping, fire limbo, and fire rings. After socializing for a few hours we went back to the hotel to go to sleep.

Day 17 Koh Hai

On day 17 the group woke up early to go on another snorkeling adventure. We went to several different locations and saw many new coral reefs. We were lucky not to have many jelly fish encounters on this trip. At the end of our trip we went fishing for squid. While the captain of the boat was very successful, we were not quite so lucky. Ryan was able to catch one squid, but we were still slightly embarrassed when the captain was able to catch close to 10 squids in the same amount of time. After a long day snorkeling some group members played a pick up volleyball game and tried to play a local game called "Thai Frisbee". Afterwards we went to a nice dinner down the beach at a neighboring hotel. After we ate we celebrated Dr. Duke's birthday and then went to bed.

Day 16 Koh Hai

On Day 16 the group traveled to Koh Hai by boat. The boat had a karaoke system built into it so we got some mildly hilarious videos from our performances on the way. We arrived at Koh Hai and ate lunch before going gave snorkeling. Traveling through the cave was very dark and scary since we only had a couple of flashlights to light the way, but the end of the cave opened up to a beautiful private beach. After hanging out on the beach for a while we returned to the boat and traveled around to the surrounding islands before heading back to the hotel for dinner. We had a fabulous Thai buffet dinner to celebrate everyone's birthdays again. After dinner some members of the group went crabbing on the beach while others socialized in the lobby area before going to sleep.

Day 15 Tran

On Day 15 the group traveled to Tran for one night before heading to Koh Hai. On the way to Tran we stopped at a local hot spring and national park to go swimming. The hot spring was extremely hot, probably hotter than most hot tubs in the states. It was very refreshing to get out of the vans and relax in the spring for a short while. After the hot springs we headed to a National park to go swimming in a cool spring. The water was very clear and the surrounding forest was beautiful. When we arrived at Tran we immediately noticed that it was not a typical tourist destination. Being foreign in the city instantly made you a celebrity and everyone looked at us as if they had never seen Americans before. After we got settled we ate at the hotel and went to get two hour Thai massages. After the massages we went to a bar/club that was attached to the hotel to celebrate three of the group member's birthdays. The club was very big and packed with local Thai people, but Dr. Duke was able to score us VIP treatment because we were American. After socializing at the bar for a couple of hours we went back to the hotel to go to sleep.

Day 14 Krabi

On Day 14 the group woke up early to go Island hopping and snorkeling. On the first island we traveled to we were able to feed monkeys and swim with some fish on the beach. After relaxing for an hour or so on the first island we left to go snorkeling. The snorkeling was beautiful, we saw a lot of different kinds of fish in the coral reef. We unfortunately had several jelly fish victims from the snorkeling so we ended our snorkeling experience a little early to travel to the next island. The last island had a beautiful sand bar which allowed us to travel far into the ocean with water only up to our knees. After spending time on the last island we went back to hotel for some rest and relaxation before going to dinner. We went out for a nice steak dinner together before the group split up to go shopping or to get more Thai massages. Afterward we went back to the hotel for sleep before a long travel day.

Day 13 Krabi

On day 13 the group woke up early for another day of elephant trekking and sea kayaking. The elephant trekking was much different than our previous experience. These elephants were very spoiled and were constantly stopping to eat and mingle with one another. The elephants were well taken care of and extremely well fed, I don't think there was any point throughout our journey where the elephants were not eating something. After elephant trekking, we went to our sea kayaking destination. This was also very different than our last experience, the trip was much longer and took us through a more challenging and exotic route. After sea kayaking we ate a quick lunch and went to visit a local national park where we were able to swim in the rain forest river that traveled through the forest. After our national park visit we went out for a nice seafood dinner at a local restaurant, after which we went shopping again before returning to the hotel to get some sleep.

Day 12 Krabi

On Day 12 the group woke up and ate breakfast before rushing to the boat to leave the floating docks and return to civilization. The past two days had been extremely fun, but we were very anxious to get to our new travel destination. The day ended up being a long travel day. We rode in a boat from the docks for about an hour and then traveled in vans for about three hours before arriving in Krabi. Because we got there at about 4, the group got settled and relaxed for a few hours before going to dinner together. We got a nice Italian dinner, which was very refreshing after our several traditional Thai dinners in the rain forest. After dinner the group went shopping in the surrounding stores and went to get massages and then went to sleep shortly after.

Day 11 Rain Forest/Floating Docks

On day 11 of our trip the group woke up and ate breakfast before going on a scenic boat tour. We went to several visually appealing viewpoints and then returned to the floating docks for lunch. After eating we left for a hike through the rain forest to visit a local cave. The hike took us about 20 minutes, after which we arrived at a dock that had bamboo rafts to take us to the cave. The cave tour was relatively short, but very fascinating. We then returned back to the floating docks for dinner and then went to sleep shortly after anxiously awaiting our new and better hotel accommodations.

Day 10 Rain Forest/Floating Docks

On Day 10 of our trip the group woke up early and caught a boat ride to the very rustic floating docks. We didn't know quite what to expect on the way to the floating docks, but when we arrived we were quite surprised to see where we would be spending the next two nights. The docks had very small 2 person huts lining them that were made from bamboo and palm leaves and each of them contained one outlet that worked for about 6 hours each night because it ran from a generator. Even though the living accommodations put the group a little bit out of their comfort zone, the area where they were located was quite a spectacle. The water was extremely clear and the rain forest surrounded them on every side. After the group got settled we went swimming and played a local bamboo balancing game. Each member of the group attempted to walk across a 25 feet bamboo rod from the docks to a kayak that was strategically placed in the middle of the water, only one person succeeded (Ashley Hoffman). After spending the day swimming we watched the sunset and went to sleep.

Day 9 Rainforest/Tree Tops

On day 9 in the rain forest the group woke up early to go elephant trekking. After we divided into several groups of two and were assigned our elephants, we ventured through the rain forest along a rocky riverbed. The elephant guides spoke a special elephant language that had been passed down through generations of the Thai people and was an extremely effective way of communicating with the animals. After we rode the elephants, we got a chance to feed and interact with them. Shortly after our elephant trekking, we ventured to a local river canoe guided tour facility. We were assigned canoes with guides and then traveled down the river deep into the rain forest. About midway through our travels we experienced our first rain forest storm. The rest of the trip entailed many sporadic and heavy downpours of rain, but it was fairly refreshing due to the unbelievably warm weather that we had been experiencing. After canoeing we went back to the Tree Tops Resort for another chicken curry and rice dinner, and then went to sleep shortly after.