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.