Submitted by Maggie McAfee on the 2024 Winter DIST program in Australia and Thailand …
The third city we visited on this trip throughout Thailand was Chon Buri. Since this trip started, my schedule has been packed with academic and cultural excursions and I finally was able to have a free day and hang out by the beach with all of the girls on this trip. Not only was this a great day to relax in the sun, but I was also able to see how locals go about their everyday lives and how this beach area is different from what I experience on the east coast. One interesting difference was how I was so excited to sit out in the sun, but all of the locals were seen searching for shade and wearing longer clothing to avoid the sun. The idea of having tan skin in the US is different than in Thailand.
One very exciting and fun activity that was offered on the beach was the opportunity to go on what’s called a Banana Boat. It was a torpedo shaped raft attached to a jet ski that went up and down the beach and when switching directions we would get thrown off. I did this activity with five other girls and it was a small experience on this trip, but it was so fun! During the point where we were trying to get back on the raft after being tipped, a group of local girls started asking us where we were from and when we said we were from the US they got so excited and said they were from Thailand. It was such a wholesome interaction with local girls around our age.
During our time in Chon Buri, they had a little music festival occurring right across the street from our hotel right on the beach. They played both western music and Thai music which was so interesting and fun to listen to. They also had a market set up right on the beach with such cute stands of clothes and objects. They also had a mix of items that are popular in the US and items that are popular in Thailand. It was a sight to see when the sun was setting. It was gorgeous and great music was playing in the background. It was such a good time exploring all of what Chon Buri has to offer! (Submitted on January 26, 2024)
