Our Journey to Phrao

Reluctantly, we left Bangkok yesterday on an overnight bus to Chiang Mai, the hub of northern Thailand. The ride was 12 hours of nodding off to the passing streetlights only to be interrupted by several gas station stops and the loud cackles of the bus driver and friends. At 6 am, we stumbled off the bus like drunken zombies looking for a midnight brain treat. We roused ourselves with some of the omnipresent, cloying Thai coffee. After a necessary but relatively painless stop at the Chiang Mai immigration office, we were met by two volunteer representatives from Warm Heart. These two students, Paul and Jess (not our Jessica), also happened to be Rutgers students who were only too glad to show us the ropes of life in the Chiang Mai province (they have been here for several weeks already). We stopped off at Wat Doi Suthep, a Buddhist temple located atop a mountain overlooking the Chiang Mai valley. The view from the Wat was nothing short of breathtaking and it made for a nice welcome.

The six of us stocked up on food at a supermarket and then made the 1 1/2-hour van ride through the rice paddies and cow pastures to our new home at Aom Doi. Aom Doi is a series of bungalows outside of Phrao, hosting about 15 foreign volunteers working in the region. We have only just arrived, but have already come to the collective conclusion that this is a small piece of paradise. The combination of beautiful scenery, friendly people and a quiet, yet dynamic atmosphere makes this a place we feel lucky to be living in.

Tomorrow, we will begin our work with the NGO Warm Heart. We will set off for Phrao center at 8am and spend the day discussing and planning for this summer. Since we have had little sleep in the past two days, we are eager to wake up well-rested and begin doing what we came here to do.

Jessica Kretch

Hello everyone!
My name is Jessica Kretch and I just finished my freshman year studying industrial engineering. I got interested in Engineers without Borders at the beginning of the school year and have been inspired ever since. The club caters to my desire to change the world while using my skills. The Thailand trip originated in my curiosity in solar power,which was our initial project. After working all year with this committee I felt very privileged to be asked to attend this trip to Thailand. I am eager to help the northern Thais with their water situation and hope I can assist in bringing them a better life.
Our group of four arrived in Bangkok, Thailand yesterday afternoon. For someone who has never done too much traveling I was overwhelmed. The atmosphere was like nothing I have experienced in the U.S. I was first overcome by the buildings. They range from huge apartment complexes with no screened in windows to sky scrapers of all shapes. Taking the cab with four people and tons of luggage was quite an experience. When we arrived at the street with the hotel I was completely shocked with the amount of local vendors and signs sticking out of every available space. As we walk towards the hotel I was first introduced to the quick and heavy rain storms that occur around this year.
After being here just a little over a day, I am already in love with the culture of Thailand. I look forward to going north and seeing a more rural atmosphere. Well, I must go because we are about to go grab a bit to eat. (The food will have to wait for another post because it is AMAZING!)

"sa-wat-dee"

Sa-wat-dee (hello) everyone. We arrived here in Bangkok yesterday, and so far it has been amazing. Bangkok is a very fun and interesting city that is easily navigable. One thing that makes this city amazing is the fusion of east and west, and of modern and tradition. Here in Bangkok you will see a lot of western influence and development aimed to modernize the city, and yet this city is full of temples and a population with their own distinct culture.

Yesterday, we took a taxi to Bangkok and settled ourselves in one of the small inns on Khao San street. We then ventured into the streets of Banglamphu (the region of Bangkok we stayed in) and ate a variety of food from the street vendors. We then went to Chulalongkorn University to meet with Dr. Siriwong and Dr. Somrongthong to discuss our project up in the north.

Today, we visited the Grand Palace and the "Wat Pho." The architecture was very intricate and beautiful. In the "Wat Pho," we saw an enourmous reclineing Buddha. We also a full body massage!! Again we had alot of food that were rediculuously inexpensive and spicy.

I will post more soon.

Back in Thailand

I am now in Thailand for the fourth time in my life and I am loving it more than ever. Every time I leave Bangkok, I worry that it is for the last time. So far, I have always managed to return for one reason or another. Since the last time I've been here, things have changed a bit. The airport has moved and now is so high-tech, lofty and new, it puts JFK and Newark to shame. Bangkok continues to become more westernized and they now even have several Starbucks. Tourist sposts are even more touristy and ipods are becoming popular. Still, I would say the things I love most about Thailand are those that haven't changed--the people are some of the friendliest in the world, the temples are beautiful and ornate, the food is out of this world and there is always more to do.

This time, I am not here as a tourist or backpacker. I am actually planning to do work to help some people in Thailand. We are staying in Bangkok for a few days as an intro to Thailand but I am looking forward to heading northward to the more rural parts to begin our assessment. After a meeting with two very pleasant and intelligent professors from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Dr. Wattasit Siriwong and Dr. Ratana Somrongthong, I feel very excited and optimistic about our project. The six of us discussed the goals of our project, its feasibility and possible obstacles. Having had this discussion, I feel that we are fortunate to have a great NGO behind us as well as connections to local government officials. In a few days, we will head to Chiang Mai on an overnight bus, and then we will travel onward to Phrao, our final destination. I am eager to meet the people we will be working with and to get my hands dirty.

The First Day +

So, we have been in Thailand for about a day and a little bit and I have to say that it is absolutely amazing. What a wonderful country! Half of our trip so far has been the journey to get here, 26 hours of travel, but lots of time to catch up on some sleep. The flights weren't too bad, but it is quite managable and there is usually a cool drink not too far away. We found a very nice hotel in a backpackers' area that is quite reasonable, and one of the rooms even has air conditioning, which,at night, isn't very necessary. It is in a nice, safe area that has easy access to all of the major tourist attractions, including the Grand Palace, Wat Po, and many more.

Last night, the 26th, we were very delighted to meet Dr. Wattasat Siriwong, a Proffessor at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. He was an old student of Dr.Robson, one of the advisors for our project, and Dr.Robson helped us to set up a meeting in Bangkok. After getting a little lost, we found Dr. Siriwong and disscused the project, some possible problems, and some other interesting things before he took all four of us out to dinner at a very nice restaurant and we had relatively traditional Thai food. The discussion and the food were both delightful and left us all full and with a feeling that this project will be sucessful and that it will be work woth doing. We needed to make it an early night so we could recooperate from the long day of travel but the first day was a great adventure in a new a foreign land.

We started again early this morning, around 7:30 to make sure we could get a full day of sightseeing in. We started of by visiting the Grand Palace, which was, for someone who had never been to Asia or a Buddhist Temple before, breathtaking. It was so amazing how quickly we can go from normal city, to marvelous buildings and temples. I didn't know what to expect at all, but what really threw me for a loop was the changing of the guard. I've never been to England, but I think that it would be a similar thing there. This Palace had so many wonderful buildings and sculptures that no camera photo could ever do justice. We also visited Wat Po and the Reclining Buddha, other temples, and had some time to just enjoy the Thai life walking the streets. Luckily, (crossing my fingers) nobody has gotten sick yet, and I dont think that it will be a problem. The food is great here, and if you think that you have had Thai food before, there is nothing like authentic street foods here. You can get almost anything you want, they even have Pizza Hut and Subway here. But everything is good and safe.

Goodbye and Welcome!

Hello soon-to-be-loyal readers. As we, the Rutgers University chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) Thailand travel team, prepare to embark on our first project trip to northern Thailand, we would like to introduce you to our blog and ourselves. This blog was created as a means of keeping all of our friends, families and various stakeholders in the loop regarding our activities this summer. We will post as a team and as individuals on this blog as often as we have time or see fit. Hopefully, we will accomplish much and therefore have much to report.

Our team, soon to personally introduce themselves, is composed of four Rutgers University School of Engineering students--Ronn Friedlander, Jessica Kretch, David Pal and Laith Qumei. The overall goal of the Thailand project is to improve water quality in a small village called Nong Bua. This opportunity was brought to our attention by a Rutgers professor named Michael Shafer, who works with a non-governmental organization (NGO) in the region. The NGO, Warm Heart, is interested in community development through microenterprise and small hands-on projects.

Our chapter of EWB took on the project and, after nine months' hard work brainstorming, communicating, organizing and fundraising, are ready to begin what is known in the EWB world as an "Assessment Trip." Essentially, it is a fact finding mission as well as a chance to get to know the people with whom we will be working. We will be creating surveys about health, water, waste and energy, compiling results, testing water for physical and chemical parameters and gathering information about local conditions, materials, etc. We also plan to network with government officials, NGO volunteers and friends thereof, local university students, entrepreneurs and most importantly, the people of Nong Bua. The assessment trip will last from June 26 until August 10 and will consist of many hours of hard work, but also fun times getting to know Thailand and its people.

Although there are only four of us going to Thailand, we've been supported by a whole chapter of 50+ students who have worked generously and tirelessly to improve our chapter and its projects (El Salvador, Hurricane Katrina cleanup, etc.). We would like to thank all of them and the professors, deans, students, parents, siblings, business owners and friends who have helped to make this trip a reality. Keep reading this blog to see the fruits of everyone's labor. We now bid you goodbye as we leave North America for Southeast Asia, and we welcome you to vicariously embark on this life-changing journey as we Scarlet Knights attempt to build a better world, one community at a time.