The NSME Center focused on the small and medium businesses within Northern Thailand through their OTOP (One Tambon, One Product) initiative. Tambon means a village or township in English and is one of the lower forms within a regional government branch. The OTOP program was designed to help a company within the Tambon to market their products throughout Thailand and the World.

Throughout the internship, I got to visit various manufacturers in Northern Thailand including, a pillow manufacturer for Pier 1 Imports, a spice maker, a plate manufacturer, & frozen food company. The most impressive was the frozen food manufacturer, it created frozen vegetables for Walmart.

The NSME Center was an amazing opportunity to see the various businesses within Thailand and their strategy to market their products as well as the way the NSME helped to market these products through trade shows and an online presence. Sadly though, it appeared they would not be able to breakout on their own and learned a couple years ago the NSME Center had closed.

Flying into Phuket in the evening was exciting for a Northerner, who typically had only been to the beach a handful of times. A couple of those visits were to the cold beaches of Washington, while the others were California & Hawaii. Our long drive from the airport to the hotel was worth it, the view from the hotel room was amazing, on a hill overlooking Kata Beach.

Our first day in Phuket took us on a speedboat in Phang Nga Bay with stops at James Bond Island, Panyee Island, & a snorkel trip on one of the smaller islands in the bay. The boat ride to our first stop, James Bond Island took us through some incredible monoliths doting the bay. We stopped for a short time at James Bond Island, every Bond fanatics dream to see a place where a Bond movie was filmed. It was amazing to see the various spots you can pick out in the movie. Next we continued North and headed into a mangrove river near the Northern part of the bay, we twisted through the various routes and came out near the floating village of Panyee.

While at Panyee, we got to sample the local fresh caught fish at the cafe on the island as well as tour around the village. Little did I know at the time, Panyee is famous for their floating soccer field, but was on the other side of the village from the restaurant so didn’t get to see it at that time.

Our final boat stop of the day was to a little island to snorkel. It was a beautiful little island in the Phang Nga Bay. After a short snorkel and walk around the island to bask in the beautiful sand and water, we headed back to Phuket with our final stop on the tour Promthep Cape. It was beautiful to watch the sunset from the cape!

Our first stop along the way was a house of a Thai family farming in the area. They had dirt floors and two rooms and this was our first look of poverty in Thailand. I’m sure the family was compensated from the tour company for letting us view their living conditions, but it was not easy to see the extreme poverty these people were living.

The next stop was to the the small village to see the Thai long neck women. These women start added rings around their next to “stretch” their necks. It doesn’t actually stretch the neck, it compresses the shoulders and chest given the weight of the rings and gives the illusion of a longer neck. The village itself is a way for the tribe to make money off of tourists peddling their wares and the long neck women are the draw for these tourists.

Our final stop of the day was the town of Sop Ruak, a small town at the Golden Triangle and located on the Mekong River. Our last tour of the day took a small longtail boat, first up the river towards Burma (Myanmar) and the second down to a small island of Dansao, Laos. This was just another tourist village where you could purchase various items, but the most appealing was the snake whiskey. I was offered to try from one of the open bottles and tasted similar to American whiskey, but with floaties. After our trip to the island, it was time to head to our hotel near the Hall of Opium.

At dinner at the hotel that night, the power went out, so we enjoyed a nice candlelight meal with the group and called it a night. The power didn’t come back on until the morning.

The next day was a trip to the Hall of Opium. The region know as the Golden Triangle was once one of the largest producing regions of opium in the World. Here we learned about the destruction heroin had not only in the region, but the World. It was an eye opening experience, because at the time I was unaware of the devastation this drug had on so many people.

Our last stop of the day was a trip to Myanmar (Burma) and it was definitely exciting and nerve wracking at the same time. At that time, a United States citizen was not supposed to go into Myanmar and because of this, we had to leave our passports on the Thai side of the border. We had heard an American passport was valuable and was skeptical to do so, but the tour guide assured us that we were fine.

The moment we entered Myanmar (Burma) we were greeted by bicycle rickshaws who would show us around the town of Tachileik. The ride was only an about an hour and we toured various shopping areas and temples. The food vendors in the area didn’t seem sanitary and flies and various bugs were crawling over all of the meat and vegetables. The Buddhist temples in Myanmar (Burma) were similar to Thailand, but had holiday lights all around.

Our short weekend trip was packed with a lot of awesome experiences and our final was a trip to Cabbages and Condoms. This was a place for a Thai chef to promote his food along with the need to wear protection as the country has/had a very high STD rate.

I think back to the first time I left the United States, it was 2005, a young college kid who grew up in Montana looking to experience the World. I grew up traveling around the United States and had visited 35 states by this point, but never experienced anything that didn’t take me out of my comfort zone.

When thinking of open mindfulness the first thing I think about is how different the greeting of another country truly is versus our own. Greetings are different across the globe, some countries shake hands, some kiss on the cheek, while others bow. The bow is most common in Asian countries in which we tour and often times the further you bow, the more respect you are showing the person you are greeting.

The next “culture shock” when visiting another country may be cleanliness. It’s common for people visiting other countries to notice some of the things Westerners take for granted, most notably, trash on the ground and bathroom facilities. While I won’t touch on the first item as it needs to be addressed across the globe, I will discuss the second. Bathroom facilities in various countries range from holes in the ground to regular Western toilets, but the Asia bathrooms have one thing in common, water cleansers. In Thailand, it’s the water hose a Westerner would typically see on their kitchen sink, Japan it’s a fancy toilet seat, while India has a bucket or cup. (I’m not encouraging you to partake in anything related to these items, simply noting something I see on my travels.)

As with all of our tours, we hope our guests connect with the local culture! You can see the various buildings, statues, & temples on your own, so join us on a tour to experience something different… the people (along with the buildings, statues, & temples)! Experience Culture. Experience Tours. #AsiaExperienced

Let’s go tour!

Josh Knutson – President

Our hike started early evening (before the crowds) just past the Chiang Mai Zoo at Kruba Srivichai Monument. The hike is approximately 13 km (8 miles) up the mountain on curvy roads overlooking Chiang Mai. Along the route, local people & businesses set up water and snack stations along the way. Because our party left early to avoid the crowds, we had a van that would drive along with us for refreshments.

I’ll admit, close to the top I wanted to give up and jump in the van for the last mile or so, but glad I didn’t, to get the full cultural experience. Once at the top, I learned there were two routes to the temple, the easy way via tram or the hard way, another 309 steps.

After reaching the top of the stairs and catching my breath, I proceeded to walk around the stupa with my Thai Buddy. He also brought us the Buddhist Fortune Sticks. To do this, there are sticks with numbers on them that you shake while kneeling in front of an altar. The stick that falls out while you are shaking has a number that corresponds to your fortune. There are pieces of paper in files with that number on a wall, grab the number in which your stick states and read your fortune.

After partaking in the ceremonies, I walked over to the amazing view of Chiang Mai as the darkness settled in the sky. This was truly one of the most amazing experiences I had in Thailand, and it was only the second week in Chiang Mai.

On one occasion we had been introduced to the gentlemen from Australia whom had moved to Chiang Mai to become a Buddhist monk. He had been living and learning at his monastery for 20 years. He explained that he had given up his worldly possessions and was focusing on his life around the Buddha’s teachings. Thai Buddhists are predominately of the Theravada school of Buddhism. The monk also gave us a lesson in meditation and suggested that in order to obtain enlightenment would should consider practicing mediation daily.

A daily trip to the night market was always a highlight of my time in Chiang Mai. It not only gave us a chance to haggle for the goods at the market, but also allowed us to practice our Thai language skills. My favorite phrase continues to be “Lot noi dai mai”, which means, make it cheaper or give me a discount. If you didn’t receive a discount, it was always commonplace to walk away and have the vendor follow you to offer the discount.

Life in Chiang Mai over the next several blogs with showcase the cultural immersion we seek on all Knutson Travels tours.

The next day was a free day around Chiang Mai, where we learned quickly where to find the nearest restaurants, bars, & convenience stores. It wasn’t to hard to find these places because our dorm was right off Nimman road, which is a high traffic area near CMU. The best part of this trip was discovering the various places we could go, and because we had learned a little Thai before we went, we were able to converse with Song Thaew & Tuk Tuk drivers.

Our first experience at CMU was meeting with our “Thai buddies”, who would help show us around CMU & Chiang Mai. My buddy was Pep, he was a little intimidated as I was a good 1 & 1/2 feet taller than him. While meeting our buddies, we partook in a local dinner with lanna dancers and music. As customary, we received flower garlands to put around our necks to show respect for our newfound friends.

The day was completed when we visited the night market, it was a place to get whatever you desired, from DVD’s, t-shirts, bags, watches, & knick-knacks. As I would be living in Chiang Mai for the next three months, I decided against to forgo a souvenir purchase, but I did see Starbucks, so got my usual white chocolate mocha.

Our first stop was Wat Phra Mahathat in the original Thai capital of Ayutthaya to see the Buddha head embedded in a tree. Next was a visit to Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon. constructed in 1357 AD with the Chedi (stupa) being constructed in 1592AD. This amazing structure still standing as much of Ayutthaya was by the Burmese in the 1700’s. This is evident at Wat Phra Mahathat as most of the grounds are ruins lost in time.

After our stop in Ayutthaya, we were on our way to Chiang Mai. Our drive took us Route 1 and it was my trek a the left side of the road. It was also the first time I saw so many other modes of transportation along the busy high way, there were people on bikes, motorcycles, scooters, tractors, and some even walking on this busy stretch of road.

As we drove along, a Buddha statue would peak out of the trees along the hilltops, it was one of the most interesting things along the trip as it appeared to be in the middle of nowhere. The statues were ornate, even from a distance, mostly white

After quite a while driving we pulled over at a local rest stop, which was just a big fancy convenience store with gas. There I ordered lunch, which consisted of kaew moo grob (pork and rice), and given this was a truck stop, I wasn’t expecting what I had eaten. It was the best pork dish I had eaten to date and was happily surprised by my lunch choice.

Back on the bus, it was a couple hours til our next stop, which was Lampang. Our professor’s ex sister-in-law owned a restaurant on the Wang River. As we arrived, the sun was setting over the river. It was amazing food and an interesting experience. It was the first time I noticed all of the lizards, as there were 10 on the ceiling of the open-air restaurant.

After dinner, there was a short drive to Chiang Mai, our home for the next 3 months.

Visiting the Grand Palace was our first site to see on our tour. As our bus pulled up to Phimanchaisri Gate, we were greeted by 15 – 20 Thai Army soldiers marching with what looked like AK-47s. This was a little disconcerting for my first foreign trip. As we sat in front of the ticket counter I remembered thinking, what did I get myself in too!

The Grand Palace lived up to it’s name and while strolling through I couldn’t help but be amazed by the intricacies of the various statues and buildings. We saw the Emerald Buddha as well as the various pagodas and temples within the palace grounds.

The most amazing part of our tour of the Grand Palace took place when one of the Chulalongkorn University student’s father joined our group. He was a high ranking official at the Grand Palace and was able to take us inside the Phra Thinang Chakri Maha Prasat, which is the throne hall. He was unable to show us the throne itself, but showed us various items used in the coronation ceremonies including the nine-tiered royal umbrella which symbolized the king.

After we had lunch we ventured to Wat Pho and the reclining buddha. What was interesting in the reclining buddha was the 108 coin jars or prayer pots for offerings along the back wall. The 108 is a significant number referring to the 108 positive actions and symbols that helped lead Buddha to perfection. It is thought that if you drop 108 pennies, one into each pot, your wishes will be granted and will bring you good luck and a long life.

After the Grand Palace and Wat Pho we were supposed to take a ride on the Chao Praya river, but there were storms in the area so we decided to call it a day and head back to our hotel.