April 29th, 2024
Wow, my very last blog, I actually can’t believe it. In less than two weeks, I will be back in the United States, going to my summer internship in Boston, and then going into my senior year! It is extremely bittersweet, there is a lot I am going to miss about Singapore and just being abroad, but I am also ready to see my family and friends again. I feel like I am grieving Singapore and I haven’t even left yet. I am kind of relieved to not have to pack for a new country every single weekend though!
One of the notable things I did in Singapore was attend an alumni networking event, which I actually really enjoyed. I also said goodbye to my friend I met on this program since she left early which was weird because I am not very good at saying goodbye. I also spent some more time at the Jewel airport during the day, the airport feels so different in the afternoon. After having a good brunch and cheese flavored ice cream, me and Grace boarded our flight to Phuket!
When we landed in Phuket, Thailand, we went to a lookout point to watch the sunset. I thought Vietnam was hot, I thought Singapore was hot, I thought Penang was hot, but wow Phuket was hot hot! We sat and waited for the sunset in the boiling sun with max humidity, but it was definitely worth it. Afterwards, I had the best pad thai in my entire life, and it was less than $5. Me and Grace also had pineapple fried rice in a pineapple (also amazing) and mango sticky rice. Over this weekend, we both consumed an abnormal number of mangoes, no regrets. At night, we walked around Patong Beach night market. All I can say is, sketchy.
The next day we did the Phi Phi islands tour, where we visited a bunch of different islands. The water is so blue it’s surreal, every island was so beautiful and I am glad we had time to relax at one of the beaches. Now, every time I see a beach I just miss Sydney. For dinner, we got even more classic Thai food like tom yum soup. The most memorable point of the night was getting two hour Thai massages. What an experience! And by that I mean wow that was actually so painful! I fell asleep thankfully, but it felt like I was being punched in slow motion for two hours. I am going to stick to my Balinese massages.
Surprisingly, Grace and I actually woke up for sunrise at another lookout point. Again, very beautiful and more enjoyable than the sunset since it wasn’t as hot yet. This day, the heat was so bad, we just walked around Old Phuket Town, got many yummy drinks in our air conditioning cafe breaks, and got even more amazing food for lunch. Also, we did in fact start the day with McDonalds and had these fried dough sticks which were really good. Later, we both really wanted to see Big Buddha, and yeah Big Buddha is pretty big! After that, we just relaxed at a beach near the airport. We took our very last Grab bikes to the airport, so sad!
This is my last reflection, and I think it would take a whole essay to summarize how I feel about this study abroad experience now that it is ending. I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity and extremely thankful for all the new and unique experiences I have had. I still have time in Singapore left though! I am still planning on going to the aquarium with Grace and one last trip to Johor Bahru for mani-pedis. Anyways, until next time in Southeast Asia!