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More about our
Millikin Semester in Thailand.
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July 2007 from Dr. Murphy. Greetings All, I have just returned from Thailand and a two day visit to Webster International, where we will be studying in the spring. I wanted to pass along the following information: You will all be living in a 25 story condo right on the gulf of Thailand--walk 20 meters from the entrance and you're in the water. No waves, the water is warm, the beach is clean and you can wade out a long way before the water is chest-deep. The building has as swimming pool, snooker table, work out room, laundry facilities, cafe, restaurant. Cable TV is included. The building is not wireless for internet, but you can have it in your rooms for 500 (low end) or 800 baht per month. The exchange rate when I was there last week was 33 baht to the dollar, and should not change much before we leave. You can use the internet in a downstairs area without any charge. I am told by the housing office at Webster that most students or even all can have rooms to themselves, unless you want to share. Rooms are spacious, have frig, etc., much like U.S. dorms. All have a balcony with a rather lovely view---many look out directly on the gulf. The condo (called VIP) is a 20 minute bus ride from campus, and also 20 minutes from Hua Hin, the nearest town. Regular and frequent bus service under contract to the school takes students to and from campus every day. Professor Jacobs and I will be living in bungalows near very near the condo. Other student housing exists, but it is less convenient and would involve splitting up our group since it will not have enough space for even 15 MU students. Hua Hin is the sometime summer residence of the king (hence its clean appearance), is heavily frequented by tourists from all over Europe, and there are many restaurants with western food, many massage parlors, lots of Thai street food, etc. The town has two main streets, with pharmacies, specialty stores, etc. The taxi ride from the town back to VIP runs no more than 150 to 200 baht, so you can move freely between town and VIP. The geography is like a triangle, with campus, the VIP condo and the town of Hua hin the three points--each separated by about 20 minutes. Hua Hin beaches and other attractions The campus is in a fairly rural setting, and is green, green, green. All classrooms are relatively modern and you will find some of your classes populated with students from Bhutan, Nepal, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, and American students from Webster U in St Louis. The Asian students speak English well enough to function in a college setting, all having scored 550 or above on the TOEFL exam.
When you want to get out of the area for the weekend, it's cheap and easy to get a train, aircon bus or minivan up to Bangkok, 2 and a half hours north. I do not doubt that everyone will find amusements to their taste in Bangkok. Foreigners galore in the Khao san district, historic ruins, pub crawls, crowds of all kinds, the skytrain, river taxis, bookstores, nightclubs, you name it, Bangkok has it. If you want sun and fun, head south to Phuket, and you can see some residual effects of the tsunami. Hua hin and surrounding area is exceptionally safe, I walked the streets for two hours after dark. Thai culture is accepting of foreigners and you will have very few problems in that regard. This environment is NOTHING like urban Vietnam, India, Indonesia, or other parts of the developing world I have either visited or lived in regarding issues like crowds, language, facilities, infrastructure, etc. It's a great introduction to Asia without many of the difficulties of life in other nations. For those concerned about the occasional unrest to the far south on the Malaysian border, I made specific inquires, and there has been no violence or disturbance of any kind in anyone's memory in the remote vicinity of Hua hin. The military government has promised an election soon, but whether it occurs or not, Thailand depends on tourist revenue to a significant extent, and the government has a clear vested interest in making Thailand as safe and attractive as possible to foreigners.
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