Batam, Thai Songkran, Macau, Hong Kong, Disneyland, and FINALS!
Hello everyone!!! I am very sorry for not blogging in awhile. I have been very busy with midterms, finals are coming up, and I went on a small vacation before finals began. I have so much to update you on its crazy! And I also have pictures too which is always exciting too! So much to talk about, where should I begin?
About 3 weeks ago I went to Batam, Indonesia to wakeboard for the first time. It was so much fun! However, I didn't get very far since I could barely stand for 2 seconds. It was really funny watching my friends bust too, but it was a good laugh. After wakeboarding for the day I could barely move the next day, especially my arms haha. Everyone told me that wakeboarding was just like snowboarding, well THEY WERE WRONG! haha. Being a snowboarder for 7 years, wakeboarding is definitely different, but I recommend it if you ever get the chance.
Next was Thai Songkran aka Thai New Year. That was great because I got to perform for my class for NUS Thai Songkran Day. I sang a few Thai classical and pop songs and dance on stage. Afterwords we had amazing Thai food (which I miss so much!) and a water fight. Thai Songkran always ends with a water fight as it is a tradition where you splash water on each other.
My short vacation before finals week I went to Macau and Hong Kong with my boyfriend Phil. We went for 5 days and it was so much fun! For the first 2 days we stayed in Macau to do some sight seeing and to gamble. If you don't know about Macau, they have the world's highest bungee jump which is 233 meters or about 1,200 ft = 61 stories! So, if you don't know me, I am very very very scared of heights but looking at the bungee jump I couldn't resist. I felt that I had to do something crazy while I am out here in Asia, and why not the world's highest bungee? I did it and it was such an amazing feeling. Its not like you are going down a rollercoaster, it feels like you flying! If your ever in Macau DO THE BUNGEE!! Me and Phil played some blackjack and slots, of course I lost, but he won a bit which was nice. We went to the Venetian which was absolutely gorgeous!
After Macau, we went to stay in Hong Kong for 3 days because we heard a lot of great sight seeing places to go to. One of which was Hong Kong Disney Land!!!! I am such a kid, I just had to go to Disney Land. It wasn't as big as the one in Florida, but that doesn't matter because it made me feel like a big kid again. We also went to see the Big Buddha statue in Ngong Ping which was so beautiful. The Buddha was really big and we also got to see a temple which was very nice. Also during our stay we went shopping in the area, which is always a plus for me and I did some bargaining and got some pretty cool stuff!
After the 3 days we went back to Macau to fly back to Singapore. Since our flight wasn't til very late we explored the Venetian again and we went on the gondola ride which was indoors. It was so romantic and so much fun it made me giggle. Then we headed back to Singapore since we had finals coming up.
Again I apologize for not writing for a month. Its been very hectic and I am getting ready for my last final (I already had 2!) and coming back to the United States. Its crazy how fast this experience went and I wish it could last longer. I made some amazing friends and met so many people from different parts of the world. If you are considering studying abroad, DO IT! Consider Singapore, its in a great location and traveling is cheap and easy. You really get a wonderful cultural experience.
Stay safe and good luck on finals! For you high school seniors hope you chose The University of Scranton. I am looking forward to coming back for my final year!
- Pattie Vongsoasup