Days 11 to 13
02. - 04.04.2024
Bangkok
Tuesday, April 02nd, 2024 Day 11
A new and eventful day started on Tuesday morning around 8:00 a.m. when our excursion group was on the way to our partner university in Bangkok, the KMUTT - King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi. The hustle and bustle in Bangkok's traffic and the resulting traffic jam gave rise to great expectations. Unforseen, the streets, even the sidewalks, were closed due to the fact that a member of the royal family traditionally drove past us in a continuous motorcade, estimated at 20 in number. Exciting!
Just 45 minutes later, we reached our destination – the KMUTT campus. Based on our German characteristic of always arriving on time, happend once again.
To pass the time, we admired the outside of the main building and took some group photos. We were then welcomed by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Charoenchai Khompatraporn who led us into a meeting room that gave the feeling of beeing in the American Congress.
Thai culture is based on an open and hospitable nature, so we enjoyed a second breakfast that morning - sticky rice with mango. Sticky rice cooked in coconut milk, decorated with fresh mango pieces, a creamy coconut milk sauce and garnished with a kind of brittle sugary coating. A real treat for every palate. As a small present, everyone received a cloth bag with the following contents: a KMUTT brochure and a notepad.
A lot of information was conveyed during the half-hour presentation. Afterwards, Asst. Prof. Dr. Chonlameth Arprikanondt led us around the School of Information Technology (SIT) complex. Last but not least, we had the opportunity to visit the library of this university.
KMUTT was founded back in 1960 as Thailand's first university and reserves the right to be one of the best science and technology universities in Thailand. They rely on constant innovation and a vision that aims to build a learning community. The excellence in technology and research, as well as the continuous improvement of the public university, pursue the goal of becoming the world's leading university.
These dimensional spaces are home to admirable and diverse campuses that invite association with results-oriented education, research and their social contribution, as well as challenges. The students live and learn together in the respective learning areas:
· KMUTT Bangkhuntien (135 acres)
· KMUTT Bangmod (52 acres)
· KMUTT Ratchaburi (452 acres)
· KMUTT Knowledge Exchange for Innovation Center (KX)
The listed faculties offered are:
· Faculty of Industrial Education and Technology
· Faculty of Engineering
· Faculty of Science
· School of Architecture and Design
· School of Bioresources and Technology
· School of Energy Environment and Materials
· School of Liberal Arts
· School of Information Technology
· Graduate School of Management
· The Joint Graduate School of Energy
· Institute of Field roBOtics
In addition, KMUTT's offering includes 149 programmes and 63 English-based programmes:
· 54 Bachelor´s degree programmes
· 60 Master´s degree programmemes
· 35 Doctoral degree programmes
· 14 Bachelor´s degree programmes
· 14 Master´s degree programmes
· 35 Doctoral degree programmes
Much emphasis is placed on education, work-integrated learning, various social projects and as many students engaged as possible - some benefits are offered:
· Nap pods in library
· Lego room for innovation
· Learning space, GMI KMUTT
· International collaboration for example with Japan or Germany
· GMI Building Renovation Underway
· Special learning rooms for e.g. meetings, with the option to write on glass walls (Brainstorming)
· In building S3 there is a school with grades 1-12
What also stood out was the two blocks of flats on campus, each of which was divided up - one for young women and one for young men. We also wondered why it was a little quieter there at that moment. It was explained to us that there are currently exam periods and for this reason the students are encouraged to dress business-like so that they can get used to working life. As a rule, no uniform is required here.
When visiting the library, which is located on the 1st floor, you can still chat in peace and hold meetings on this level. Extreme silence is required from the upper floor onwards.
At the end of this event, we thanked the responsible persons for this informative morning and Prof. Schellhase diligently handed out his last Swiss Lindt Easter bunnies and the truly high-quality German product “Lamy” pen, which made the organisers very happy.
At lunchtime the bus took us to a restaurant where we enjoyed traditional Thai cuisine. From sticky rice to egg soup, roasted crab rings, papaya salad, coconut rolls and lotus flowers, there was everything your heart could desire. Despite the spiciness of some of the dishes, this was a successful conclusion together with the professors and employees of our partner university.
After a joint lunch in a restaurant with traditional food, most of the students joined a boat trip.
The boat cruises on the Chao Phraya River, which flows through Bangkok. It is important to note that the river is of great relevance to Bangkok and Thailand, as it is one of the largest rivers in Thailand with a total length of around 372 kilometres and, in addition to Bangkok, also runs past the old capital of Thailand, Ayutthaya.
This boat trip was thankfully organized and guided by our tour guide Tham.
Of course, a cold drink, such as beer, cola or water, was also a must, so that we could reflect on the last few days in Bangkok and the whole excursion together with our fellow students. Every single city and country on the excursion is completely different and special in their own way. As a result, a lot of impressions were conveyed in a very short space of time about how different Asia is with its countries and cultures.
On board the boat, a delicious and varied dinner was offered in the form of a buffet, allowing us to discover Thailand's culinary cuisine once again. We made use of the good weather to dine together on the outside deck, with a great view of various sights in Bangkok.
During the boat trip, the sight of Wat Arun was spotted. "Wat Arun" stands for "Temple of Dawn" and is a Buddhist palace on the west bank, which is over 300 years old. The photo shows this palace with the sun setting over Bangkok.
The ICONSIAM shopping centre, also on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River, is also really spectacular viewed from the boat. The very opulent shopping centre was opened in 2018 after 5 years of construction and costs of 1.65 billion US dollars. It is home to numerous luxury shops such as Gucci, Prada and Louis Vuitton ...
After docking at the pier, we moved on to the Closing Party of the excursion at the Rooftop Bar - Sky On 20, which is located in the Novotel Bangkok.
Once they arrived at the Rooftop Bar, all the excursion participants were able to enjoy a great, varied and interesting last excursion evening. We laughed a lot and talked about the last few days, what we had experienced and which city we found to be the most interesting. This allowed us to enjoy the Bangkok skyline at night one last time with delicious drinks such as cocktails or long drinks. A successful evening came to an end and a very exciting excursion drew to a close.
Two University of Darmstadt alumni of the IBWL course, Mehmet and Moritz, once again thanked the two organisers and leaders of the trip, Prof. Dr. Schellhase and Mr. Bopp, for the great planning and organisation of the trip. Mehmet and Moritz have already had the pleasure of joining exciting excursions organised by the two tour leaders in the past and wanted to express their thanks.
Farewell
Bangkok
Wednesday, April 03rd, 2024 Day 12
On the last day, some of us went for a Thai massage and the others went to the pool, as we had until 12 p.m. to check out. Most of us went to breakfast at 8 a.m. so that we could make the most of the last few hours. Before 12 p.m., some people gathered at reception to check out and store their suitcases there until the afternoon. By 12 p.m., almost everyone was back at the pool to enjoy the last rays of Thai sunshine at Amari. Some of us also ordered more delicious coconuts or a cold beer to round off the day.
Finally, we ordered another pizza, which arrived just before the end of the day and once we were full, the group headed towards reception to leave for the airport.
The return journey to Frankfurt was scheduled for the afternoon of April 3rd.
Our tour guide picked us up by bus at around 2.30 pm. From there, we travelled through Bangkok's traffic to Suvarnabhumi International Airport, which is about 30 km east of Bangkok.
There was still a little time before check-in began, so a quick coffee speciality in one of the airport cafés was a must.
We then checked in, dropped off our luggage and went through the security. After some waiting time, the aircraft A321 was ready for boarding. We were now travelling back to Vietnam with Vietnam Airlines VN618. This time, however, we were not travelling to Ho-Chi-Minh-City, but rather to the largest airport in northern Vietnam, Nội Bài International Airport in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.
In the late evening, at around 11 p.m. local time Hanoi, we finally took off for Frankfurt, VN37, B 787 Dreamliner.
With a flight time of around 12 hours, there was plenty of time to rest our eyes and relax in addition to the two meals on board.
Frankfurt
Thursday, April 04th, 2024 Day 13
After the usual procedure for entering Germany in the form of passport control, everyone was able to collect their suitcases at baggage reclaim.
Then, after almost two weeks full of new thoughts, impressions and lots of experiences, we all set off on the last few kilometres of our journey home.
Everyone will remember this unique and incredible trip for a long time to come.
A big thank you to everyone who made this trip indescribable.
