The Journey Continues

Yesterday we packed up and left the school and traveled to Chang Mai (we will return to the school Wednesday). We then went to the Sunday night market in the "Old City." The market was amazing! I spent five hours there and still didn't manage to see more than half of the market. The energy in the market was very different than shopping in America. The Thais barter over prices for everything other than food in the market. At first I didn't want to barter and found it very uncomfortable, but after seeing my classmates buying things for 70% of their original price I decided to give it a try. It was surprisingly fun! The food at the market was very different than what we have in America as well. The smell of fish was everywhere, even when I couldn't see fish I could smell it. As someone who doesn't love fish this isn't my favorite part of the trip, but it's definitely part of the Thailand experience! At exactly 6 pm the Thailand anthem played over speakers all throughout the Old City and everyone immediately stopped where they were, stood still, and didn't say a word. It was such a cool experience!