Chiang Mai Week One

I have now had a week in Chiang Mai and Ifeel like I have settled in nicely. On Sunday I met up with my lovely colleaguePlaii who showed me loads of places I could stay in Chiang Mai, for areasonable price. I ended up renting a studio flat/room in a condominium calledCentral Hill Place, only a ten minute bike ride away from the MMN office and 20min from the city centre. My room is quite big with an en suite bathroom and abalcony. Although it seems very bare and empty at the moment I am sure that itwill become more of a home with time. I have already bought an orchid from theflower market to break with the rest of the cream coloured room.

As mentioned I have now been here for aweek and it is safe to say that the highlight of my week has been working atthe MMN office and meeting my colleagues.  At the moment the MMN is preparingfor a symposium at the end of February with the theme ‘living together’,focusing on integration and social cohesion. So my work this week has been inpreparation for the symposium. My main task has been to research integrationand social cohesion policies in other regions, such as the EU, ASEAN, Australia/Pacific and in Latin America. I have found the work very interesting and inonly one week I have learned so much. My colleagues, Plaii and Jess have alsotaught me loads this week. They have been telling me about migration in theMekong region, especially in Chiang Mai, about issues faced by many migrantsarriving in Thailand, about laws and regulations affecting migrants’ lives, aboutthe work that the MMN does, as well as other pressing human rights issues inthe Mekong region. This week has been a great start to my 12 week placementwith the MMN and I am very excited about what the next couple of weeks will belike.

My room

The view from my room

Suthep Road

Plaii getting coffee at the coffee van

First stop Bangkok.

After a long flight, with a stopover in Mumbai I finally reached Bangkok early Friday morning. Although Bangkok is a wonderful city, worthy of endless exploration, all I managed to do was get to my hotel and straight to bed. This is my third visit to Thailand, but the jet lag has never hit me this hard before. However after a good couple of hours of sleep, I was finally in better shape and so I met up with my lovely friends Bob and Poo for dinner and drinks on the crazy busy Khao San road. They showed me a great time and a lovely start to my stay in Thailand, before making my way to Chiang Mai.

The purpose of my stay in Thailand

As a part of my degree in International Development at the University of Sussex, I am undertaking a three month placement with the Mekong Migration Network (MMN), in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The MMN is a subregional network of grassroots organisations, NGOs, and academic institutes working to promote rights of migrants in the Mekong region. Through this blog I will attempt to give friends and family, as well as potential future placement candidates, a look into what it is like to live in Chiang Mai, and what my placement experience is like.