I woke up at 6:30 am., looked at the clock and figured I had another half hour to sleep. I awoke at 9:00 to a call from Namji telling me the bus was leaving. I asked what to do and she said she would leave directions to where the group would be at Wailaiak University at the front desk. I got up and ready in about 10 minutes and went down. I had written a postcard last night to Ovetta on Kauai. The gal at the desk didn't know how much postage was so I left her 20 baht and you know when I came back that night she had change for me. When I asked about joining my group a beautiful woman in a purple blouse and skirt came out and drove me up there on her motor bike. She lifted her skirt so daintily to get on and start the motorcycle. It was a very cool ride. I arrived just after they started.

They were serving coffee but gave me Ovaltine since I don't drink coffee. They also had a coconut snack in banana leaf. I copied Brian's notes for the short bit I had missed. Wailaiak University is in the Ta'sala district one of 21 districts in Nankhon Si Thammarat. It is 800 km south of Bangkok, a 9-hour drive. The campus is on 3600 acres of crown lands. It is near Khon National Park. The University is an autonomous State University run on block grants. They have 13-week trimesters. The first students were introduced in 1998. There are currently 4000 undergraduate students. The area is working on ecotourism for people who come to visit nature conservation and the preservation of culture and the environment. Tourism is the sale of something like the beaches, sex and monuments. Ecotourism offers a look at the local way of life. They manage you and protect their heritage. Both parties benefit.

Our speakers were Mike Constantino of Singapore University who is a Yaleie, Patrick Jorg who teaches Southeast Asian Studies at Wailaiak University, Thahana Nakhon Director of International Relations who studied in New Zealand and lived there for 30 years, and Dr. Uthai Dulyakasem who is Dean of the faculty of Liberal Arts. He got his BA locally his Masters at Leeds and his Ph.D. at Stanford University.

Of their 5000 students, 50% are high achievers from local schools, others sit for national exams twice a year and the rest enter through direct exam to the school. There are no famous graduates from Wailaiak University. Most students want to go to a better-known University.

They have a relationship with Australia, Belgium, China and Indonesia and have an agreement with Japan, Malaysia and the USA. They have worked with Auburn in Aquatic Farming and Fisheries but only have a piece of paper from Purdue.

All classes are offered in Thai, which limits their students. They need to offer more to attract students. They offer classes in general education. All must study English, Thai, Social Living Skills, basic Science and Computer skills. There is no old-boy network. They need to do networking and this will take time. They need to generate income from doing research. The campus is very large, built to accommodate 15- 20,000 students. Wailaiak Hospitality Center is built for special guests, lecturers and official guests. The University is named after the Princess. Its emphasis is on culture. 62% of the staff have Masters degrees. They have had 3 graduating classes so far.

In the late 1900's they needed an example, so the modeled themselves after the British. Thai Buddhism was remodeled as a modern religion by monarchy. American missionaries contributed to modern medicine. The British didn't try to colonize Thailand because they got what they wanted without the cost of Colonization. They obtained tin, rubber and teak. The Vietnam War had a large impact on Thailand because of the presence of American troupes. Thailand was the first to send troupes to Korea and the first to obtain bank loans from America.

Most of the present government was educated in the USA. They don't seem to teach phonics and they don't read English Literature. The upper class and the diplomats learn more English. Nakhon Si Thammarat means City of Kings. It is a historical crossroads of civilization. It has all major religions of the world Mahayana Buddhism, Theravada Buddhism, Hindu, Christian, Taoist and Islam. It is a strategic location to works trade routes. One fourth of the world's shipping passes through here. Nakhon is land-rich and people-poor.

Thailand wanted to integrate the South with Bangkok but still preserve the culture. The railways opened up the southern markets. The south has a natural gas pipeline through Malaysia. There are big bucks businessmen who don't care about the environment with a lack of respect of local Thai rules. In the 43 lowest southern provinces, 80% are Muslim .01% Christian and the rest are Buddhist. There are 2 ways of becoming educated. Firstly, by Bondoc (cottage) boarding schools where they study Islam and secondly, via pilgrimages to Mecca. It doesn't matter how much you know to be recognized as educated. In current times these ways are no longer recognized, as you must hold a certificate from a public school. This is causing unrest in the South. There are two forces Muslim and capitalism. Cheap labor has been exploited to compete in the World Market. They have 4 resources 1) tin, which is gone 2) teak, that is almost gone 3) rubber, and 4) rice. A good book is, A Land on Fire by James Fahn or go to www.alandonfire.com and an English Journal publication called Muslim Phobia. It was predicted that next in the far south the military might use strong measures. Things might get more violent. The Federal Trade Agreement proposed a peaceful settlement but was rejected. They need to know each other before talking. It is hard to reverse the trend of the cause. People who have been born in Thailand have been denied citizenship. Some want Thailand returned to Siam and be one Siamese people. It is very difficult to accept other cultures and even more difficult to accept other ideas. Learn to learn. Learn to know, learn to do and learn to live together.

We then broke for lunch. We were served downstairs. Lunch was very good and they just kept it coming.

We boarded the bus and stopped at Sithammaratsuksa School. It was founded by The Church of Christ in 1901. The students were in uniform and well behaved as in all of the schools we visited. I met a green teacher from Texas who thought he knew if all. I think he has much to learn. He said the school is near the beach and waterfalls. He didn't mention the students themselves or their culture.

From the school we went to visit the Shadow Puppet Museum where they preformed a show for us. Of course many of us bought puppets and other figures made out of hand tooled leather.

Next we divided up with most of the group going to the Tooth Temple, which I later learned was closed. A few of us went into town and stocked up on snacks and went to an Internet café.

Most of us returned to the bus and went to dinner at a place Patrick knew on the beach. It was beautiful. A few jumped into the ocean, which was the Gulf of Thailand. This was a mom-and-pop operation whose kitchen was through their house. Many of us went to see what they had. We watched the sun set and then they brought out plastic soda bottles cut off at the top with sand in the bottom and a candle placed inside. A very creative way to create ambiance and protect the candle from going out. We all had a good time and I got some classic photos of everyone dancing and rocking out on our psychedelic bus. This bus was such a trip. It has purple and hot pink panels, blue plaid seats revolving police lights and a strobe light on top with Techno music. Our favorites were Na Na Na and P P P Party.