By Miss Lise Munch-Hansen

Copenhagen Business School Students

As part of the introduction phase in the BBA program at Thammasat, we recently embarked on an overnight trip to Hua Hin.  Situated about three hours South of Bangkok near the mountainous region by Myanmar, Hua Hin is Thailand first bathing resort.  It has remained a glamorous getaway spot since King Rama IV built his summer palace here in 1923, and has since attracted Thai and farang alike, to enjoy the sandy beaches and historical charm.

We were surprised to find that we had been checked-in to one of the finest hotels in the area, The Dusit Resort Hua Hin, complete with 5-star service and numerous pools by the beach.  We spent the first few hours sun-seeking, lingering by the pool, then enjoying a seaside lunch with the programme coordinators, before the real programme of the trip entered into force: the teambuilding.

Admittedly, most of us did not know each other before starting at Thammasat, so getting to mingle like this was a much needed activity, and we started off the afternoon with activities for the whole group.  Later on, we were split into three, large teams, and set out to compete against each other in a number of tasks.  My own team consisted of a mix of Danes, Americans, Norwegians, a Chinese and last but not least Mama Pam (Narisa Klieothong) who as our program administrator was a marvellous addition to our group.  Our challenges ranged from general team planning, to more strategising, as when we were tested on how fast we could fill a bucket with water on the one end of a lever, with the other bucket full, weighing down. While you may think this sound like an easy task, I urge you to think again!  The empty bucket was too high for us to reach, we were only equipped with cups with holes in them to fill with water.  After some pondering over the laws of physics, we had quickly discovered our own water transportation system, which involved us standing on each others backs and using bamboo sticks as water runways.