This video will whet your taste for some of the delicious, traditional foods you can experience during your travels in Thailand!

There is so much to see and so much to do in Thailand.  We hope you you get a lot out of your program by taking advantage of all that Thailand has to offer.

Bangkok City Information

Bangkok is a sprawling, cosmopolitan city home to 8 million people that even after a semester you won’t be able to see it all! You will see ancient monks walking the streets heading to the temple, friendly Thai smiles behind pad thai cooking stands and western backpackers spilling out into the streets till the wee hours. Bangkok is the financial and bustling hub of Thailand where you can find anything and everything under the sun.  It is a city like no other!  You’ll begin to get to know the city during your program orientation.  Your Site Director will take you around to see some of the best that Bangkok has to offer.  Below are some pictures of Beautiful Bangkok.

 

 

Mahidol’s Salaya Campus Information

Salaya Campus, opened in 1982, is located just a few hundred meters from Bangkok’s city limits in Phuttamonthon District, Nakhon Pathom Province, on 520 acres (210 hectares) of natural beauty, landscaped gardens and tropical foliage.  The relaxing semi-rural setting, within easy reach of central Bangkok, makes it ideal for studying or working in tranquility without losing out on the myriad opportunities available in the city proper.

Most international undergraduate students at Mahidol attend Mahidol University International College (MUIC) on Salaya Campus.  Because all first-year native Thai students in national programs also study at Salaya, there is ample opportunity for international undergraduates to get to know their Thai counterparts.  Many international postgraduate students, including full-time and visiting students and short training course participants, study or perform research at Salaya.  Salaya is also home to many foreign staff members, including lecturers and administrative personnel at MUIC and other academic, research and administrative divisions.

Salaya Campus houses the largest number and widest variety of Mahidol University’s academic and research facilities, including 7 Faculties, 7 Institutes and 5 Colleges.  Numerous other sub-faculty level Research Centers and Laboratories are also located on campus, along with:

• the Central Library and 6 branch libraries of the Mahidol University Library and Information Center, as well as some independent Faculty libraries;
• the Student Union, home to many student services, clubs and activities, and the main cafeteria;
• the Office of the President, the University administration building
• Numerous stores, eating establishments, sports facilities, student and staff dormitories and condominiums, and a comprehensive range of facilities for attending to the academic, professional and personal needs of staff and students.

Library Facilities

The Central Library is the hub of the Mahidol University Library and Information Center (MULIC).  It contains an extensive collection of over 1 million books, theses, research reports and bound journals; 1,500 printed journals; 15,000 electronic journals and 16,000 electronic books; 13,000 audiovisual materials; hundreds of computer terminals and multimedia viewing equipment; a full range of specialized services including online reference services, multi-database searching and document delivery services.

Ten other branch libraries are linked to the Central Library by the computer database MULINET, of which 6 are located on Salaya Campus, at the Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies, Institute for Population and Social Research, Institute of Language and Culture for Rural Development, Institute of Nutrition, ASEAN Institute for Health Development and Ratchasuda College.

All staff and students can gain access to all library facilities by showing their Mahidol University identity card.  Information on all branch library opening hours and resources can be found on the central Library website at www.li.mahidol.ac.th.

Sport and Recreation Facilities

The College of Sports Science and Technology has five swimming pools (one Olympic- sized) and a fitness center with weight equipment, sauna and aerobics, available for use by students, staff and the general public.  Annual membership for using only swimming pools costs 200 baht for students and 400 baht for staff, allowing use of the pools for 20 baht per visit.  To use all health, fitness, and exercise equipment, students and staff are required to apply for membership at SS Sports Centre of various types such as 3 months, 6 months and 1 year.  For price details, please visit the center’s website at www.ss.mahidol.ac.th. or call 0-2441-4296-8 ext.103. A medical certificate, easily and inexpensively available from any doctor, is required for membership.   Proper swimming attire and a bathing cap must be worn while swimming. (Swimming equipment can be purchased at a shop near the pools).

Additional sport facilities, all free of charge, include a large indoor stadium for basketball, badminton and other indoor sports, four outdoor tennis courts, three large soccer fields, a volleyball court, a pétanque court and a running track. Bookings should be made to reserve the courts and the stadium at the window on the outside wall of the stadium.  The spacious layout of the campus also allows much opportunity for jogging, cycling or exercise.

Shopping

Several stores on campus offer a variety of basic necessities and student supplies.  The University Cooperative Store in the Student Union complex stocks groceries, personal and household products, gifts and assorted items. Nearby are two convenience stores and the University Bookstore, which sells textbooks, school supplies, newspapers, sports equipment, Mahidol University souvenirs and similar items (teaching staff holding a Mahidol identity card receive a 10% discount; student discounts are also occasionally offered). Lively weekly markets are held all day every Friday outside the College of Sports Science and Technology and the Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies near the Student Union.  The markets feature food stalls and a wide variety of goods, especially clothing. A stationery store with computer supplies is on the ground floor of the Faculty building.  Special Mahidol events held throughout the year often feature markets as well.

Off-campus, the commercial district across Phuttamonthon 4 Road in front of the campus has many shops and restaurants. Shopping for major items and groceries can be conveniently done in the Pinklao area (west of the Chao Phraya River, approximately 25-30 minutes from Salaya by blue bus No. 124). Pinklao houses the large Pata Department Store and Major Cineplex and Central Plaza shopping complexes.

Eating

There are many nice, affordable eateries both on- and off-campus.  The main cafeteria in the Student Union has a large selection of Thai rice and noodle dishes costing 15 – 25 baht and inexpensive drinks.  Snack food is available at two convenience stores. Not far away the College of Sports Science and Technology runs a bakery café.  Many university buildings also have smaller, inexpensive cafeterias, and small snack shops and food stalls are dotted around campus as well.

At Mahidol University International College, a more upscale restaurant on the second floor, the Herb Garden, offers lunch buffets for 160 baht per person Tuesday and Thursday and a 195 baht set menu on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. A pleasant student-operated cooperative coffee shop, Cup-pa is adjacent to the MUIC building; while the Princess Café behind the Food Science Lab, Faculty of Science, with indoor and outdoor café seating and serves fresh coffee and Western-style dishes and snacks.  Another relaxing spot to eat is near Thai House, where a Thai restaurant has open-air seating overlooking a small lake.  Many restaurants also are found in the Phuttamonthon 4 Road area opposite the university gates.

Both CISabroad housing locations have budget friendly dining options a short distance away.  You could fill up for a dollar or two at either – food in Thailand is that inexpensive!

On Campus Services

Post — A Post Office near the Student Union offers standard postal services including overseas parcel delivery. Salaya Post Office, about 1 kilometer east of campus, has all regular postal services including facilities for overseas telephone calls and faxes.   A stationery store in the Phuttamonthon 4 Road area has more expensive fax, express mail and postal services.

Banking — Several banks are on Phuttamonthon 4 Road in front of Salaya Campus:  Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), Thai Military Bank (TMB), Bangkok Bank and Siam City Bank. Another bank in the Salaya market near Mahidol University’s Gate 3 and 4 is Krung Thai Bank. Both SCB and TMB provide international services, including foreign currency and travelers’ check exchange. You can also open a Thai baht account in a small branch of SCB located on campus in the Salaya Center building.  (For staff at Salaya Campus, it is very convenient to open an account here as this is the university’s official bank, and university employees can have their salary transferred directly into an account there).

ATMs are located at the banks on Phuttamonthon 4 Road and SCB at Salaya Center, on the ground floor of the Office of the President and Mahidol University International College, and at the Student Union, the Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies and the College of Music.

Computers and Internet — Each academic department on Salaya Campus has its own computer lab and the Office of the President has a computer lab on the ground floor with over 100 computers equipped with high-speed Internet connections. Computers with Internet connections are also available in campus libraries, and each campus dormitory room provides network access.

Students pay a 300 baht per semester computer fee as part of their registration fees for Internet and Intranet access and a 10-megabyte email account.

Transportation

Buses are a convenient way to travel between Bangkok and Salaya Campus.   The air- conditioned buses No. 515 and No. 547 run on different routes from Phuttamonthon 4 Road to Victory Monument in central Bangkok. Regular bus No. 124 runs from Phuttamonthon 4 Road to Pinklao west of the Chao Phraya River (and continues into central Bangkok), connecting to the Express River Ferry at Pinklao Bridge Other Regular buses No. 125 and No. 84ก  also runs on different  routes  from  Phuttamonthon  4  Road  to  Samsen  Train  Station and  Klongsarn  Pier. Commuting between Bangkok and Salaya Campus by train (a 1-hour trip) is also possible, though less convenient.

Private vans (‘rot dtoo’) run between Salaya Campus and Pata Department Store in Pinklao.  On campus they wait at the main cafeteria, as well as at the bus stop by the pedestrian overpass opposite campus on Phuttamonthon 4 Road.   In Pinklao they wait in Q8 Gas station close to Central Department Store.

Mahidol University International College and certain faculties provide free shuttle commuting services for their own students and staff between Salaya Campus and different parts of Bangkok. Regular free shuttle buses for staff and students also commute between the Office of the President building and Bangkok in every half an hour from the early morning to late afternoon.