Finally, a decent net cafe...
I'm in Chiang Mai now, which is in northern Thailand, and let me say that the city and the mountains seem to agree with me more than the nirvana of an island paradise. Who can take all that relaxation anyway?!
I went from bodily ailments to more city issues. My hotel booking off the net was somehow screwed up and so it took some time to deal with that, including multiple international calls...they're still waiting to hear back from the booking agent Monday. I'm hoping that works out so I'm not overcharged. My bank card was also blocked, which left me in big trouble because cash is key here for nearly everything. Luckily, I was able to figure out how to call collect (not as easy as it sounds), and after literally hours of playing with automated systems and operators, I was able to find a human, not lose my phone connection (for the fifth time), and fix the problem. I got out lots of cash this time.
A couple things about the Thai people. When I came here I was advised to ignore most peoples' directions unless they are very sure immediately. Otherwise, they're just trying to get rid of you...so so true. And maybe I've already blogged about getting lost for hours in circular fashion because of bad directions. Another issue...lots of Thais, in fact most, do not speak English. That makes travel particularly difficult, though of course I've been trying to learn words here and there. I mean, I am the visitor, after all...Last things, Thais love doggies (yay!) and they never lose their cool because it's all about face for them. If they do, they become violent quite quickly. So watch out. That last part was told to me, I have never seen it...and don't intend to.
It's funny, but this "vacation" is flying by quite quickly. Most travelers ask each other where they're from, but not necessarily where they're coming from. When people do ask me where I'm traveling from, what I do for a living, or where I work...they are usually very surprised to hear Baghdad. It does have quite a ring to it. And, well, this place is very much the opposite of Baghdad. While dogs are loved and treated very well here, in Baghdad some government money may actually be going to exterminate dogs out on the road. It seems that Arab culture in general has little love for dogs and thinks they are unclean and dirty...I saw so many Winston's at the night market Saturday (last night) and pet them all...so sweet.
Chiang Mai is Thailand's second largest city, but is far far more manageable than Bangkok. This is why most Westerners love it...and well, I fall into that cliche too. People are also less likely to scam you here, which is nice. I decided to come up here for the Chinese New Year because there is a lot of Chinese, Myanmar, influence in the north. My trip has actually worked out quite well in terms of timing for various cultural events in locations. Knock wood that it lasts. My first full day here was Saturday and I spent the morning walking the old city, which is surrounded by a moat and formerly walled, but now has the feeble remains of brick corners and brick around the four "gates" in. I was tempted to rent a moped, but decided to try walking around first though my foot hurt quite a bit.
These red taxis called song-teow are basically flat-bed trucks with tops over them. They are everywhere and charge about 20 baht, or 80 cents to take you wherever you need to go. It's such a thrill hailing a taxi, which you do by moving your hand back and forth palm downward.
I checked out the major temple in the old city. While I was there I spoke with a Chinese couple traveling throughout southeast Asia who were seated in front of a sign in the proverb garden there that I took a photo of. It said, "Eat to live, live to eat." Though they suggested it was probably mistranslated and should have said "Eat to live, not live to eat." ...I liked the original (mis?)translation. My personal motto. The couple was on their way eventually to the Maldives...and I told them I was very jealous. Who knows how long that island nation will be around, though I hope it outlasts all estimates.
My highlight of the afternoon was a massage from a blind masseuse. An hour for 120 baht, or roughly less than $4. The lady was amazing. She started with my legs and immediately went up my sciatica, then to my L5-S1 back injury and then to my neck injuries. Her hands had eyes, and she was trying to alleviate the distortions she could sense. She really alleviated the pain.
After that I went and got a mango shake from a stand and walked back toward my hotel. I was interested in visiting the Elephant Nature Park, which is best described by this San Francisco Chronicle article...but they had no openings through Tuesday and I had an afternoon flight (or something like that...my ticket had never been sent to me).
I went back to rest a bit at my hotel. On the way over I got a sticky rice with mango dessert for a snack and read my travel literature, which is a book that has to do with cancer. It's called my "Sister's Keeper"...and I keep wondering why I chose to read such a depressing book on vacation...but it's good. Then I got ready for the Saturday market, which is at night. I decided to do jeans, which is actually quite a morale booster when traveling for a while. When I got there at about 8:30 p.m., throngs of people were moving about through colorful rows of every item you could imagine. The Saturday walking market is smaller than Sunday's, which is apparently massive (I go there tonight). There were tons of food carts and I ate my way through the market trying a delicious northern Thailand specialty called kow soi (spelling?), which is a noodle dish with chicken (or whatever meat you like, they love pork here b/c of the Chinese influence), spicy broth and fresh vegetable garnishes. It was delicious, and less than a $1. I've tried to avoid spicy foods and the like for my stomach, but have not been so successful. I love it, and plan to have it again tonight. Oh yes, for lunch I had a green chicken curry and a coke. Delicious! The servings here are quite small, which allows for a lot of different options and also more time for digestion, and therefore less intake. All in all, good eating. After that I got some fresh sushi and tried a sweet mashed corn ball, three small chicken dumplings, hmmm, and some dark chocolate ice cream, and a few other things that I really can't remember at the moment. I ate a lot.
There was stand selling a bunch of wooden puzzles, and I worked out a bunch of them. I'd planned to buy one, but well, my bank card gave out. One thing I'd declined to work out was how all these hordes of people would get home. Traveling alone is generally far more expensive, and I was able to talk a taxi to take me back home for 60 baht instead of 20 baht, because he was forgoing the chance to take home groups of other people at the end of the night. I was pooped.
This morning I woke up quite late, at 11:15 a.m. It was my first time sleeping in past 9 a.m. on this trip, and though I'd set my alarm at 9:30 a.m., I guess I'd disregarded it while asleep. I think I needed the extra rest. I went out to the Chinatown area, which is a couple arches and temples in an area called "Wororot." Tons of decorations and people were out. Lots of food, though primarily pork. I ended up getting a couple delicious samosas, some coconut juice (oh, I had that yesterday with my stick rice and mango too!), and a couple red bean buns. Then I went to get a foot massage for about an hour. While sitting there I met a Finnish guy next to me who has been in Thailand for five months and plans to move here and retire. He calls it paradise. He lives in a beautiful honeymoon suite in a hotel here for about $450 a month and gets waited on like a king. He plays golf every morning and gets a massage every afternoon. Apparently he's met lots of Americans who have moved here, specifically from California actually, because the standard of living is so much higher and you get bigger bang for your buck, sometimes quite literally (though I'll save the sordid side of things for another post--this place gives you little respect for middle-aged Western men).
Ah, remind me to tell you about the Hong Kong man I met on the ride over from Koh Tao to Bangkok, who is a big architect for a company and had a funny story about pajamas in the streets of China. Sorry for the aside. Anyway, massage over I decided to head back to the hotel and prepare for the Sunday walking market, the super duper market. On the way over I call up the airline to check my flight details. My flight to Bangkok is Tuesday night at 8:15 p.m., which mean, if I wanted to I could do the elephant nature center visit and get dropped off at the airport on the way back, I think. I call them, and they say they're all full through Thursday. Drats. I ask if they have room for one more person, they say not even half a person. I ask, well, what about a quarter person? They laugh. I tell them I changed my flight for them! And they feel bad enough that they make an exception for me. So I'm getting picked up at 8 a.m. Tuesday from my hotel to go to the park! It's nearly $80, but includes lunch and well, read the article. I'm so so so excited!
Okay, gonna rest up some, grab a snack and something to drink and get ready for tonight's market. Yum.
I went from bodily ailments to more city issues. My hotel booking off the net was somehow screwed up and so it took some time to deal with that, including multiple international calls...they're still waiting to hear back from the booking agent Monday. I'm hoping that works out so I'm not overcharged. My bank card was also blocked, which left me in big trouble because cash is key here for nearly everything. Luckily, I was able to figure out how to call collect (not as easy as it sounds), and after literally hours of playing with automated systems and operators, I was able to find a human, not lose my phone connection (for the fifth time), and fix the problem. I got out lots of cash this time.
A couple things about the Thai people. When I came here I was advised to ignore most peoples' directions unless they are very sure immediately. Otherwise, they're just trying to get rid of you...so so true. And maybe I've already blogged about getting lost for hours in circular fashion because of bad directions. Another issue...lots of Thais, in fact most, do not speak English. That makes travel particularly difficult, though of course I've been trying to learn words here and there. I mean, I am the visitor, after all...Last things, Thais love doggies (yay!) and they never lose their cool because it's all about face for them. If they do, they become violent quite quickly. So watch out. That last part was told to me, I have never seen it...and don't intend to.
It's funny, but this "vacation" is flying by quite quickly. Most travelers ask each other where they're from, but not necessarily where they're coming from. When people do ask me where I'm traveling from, what I do for a living, or where I work...they are usually very surprised to hear Baghdad. It does have quite a ring to it. And, well, this place is very much the opposite of Baghdad. While dogs are loved and treated very well here, in Baghdad some government money may actually be going to exterminate dogs out on the road. It seems that Arab culture in general has little love for dogs and thinks they are unclean and dirty...I saw so many Winston's at the night market Saturday (last night) and pet them all...so sweet.
Chiang Mai is Thailand's second largest city, but is far far more manageable than Bangkok. This is why most Westerners love it...and well, I fall into that cliche too. People are also less likely to scam you here, which is nice. I decided to come up here for the Chinese New Year because there is a lot of Chinese, Myanmar, influence in the north. My trip has actually worked out quite well in terms of timing for various cultural events in locations. Knock wood that it lasts. My first full day here was Saturday and I spent the morning walking the old city, which is surrounded by a moat and formerly walled, but now has the feeble remains of brick corners and brick around the four "gates" in. I was tempted to rent a moped, but decided to try walking around first though my foot hurt quite a bit.
These red taxis called song-teow are basically flat-bed trucks with tops over them. They are everywhere and charge about 20 baht, or 80 cents to take you wherever you need to go. It's such a thrill hailing a taxi, which you do by moving your hand back and forth palm downward.
I checked out the major temple in the old city. While I was there I spoke with a Chinese couple traveling throughout southeast Asia who were seated in front of a sign in the proverb garden there that I took a photo of. It said, "Eat to live, live to eat." Though they suggested it was probably mistranslated and should have said "Eat to live, not live to eat." ...I liked the original (mis?)translation. My personal motto. The couple was on their way eventually to the Maldives...and I told them I was very jealous. Who knows how long that island nation will be around, though I hope it outlasts all estimates.
My highlight of the afternoon was a massage from a blind masseuse. An hour for 120 baht, or roughly less than $4. The lady was amazing. She started with my legs and immediately went up my sciatica, then to my L5-S1 back injury and then to my neck injuries. Her hands had eyes, and she was trying to alleviate the distortions she could sense. She really alleviated the pain.
After that I went and got a mango shake from a stand and walked back toward my hotel. I was interested in visiting the Elephant Nature Park, which is best described by this San Francisco Chronicle article...but they had no openings through Tuesday and I had an afternoon flight (or something like that...my ticket had never been sent to me).
I went back to rest a bit at my hotel. On the way over I got a sticky rice with mango dessert for a snack and read my travel literature, which is a book that has to do with cancer. It's called my "Sister's Keeper"...and I keep wondering why I chose to read such a depressing book on vacation...but it's good. Then I got ready for the Saturday market, which is at night. I decided to do jeans, which is actually quite a morale booster when traveling for a while. When I got there at about 8:30 p.m., throngs of people were moving about through colorful rows of every item you could imagine. The Saturday walking market is smaller than Sunday's, which is apparently massive (I go there tonight). There were tons of food carts and I ate my way through the market trying a delicious northern Thailand specialty called kow soi (spelling?), which is a noodle dish with chicken (or whatever meat you like, they love pork here b/c of the Chinese influence), spicy broth and fresh vegetable garnishes. It was delicious, and less than a $1. I've tried to avoid spicy foods and the like for my stomach, but have not been so successful. I love it, and plan to have it again tonight. Oh yes, for lunch I had a green chicken curry and a coke. Delicious! The servings here are quite small, which allows for a lot of different options and also more time for digestion, and therefore less intake. All in all, good eating. After that I got some fresh sushi and tried a sweet mashed corn ball, three small chicken dumplings, hmmm, and some dark chocolate ice cream, and a few other things that I really can't remember at the moment. I ate a lot.
There was stand selling a bunch of wooden puzzles, and I worked out a bunch of them. I'd planned to buy one, but well, my bank card gave out. One thing I'd declined to work out was how all these hordes of people would get home. Traveling alone is generally far more expensive, and I was able to talk a taxi to take me back home for 60 baht instead of 20 baht, because he was forgoing the chance to take home groups of other people at the end of the night. I was pooped.
This morning I woke up quite late, at 11:15 a.m. It was my first time sleeping in past 9 a.m. on this trip, and though I'd set my alarm at 9:30 a.m., I guess I'd disregarded it while asleep. I think I needed the extra rest. I went out to the Chinatown area, which is a couple arches and temples in an area called "Wororot." Tons of decorations and people were out. Lots of food, though primarily pork. I ended up getting a couple delicious samosas, some coconut juice (oh, I had that yesterday with my stick rice and mango too!), and a couple red bean buns. Then I went to get a foot massage for about an hour. While sitting there I met a Finnish guy next to me who has been in Thailand for five months and plans to move here and retire. He calls it paradise. He lives in a beautiful honeymoon suite in a hotel here for about $450 a month and gets waited on like a king. He plays golf every morning and gets a massage every afternoon. Apparently he's met lots of Americans who have moved here, specifically from California actually, because the standard of living is so much higher and you get bigger bang for your buck, sometimes quite literally (though I'll save the sordid side of things for another post--this place gives you little respect for middle-aged Western men).
Ah, remind me to tell you about the Hong Kong man I met on the ride over from Koh Tao to Bangkok, who is a big architect for a company and had a funny story about pajamas in the streets of China. Sorry for the aside. Anyway, massage over I decided to head back to the hotel and prepare for the Sunday walking market, the super duper market. On the way over I call up the airline to check my flight details. My flight to Bangkok is Tuesday night at 8:15 p.m., which mean, if I wanted to I could do the elephant nature center visit and get dropped off at the airport on the way back, I think. I call them, and they say they're all full through Thursday. Drats. I ask if they have room for one more person, they say not even half a person. I ask, well, what about a quarter person? They laugh. I tell them I changed my flight for them! And they feel bad enough that they make an exception for me. So I'm getting picked up at 8 a.m. Tuesday from my hotel to go to the park! It's nearly $80, but includes lunch and well, read the article. I'm so so so excited!
Okay, gonna rest up some, grab a snack and something to drink and get ready for tonight's market. Yum.
posted by IJW at 3:54 PM
3 Comments:
Sounds like a real adventure. Glad that you're ok...
Wow, the food sounds fantastic. Have fun at the nature park and don't forget to tell us all about it! --Nino
Seems like a great place to visit. I am so happy you finally are having some fun.. I like your comments about 'I saw so many Winston's at the night market Saturday (last night) and pet them all...' - that's sweet. I know you like to experience the food, but, be careful still so that you don't get sick.
Lastly, have a happy Chinese New Year!
---mom
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