Chaing Mai Thailand

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Descending through smokey, brown fog into CM. It's a hustle bustle city with the smell of burning rice fields and the intense smoke of same! I got tomy little oasis guesthouse just on the other side of the river from the old town. Baan Orapin - highly recc. it to anyone who wants to splurge a little ($40). Clean little jungle of a place with traditional Thai architecture, teak floors, a beautiful net covering the queen-size bed, tv, private bath and sitting room.
The first night I arrived I took off walking (it was still light) across a small concrete walking bridge over the Ping River. I felt like I was in a movie, of course - the high bridge (4 feet wide) - it is unfinished, thus NO railings....so when a bicycling monk approaches, you better hold your breath and suck in your stomach!
I felt very safe and just stolled along the waterfront looking at all the food stalls and what they offred - some looked safe and some didn't. They're big on deep frying here, so I've decided to avoid....but I probably should try the fried locusts before I leave Thailand!
I walked up one of the mainstreets - tons of motorcycles, tuk tuks (motorcycle with a 2-seater like a rickshaw) and songtheows (trucks with benches) spewing along. I reached a night Sunday market with tons of beautiful crafts, toys, fabrics, umbrellas. Little purses you would pay $25 in Santa Cruz selling for $4. I was too new to buy anything, but rest assured WILL get some stuff before I leave. Great, fresh orange juice that tastes like tangerine juice squeezed for you (30 cents).

Next day had some adventures getting to the big temple 15 km out of town. Not too much English spoken here - getting dropped off at the tuk tuk driver's friend's taxi and then waiting for half an hour for the taxi to fill up with others. They baited me to pay for the whole taxi (about 8x what it should have been). So, I took off walking and came around the corner to the place I should have been dropped off at in the first place.

Golden temple at the top of 400 steps. Shoes off. Cool marble under my hot feet. Devotees with incense and offereings. I'm such a country bumpkin - Wow! another temple! I do have alittle pang of wishing someone was traveling with me to share the sights - but generally it's fine in that regard....and knowing I will be seeing folks in Bali that I know.

I've been struggling with going to Luang Prabang in Laos. Really want to go - David Mayers really encouraged me as well as others.....but could not seem to ge the flight from here (CM) and back within the time frame I needed. Finally gave up last night and resigned to just going north to Chaing Dao just to be out in the countryside. Then this morning a fat, Romanian guy and his Thai girl said they'd gotten a flight that worked.....I got into a tuk tuk and went to the Lao airline office and got a ticket for TODAY!! Under $200 r/t stay for 2 nights....really happy about it.

And THEN who should walk into my guesthouse courtyard but Robert Willitt!! He had talked to Hillary who told him where I was staying......he absolutely reccommended LP and gave me some pointers. Great to see a Big Sur face!
Oh, and last night I had dinner with Vivian's friends Carl & Keiko here in CM. They took me down a dark street where we pulled into a, practically, nameless bldg which housed a traditional Japanese restaurant. It was like an old teak lodge I imagined would be in Kyoto or something. They have lived here for 3 yrs and are going to stay here thru old-age. Going to build a house on the outskirts....we had very interesting conversations about all the folks we had in common and also the reasons for staying on in this country.

Well, off to LP and will update when I return.

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Comments

[blaiseeeee]

daang. you better be taking lots of pictures for me to see!!! take a picture of you eating fried locusts mmm. haha dad told me he sent robert willit to see, glad it worked out. love you!!!!!