First days in Chaing Mai

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So, the capital of the north proved to be pretty small. The lonely planet guide says that the city has about 1.6 mil. Population, but it looks much smaller to me. The older part of the city is surrounded by wall (most of them are destroyed) and moat (pretty functional, filled with water, makes it a challenge for traffic. The old city makes a perfect square. Very interesting. The weather is good (according to fellow travelers, who have been in town for some time it have cooled down significantly), was cloudy most of the day, but still hot and humid. I am sweating all the time (forget about make up here, or any kind of hair products, will run in minutes), I am wondering about Thais, they never look hot. Everybody is always dressed pretty warm (women always have their arms covered at least to elbow, and wear long skirts or pants...most people wear uniform: blouses, pants/skirt and long sleeve jackets, that look suspiciously like wool). I am told that the secret to not looking hot and sweaty (besides natural heat endurance) is talc powder, sold in abundance at various stores. (I bought one too, will try tomorrow)
I have to mention a few things about traffic here. It is amazing...in terms of...it is amazing that there are no accidents on every corner that involve scooters, cars and pedestrians. Traffic lights are few and far between. Pedestrian crossings...I counted 4 so far. It is scary to cross the street, especially highway type with 2 lanes of traffic running in each direction (advice from somewhere, that I am following religiously....walk slowly, so the driver can see you and drive around just in time) The British way of driving (opposite side of the road) provides additional challenge.
Massage....ohhh, Thai massage...after a day of walking an hour of foot massage feels like heaven (and prices just support this notion 7-10$ for an hour). There is a massage parlor at every corner offering various types of rubbing and beauty treatment (scrubs, masks, manicures, pedicures, waxes and the like at the fraction of the price I would pay in NY)

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Comments

[Oksana]

Those are gorgeous pics,Olya! Enjoy your vacation.

[TravelBound]

Thanks Oksan, I will enjoy it for all of you poor souls suffering rotations :)