The Journey North to Laos: Chiang Mai

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Chiang Mai

There are a lot of things we take for granted in America: closed sewers, orderly traffic, toilet paper in the bathrooms. One of the things I always took for granted was cheese. In America we have excellent cheeses; trustworthy cheeses; a wide variety of them; good for cooking with. Thailand has shit for cheese. They also don't have any good bread. Consequently, I've been having some serious cravings for bread/cheese combinations: stuff like pizza, cheesy bagels, and nachos.

I arrived in Chiang Mai at 7:30 AM and started wandering the streets in search of breakfast and an internet cafe. I found a neighborhood here around the Thapae gate that resembles Bellingham, Washington even more than it does Bangkok. Feeling comfortable amongst the used book stores and coffee shops, I decided to try some breakfast at the Art Cafe, which advertises their American, Italian, and Mexican cuisine.

The menu had all my old favorites: biscuits and gravy, margherita pizza, and NACHOS! There was also a little write-up about the local dairy that they get their cheeses from. I decided to give it a shot and ordered a plate of nachos with beef, salsa, and guacamole--and paid far too much money for it. The experience reminded me of something Bob the Ex-Pat told me, "you'll always have a craving for western food here, and you can't do anything about it, because as soon as you're done eating what passes for western food around here, you'll crave the real thing even more." He was dead on. These were the worst nachos I have ever eaten.

Chiang Mai is neat though, even without good nachos.

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One of the first things I saw in Chiang Mai was one of their notorious Scooter Gangs. I'd heard that there where such groups here--rough-and-tumble Thai youths riding around on well-restored Vespas--but it really was something different to see it for myself. They all had matching white-and-green jackets with a logo that looked like something for a superhero comic book. Many of them also had baseball-caps with the same logo. Their Vespas looked great, and the kid with the best-restored bike also had a shiny set of braces. (I assume his mom payed just about the same amount of money for each.)

I spent most of my four days and three nights here at a place called the River Ping Palace, which was owned by a magnificient Singaporian woman named Esther Ting. I found Esther through the www.couchsurfing.com webpage, and she was gracious enough to hook me up with a great place to stay, and some great meals. She also introduced me to a number of Chiang Mai's cultural movers and shakers: artists, writers, filmmakers, and hotel-managers--mostly re-located westerners.

Walking barefoot through the streets (and bare-nosed through the smells), I found Mosques, Shrines, Wats, and Churches, saw a Thai marching-band, met a biker gang called God of Thunder M.C., got a killer massage, and actually found some good hamburgers.

This was four days of hot showers, clean beds, huge towels, and good company: a rare set of luxuries on the road (except the company--always plentiful). Many of the things that happened, I've written about in other blogs. In the future, I plan to return to Chiang Mai and do some work. I've already been offered the opportunity to help sell a local documentary film to international distributors, and a gig posing nude for drawing classes.

I guess that's goodbye to Chiang Mai, then, but not for long.

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Photos

Enjoying a Beer at the River Ping Palace
(Thanks to Mike Morgan for the picture.)

Comments

[Aaron Brown]

food
“Consequently, I've been having some serious cravings for bread/cheese combinations: stuff like pizza, cheesy bagels, and nachos.” That candida. I used to crave such things a lot, but pretty much eat no grain foods nowadays and nor do I crave them. Speaking of cheese, I’m looking forward to learning cheese making in Italy/France/Greece/Switzerland or some place sometime. I’m sure their cheeses kick U.S. cheeses ass.

[Maaaa]

Where do we meet up?
Lately, everywhere I go someone tells me they are reading your blog and that you are an awesome writer. These past few days without a post from you had made many quite thirsty! Keep adventuring and writing.