Back on the move

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All my hard earned blisters are starting to soften and peel, having left Amee's farm 4 days ago. I will certainly miss that little farm in Lo Pahan. Unfortunately at the time of our departure, Alea (the head honcho on the farm) was stuck in Chiang Dao because he had become ill. I didn't like not being able to thank him for letting us into his house and home, but he didn't know how long he'd be gone, and we weren't about to wait another week.

So we pushed on to Chiang Mai. The first evening I went for my first (and certainly not my last) Thai massage. These are offered everywhere, and at a few bucks for an hour, I'd be a fool not to try a few. Thai massage has a bit of a reputation of being painful, mostly because you are stretched and contorted in ways you're not used to, but my experience was void of any real discomfort. I definitely need the stretch out after all the manual labor at Amee's.

Chiang Mai had all the infrastructure for what I anticipated as a happening night life. It proved to be loads of bars with mostly young Thai girls and the occasional 50+ western male. Who needs a bar when you've got the bustling Night Bazaar right out your door. Even there, many of the stands are selling the same thing, and bargaining over prices, though novel at first, loses it's appeal when you're not looking to buy anything.

One day I took a Thai cooking course, as I'd heard good things from others who had taken them. It turned out to be a great way to spend a day. Our teacher took us to a local market, where he explained about all the various ingredients, and purchased what we would need. The rest of the day was spent cooking and eating (again and again...). Making our own coconut milk and curry paste were probably the most interesting to me, though they are likely to be things I'll be buying pre-made when I get home. I left fat and happy!

Overall Chiang Mai was nice, but I've had my fill, and took a bus to Pai today. It is a much smaller town in the northwest and has a bit of a "hippie haven" reputation. Not sure how long I'll stay, might depend how this evening in my quaint little bamboo bungalow goes.

Side Note on Dogs-

They are everywhere, and in all shapes and sizes (short, shaggy, fat, long, thin, and loads with the classic Tela curl). For some reason many people like to dress their pups in shirts or tank tops, and it never gets old to me. Occasionally you'll see one riding on a motorbike like it was a natural. Dogs always seem to stand 2 inches from the boundary of traffic without any concern.

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