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Published: February 27th 2007
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Situated about 700km northwest of Bangkok, Chiang Mai is a somewhat quaint, walled city with hundreds of mom and pop guest houses, coffee shops, bars, massage parlours and day spas littering its small alleys. With a population of about 170,300, Chiang Mai has about as many expats and farangs (foreigners) as things to do. In your spare time you can take an elephant ride, build a bamboo raft, visit the infamous longneck Hmong tribe, or trek through the jungle. You can visit the massive food and textile markets to haggle for cheap goods, take a cooking class, talk with a monk, go to massage school, rent a motorcycle and to visit the forest temples or go on a meditation retreat. And if you are here to support one of Thailand's most notorious industries, you can even pick up a nice ladyman or bargirl for just a few hundred Baht (or so we've heard).
Besides getting crapped on twice by a bird (on two separate occasions), Mark and I have had a wonderful time in Chiang Mai. Here's a few things we've done:
The Markets Every night and day, stalls and stalls of brightly colored fabrics, woven purses, beautiful silk
scares, handcarved wooden boxes, and rolex knock-offs line the streets. From pad thai and Sterling silver to hand-carved furniture and designer fakes, you can find almost everything made in Thailand and the surrounding countries at the market. Thousands of farangs and importers come here every year to buy cheap goods. Mark and I spent hours lost in the market matrix, trying not to make eye contact with the more aggressive hagglers. But then I found a wood carving. She gave me a quote and I came back with half the price. She said no. We went back and forth, until I pulled the walk away trick, hoping she would give in. Nothing. By chance, we stopped by at closing. By this time, it wasn't about the merchandise, it was about the game. Again, I gave my price. She said no. I walked away and she comes running. "Ok! OK! Special price for you." It was mine. And so began my addiction to haggling. After four nights, I am now the proud owner of three wood carvings (one is 3 feet in length), two wooden boxes, a bag of Thai tea, a new shirt, three silk sarongs and a few other
things totalling about 15 pounds. Now the hard part....how am I going to get this all home?
Thai Cooking Class Green curry, tom yum, spring rolls, chicken stir fry and bananas in coconut milk: these are a few of the traditional Thai dishes we got to prepare and eat during our gluttonous eight-hour cooking class. For about 900Baht ($30USD) each, Mark and I (and a few fellow travelers) were taken on a tour of the local farmer's market to pick up freshly-made coconut milk for our feast. Then we headed out to a serene organic farm surrounded by bamboo huts and rice fields where we hand-picked fresh organic ingredients. In the cool shade of a hut, we pummeled garlic and chillies into curry paste and fried up tasty stir-fry while sippin' lemongrass tea. Between every course, we took a short siesta, lying on the bamboo bench feeling the warm breeze while listening to the gurgling in our bellies.
Motorcycle Touring If you can fog up a mirror, you can rent a motorcycle in Thailand. You don't need a license or insurance. In fact you don't even need shoes. All you need is 200Baht and sense of invincibility. After
seven days in Thailand, Mark and I had finally gathered up the confidence to cruise the road Thai-style. We even rented helmets. But before embarking, Mark decided he wanted to take a few laps around the quieter streets. Unfortunately, he didn't get too far; as I waited in the guesthouse for him to return, he hit a patch of sand and went down. Luckily, he survived with only a few bumps and bruises. But we decided to trade in the motorcycle for a tuk tuk ride. Maybe we'll try again in Vietnam (just kidding mom and dad).
Chat it up with a Monk Every Sunday afternoon at 3pm you can ask a very wise monk any question you might have about Buddhism. On this particular Sunday, there was about 20 or so of us farangs gathered under the shade of small open-air temple near the old pond. And for about two hours we asked our questions. What does Buddha think about vegetarianism? What is this about reincarnation? What do you mean by attachments? If Buddhism isn't a set of rules, than what is Karma? How can we practice Buddhism in our hectic Western world? Mark and I left feeling
a little more at ease, a little more peaceful and a little more in touch with with the present moment.
LadyMen and Bar Girls Dozens of bars line the streets and alleys of Chiang Mai. With every turn, there is a new little joint tucked away. But you have to be careful, cause if you turn down the wrong street you could find yourself amidst a crowd of LadyMen or even worse, desperate farangs. It's no secret. There are even signs posted that say, "No LadyMen or BarGirls." Sadly, the biggest demographic that frequent these lascivious joints are white, western men. In fact, they are everywhere in Chang Mai. Usually with white hair and aging faces, they travel alone. And sooner or later you pass them on the street accompanied by a young pubescent Asian women. The sex industry draws many men to Thailand and if they are lucky, they will discover a real woman and not a LadyMan.
Tomorrow, we begin our next adventure...a two-day trip down the Mekong to cross the border into Laos.
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Macias
non-member comment
great pics
Hey guys, you are making me very reminiscent of my trip to Thailand...I can almost taste the pad thai...except that I am eating Oatmeal right now. Sounds like you are having a blast. Be safe and looking forward to more pictures of your trip! XOXO, Macias