Goodbye, Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai was the first of the unplanned stops on my trip, but it certainly wasn’t unexpected. Anyone who’s spent more than a few weeks in Thailand, and even some of those who’ve spent fewer than that, sing the praises of Chiang Mai and, upon learning I had unscheduled time in Thailand, insisted I make it a priority.
Ok then.
New traveler rule
-the minute you land anywhere, go eat some local yoghurt. This will help your stomach to process everything else you eat while there.
Once I knew Luke was safely on the ground in San Francisco, I slept a few hours, woke, and headed to Hua Lamphong. Monday morning commuting being what it is, I made the train with moments to spare, without having eaten a thing. This is the way sometimes, that we’ll trust that food will appear; in this case, in the form of mackerel. Mackerel soup, mackerel in a sealed container… a whole train full of people eating mackerel. It smells exactly as you might expect… as does the bathroom.
While I was on the train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, the news came out that David Bowie died. I will always remember where I was; surrounded with people who didn’t know who that was, with the exception of the British guy behind me, both of us incredulous, his Chinese companion oblivious to the significance.
R.I.P., Thin White Duke. I can’t believe it.
After hours of stunning Northern Thailand scenery
I did finally arrive in Chiang Mai, the train just a half hour or so late, and took a red cab.
Red cabs are fascinating; part bus, part tuktuk, all Thai; pay 50 baht, and an enterprising driver goes around the train station collecting people who are going near that location. Your luggage goes up top, the final people hang onto the back, and you jostle through a new town, hoping your luggage doesn’t fall off the top. Mine didn’t, and I ended up at my delightful, quiet little hotel tucked just inside the old city. It was a beautiful sanctuary, one within which I spent very little time. I didn’t use the facilities other than to get the free breakfast, nor did I use the free 15 minute massage. I dumped my things, likely unpacked some of them, and soon, my new friend Nathan came to meet me.
We strolled the old city, the city within the walls. What a charming, delightful place. We ate street food and talked. We accidentally ordered steak tartare and it was delicious. We had planned to drink the ginger wine I’d inadvertently left and which Nathan had carried back from Cambodia, but it slipped out of my hands and crashed on the front porch of the hotel where we planned to drink it, so instead we toasted Bowie with gin martinis in some bar. I am listening to this as I write.
My first goal on my first full day in Chiang Mai was obviously to extend my time there. I had initially planned on only three nights, which was immediately apparent as a clear mistake. A trip to the train station secured my (LAST ONE!) private overnight sleeper back to Bangkok, and a quick call extended my stay at the hotel.
It was time to wander into the world. Here, this meant meeting Nathan for a quick snack (finding something not fried that is not papaya salad can prove somewhat challenging, actually), then continuing the wander. I was determined to find the people to whom I’d been directed by various friends. A friend of Baeleay (my mother-in-law), some folks at a tattoo shop, a motorcycle shop owner.
I failed miserably at all three this first afternoon, but at least had contact information for Baeleay’s friend. I wandered through a Wat (Chiang Mai has over 300 of them – this one was Chedi Luang), exploring
noting some important cultural similarities
and, before I left, chatted with a monk (they do this to practice their English, and so that foreigners can learn about Buddhism), and went to hear some chanting. Savorn was very sweet and we became Facebook friends – I need to edit a photo for him but the wifi has been horrible until now; sorry about that, Savorn! If anyone with better Photoshop skills than me is willing to edit his photo, please let me know.
Patient Shea, Baeleay’s friend, was at a cafe connected to my hotel when I returned. What followed was the getting to know of another new friend; serendipity abounds. He worked in tech, but had another career as well. Through the windings of fate, he has ended up partially in Chiang Mai, partially in Ireland. Through the simple living of his life, he has some insights about living a dual life that I quite badly needed to hear. There are no coincidences.
He recommended Cooking Love (the second one, on the right as you walk north, not the first one, on the left) and, while he couldn’t join for it, Nathan & I enjoyed our dinner there immensely. Have the garlic shrimp; it’s amazing. Per Shea, the woman who opened it had a street cart a few years ago, and expanded. Now Cooking Love I (on the left) is partnered with a hotel, but the one on the right has her original chefs.
I’m getting accustomed to this no-planning travel thing… so I awoke the following day, put a swimsuit on under my shorts and tank top, and was prepared for elephant visiting or a waterfall hike (but not Doi Suthep – you can’t visit a temple in shorts and a tank top). The elephants were not an option for that day, so I booked for the following day, ate breakfast, wrote a bit, and got a driver for the falls.
A beautiful hike
followed by a trip to the insect museum
(yes, pedants, I know that’s not an insect)
where things tickled my hands
and I eventually headed back down the hill to the old city.
That evening, I finally had the opportunity to introduce Nathan and Shea.
When you have three people who are usually the connectors, the, as Shea calls it, multi-potentialite, together for dinner at a really fantastic place called Dash (go here, it’s amazing.), the conversation flies, from Eastern Healing, to workouts, to software, and back again. The only thing missing was opera, but I get quite a bit of that at home. The conversation wound, around and around, as I enjoyed these two new friends and our delicious corner garden spot.
The morning yielded elephants.
For goodness’ sake, don’t ride them. Don’t be that guy. We went to a place that rescued elephants from places like that. During our tour, I asked how the “rescues” take place; a bit difficult to abscond with an entire pachyderm… they are, indeed, rescued with money.
Mostly gentle, injuries only occur when the elephants don’t notice you and you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s also important to note that elephants will follow the baby. This becomes relevant momentarily. The baby wanders off, and eight adults follow. So, after spending some time with this sweet girl
we wandered close to a parade (yes, look it up) of elephants and were told not to get too close, as they’re aggressive. So we didn’t. And we took photos.
Soon after this photo was taken, the baby wandered off, followed by three of this parade.
Moments after that, our guide was yelling “run! run! this way, guys!” as the remainder of the parade thundered to join the rest. Yes, we had to run out of the way of a charging parade of elephants. We ran through some wet stuff. We didn’t care.
That occurred fairly early in the day, and we naturally retained a healthy respect for the elephants; feeding them
bathing them
and, finally, piling back into the van and heading back to Chiang Mai.
That evening we headed to the Clay Garden
a place Nathan had discovered during his stay a few years ago. Following that was was another night market dinner (this becomes relevant later), then wine at Ginger, another Shea recommendation. This evening, my last in town, Nathan, at my request, gave his assessment about the panic and other issues that have been plaguing me for years. In short – I have a lot of work to do. The assessment made a lot of sense, and, of course, is in keeping with a lot of the things I already knew on some level… or I likely wouldn’t have agreed with them, because I’m obstinate like that. I am incredibly thankful to him for his perspective and thoughts on this, and can thank him further (and help myself) by applying what he has said.
A few burning folks met us at Ginger – Ky, who was a connection made through Tania, another multi-potentialite, and two friends, Alex and Alex, all from Camp Disorient. They were interesting, fascinating; a film critic, a designer, a brand specialist…but I felt myself slipping. Was this a panic attack? Something else? The next trip to the restroom answer the question and my delightful fried shrimp street food dinner was consigned to, at least, one of the cleanest public restrooms I’d experienced in Thailand. I regretted more than ever the inability to rinse my mouth with tapwater, but eventually made it back to the table, feeling immediately more energized. Sadly, everyone was saying goodbyes for the evening (including Shea, who arrived for a hello and a goodbye as we were leaving) and I needed to do the same, as I had an early checkout, so we traded information, said our many goodbyes, and I packed.
Morning found me on a very small tour of three up the hill to the Mong village high in the hills over Chiang Mai. Our tour guide, the abundantly honest Toy, let us know that most villages, particularly the Long Neck villages, for example, are faux. This one had enough commerce that it was clearly self-sustaining… as we watched children go to school
and drank tea
and eventually wandered back down through the town, shopping.
then to Soi Duthep, a stunning place where we didn’t get to spend nearly enough time
I have heard from everyone that this is a fantastic place for meditation, and look forward to coming back (because, oh, yes, am I coming back), and experiencing this for myself.
Down the hill, we were dropped off at the Warorot Market, an overwhelmingly huge place where I did final Chiang Mai shopping and met with Nathan again for our last snack. Stomach still upset, I downed some noodles and he reveled in the vast herb selection. He gave me some herbs for my stomach for the road and walked me to my hotel, where we said goodbyes.
I made my way to the overnight train, where I slept nearly the entire time. Without caffeine, my body rebels, unable to retain consciousness, let alone wit. Maybe I needed to unconsciously reflect on this city; a haven for so many people of so many types; drawing multi-potentialites from all over the world, and no shortage of digital nomads. It feels accessible, but is huge. It is old and new, with tourists, yes, but retaining its character in a way that absorbs, unlike Koh Tao, which risks being overrun, or Bangkok, which is too huge to be impacted in any way other than trying to make money off of them. And so I write this entry from Kanchanaburi, refreshed, overlooking the River Kwai, and planning my day. I look forward to telling you about my trip from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi, one about which I will be thinking for a long time.
phreddiva 