Part 8: Chiang Mai, Thailand

A Detail from Wat Phra Sing in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Coming from Singapore, it was a huge contrast plunging into the crazy confusion of this place. We arrived near the end of high season, after weeks of no rain and with the crop burning already underway. It's dusty, humid, and hot, with the slight smell of smoke in the air. Traffic is "backwards," so your head is on swivel pretty much constantly, looking for what will either amaze you or run you over. It's intense and infectious. Navigating anywhere is an adventure. Sidewalks are often little more than a notion at best: filled with obstacles, appearing and disappearing seemingly at will. It's not really possible to walk against the traffic, since the streets are just as choked and busy as the sidewalks - filled with an army of scooters, truck taxis, & tuk-tuks whizzing past. Electric poles loaded with power lines each hold up an impossible rat's nest of wires. Everything here is done manually, and is a little bit off-kilter. I felt so guilty being "too hot" in shorts and T-shirt, walking past workers in long clothes digging up the street by hand, cutting PVC pipe with a hack saw, and mixing cement in a wheel barrow with garden hoes. Talk about perspective! Of course, it's not even really hot here yet.

For our time in town, we stayed in the Old City. It's a square area enclosed with the remains of ancient walls and gates from the 1200's, surrounded by a moat. Practically every corner sports a coffee shop, some kind of massage service or school, or a Wat (temple). We got lucky again, arriving in time for the Sunday Market that makes its way all along the main street every week. We also were happy to find out we would be in town for the Flower Festival later in the week. Score!

Our place was across the street from an elementary school, so we could see the kids running around at recess, and practicing their routines for the upcoming festival. Our first day we explored as many of the "must-see" temples as we could (A LOT), knowing we would want to spend time with our friends who were arriving soon. We wandered from temple to temple all day, then in the evening hit the famous Sunday market. We shuffled along through the crowds, ogled all the souvenirs we can't take with us, and fought our way to the stalls for every kind of food you can eat on a stick. Once things slowed to a crawl, we ducked into a couple more of the nearby Wats. Having the grounds lit up at night nearly all to ourselves was a world apart from the crowds just a block away. The next day was even more wats, and the best Khao Soi noodle soup we have ever had.

Then it was time to reconnect with our expat friend Toby, who "went native" here about 15 years ago, and his lovely wife Nuna. Toby is firmly plugged in to the amazing Chiang Mai music scene, and kept us up well past our (ridiculously early) bedtimes with an immersion course. We bounced from one venue to the next, listening to everything from acoustic guitar, reggae and rock and roll, to traditional Thai folk songs. He also introduced us to Sangsom, the Thai sugarcane rum. It was a pretty spectacular evening.

The following day was some recovery, dumplings, and a Thai massage. So good after all of our running around, but so intense! Imagine someone doing yoga, with you as the mat, haha. Your masseuse is on the bench with you, using feet, knees, and elbows to target your joints and pressure points. It feels more like a rite of passage, but with amazing results. In the evening, it was time for more music. Toby and his friends were playing folk music at a typically tiny bar (C.U. Corner), with the musicians filling up half the inside space. The patrons spilled out onto tables lining the street, and the whole place danced and sang along to songs with words they hardly knew. We met lots more of Toby and Nuna's friends (we especially enjoyed hanging out with "Lippi" from Germany, who joined us for dinner and music), and made new friends of our own from the surrounding tables. Everyone was so enthusiastic to talk and participate - a complete contrast to the Seattle music scene, lol. Fortunately the bar was across the street from our place, since the next day was our trip to the country.

Next stop: Mae Tha Village...