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City Life in Chiang Mai
By jeni | November 7, 2008
Thailand. Wow. I hardly know where to begin. We had such an amazing trip.
I guess I’ll start from the beginning. The beginning again that is, since I wrote this entire post already and completely lost it. I was really mad but then I went to yoga and now I’m zen again so it’s okay. Here goes.
We started in Chiang Mai, also known as the Rose of the North. Chiang Mai is nestled up against the mountains that separate Thailand from Burma (Myanmar). They look more like hills compared to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, but they are mountains nonetheless. And what do mountains offer?
That’s right, a cool breeze. John and I were so excited about the coolness of Chiang Mai after sweating in Singapore for the past four months we were practically ready to don our winter coats. The coolness brought with it rain, but we got some uber-cheap ponchos from 7-11 (or just 7, as the locals call it) and we were set.
We spent four days in Chiang Mai, some of it in the city, wandering around the Sunday market and the night bazaar, checking out the local handicrafts and going to Thai cooking school, and some of it out of the city, visiting the temple on the mountain, hiking up waterfalls and of course, riding the elephants. I’m going to get to all of that eventually, but I want to focus on the city first.
Oh the city. There are remnants of zillion year-old city walls still standing, but the city itself burst out of the walls a long time ago. I think Chiang Mai might look a bit like what Siem Reap, Cambodia will look like in five or maybe ten years. There are more cars than tuk tuks now, but the ever-present motorbikes, complete with three or four people on board still whiz around the streets. The city thrives on tourism, it’s clear by the shops boasting zipline tours, white-water rafting, and three-day treks into the jungle, the hundreds of massage parlors, bars and restaurants, shops and carts selling everything under the sun – handmade silk scarves, fried noodles, fake handbags, homemade soap and candles, beer logo t-shirts and coconut ice cream.
Apparently Thailand is the only country in the region that was never colonized, so the culture was really allowed to grow and blossom and you can really see that in Chiang Mai. That doesn’t mean modern life hasn’t trickled in though – we definitely stopped in the Apple store to compare prices against Singapore (you know John couldn’t help himself).
I loved Chiang Mai. I loved our hotel even though it had door handles shaped like dragons whose tails could rip your shirt and cut your arm if you weren’t careful. I loved the rain and the bar right down the street called John’s place where Amy and I sat and had a beer and eavesdropped on some middle-aged American guy trying to pick up a girl who was quite clearly 1. gay and 2. not interested in him. I loved the fact that coconut and bananas are everywere. I loved the way the Thai writing looks, even on the McDonald’s sign and the bag of Lay’s potato chips. I loved that the spring rolls, even at the “fancy” restaurant on the Ping River, were still only about $2. I loved sitting and laughing with my family and enjoying a taste of Thai life.
Since I’ve now rewritten this post twice, I’m going to give up and leave you with some photos of the city. The elephants, hiking up waterfalls and touring the temple on the mountain, along with our trip to Koh Samui, coming soon.
The chickens in the cornstalks.
These are the hot chili squid potato chips. And yes John actually ate them.
John modeling his awesome poncho.
Our tuk tuk driver was very entrepreneurial and had a nice sign advertising all the activities you can do in Chiang Mai. I mean who doesn’t want to go shooting while in Thailand right?
And of course, enjoying the free Chang beers at our hotel.
Topics: rain, sightseeing, Thailand, traveling | No Comments »
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