Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Thailand
I got aboard my flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and to my surprise and excitement, I yet again had an entire row to myself. The good omens kept streaming in, until an announcement was made that our flight was going to be delayed due to some technical issues. It's always a little distressing to hear that, but I made the best of it by putting up the arm rests and getting about 30 minutes of extra sleep. Finally we were off, and an hour later we touched down in Chiang Mai. This was a much smaller airport, but the surrounding scenery (a bit of fog and endless rolling green hills) was really cool.
I made it through customs and baggage claim, and then started wondering where I was supposed to get picked up. I followed the mass of people through some glass doors, and standing there was a man holding a sign with my name on it. So, it was easy enough, and soon we were in a van on the way to my hotel.
We drove through town, and the guy was talking to me but I was too busy looking around to really notice. Here in Thailand they also drive on the left hand side of the road. I'm getting more used to it after living in Australia for a couple of months, but throw in the open-air truck drivers, carrying anything and everything, the taxis (which are actually big motor bikes and called "tuk-tuks") and the mopeds and motorcycles whizzing about everywhere, and you've got one busy, crazy road. It seems like everyone owns a motorbike of some kind, and young and old whiz around town on them. Some people are even carrying babies with them while they drive.
We arrived at my hotel (which sits connected to a McDonald's) and I was very pleasantly surprised. I was thinking hostel, but this is a full on hotel, with meeting rooms and hot breakfast in the morning. I got up to my room and was shocked again when I saw a TV, full bath, and two beds! I decided that the first thing I wanted to do was shower. It was much colder when I left Melbourne and I was hot and sticky in what I was wearing. Refreshed and ready to go (it's about 11am at this point), the first thing I had to get done was currency exchange. I found a little booth near the hotel and it was a no commission place, with an exchange rate of 1 USD = 29 something Baht. It was great to feel like I had so much money; a big change from my first few weeks of school.
It was getting very hot outside, and just wandering around was making me weary. I was going to start heading back in the direction of my hotel when I saw some people who looked like tourists and seemed to know where they were going, so I trailed them. It was a good thing I did because I ended up at a huge shrine, surrounded by lots of little temples. All the temples were open, and as long as you took your shoes off, you were free to enter. They were all different, but elaborately decorated and pretty humbling. There were oftentimes people sitting on the floor meditating and/or praying, and I just hope I didn't disturb them. There were also monks around everywhere, sometimes stopping and taking a moment to say a prayer.
Seeing those temples were really wonderful, but I was tired from the time change and from the trip, so I decided to go back and take a nap. On my way back, I saw that the plaza across the street from my hotel was being set up for some kind of market. I was most excited to see people cooking, and I started my food adventure by ordering lunch from one of them; a chicken and basil stir-fry. It was delicious, but the even better part of my meal was meeting Dan and Jeff, two Canadians who had just arrived on a train from Bangkok, where they had been for the past couple of days. We talked over food, and I learned that Dan was still in school and Jeff was a working guy but was hoping to return to school in September for his masters. They invited me to join them on their preliminary walk through town, and even though I still felt exhausted, I accepted their offer. However, it didn't take that long for their travels to catch up with them as well, so we all decided to head back, nap, and meet up at the market when it opened at 5pm.
The nap really was glorious, and I was ready to go when five came around. I found my new companions and we began wandering around the market, which we learned extended all the way down the main road. We munched and talked our way through the first hour, exploring different food options and sampling each others' dishes. I had to run back to my hotel for a quick meeting with my trekking guide, but found the boys again afterwards and continued on, taking in everything the market had to offer. It was great to have people to shop, talk, and share food with, and we ended up all eating a lot and making lots of purchases; mostly gifts for other people. As Dan put it, we were doing a good thing by stimulating the economy. I came away with a whole bunch of handmade stuff, for under 40-50 USD. The other 10 USD I spent was on food, and it was worth every penny. Pad thai, Thai pancakes (filled with coconut cream), a fresh fruit smoothie, and I even ate a cricket! It really wasn't bad at all; crunchy, and kind of tasted like chicken. I also sampled fried banana (really good), curry sausage (really spicy!), and freshly made Thai coffee. I'm pretty sure I've already gained weight.
Happy with our purchases and full stomachs, we called it a night. We exchanged enough information to find each other on Facebook, and we're gonna see if we can't hook up on Thursday when I get back from my trek.
It's now 11:45pm, I've showered (again) and am ready for bed. Meeting tomorrow at 9am to get the trek started! It's into the hills I go.
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