From the natural jungle to the concrete jungle!
I am in Chiang Mai! The town had changed a great deal since I was here. Many more businesses, hotels, shops, restaurants, etc. And, more “zombies” or whatever they are!
My trip here was good and very logn! My driver was great, very safe and comfortable to ride with. Our ride took about 4 hours and covered a huge distance of 80 miles. Yes, that’s correct! Bad roads, time roads, motorbikes, cars, trucks, and buses, all share the same surface, often coming to a near stop!
When I was here about 14 years ago, I took a small minivan to Ketambe and Kutacane. That is a distance of 150 miles and that trip took 13 hours! Have a look if you like: https://maps.app.goo.gl/jPmYhtVew5ReK2gB6 Now, with improved roads, they estimate 7-8 hours. I’d add an hour at least to build in a cushion. Much of the road was unpaved, with potholes, wash-out sections, deep holes full of big rocks, and constant rolling side to side.
I was one of only two people in the shuttle not smoking. The other was a woman. Young men here are not considered to truly be a man if they are not smoking by the time they reach 14-15 years of age. For context, by that age, some of them have been married for 2-5 years!
For example, in Bukittinggi, it was explained to me that young boys leave home at age of 10 and go live in the mosque. They are there until they marry. That can be as early as 10 years of age. When they get married, because it is a matrilineal culture, they take their suitcase and move into the house of the girl’s/wife’s mother. If they ever get divorced or whatever term they use here, he leaves her house taking only his suitcase. Yes, a different culture!
Leaving the jungle
The morning before leaving, I had a conversation with the woman I coordinated with for my trek. I was very surprised that what I explained to her never got communicated to her guide! And he never asked me about my knee, what condition I was in, what kind of experience I wanted to have. It was a good conversation. However, it left me feeling a bit off as she asked me why I didn’t bring it up with him?
In retrospect, I realize I am not on their customer service team! It’s not my responsibility to help they give the service she and I talked about. It was a good conversation! It reminded me strongly of two things! First, assumptions bite you in the ass! That may surprise you but trust me, it really does! Second, everything happens for a reason! I believe that and focus on what I can learn to do better next time.
And I believe fatigue played a part in it. I hadn’t realized I was a bit weary from communicating the most basic idea over and over to make sure we were on the same page. “What time you want pick up tomorrow?” “At 7:30”. “Ok, 9:00 o’clock?” “I’ll call my friend. Be here at 9:00.” And every day, something like that happened, happened again and so, I let down assuming we were on the same page for my trek after so much communication. My bad!
I so enjoyed the forest and jungle there! Awesome experience. For some reason, I drove away feeling like I might be done with visiting that area.
That’s OK…there are a lot of other options to consider!
My healer friend Mukhlis helped my knee. However, I’m aware that need to take it easy and let it. How did I learn this, Walking up three long flights of stairs in my hotel last night with my packs. Yes, tenderness there! So I plan on taking it easy!
This morning, I woke early and was in the lobby at 6:45 for my 7:30 departure. The man working reception had his nose stuck in his phone so we had no interaction! The shuttle driver to the airport was great! Sense of humor, interactive and playful!
I had plenty of time, got my bag checked, and was through security in no time. I found a local place to have a cup of coffee and a Thai “puff” filled with barbecue chicken which was tasty. Surprisingly, my breakfast, at the airport, cost me only $4 US. Wow!
Into the next jungle, Bangkok, I saw a number of new things I hadn’t seen for a while! Subway. A&W. McDonald’s. Burger King. I chose a local place and it had AC which was nice!
My next flight was shorter and I landed in Chiang Mai a little after 3:00. It was a breeze getting through the airport as I had purchased a priority seat in row 2 (for $7) and was early off the plane. I also purchased a baggage priority for about half that so expected my bag to be off early. But, it wasn’t! At some point, I realized I may be at the wrong baggage area?? Sure enough, no one had been in the corridor when we deplaned and my bag was sent to international baggage claim.
I walked the length of the airport to baggage claim, walked back the length in the other direction to pick up my bag, then walked the length to where I first was to get a GRAB to my hotel. Too much walking for me but it did feel good after sitting most of the day.
Saw the state bird of Singapore!!
My friend Shirley told me several years ago, when we met in Bali and then connected in Singapore, here home about the state “bird” of Singapore. It was a joke because of so much construction going on. I saw the state bird at both airports while in transit here! Seems like it is everywhere.
The change in Chiang Mai since my last visit here is a bit dramatic! I’m enjoying my visit but it’s not my kind of place to hang out. In a couple of days, I’ll be traveling, wandering really, around the NW corner of Laos! Local food, local villages, local everything. No English in many cases. Just genuine connection.
Settling in to Chiang Mai!
This is my third language and currency since I began this trip almost 3 weeks ago. I’ve completed 7 flight segments and lost count of how many hours I’ve spent on a bus, in a shuttle, on the back of a motorbike, etc. So I was really excited to find my hostel and get into my room. Here, hostel doesn’t mean what it normally means. I have a private room with a private bath and AC. It had a great bed, a nice mattress, really comfortable. It’s service for my office now as I write. Once I got here, no one was around. A man got a young woman who helps with housekeeping to help me. She looked up my reservation and took me upstairs to see the room. Yes, MORE stairs. And a noisy upstairs room.
But, I didn’t have to take the customer service lead! Google Translate helped. There were maybe two other room possibilities. When she got confused, she called the owner. I am now in a first-floor room, a quieter, awesome room. And that was because a young woman who had no language in common with me did everything she could to help me. Great!
Normally, when I arrive in a place, I head out walking and might walk for several hours. I planned to go to a laundry and drop off my laundry but it was closed. Then I looked for a local market with good street food. As I walked out front and stepped up on the pavement, I noticed a restaurant right next door. The idea of going easy was appealing. It was a great decision! The food was awesome: prawn Pad Thai! And lemon juice water to drink, so refreshing!
Ease and flow....
Then, a treat! I googled massage near me. Thailand is known for their massages but there is a catch. The last time I was here, I had several massages where my therapist was youngish. Male or female, it didn’t matter. As they sat to begin my foot massage, they placed their cell phone on the floor and spent more time watching their phone than concentrating on me! My policy: Look for an older massage therapist. If they are still doing massage as they get older, there is a better chance they do so because they love it.
I saw several places with great recommendations. Then, I found another with 1,400 reviews and it was a 3-minute walk! The woman who greeted me was smiling and laughing. She was my therapist and she has been doing massage for 10 years and still loves it. What an excellent session!
The price has gone up since I was last here. Now, foot and leg massage increased to $300 Thai Bhat, about $8.50. What a splurge!
Weird seeing so many foreigners!
Aliens. Zombies. Humans intensely avoid looking, no eye contact, and no greeting. I feel like I’m on a different planet suddenly. I saw more foreigners at baggage claim than the total I’ve seen in the past 3 weeks. It has changed the flavor of Chiang Mai. Noses glued to the phone, headphones on, walking fast on the sidewalk, I have not witnessed that type of behavior since I left the US.
It creates a very different vibe, a hectic feeling that is palpable.
today's treat!
My friend Barbara recommended a cafe on Facebook and I planned to go there this morning. It is the Cozy Cafe and Bistro. Calling a GRAB, it was a short ride to get there. I arrive at what looks like originally, a private home. Now, it is a lovely cafe, lovely yard and very nice people working there. When I walked in, the first thing I saw was a sign with the WiFi password: “IAMHAPPY”. Well, so am I! Their food was wonderful! It was a great experience sitting there. Abruptly, two vans drove up and noisy foreigners piled out. Noisy for me, good for their business! I had a great local breakfast with spicy chicken, egg and rice. Then, I sat outside in a comfortable chair reading for a while! Perfect!
On the way back, I walked by a cafe I saw last night, “Single Origin”. They seem very proud of the fact they only do single-origin coffee. There are lots of “single origin” products inside. Unfortunately, they might be technically proficient with coffee but showed no indication they know how to connect!
I continued walking and was then attracted to a really nice-looking coffee shop with lovely outdoor seating. If I hadn’t had so much coffee, I would have had one. Instead, I went inside to see what they were doing and to talk to them. These people know both, how to make good coffee and connect to people. When I returned, the remembered me and welcomed me back. I’ve been sitting here writing and editing photos for a couple of hours. Very nice! Below are images from Cozy Cafe.
