Christmas in Chiang Mai

We left Sukhothai on the morning of Christmas Eve and got into Chiang Mai sometime mid-afternoon. As we normally did, we went to a restaurant a little ways away and chilled for a while, eating and having a beer. Once the crowd from our bus had cleared away we went and found a tuk-tuk (a three wheeled, open-aired vehicle, kind of like a rickshaw) that took us to a hostel we’d heard of, Julie’s. We got there and luckily there was a couple rooms for us. This was a typical backpacker joint filled with pillowed, raised-floors, a pool table, an extensive menu of mostly pseudo-Western food (Pizza Baguettes were my favorite), and loads of mostly Europeans. Julie’s turned out to be the first real backpacker place we stayed at and we all liked it a lot. Consequently, though, I think we all got a bit caught up in the backpacker circle and didn’t get out and explore the city too much. It was also here that Paul’s foot started acting up. I guess it was getting a bit swollen in Sukhothai but in Chiang Mai he almost couldn’t walk on it. Remember that cut he got from the coral on Ko Phagnan? Well, I guess it never completely healed and now erupted so Paul was in considerable pain. We had been telling him for a while to take good care of it and when he finally did go to the pharmacy in Chiang Mai, the woman scolded him for a) letting it get that bad and b) for using soap and water (among other things) to clean it out: “You know our water is dirty here!” She gave him some antibiotics and alcohol and iodine to clean it out and about 5 days later it was pretty close to being completely healed.

That first night we wandered around for quite a while through the old city and then outside of the city walls through the newer, fancier parts. We found a good night market and then wandered around for quite a while trying to find a bar. Unfortunately, most of the ones that looked nice from the outside were filled with old, chain-smoking expats (mostly Australian) who were sitting there and getting hammered with their Thai “girlfriends,” so we opted against them. At one point we found some amazing Pad Thai from some small restaurant which I doubt we would have been able to find again if we’d tried. There was only one thing on the menu, it was filled with Thai people, and I don’t think the cook spoke one word of English. It was a true gem and an awesome find. We eventually walked back to the hostel where we spent some time playing cards with some British guys who I’m guessing were around 20 and all left at around 11 to run off to some club and find some Thai “girlfriends” for the night. After they left, however, we started talking with these three guys (from France, Holland, and Bulgaria) who were all studying in Guangzhou , China. They were on Christmas vacation from school and were very cool guys. I got into a discussion with the French guy that I probably shouldn’t have about France’s roll in Africa today and development in general. I think he started getting kinda pissed at me so I ended up saying something like “to be honest, if you haven’t been to Africa you really can’t know what I’m talking about.” A bit pretentious and snoody, I know, but I think most French people who have been to sub-Saharan Africa would agree with me.

The next day was Christmas and Paul, Henry, and I went wandering in the morning to try to find presents for our Secret Santa, of which our limit was 200 baht (or about 7 bucks). Unfortunately, the market we went to was a bit dismal and we ended up returning to the hostel empty handed. We all half-joked about just getting 200 baht worth of beer for each other. When we got back I went for a run through the streets of Chiang Mai and saw some really cool wats (temples). Chiang Mai is renowned for being one of the religious and cultural centers of the Thai people and all of the intricate artwork and architecture on the wats certainly shows this. As I was running, I came across a used bookstore and picked up a couple books: Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut for Paul’s Secret Santa gift, and Riding the Iron Rooster by Paul Theroux for myself. I had about 20 baht left afterwards so I cooled off and walked back towards the hostel and found a good Noodle Soup place where I had probably my best noodle soup in Thailand. I also talked to a Chilean guy named Nico there who had arrived the day before and was in Thailand to get certified in Thai massage. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that we struck up a conversation because he turned around and looked at me after I let out a huge burp when I was finishing my soup. He didn’t seem too fazed by it.

That evening we went to the Christmas (or maybe just Sunday?) Market which was only a few blocks away. The street was blocked off for a few blocks and it was filled with souvenirs, trinkets and loads of food. I think I ate about 4 or 5 different plates here, and I had my first plate of Mango Sticky Rice. A volunteer from Cameroon swore by it and, while I’d been keeping my eyes open, I hadn’t been able to find it. Mango sticky rice consists of sticky rice topped with chopped up mangoes and lightly drizzled with sweet coconut milk. It was so good I contemplated getting a second, even though I was really stuffed.

We spent the rest of the night hanging out at the hostel. For our Secret Santa (which became not-so-secret once gifts were disbursed) I got a Cameroonian Muslim prayer scarf from Patrick—which I really wanted having forgotten mine in Yaounde—Henry got a Panda hat from Paul, Patrick got a pair of head phones from Henry and I gave Paul the book I’d bought earlier. We started talking to a couple of French girls at a table next to us and then after a little while this American came up to us and said, “I’m sorry I overheard you guys a bit, did you say you were in Peace Corps?” Well, it turns out he’s an RPCV from Kenya from about 10 years ago. His name was Adam and he now had a job working with a student study abroad program and had just finished a tour in Vietnam so he and his wife were travelling a little bit before heading back to Portland. He was a very nice guy and gave us loads of good advice about travelling around SE Asia and, more importantly, about readjusting to the US once we do finally get back.

The next day we didn’t really do much of substance. I’d wanted to go bungee jumping or kayaking or something but nobody else wanted to shell out the cash for it, which was a bit frustrating for me because the day before a couple of the guys had been at least interested. Anyway, I guess it’s my fault and I should have gone anyway. We still had a decent day and walked around and saw a bunch of different wats, some that were really quite old.

That night, Patrick and I also went to see some Thai boxing matches. It was definitely set up for tourists as I don’t think I saw another Thai person in the audience, but it was still very cool nonetheless. We saw two knockouts, which was also pretty interesting as a few of the fights seemed more just a test of who can land the most blows and knock the other down, not who can actually take the other person out. At one point, we moved seats to a bar closer to the ring and this Thai guy next to me kept trying to get us to make bets (which we’d been doing with a few other foreigners we’d met). He was being pretty ridiculous, though, as he kept saying “200 baht! Red or blue! You want red? Blue? I take bet!” We all refused because gambling is illegal in Thailand and we also thought maybe he knew something about the fights, like if they were arranged before or something. Eventually, he left us alone and went somewhere else at which point Patrick noticed that on the back of his jacket said POLICE. I don’t think he would have arrested us, or probably even fined us if he’d caught us, he probably would have just taken our money and said something like “what are you going to do about it?” Interesting night, to say the least.