We’ve been on the road for six months now, and Chiang Mai joins the short list of cities I’ve visited that I know next to nothing about. We’ve seen amazing things in Thailand, wandered through temples and the veritable brothel of Sukhumvit, we’ve climbed mountains and rocks, we’ve trekked to hidden lagoons hidden deep within the limestone karst.
As I write this, I’m on a slightly antiquated but otherwise comfortable bus from Chiang Mai to some village unremarkable save for it’s location on the border of Thailand and Laos. I feel like a better prepared traveler would know where he was going, but at this point in the trip I’ve abandoned committing the names of unremarkable towns to memory. If it surprises us with wonder and fabulous food, I’ll send some pictures home, otherwise know, it was quite literally unremarkable.
Chiang Mai is one of the premier destinations for people heading to Northern Thailand. It’s the backpacker’s base camp for those on the way to less traveled destinations. As such it has one of the best used book selections I’ve seen in the entirety of my travels. I picked up ‘This Game of Ghosts’ and a few dense novels to pass the time on the buses and slow boats ahead. Numerous anglos with varying degrees of facial hair and dreadlocks walk the streets, talking in broken Thai. They live like gypsy kings, no belongings that can’t be carried, and their western coinage allowing them easy food and drink and indecently cheap lodging. Some practice yoga or other eastern arts, things to pass the time until they return to accounting or window washing. A fair number will casually brag of their expertises, Thai language, their superior eastern philosophical training, how they’ve stood in towns as the only westerner who’s ever ever ever been within a hundred clicks of that particular indigenous culture. Some seem to be searching for something, some seem to not even know they’re searching, and some quite clearly are at ease; at home on the road and in themselves.
It’s also home to a number of mostly middle aged Western expats with Thai wives. They make their way in Thailand with all sorts of non-traditional forms of employment, the modern grey market merchants of poorly regulated markets; exploiting their race and business knowledge to make a living wage, enough to support their children and purchase a medium sized house on 5 acres of land for 5,000 USD. Property taxes are virtually non existent here, and a well constructed house will last for forty years, guaranteeing them a place to stay for the remainder of their lives.
The husband and wife teams become inextricably linked in far more than marriage and companionship. An informal survey seems to show a four year learning curve to functional Thai usage, and the wives never seem to learn more than pidgin English. Since businesses and property must be owned by native Thais and the money and talent to buy the property and start the business are often Western, the duos are tightly woven together. I wonder what the divorce rate here is? Or even if there is divorce (if people just vanish into foreign lands at the end of their expiration dates.)
That being said, those statements could be made most anywhere in Southeast Asia, to some degree. What I know about Chiang Mai is that my hostel was absolutely amazing, and that sometimes on the road you need to not be on the road for a while. Generally those places where we decide to not be on the road have a good shower (this one was exceptional), comfortable rooms (aircon, white sheets, and electricity), and ready access to the interwebs. Additional benefits generally include a good happy hour and someplace to relax and read. The IMMEco had the most amazing pool I’ve encountered since Vegas, many hours were spent reading in the sun, or the shade, and diving into the cool clean water. I really like diving.
I also know that Chiang Mai has a lot of temples, none of which I visited; a great burger joint which I did visit, and a moat.
We’ve been joined by Kyra and Matthijs, a couple from Holland whom we traveled with in South America for a couple of countries. Our plan is to loop through Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam I visited Cambodia and Vietnam previously, but look forward to doing it with company. Though travelling solo takes some getting used to, it’s not that difficult. That being said, having a foursome does make the logistics a bit easier, as we can split up to tackle amusements, hotel searches, and travel logistics Generally Mathis and I hang around and guard the luggage at a convenient location that serves beverages appropriate to the hour while the women-folk do the homesteading. As required we step in to rough up a local who’s been ogling them. The conversation is generally lively and laughter filled as we wander about mocking each other, our homelands, and the locals.
The border doth approach, I must find a way to cross the Mekong.
