Chiang Mai: Day the rest - Haggling and Tuk Tuk drivers, harder than it sounds

Picking back up where we left off on the report on Chiang Mai, I’ve decided that it is a bit inefficient to continue the post-per-day set up that I established with my last post, so I will try to just hit all the interesting activities from our 4 days in the city all in one big Mega-Post. However, this post will exclude details of the cooking class we took, as it really does require a post of its own.

So day 2: We ventured out from our guesthouse in search of breakfast and some good coffee, and we found both in the same place. As some of you may know, I truly love soup. I am also generally not a huge fan of breakfast food. So I’ve taken it as one of many signs that I belong in this country that the traditional Thai breakfast is a boiled rice soup that is, in short, perfect. Hot and soothing, it’s the quintessential hangover food, and equally satisfying even when you’re not hungover (I wasn’t). This particular version even had a fried egg in it, a delightful surprise. I fell immediately in love.
 

Luckily for us, there is no shortage of incredible food in Thailand, as I’m sure I’ve made quite clear by this time. For lunch, we ate at a popular Chiang Mai restaurant, situation on the banks of the Ping River just outside the walls of the Old City, aptly named “Riverside.” This ended up being one of the best meals we’ve had in the country, a satisfying Penang Curry for Liebs, and the ever-spicy Tom Yum soup for me:

From there we ventured into the Old City to see some sights and get a feel for the more busy part of the town. The first thing we noticed: a whooole lotta honkeys… That is to say, a substantial number of white tourists compared to the areas we had previously explored. While it was cool to see the Old City and all its attractions, being around so many tourists can be fairly annoying. We walked quite a long way in search of a specific temple, Wat Phra Singh, which we eventually found, and it was worth the walk:
After getting some great photos and footage of these ornate structures, we sought a spiritual experience of a slightly different nature: a foot massage. This quest yielded mixed results; I received a totally relaxing, fulfilling massage from a happy, good looking Thai woman who seemed perfectly content to be rubbing my feet. Liebler, however… well, long story short, he almost left in the middle of the massage. And all I heard about the entire way home was how terrible the experience was, and how his feet felt worse after the massage than before. It was just the luck of the draw I guess.
Liebler’s luck turned around later that night, as the dinner he got was unbelievably good, and even tastier than mine. From there, we went out to a couple bars to sample the Chiang Mai nightlife. At the first bar we went to, we were confronted with the challenge of deciding what we should have to drink, wanting to “do as the romans do,” so to speak. So with mostly only spirits to choose from, we decided to have Red Bull and Vodka in the country that invented the powerful elixir. Something to remember if you ever make it to Thailand: Red Bull is about 2 or 3 times more concentrated than the version that has become so popular in the states. As a result, I was absolutely wired the rest of the night, such was strength of the mega-sweet rocket fuel. Lesson learned. We hit a couple more spots on the popular Nimmanhamin Road and then called it a night.
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The following morning, we were picked up at 9:30 from our hostel and whisked away to our cooking class. And we wonder why Thailand thinks were a couple… More details on the class in a later post.
After the cooking class we were slipping rapidly into food coma, but decided we should get out and see something anyway. So after fighting off sleep, we decide to head to the very touristic Chiang Mai Night Bazaar, where we found some pretty excellent imitation merchandise. I bought some genuine “Okey” sunglasses, and Liebler did a bit of expert bargaining for a Liverpool jersey, arguing the vendor down from his original asking price, 1250 Baht, to an affordable 650, a $20 dollar difference. Attaboy Lubber.
After bargaining for a couple hours, Liebler had bought gifts for all those on his list, and we were ready to finally sleep off all the food we’d eaten that day. But getting home ended up being more of an ordeal than we had expected. In a sleepy daze when we left the room, I’d neglected to bring our map with us which had the address for our hostel written down in Thai, so that the tuk tuk drivers would be able to easily find it. So instead we tried to find a driver that recognized the name “Banilah,” which was no simple task. After using and hearing about 12,000 different pronunciations of the word (BAAN-i-LAH, ban-I-lah, BAN-IIII-lah, you get the picture…) we eventually found a dude that seemed to know what we were talking about.
He didn’t. After driving through a lot of unfamiliar territory, we pull up in front of “Baan Tree Hostel”, and tried rather unsuccessfully to explain to the driver that this was not in fact our hostel. He was unconvinced. We were as lost as a white guy in Compton, and driver thought it reasonable to just circle the block and try again to assure us that we were in the right place. So we got him to drive us to a busier area, payed him a bit less than promised for his frustratingly bad service, then found a tuk tuk driver with a map.. and a clue. We showed him on the map where Banilah was, he got us there quickly, and we slept. Crisis: managed.
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So our last day had arrived, and we were still enamored with Chiang Mai. We contemplated staying longer, but the magnetism of our beach destination, Koh Chang, was too much to ignore. We did want to get one more sightseeing adventure under our belts before we left town. So we headed up to Doi Suthep, a grandiose temple set precariously on the mountain top overlooking the city. The architecture and the scenery were equally inspiring:

So after we had our fill of ornately detailed buildings, we headed back down the mountain, stopped in and Banilah, said our goodbyes, and were on our way to the train station for our overnight ride back down to Bangkok. On the train, we sat with a Frenchman named Jafar, and a German girl named Harriet. We talked a lot, drank a bit, and just generally enjoyed the common goal of getting to know new people from different cultures. It’s what it’s all about.
As the rickety train jangled out of town, the sun set over Chiang Mai. You could almost smell the metaphorical appeal.

After a pleasant cross-cultural night on the train, we arrived in Bangkok to find something that we truly had not yet witnessed in Thailand: rain. It was drizzling as we pulled in to the station, and by the time we walked out to the street, it was positively pouring. We sought shelter under a nearby awning. The rain stopped as quickly as it began, and we decided to get some breakfast with Harriet and her two friends from school. We had some excellent local food, talked for a while, then parted ways. Hopefully I will see them again before they leave Thailand.
After breakfast, Lieber and I went to the storage facility where we were keeping some of our stuff, changed out some clothes and beach provisions, then headed off to the bus station to begin the second leg of our trip: Koh Chang.

Stay tuned, more to come.

Chiang Mai: Day 1. - Food and Katoeys abound

Chiang Mai.

What a city. It may be too early to say, but I think Chiang Mai might be the one. I just hope she feels the same way about me.
So to pick up where I left off, we walk out of the train station, and board a taxi/truck hybrid called a Songtaew with a lovely Chinese girl named Pat. She had not booked a room yet so she decided to just go wherever we were going, which ended up being the greatest guesthouse ever, Banilah.

 

We got checked in, and one of the extremely helpful girls that run the place showed us a map of the general area and the city as a whole, highlighting good areas to go for food, fun, and sightseeing. A bit of bad news befell Liebler amidst this map tour, when his dad called him to say that he had AGAIN fallen victim to debit card fraud, and his debit card had been cancelled. This meant that if Liebler wanted money, he would have to go to a real bank to get cash rather than an ATM like a normal person. This ended up not being that big of a deal… but it certainly wasn’t ideal.
So in light of the recent debit development, our first goal was to find a bank, which we walked to without much difficulty, and both of us got some walkin-around money. Then we got our first Pad Thai in Thailand, and it was everything I thought it would be and more. So much more.

It may not LOOK like anything more than you would expect, but it was so so good. And it was 60 baht. Which is equal to $2. Need I say more? Hopefully not, because I won’t.
We continued our exploration, and happened by chance across what turned out to be one of the best markets in Chiang Mai, at least according to our professional-chef Cooking Instructor of the cooking class that we would take a few days later, but more on that in a separate post. So this market: I have never seen so much hand-made food in one place at one time. Costco seems baffling the first time you go, but it’s all industrial sized packages of industrial-quality food. This was different. Real. Astounding
Unfortunately my awe prevented me from getting any pictures that truly capture the scope of the market itself, but I would say it was about 100 square yards of pure Thai awesomeness. A sample:

So with everything in the world to choose from but only so much room in our stomachs, we each got a tasty treat: little sausage stuffed buns for Liebs and a big strip of deep fried pork belly for me. We went back to the guesthouse and enjoyed our bounty on the deck with a tall beer and a nice cup of coffee, which is a resource that abounds in Chiang Mai, though there is only 1 Starbucks. Thank goodness.
We spent the night at a Mauy Thai fight, which was probably the most disappointing part of our time in Chiang Mai, and was still pretty fun. There were several fights, including two involving kids that were no older than 14, one girl fight, and one 3-way blind-folded free-for-all. Sounds cool, and it was, but the fights were less than authentic. Part of this inauthenticity was due to the fact that the ring was surrounded by bars, rather than being in a proper stadium. To make matters... more different… our bar was entitled “The Mandalay Ladyboy Bar”, staffed entirely by Thai Ladyboys, or “Katoeys” in the vernacular; less elegantly: trannies. It seems that I am incredibly appealing to Ladyboys, because I can’t count how many of them hit on me in the first hour we were at the fight. I’m sure my friends find this pretty hilarious, as they should. I found it less funny, but what can ya do. Erbody loves me. We left before the marquee fight because they were taking forever to get it started, and I was exhausted from sleeping so little on the train. We got a tuk tuk (a 3-wheeled, 2-3 person taxi/scooter) home and promptly fell asleep. Good first day.

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****NON-CHRONOLOGICAL UPDATE****

****NON-CHRONOLOGICAL UPDATE****
So I know the world has been waiting patiently for my glorious return to blogging. I apologize to all, but Liebler and I were very busy with our Thai exploits, and this left very little time to record them, aside from taking pictures. The good news is, as anyone who knows me well is fully aware, I have a memory like a steel trap (…) and I will be able to recount all our adventures as if they happened yesterday.
Just a quick update on my current situation before delving into the last week of activites (there’s so much room for activities!):
I am currently in Bangkok again. 2 days ago, Liebler and I returned from Ko Chang, which was no small feat, as you’ll learn in a later post (cliffhanger!!). We stayed in a hotel directly next to the airport so that Liebler could catch his flight without difficulty, which departed at 7:30am yesterday. And like a ghost, Liebs vanished

So the past day and a half have been quite lonely I must say. I didn’t realize until Liebler was gone how alone I truly would feel in this foreign land, and it was honestly a bit much to deal with. But anything that doesn’t kill me is a lesson to be learned, and not all lessons feel good while you learn them. It’s all part of the spectrum of human experience, and while I don’t hope to return to that part of the spectrum any time soon, I’m grateful for the experience all the same.
So this afternoon I left the airport hotel for a brand new hostel nearer to the center of Bangkok (just opened on Valentine’s day).  On the way the driver and I made small talk in broken English, which I was frankly not really in the mood for, but I indulged him anyway. At one point he asked me if I’d gotten a massage yet, and I told him Lieber and I had twice received foot massages, with mixed results (sorry Liebby). He then proceeded to explain that he was not referring to a traditional Thai Massage, but the aptly named “Soap Massage,” and even handed me a brochure full of pictures of pretty Thai girls covered only by sudsy bubbles, seemingly enjoying themselves quite a bit. It was a somewhat sobering reminder of the prevalent nature of the sex trade here, an unfortunate yet ubiquitous dimension of the 3^rd world. I politely said I’d consider it, but have absolutely no intention of supporting that particular industry.
After a 30 minute ride, we pull up to the freshly opened guesthouse, WE Bangkok:

It is awesome. I felt immediately better when I walked in the door, as I was greeted by the very friendly Thai girl at the desk, May.

The WiFi is fast and the lobby/coffee bar is comfortable, and all the Thais I have met are friendly and talkative. There is a pool table on the second floor and a rooftop bar, so I should have no problem meeting people here.
I should also have no problem blogging here. So ready yourself for the Blogsplosion!!

Bangkok: Not as much cheese as you would expect

 **Due to our many activities and general desire to be out in the world rather than in the room writing blogs, this post is about 2 and a half days overdue. You should just pretend that all of the posts i put up were actually put up several days before they were put up. Use your imagination!**
**Also the title of this post comes courtesy of Andrew Liebler. You're welcome.**

So our first day in Bangkok begins, and with a solid 4 hours of sleep under our belts, Liebler and I feel refreshed and ready to get going. We start by heading downstairs for the free breakfast at the guesthouse, and our first meal in Thailand. Usually the words “free hotel breakfast” are not exactly mouthwatering, but this was different, freshly cooked for us specifically when we arrived in the lobby:

With some real food in our stomachs, we were ready to venture out into this brave new world known as Bangkok. However, our priority was not the normal exploration and sightseeing that usually characterizes the first day of a trip. Our plan was to
1. Go to a storage facility to store a couple of our bags so we aren’t dragging tons of stuff (i.e. the substantial amount of things I had to bring to prepare for the move here) around as we travel through Thailand
2. Find the train station so we can buy tickets for the overnight train to Chiang Mai
3. Eat some awesome food and
4. Take the overnight train to Chiang Mai

So we sought out a cab to get us to the storage facility we were planning on using, which was not as easy as we thought it would be. Bangkok is an incredibly crowded city, and the roadways are constantly crowded. It seemed that getting across town at 12:30 would require a herculean effort in traffic evasion, and the first two cab drivers we flagged down were not up to the task. The third one was willing to take on the challenge, but had a significant amount of trouble trying to find the place. But eventually we did arrive, and not a moment too soon, because the facility was having issues with electrical power and were getting ready to shut down for the day. They literally locked the door behind us when we left. I have no clue what we would have done if we had gotten there and it had been closed, but thankfully it didn’t come to that.

So with only one huge bag a piece in tow, Liebler and I seek out some lunch. And there are plenty of choices. Thailand is full of “street food” and “noodle shops”, places where you can go and get a quick, filling, delicious meal for about $1. No joke. Welcome to paradise.
**Due to unexplainable, mind-boggling neglect, I failed to capture a picture of this first Thai lunch. Please accept my apologies and attribute my failure to my inexperience as a blogger**
Despite the fact that the spicy soup we ate contained, among other unknown things, what I deduced was either tripe(stomach) or intestine, it was very good and Liebler and I enjoyed it thoroughly.
After a satisfying lunch our next goal was to get to the train station and buy tickets for the 7:30 train to Chiang Mai, the second largest city in Thailand and our next destination. The station was just about a mile or two down the road we were on, so getting there was much less painful than the trip to the storage unit. In fact, from the time we got in to the cab to having tickets in hand was probably about 10-15 minutes. So we had about 4 hours to kill before out train was supposed to leave, so we brought our massive bags to the bag check, and getting that weight off our shoulders was probably the biggest relief of the day, followed closely by the hour-long foot massage we got in the train station. Now maybe you’re saying “Ian, I really like the sound of having my feet tended to for 60 minutes by a stranger in a foreign bus station. But I imagine a massage of that length must be extravagantly expensive!” Well my friend, you’re imagination deceives you. We paid about $6 each for the privilege, and it turns out that’s a middle-range price for a foot massage. What a country.
So eventually we get on the train and eventually the train starts moving. Slowly. Trains are slow. Trains in Thailand are slower. I base that generalization on my single experience on a Thai train. So you know it’s true. But the trip ended up being very enjoyable despite the sluggish pace. We were in compartment(correct word? Maybe) with two Russians, Alexi and Anton, who ended up being really cool guys, and we quickly became train buddys:

We talked about Thailand, the US, Russia, ourselves, and whatever else two Russians with an intermediate knowledge of English and two Americans with no knowledge of Russian can talk about. Eventually they brought out some vermouth, and that’s when we all started drinking. We taught them one of our go-to drinking games – a concept that was new to them as Russians don’t play games when they drink; they just drink – and several hours, one bottle of vermouth, and two small bottles of awful Thai whiskey later, everyone was feeling good. Except for Alexi:

 

Everyone slept well, except for me, as for some unknown reason I woke up around 4:30 AM and was unable to fall back asleep, which has happened to me rarely if ever in my life. Thailand is full of firsts. After a few hours of watching the Thai countryside out the window of our train car with the Russians, we finally arrived in Chiang Mai, located in the mountains of the northwestern part of the country. We stepped off the train, parted ways with the Russians, and started a new adventure in a new city. Life is awesome. I can’t believe we get to do this.

The Longest Night

 **Due to my lack of internet access for the past day and a half, this post is about a day and a half late. just pretend like i posted it a day and a half ago. Thanks for your cooperation**

The only way i can describe my last "day" is travel marathon. I took off from Baltimore at 7:30 am ET, and touched down in Bankok at 2:30 am Local Time, 2:30 pm ET. So in a tidy 31 hours I got from one side of the world to the other. Welcome to the future everyone.
So first things first: Chicago. Not impressed O'Hare International, not impressed. Not only did my flight get delayed multiple times, so that our 1:15 flight didn’t depart until about 6, but during the 9 or so hours i spent in the airport, i saw about 9 electrical outlets, 0 of which were convenient. Chicago is a cool city, but their major international airport seriously needs to step their game up. The one great part of being in that airport was being greeted by this glorious sight 90 minutes into my layover:

So with Liebler and I hand in hand, we wait. For hours. But eventually our flight takes off, and we bid our all too eager goodbyes to Chicago. Our flight path to Tokyo took us through Canada, over the Alaskan and Russian coasts, and down into Japan. Here's what made that “night" the longest night of my life: The sun set over Chicago around 6:30 CT, and Liebler and I did not see the sun again until 8 am Local Time this morning. That adds up to about 24 hours of darkness, the longest night of my life by a very wide margin.

The 13 hour flight from the US to the Land of the Rising Sun was not as soul-crushingly long as I expected. We watched movies, listened to music, slept a little, and got fed 3 separate times. Also we go these, for free:

The layover in Tokyo was about 15 minutes, due to our lengthy, electrically inconvenient delay in Chicago. I think in most cases we would've just been screwed, but because there were so many people on our flight that were connecting on to Bangkok as well, they held that flight up too. So we walked off our plane, down a couple hallways, were directed to another gate, and boarded, in what must have been the most efficient connection of my life. The Japanese are known for their efficiency. Right?

The final leg to Bangkok was similarly painless, except for choosing to watch the movie “Due Date” with Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis. Don’t watch it. I really like both of those actors, but I probably laughed out loud twice. I don’t know how two people that are so funny could end up making a movie that is so unfunny. But aside from the bad movie, the flight was fairly uneventful and involved a good bit of sleeping.
When we stepped off the plane in Bangkok we walked into a wall of warm, humid air, and that’s how I knew it was real, we were on the other side of the world (though I guess we could’ve just been in Florida…). We grabbed our bags from baggage claim, exchanged some dollars for Thai Baht, and found a taxi. America really needs to step up its taxi game, Thailand is clearly miles ahead:

The cabby drove fast and on the left side of the road, all of which was appreciated because we just wanted to get to our guesthouse and lay down, and in Thailand they all drive on the wrong side of the road like they do in England. Wacky.

When we arrived at the guesthouse, we had to wake up the proprietor to get our keys, which we felt bad for but he insisted was not a problem (despite the fact that he was wearing nothing but a pair of rather short nylon soccer shorts). We settled in, walked down to the local 7-11, of which there are more per square acre in Bangkok than there are Starbucks in New York City. We walked back to the room, heard a few dogs arguing in a nearby alley, figured out how the bathrooms in Thailand work, and finally slept in an actual bed.

The marathon was finally over, and we are finally in Thailand.

a couple things ill miss

can't wait to be in thailand. im like a child on his first day of kindergarten, so pumped to be out of the house and playing with kids his own age. plus, school isnt hard at all for the first 2-3 years, so hopefully that part of the analogy carries over as well.

here are some things ill miss though, in no particular order:

good lookin people

strike 1 chicago...

So I fall asleep before the plane takes off, and didnt wake up for good until the stewardess said "Thank you for flying United, and enjoy your stay in Cold, Snowy, Windy Chicago." Clearly she has a way with words, and should consider a job in whatever job requires you to make things sound as unappealing as possible. Or maybe she was just being as accurate as possible:

Glad Chicago is not my destination, but less glad about the length of my layover here. The worst part of it is that there are no outlets. anywhere. my only option for using and charging my computer is a strange "charging desk", where im sitting next to a man who is talking on the phone, turned toward me, and truly doesn't seem to care at all that he is so thoroughly in my personal space. He can probably read this as i type it, which is good, maybe he'll turn the other way and stop occasionally bumping my leg with his foot..

mission accomplished.

This blog is about to officially become the "Ian and Liebler in Thailand" blog for the next 12 days or so, as his plane is arriving right now. I'm off to try to track him down. Thanks Chicago, your many lakes were both beautiful and distinguished, and ill come back again and again.

And thanks creepy guy at the charger desk, for your thoughtful - albeit slightly delayed - consideration of my personal comfort. I hope your travels are fruitful and safe.

until next time

airports: a necessary evil

so i finally have physical proof that i am going to Thailand:

Its a great feeling. the best part is, i now have another 3 small pieces of paper that are very important and i really shouldn't lose! good! im a pro at not misplacing things.

I part with my parents, getting through security is a breeze and, and i'm on my way. You may be familiar with the feeling you get once you pass through security where you think "man, i really hope my gate isnt all the way at the end of this really long terminal." D13. Sounds promising right? nope. somehow 13 is a good 10 minute walk down an endless halogen lit grey carpeted terminal. 

So naturally i stop at the bathroom halfway through to kind of break up the trip a little bit (since there is no news stand in the terminal where i can stand and read sports illustrated or some other magazine that dudes can read in public and feel good about it). Everything went well, and i confidently embarked on the second half of my terminal journey. Seconds later, i hear from behind me "hey, dude..." and a guy, previously in the bathroom as well, was walking toward me holding out my passport and my boarding passes....  

Good start

 on to chicago, the land of a thousand lakes. or something like that.

The Beginning

Left my house at 4:30am ET on February 6th 2011


and so it begins