Highs, Lows and Joys
Highs: Halloween, Alex’s birthday celebrations, Buddhist way experience
Lows: Getting used to a hard mattress, lots of business operations work
Joys: Half off coffee at the coworking space, beautiful birds, Thai food everrry day
The Details
We arrived in Chiang Mai by way of Bangkok relatively smoothly. We were all concerned about our luggage (it is, of course, the entirety of our belongings), but everyone’s items arrived safe and sound. We each have our own apartments in one complex of multiple buildings. Once we were all settled in our apartments, we met for an early dinner at a Thai place that Remotes endearingly call “The Spot” (because we could not actually pronounce the real name, ข้าวต้มบาทเดียว). I was feeling so happy to be in Thailand, settled in the apartment, and ready to take on a new city. I ordered Pad Thai, with Thai-level spice, and happily ate my meal along with a few Chang beers. After dinner, I ran some errands at Makro (a grocery store), the pharmacy (for sunscreen and bug spray), and 7/11.
That evening, we settled into our neighborhood by visiting a dispensary and smoke room. Marijuana became legal in Thailand in June, so we had no idea what to expect in terms of availability, regulation, and experience. Aside from smoking inside, which was very Amsterdam, the experience of purchasing weed was more relaxed but similar to Washington’s process.
On Sunday, we slept in and began our hunt for coffee. In Vietnam, they primarily serve Robusta coffee. This is, in part, the reason it’s served with sugar, milk, and even coconut flakes. We were so excited to find Graph, a roastery serving arabica bean cold brew, drip coffee, and even some wild concoctions, like coffee with lime. Later that evening, our welcome event was dinner and a show at Benjarong Khantoke, a northern Thai hospitality restaurant. While eating the traditional dishes of Northern Thailand, we sat on the floor while listening to music played by traditional instruments and watching several different performances, including the “fingernail dance” and the “war drums”.
On Monday, we had our City Welcome with Miao, our City Manager. I learned several facts that I found interesting:
Chiang Mai means, New Kingdom, and is the "new kingdom" of the Lanna people. Lanna translates to one million rice fields.
Lanna culture is unique to northern Thailand and comes with its own traditions and food. In fact, most of the Thai food that we know is from central Thailand.
Thailand is the only Southeast Asian country that was not colonized.
I spent the afternoon shopping - it was Halloween and I had no costume! Miao found the perfect way for us to celebrate Halloween: a haunted house called “Alt_SoScary”. It was the strangest, most conceptual, and the most unique haunted house I have ever been to. It began at a market area and with timed entry, we were picked up by enclosed Red Daengs playing creepy, distorted ice cream truck music. We were completely disoriented to where we were already… having just arrived in Chiang Mai. But this took it to a whole new level!
Off the truck, you’re greeted by some very creepy people and then more or less guided through an abandoned apartment building, weaving in and out of rooms that are telling a horrific story. From what I could gather, it was a commentary on the impossible beauty standards that women try to live up to, and, if done extremely, results in psychological and physical horror. It was beautifully executed and, aside from being chased and feeling spooked, I loved that we had an opportunity to meet the artist and discuss the concept in depth. We continued our evening at Zoe in Yellow, a backpackers clubbing place, where we saw folks dressed up to varying degrees. It was so fun to experience and scope out the place for future visits.
The following morning, I headed to our coworking space, Yellow, for the language and culture class. Miao put many puzzle pieces together by sharing more about the history of Thailand’s kings and their contributions to the country. We were graced by Miao’s auntie, who taught us how to make flowers out of panda leaves. They create bouquets that emit a soft smell, suitable for an air freshener in the bathroom. We learned key phrases and the basics of Thai. But, I will never know how to actually read Thai.
Brain spinning with new words and phrases, I headed to Healthy Junk for lunch roulette with a few other Remotes. Later that evening, I found some wine at House of Wines, pizza from Pizza My Heart, and headed over to a friend’s house to watch Bake Off.
I continued my immersion into Thai culture on a tour of “Buddhist’s Way”. We visited several temples and learned more about the history of Thailand, its connection to Buddhism, and the cultural influences of Buddhism within Thai culture. We ended the day with a conversation with a monk who has been a monk for more than 20 years. We asked questions such as: “Can there be female monks?”, “What do you find beautiful?”, and even, “What is the meaning of life?” The monk remarked on permanence and impermanence, balance, and reincarnation as central to Thai beliefs and answers to these questions. He mentioned that Thai culture influences the fact that women are not monks, but rather they can be nuns, and the first female monk was ordained in India just a few decades ago.
Thursday, I ended a long work day with a Thai massage (the first of many) from Gentle Massage. The weekend came quickly, with Friday night game night at Time to Table and a jam-packed weekend to celebrate Alex’s birthday.
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