bkk to chiang mai

[janel's first post]

after an opulent opus dinner last night, i came home to a mega-ill fuzzhead in my room. poor guy - there was no way he was going to be able to accompany us to chiang mai as planned, but i did my best to make him comfy for the time being. we read a heartbreaking work of staggering genius til some kind of witching hour, when my eyelids finally gave out and i succumbed to sleep.

then - suddenly - my alarm went off at some ungodly morning hour, and i knew it was time to arise, finish up work on a commercial script i have been working on, and make some muffins. oh yeah, and that packing thing too...

mom had woken up far too early and gave the coffee lady a go, but found her crusty-eyed and unready to prepare that most caffienated of morning beverages. it took a second go-round a few hours later to secure the best "cafe yen mai wan" the city has to offer (but consensus has it that is was well worth it).

i threw some classy clothes in a backpack and was ready to move. mom did an excellent job of snagging a taxi from down the street and directing it to the bags, then we were On Our Way!

... until, 25 minutes into the journey to the airport, mom jokingly asked if i had my passport. nnnnnope!

the taxi driver got a kick out of us heading all the way back to praram kao, soi sip sam, just so i could sprint upstairs for my passport (and a very vicks vapo-rub smooch), but we headed back towards suvarnabhumi afterwards without a second hitch. mom's nerves were a bit rattled, but we arrived with a good hour to spare. i had grabbed a bag of chocolate-flavored yam chips (yes, really) from the kitchen, so we munched them during the wait. dad and i assembled the toy that came with the snacky goodness, which took some doing, but ended in immense fun, involving repeatedly launching a plastic disc at the wall.

the plane ride was a dream, really just like a bus journey. perhaps a little over an hour long, although i conked out through the whole thing, and thus really haven't a clue.

CHIANG MAI! this is where my vacation really began (as bangkok is pretty much permanently categorized under the "Severely Stressful" category, totally regardless of presence of family members). i'd heard on various occasions from both thai and farang friends of mine that it's an absolutely lovely place to be, but other than these vouchers, i really had no idea what to expect.

the taxi trip to our guesthouse quickly demonstrated the enormous sense of calm that permeates this city. we'd completely ditched the hustle and bustle of bangkok. the traffic already seemed a memory.

the sawasdee chiang mai guesthouse turned out to be just as super-cute as trip advisor had advised, and we loved it immediately. sam, the owner, meeted and greeted, plus gifted us with a map of the city all highlighted with points of interest, particularly the area for the sunday walking market being held this night.

i had a cozy room on the first floor (although it would be much cozier with more curls in the bed next to mine...) and the parents had their hideaway positioned on the fourth. they were very pleased about the extra stairs as they always seek out opportunities to stretch their legs.

we headed out right away and hit up the indispensable 7-11. mom secured her black tea and dad eyeballed the tamarind candy. then - we found ourselves starving, so we sought out khao soi, local chiang mai specialty. oh MAN was it ever excellent. spicy coconut sauce, crunchy noodles, succulent chicken... definitely one of the pinnacles of our culinary journey thus far.

we wandered. the beginnings of the sunday walking market were appearing wherever we looked, and we let our gaze meander from pashmina to earrings to meat on a stick. dad was seeking a breezy white shirt for use on the beach and boat, but other than this, we had no defined goals for the impending spending spree.


soon enough we made our primary purchase, a set of hand-painted coasters with case for the tork home in arizona. they were most lovely, and the vendor demonstrated her painting skill for us in person.


mom also decided that, given the comparatively absurdly low price of massages here, we ought to be getting one every day. i had no objections. here on the corner, we watched the market being assembled while our toesies were being carressed by expect thai women. i also learned the phrase "sitting in the catbird seat," which i look forward to using with glee.


the walking market had a much higher concentration of handmade goods than chatuchak, and we quickly zoned in on handmade ocarinas. upon seeing our interest, the vendor immediately played zelda's theme, then the theme from the lost forest. it was most excellent.

we then decided the day had been hard on us, and we returned to the guesthouse for a half-hour catnap and subsequent shower. i also changed dresses, because i am on vacation and feeling fabulous. i have lifted pennie's amazing asymmetrical pink ensemble because she has foolishly left it in my closet, and it is breezy and sexy. i feel tops.


the walking market was crowded, but the ambiance was still infinitely chiller than the chaotic chatuchak. we saw unbelievable amounts of artsy whatnot, including paintings, handmade earrings, screenprinted shirts, carved soap...

we grazed for dinner, which included a steamed pork bao bun for all, steamed dumplings, smoothies of various sorts, meat on a stick, and unbelievably scrumptious fried chicken (which thailand does far, far better than you might ever expect).


it was a special day for buddhism, and we passed many wats on our shopping journey. near the end of our stamina, we elected to enter one of the most intriguing temple areas, and were immediately assualted with what seemed to be tens of thousands of lights. young monks tended the candles and kept them burning (i very badly want to make an earlham joke here, but will leave it be).


our spines were collectively shivering in tune to the chanting music thickly filling the air. we had absolutely no idea what we'd walked into, and it was marvelous, completely distinct from anything any one of us had ever experienced. even though i'd been here for six months now, i still had to remind myself just a little bit - "hey, this is the real thing - this isn't some sideshow set up in the name of cultural awareness, no. this is thailand, and these are monks, and this is all actually happening, and you are actually here." incredible.

our dogs were a-barking, so we headed back to the guesthouse, enormous bag of purchases in hand (including several breezy white shirts for daddles). it took approximately no time to enter into dreamworld, anticipating the cooking class to come tomorrow morning.

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also: happy un-birthday mama!! hope it was a great one, even if i am already older than you. and THANK YOU for the phi beta kappa key - i absolutely love it; it's the kind of gift i will treasure for a very long time to come!