The Life of Chiang Mai

We just returned from studying forest ecology in the Northern Mountains and living with real hill tribe people. It was one of the most amazing experiences—to be able to be live with people of real culture and heritage. It is also nice to turn on the TV and sit down for a day or two. As soon as I arrived I went straight for the noodle shop on the first floor and after some pad thai, headed upstairs.

The feeling of security that you can glean from a simple apartment room is quite surprising. Since were only living there a couple weeks at a time, we haven’t bothered to put up posters, pictures, or anything to hide the bad white paint job. There is tape holding in the batteries to our remote and there is only one uncomfortable pleather couch. Since I travel every week, the only permanent object is a slack line to hang clothes and an unmade bed. It’s not like coming home to teddy bears and mommas’ homemade pie, but after a while on the road, stopping anywhere for a while is comforting.

Our apartment and school is located in the once quite and pristine town of Chiang Mai Thailand. There are twelve students that live on the eight floor of one of the worst painted buildings I’ve ever seen. Here at the International Sustainable Development Studies Institute(ISDSI), we take the stairs. We take the stairs because the elevator obviously emits carbon through the excess use of energy. Since we can walk up perfectly fine we can save just a little bit of the environment, one stair at a time—take a step for the polar bear. I actually don’t take the stairs for the polar bear, I lost my key and the lock to the stairs is broken. After breaking into the building and going up a flight, I take the elevator from the second floor to the eighth floor. I do my share to try to cut back on carbon usage, but breathing is so tempting that I just can’t hold the carbon in.

The biggest problem with the apartment building is that there is a noodle shop on the first floor. This means, that if all you want to do is eat and watch TV, you don’t have to leave the building. It is to depressing to waste an entire day in the same building, So I generally try to venture outside and find something cheap to do outside. Yesterday, I got stuck. I ventured outside and found myself inside a tailored suit shop and ended up talking about suits, then looking to buy a dark grey-black pinstripe, and a light khaki summer suit, and a wool jacket. Since I’m young, and plan on living longer, and hoping for reasons to look good in the future, I filed the expenses under longterm investment—What, it’s better than investing in real estate.

Mae Hong Son Drive

There are 1874 curves in the road from Chiang Mai to Mae Hong Son. Although the actual distance is very short, it takes about nine hours on a bus. As we prepared to take the bus at six in the morning, I became very anxious. I just spent a week traveling alone. Finding time to spend alone is one of the harder things to find in this world. Now, I am traveling with a group.

I think I would put traveling with a group on one of the top ten things that I hate. Also on that list is sitting next to big guys on long bus rides. I hopped on the bus first and put a bag down next to me and avoided eye contact with everyone as they entered the bus. My icy appearance would deter anyone from sitting next to me. However, as the bus became full, one of the biggest guys from our group—Ned, came up to me, looked at his ticket and sat down on my bag. We were thrity minutes from departure and I was trapped between a big guy and the bus wall. I am not bigger than your average man, but I was definitely bigger than this chair, and he was bigger than the row. The main problem is that we are in Asia. I’m not gonna insult the size of people in Asia—mainly because it’s so fun to order a large and extra large clothes, but the bus was made for people half my size.

I get off the bus to get my last breath of air and pace till the last call to board. I talked Ned into giving me the isle seat so I could sprawl out, yet my plan was thwarted. I was all spread into the seat—half ass on the chair, and this lady comes up and stands next to me in the isle. Now the half ass that was in the isle, is being shoved back onto the chair. There is adequate room to stand behind and in front of me, but she insists on standing right next to me. Before I was just annoyed, now I’m ready for battle. Only Ned can push me around on this bus--so I shove back. I ‘hint’ that she should take a couple steps back and try to rock shake, but she is solid like a rock. So I start the advanced nudge. The advanced nudge is a technique only for the most passive aggressive. It starts like a slow nudge, timed perfectly with the curves and bumps of the bus. Each bump, you add a little umph and push them a further toward the goal. The goal is to push her just a bit behind me and clear up the isle for sprawling.

After two or three hours of becoming completely irritated and frustrated with the obvious belligerence of this woman, she gets off the bus and leaves me the three extra inches of isle seat left.

The curves start as we weave through the growing suburbs. They aren’t planned communities like the square cut outs in the states, but rather, these are rural communities that grew in size and were close enough to the city that they became commuter suburbs. Hastily the roads were widened with poor craftsmanship—the improvement is only partially drivable.

Then we started our ascent into the mountains. This forest is a sub-tropical sub-temperate, partially deciduous semi-moist forest. The trees have just shed their leaves for the ‘winter’. However, the lower layer remains fairly green and moist. With the extra sunlight, the undergrowth often does better in the dry season. There are vines and two canopy levels—reminiscent of a rain forest. However, the air is drier the sparse green pine trees remind me of the Rocky Mountains. Despite the classification ambiguity, this forest has its own mystical charm.

We arrive at the pristine clean bus station of Mae Hong Son, strap on our backpacks, and follow the road around to one of the cleanest and protected towns I have ever entered—even our backpacker guest hostel has a beautifully manicured garden and fish pond.

The next morning we start our first hike toward the first town Pakolo

Bad-ass Vacation

Anyway. So here I am traveling around Thailand by myself and Scuba diving and I have one day left of beautiful vacation. Since I was flying back to Chiang Mai I couldn't dive the last day of my vacation so I decided to explore the island. There isn't a better way to explore an island than riding a motor bike, so I head down to the motor bike shop. After chatting with the owners for a bit in Thai I rent my bike and head out. A little shaky at first--but eventually the motorcycle skills come back to me and I start popping up and down the steep limestone hills of Koa Tao. I am crusing along feeling like a bad ass mix of James Bond and Brad Pit on my quick motor-dirt-bike. So I am crusing down this one road and this smaller motor bike comes rushing up behind me, gives me a honk and swiftly glides past me. Ok so I am getting passed by a local on a motor bike--not the worst ego trip. Then I look, and it's an older woman flying past me on a motor bike--and she has three children riding with her. Ok so maybe I am not the fastest motorcyclist, but she totally didn't look as badass as I did. I just pretended she didn't pass me and I kept singing rock and roll songs in my head.

Burma Trip

Unfortunately it wasn’t for the romantic ambience that the Burmese border immigration office was lighted by candles. Rather, this town—which by no means is a rural or unimportant town, is actually running without power. This town is fueled by tourists who skip across the border to cash in at cheap markets and pick up a Burmese passport stamp. And all this skipping is unfortunately all the market that many of these people see.

It is across from the market that I met with an unnamed Burmese tuk tuk driver. See you have to go out of the country every couple months and Burma is only a short bus ride away. (Unfortunately you still waste your entire Saturday in a bus). He was quite the man, spoke perfect English. We stood directly across from the market, the reason that many girls from the office decided to accompany us on our waste of a Saturday. The market was chock full of name brand clothing at a third world price. The funny thing is that a lot of it is real. Since so many clothing companies are stationed around south east asia, they actually sell a lot of Gap, Billabong and tons more.

Yet he painted a story of a different type of country outside this border town. Most Burmese are looking to cross the boarder and find work in Thailand, yet no one wants to. The Thai’s treat us like shit; we escape from here and go under the boot of Thailand—he remarked when I asked if he wanted to work in Thailand. He then quoted an American proverb to me. Variety is the spice of life. Without any opportunity to use his skills he came to this town to drive a taxi. Years later he hasn’t even worked off the down payment that his boss is charging him to drive the taxi. He can’t leave now, he has a wife and one son.

Yet his frustration continued to surprise me. Not that he was frustrated, but that he continued to live. He continued to wake up and fight and spoke blatantly in English against the soldiers standing across the street in uniform. And he ended by saying—You tell George Bush to come over here and blow up this government. The UN came and they did nothing. Thousands of basic human rights violations each month and the only aid that comes are in bags rice—not opportunity or stability.

By this time the girls have finished their shopping (I admit I bought BBC’s planet earth for 3 dollars) and it’s time to head back to Thailand. A country that is more than happy importing energy from Burma to fuel their quickly developing nation. And since Burma has a great supply of candles, the military regime is more than happy to sell it to them.

Happy Hut Development

I am in a happy hut right now. I traveled half-way around the world in search of indigenous people to learn from their unique way of life. Now here I am in happy hut—the Thai Starbucks with iced lattes, green tea, and Jobim. It is hard to believe that the bassa-nova groove creating this coffee shop ambience in rural Thailand were actually composed by rural indigenous people in Brazil. The irony of it makes me reassess the importance of traveling all the way over here. It was quite an expense to travel half way around the world to type on my mac book in a coffee shop when I could have just footed it down from my college dorm room to La Spieza. It seams that the developing world has caught on quite quickly to how relaxing it is to spend an afternoon in a coffee shop to some gentle jazz with wireless internet. Now don’t get me wrong there are still a great number of people working in very hard conditions in this country, but when you look toward development you have to ask, why is everyone working so hard to get out of their ‘poverty’ and into neon development.

March 9th

I’ve found myself on the other side of the world. Quite literally. Although I have a great time getting to know all the people, I have found that I am completely illiterate, incompetent and unable to effectively communicate verbally—definitely out of my hemisphere. Also, I say verbally communicate because I have become a kick-ass charades player. Honestly, you want me on your team, because I can do so many complex emotions and multi-step processes without a single peep. I also have made a goal to get people to laugh in the taxi’s. The taxi’s here are small concerted pick-ups with two benches facing each other atop the wheel wells. So I do everything from funny faces to dancing/singing just to get a good ole fashioned chuckle out of the people who are already slowly dying of boredom and smog pollution.

They call this the land of the smiles, so you’d think my Charlie Chaplin would go over great in the taxi’s, but I get mixed results. Maybe it is because I do like to smile a lot, but I don’t feel like people are particularly fond of smiling at me—I’ve been the initiator or most smiles. So if your expecting people here to be extremely happy and giddy, don’t get your hopes up. However, they do have an uncanny ability to hide everything that is really going on and just breeze pas you with their lips in an upward semi-circle—reminiscent of a girly smirk. Most people will let you in but will not let you within arms length. (Quite literally, I need a friggin hug) Don’t get me wrong the people do care a whole heap for you, but don’t try to become best buddies forever or pen pals. Although it is a more closed culture many people are real gems. Take for instance my host grandma. Although she is about 100x more annoying and controlling than my real mother she has been really sweet and considerate to me. Take for instance, this Sunday she planned out my whole day (and tried to plan the rest of my life).

Most Sundays I just hang around the toy factory and write/study thai while the animal production rolls on. Then we all have dinner, I do some ganban(homework) and then head off to bead. Yesterday, my mom thought I needed more activity. So she came up to me and said—your going to the neighbors. I knew instantly what was up, and I said no. I had ganban. She said it again, slower, as if I didn’t understand. Finally I give in and say I will only go if she comes with. So she walked me to the gate of our neighbors and pushed me in, then walks back home—so much for an afternoon with grandma. Anyway, in the gate there was a young woman and her mother who already knew everything about me. The mother introduced me to her daughter twice then we went over the fact that we were both single and both university students. Wow, what an amazing random coincidence. (Surprise face) We go inside for some snacks and a talk. Once inside, we start talking about places around Chiang Mai. She asks—Do you like animals, do you want to go to the zoo? Innocent question, I think not. I keep trying to skirt around getting pinned into committing to a location and the subsequent date. Using my basic vocabulary I fire questions right back like; Do you like animals? What is the zoo like? How far is it? Finally I concede, or get traped by my words or charades and I say I would like to go to the Sunday Market. Instinatlly, she jumps up and runs outside to ask my grandma if I could go to the Sunday market—right then. I chuckle and quit fighting the tide. So there we are, me, my neighbor and her mother—all going to the Sunday Market. On the way, she calls her brother and he comes out to join the festivities and rounds out the family date. I kept laughing all night at how funny the situation was and they kept asking me if something was wrong. I kept having to appoligize but I just couldn’t keep from chuckling at the whole situation.

To her credit though she is actually cool and getting her masters in microbiology from Chiang Mai University, and her brother is an industrial engineer. I am even planning to hang out with her/them all again this weekend—although her mother is quite the character.

Chiang Mai

So I am finally in Thailand living in a small city in the northern section. I live with a host family. Me-li is grandma, Paw-thai is grandpa, Pi-to is the dad, Pi-Pooie is the mom and she is pregnant with their first child! it is exciting.




At six in the morning the sun has not yet risen. The rooster has. Every rooster in the village joins. Every noook, (bird) has a song to sing. From my second story window I can hear the trees and the bushes light up with songs. The earth is alive. Caw, Cawk, Cheap Cheep kawk. At the head of the village, a tuneless ‘tong’ marks the hour. Tong Tong Tong. I like to imagine that at the Buddhist temple going has become warped over the years and years of six-a-clocks. It is likely a rejected piece of metal and a kitchen ladle. Tong Tong Tong. Me-Lee has already risen and set to work making breakfast. Her slow movements reveal how unusually early it is for her. The toy factory doesn’t start until eight or nine and Pe-to doesn’t arise a before it is necessary. Paw-Thai sleeps hard. Waking is not one of his strengths. I don’t believe anything could wake him. Pe-pooie sets to work—not waiting for the sun. She cleans and irons moving efficiently—slowing only a little for being five months pregnant. The world is alive before the sun has risen and everything stands still. A day is about to begun. Slowly the mechanical tick from my plastic quartz reaches six a clock. Time for school.