So, one of my correspondents has gently pointed out to me that I write as I speak - I.e. quite a lot, and some bullet points would be helpful to summarise for those who are time-pressed. So especially for you (you know who you are!):
When people in Thailand say it’s cold, it’s not
I always thought I hated shopping in markets, but I don’t
I am finding myself. Bit by bit.
On leaving the South for the frozen north, my cousin Julie emailed to say ‘apparently in Chiang Mai it’s FREEZING’ which worried me slightly, as I’d left the only warm clothing I had at their house 6 weeks ago… then on the plane I read the Bangkok Post which was reporting that ‘emergency warm clothes were being flown in to the North’ and the weather in the paper had a picture of hat and scarf to represent Chiang Mai.
Hmmmm
When I landed it was 27 degrees. Yeah - freezing. My taxi driver asked me ’what temperature is it in London?’ I replied ’About 4 degrees’. He looked at me very solemnly and said ’Thai people would DIE if it was that cold’
So I have given myself 10 whole days in Chiang Mai - 10 whole days of having an unpacked bag, and a double bed, and hot water, and a fridge and air conditioning. I love Chiang Mai - I don’t know why I love it so much, it just has a great feel to it (Check me out, being in touch with my feelings).
It’s a lovely small city, which does however have a horrendous air pollution problem which is making me cough quite badly. The old town is surrounded by a moat, and has lots of temples inside - as many as in Bangkok. There is also a brilliant Night Bazaar - now, I’ve always hated bazaars & markets, but that’s because all the ones I’ve been to have been in North Africa & the middle east, and have been really claustrophobic and full of hassle.
Not here - it’s lovely to stroll around, you can stop and browse, and even buy genuine fake Tiffany and Rolexes for bargain prices. On Sunday they close off most of the old town to traffic and have a HUGE market with loads of handicrafts and stuff. I am buying rather a lot, but fortunately spending only a little.
On Tuesday I went out for the day on an adventure trek, where we did some elephant riding (don’t worry, no more elephant stories), a village visit, a trek through the forest, and some rafting - both white water & a more sedate bamboo raft.
It was whilst walking through the forest that I had an amazing revelation:
I’m not actually that clumsy.
I’ve always been told that I am, believed that I am, and told everyone else that I am, but in truth, I’m actually quite sure-footed. In fact, on the whole trek, I only slipped over once, and that was when my shoes were wet.
So, on my journey of finding myself, I have made my first discovery: I am not clumsy. Exciting huh?
And I’m also getting more used to actually making decisions now, and actually KNOWING what I want. This is also new - this morning I really fancied a bacon sandwich. Didn’t get one, but the fact that I really fancied one was quite a new feeling.
Is this a sign, that a quarter of the way through my trip, I actually AM finding myself?
On Tuesday I also got a random text from my cousin: ‘we’re in Chiang Mai, are you still here?’ so I trotted off to the night market to meet them - it was really nice to see them again. They invited me to join them for a day out on Wednesday, so we went to the very holy temple of Doi Suthep.
Orion had lots of fun playing the bells at the temple, and we all had our fortunes told using the Chinese sticks. My fortune said:
“You seem to be fallen down from the tree. Can not tell somebody something while sleeping. Difficult to find the lost things. The lover is satisfied. Asking for a baby, is a girl-baby. You are unlucky; should be careful’
Which was quite a random selection really. Poor Orion was told simply ‘You are very unlucky. No one can help you’, but Mo, Hani & Julie all had really good luck & fortune. Apparently though, you have to be thinking about something quite specific, and the prophecy will guide you the right way. My mind was obviously thinking very large, wise thoughts.
Or something.
We then went off to a holy cave, where I made an offering for Jo’s baby Jude, who’s been poorly, then to some hot springs where they had stalls selling ’drinks and eggs’ - we later discovered that rather than a comedy translation of food = eggs, people were boiling eggs in the hot springs.
Today I’ve been super lazy - I booked up my cookery course for tomorrow, then went to the hairdressers for a shampoo and blow dry, which of course included a straighten. All for only £2. Although it feels a bit weird: My hair’s got blonder, it’s grown HEAPS and I look like London Claire rather than Thailand Claire which is all very strange. I even FEEL different. I don’t know whether I like it to tell the truth - I look too, well, GROOMED (which again is a very alien concept for me, especially these days!)
After that I bought a new book from the used bookstore. Then read it. All 748 pages. Oops.
Have a very activity driven few days ahead, then off back down south for Christmas
Pics from Chiang Mai are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/Clairestravels/Thailandchiangmai
