Upon arriving at the Chiang Mai airport, Omar and I said our (temporary) goodbyes and parted ways, me to the Friends For Asia guesthouse and him to a hostel. The rest of that weekend was set aside for meeting the FFA staff and fellow volunteers and various orientation activities, such as Thai language lessons, lectures on culture, safety, and visas, and a big lunch for everyone to meet each other. After the lunch on Saturday, we visited a couple temples in the city (see my previous post for pictures of those).
The real treat of the weekend though was the lantern festival, or should I say festivals (plural). It can get a bit confusing because both festivals are celebrated at the same time and involve similar activities - fireworks and the release of lanterns with candles inside - but are actually separate events. Yi Peng is associated with releasing the lanterns that float away into the sky (khom loi), whereas Loi Krathong involves sending decorated candles (krathong) floating down the river.
These festivals have been on my radar since August, so I had been planning on going to Chiang Mai in mid-November for many months now. When I applied to Friends For Asia, I picked my start date such that I would arrive in town on the same weekend as the festivals. Not surprisingly, the volunteers were able to easily convince the FFA staff to forego the orientation activities previously planned for Saturday night and turn us loose to enjoy Yi Peng instead. The biggest and most popular release of khom loi occurs at Mae Jo University, where thousands of people arrive to send their bad luck and misfortunes floating away into the inky black sky.
Truth be told, the festivities at Mae Jo are a logistical nightmare. The traffic to and from the campus is terrible and the massive crowds are constantly forcing their way through various chokepoints and narrow walkways that were never intended for that many people. The actual release is over in a minute or two, but the overhead of being there in person is many, many hours and lots of shuffling through throngs of people.
That said, it is completely and undoubtedly worth it. As an adult, I feel like I've seen so much in my life that there couldn't possibly be anything left that could legitimately fill me with amazement or wonder. For the first time in many years, possibly decades, I witnessed and felt absolute magic. The sight of the sky lighting up with softly lit and slowly rising khom loi was nothing less than awe-inspiring. As short of a moment as it was, it truly was magical. Even after the initial release was over and the lanterns drifted away, the sky was filled with a gently moving mass of light, like a river of stars flowing dreamily through the night.
The following day we had some more orientation and another language lesson, then it was off to the Sunday market to taste lots of small Thai bites, including fried bugs. I opted to remain an observer and photographer.
That night was one of the nights of Loi Krathong, so a few of us loaded up on street food and walked down to the Ping River to watch the festivities. There wasn't a singular fantastical moment like Yi Peng, but rather a sustained release of awesomeness that lasted for hours. There were khom loi, krathong, lights, fireworks, lots of street food and vendors, and a parade. All the lights and the immense amount of fireworks made the river feel like a warzone. New Year's here is going to be flat-out ridiculous.
The following day (Monday) I started my internship at Citylife magazine, but I'll talk more about that below.
The week was filled with a decent amount of work and a whole hell of a lot of evening fun. Chiang Mai is a place where several forces combine to create a really amazing city. The main force is the constant influx of travelers, which means the city always has people from all parts of the world who are always looking to let loose. The city parties every night. And I really mean every night. It has taken a lot of restraint on my part to keep the partying to less than seven days a week. The Friends For Asia guesthouse is in a very active part of the city and the city feels so alive after the sun goes down.
Consequently, there are a lot of businesses that cater to the tourists and expats, which means the city is filled with restaurants, bars, clubs, massage places, hotels, shops, night (and day) markets, and live music. Some places are frequented by mainly farang (Westerners a.k.a. white people), some by mainly Thais, and some by a mixture of both. On top of all this, some very traditional components of Thai culture exist; the city is dotted with old temples, Buddha statues, and incense, and it's not unusual at all to see monks in orange robes walking around town. Like other places in Thailand, some of the most interesting visuals are when the ancient and modern worlds collide, such as seeing an ancient temple directly next door to a chic restaurant. No big deal.
The uniqueness and undeniable cool factor of Chiang Mai hit me within a few hours of arriving. As I walked around, getting my bearings and the lay of the land, I came upon a temple that offered foot massages (one hour for $4). I sat in a chair as a super-smiley, happy grandfather gave me a foot massage as monks walked around behind him, sweeping up leaves that had fallen in front of the golden temple that was looming over me. I think that was the moment I knew I'd be spending quite a lot of time here.
Fast-forward to the weekend. After a delightful and very long Friday night that included unlimited wine tasting with Omar and some incredible Burmese food courtesy of The Swan, a bunch of the volunteers went to an elephant park the next day. Besides riding elephants, we also rode bamboo rafts down the river, went on a zipline (yes, singular), trekked through the woods a bit, swam in a stream next to a few small waterfalls, and visited a market of some of the hilltribe people. The entire operation was manufactured and well-run (read: super touristy) and the non-elephant attractions felt a little forced, but overall it was a good day. An elephant's hide feels exactly like how I expected it to, so I kicked my sandals off and gave myself a little foot massage on his back as we rode around. Feeding our elephant bananas and sugar cane was super cool, though he was a fussy eater, so when we tried to feed him a banana, he would throw it on the ground and demand sugar cane instead.
Sunday was a lovely lazy day, perfect for catching up on sleep, which was desperately needed; I think I woke up at 2:00 pm, which I haven't done since probably college. In the evening, a few of us went to a Christianpep rally life festival in the Chiang Mai soccer stadium that featured a keynote by Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham. I was there with my fellow magazine intern Lindsey doing a story for CityNews (a sister site to Citylife); as she interviewed Thais about being Christian instead of Buddhist, I walked around and snapped photos.
The following morning, partially out of logistics and partially because it was my birthday, a few other volunteers and I set off before sunrise to visit Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, a mountain temple just a little bit outside of town. We had decided the day before to go at sunrise because the temple is a massively popular tourist attraction. Sure enough, as we were leaving the temple around 8:00, the minivans and coaches full of tourists started showing up and whatever tranquility we had was dashed.
The temple is very beautiful, filled with gold, Buddha statues, bells of all sizes, and monks. It was really pleasant to enjoy the relative peace and quiet in the early morning while the number of monks still outnumbered the number of tourists. Speaking of the monks, one of the funniest things about them was their use of cell phones, both for taking pictures (for those who were visiting the temple) and for talking.
That night, a good number of the volunteers came out to celebrate my birthday via the usual Chiang Mai shenanigans: dinner at one of my favorite local cafes (The Cat House), followed by live music at a jazz bar, then barhopping until the early morning. Dinner was quite memorable because the restaurant blew a fuse while cooking dinner, leaving us mostly in the dark. However, since the kitchen appliances were gas and not electric, the staff was able to continue cooking by candlelight and slowly brought out everyone's (very delicious) dinner. I think "Happy Birthday" was sung three times and Jacky (the incredibly sweet and adorable owner) even brought out a pancake with ice cream and candles in it. She totally won me over that evening and I've been back to Cat House almost every day since, usually for her awesome (and cheap!) breakfasts and smoothies.
The rest of the birthday evening included lots of free drinks and shots courtesy of FFA friends, so let's just say that everything after 1:00 in the morning is a little fuzzy. When I pulled an Irish exit at the last club we went to, I had no idea where I was in the city, so I haggled with a tuk-tuk driver until I got (what I thought was) a reasonable price considering I was about to fall over. It was literally a thirty-second ride; I was basically around the corner from the guesthouse. I begrudgingly paid the man, cursed under my breath, and then faceplanted in my bed.
The phenomenal hangover the next day went until about 2:00 in the afternoon, when I could finally eat solid food again. I consider it a point of pride though that I made it into work right on time, even if I was a pretty worthless employee for half the day. Part of being an adult is living with the consequences of your partying. On a sincere note, it was a really great birthday and I feel blessed to be surrounded by a lot of wonderful people.
A few days later, about twenty of us had Thanksgiving dinner at Art Cafe, a local restaurant that caters to tourists. Their coverage of the customary Thanksgiving fare was pretty good: turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, (canned) cranberry, bread and butter, and carrots with dressing and raisins. Actually, I left out the best part: the pumpkin pie, of which I ate two and a half slices. The food was good (not great, but I'm not complaining), but I think I derived as much pleasure from the food as I did from introducing some non-Americans to our traditions. Dinner was followed by the usual nightlife follies, cut a bit short so I could head home and Skype with my family during their Thanksgiving (2:00 am in Chiang Mai = 2:00 pm on the east coast).
Saturday ended up being pretty lazy, which was very much needed after all the week's events. In between breakfast, lunch, and working for a bit in the afternoon (Citylife has a monthly deadline crunch), I wandered around old city until I found a place to get a much-needed haircut. I ended up stumbling upon a fantastic spot (Joy's Salon) and Joy gave me one of the best haircuts I've ever had, plus a wash before and after, plus about ten minutes of head massage, all for $9. I gave the man working the register a 100 baht (about $3) tip and he emitted an audible gasp (tipping is a bit rare in Thailand), which brought me a little bit of extra joy (pun intended).
Sunday morning, while fighting through the haze of a solid hangover, my roommate and I were picked up at about 9:30 for our day's ziplining adventure, courtesy of Dragon Flight. Half an hour later, we were driving up the side of a mountain on a winding jungle road, windows down so we could all breathe in the cool air. After joining up with a group of the most stereotypical-looking gap-year Southeast Asia travelers (Chang and Red Bull tank tops and lots of cigarettes), we spent the next few hours ziplining, trekking, and "abseiling" through the cool, serene jungle. I put "abseiling" in quotes because we didn't rappel down a vertical surface, but instead were hooked up to a pulley system and just flat-out dropped about 40 feet. Think of it as a watered-down version of bungee jumping. Throughout the day, I had the humorous thought that the local villagers must be amused (or annoyed) that the serenity of their mountain home is interrupted every morning by the far-off screams of adventure-seeking Westerners.
Not surprisingly, the staff (rural, blue-collar Thai men) were incredibly friendly and fun and really made the experience. After the ziplining was over, we sat down to a massive, delicious Thai feast prepared by some of the local women. When I say feast, I mean it; I'm pretty sure everyone had enough food for two or even three people: an entire plate of pad thai, an entire plate of rice, a bowl of steamed veggies, a bowl of coconut curry veggies, a plate of fruit, a bowl of soup, water, and coffee. We gorged ourselves at outdoor tables next to a peaceful stream that runs through the jungle. Oh, and did I mention the puppy that was running around and trying to play with the big dogs? The excursion was incredibly fun and a perfect way to treat a hangover; it's hard to be lethargic or tired or lazy when you're flying through the jungle with quasi-crazy Thais cracking inappropriate jokes and laughing maniacally.
Well, I think that brings me up to the present in terms of social stuff. This is making me realize I need to not go so long between posts, but that's easier said than done, as I have had zero free time between working, sightseeing, and going out on the town with my new friends.
Speaking of working, here's a quick summary of what I've been up to at Citylife:
I love this country.
Full photo albums:
The real treat of the weekend though was the lantern festival, or should I say festivals (plural). It can get a bit confusing because both festivals are celebrated at the same time and involve similar activities - fireworks and the release of lanterns with candles inside - but are actually separate events. Yi Peng is associated with releasing the lanterns that float away into the sky (khom loi), whereas Loi Krathong involves sending decorated candles (krathong) floating down the river.
These festivals have been on my radar since August, so I had been planning on going to Chiang Mai in mid-November for many months now. When I applied to Friends For Asia, I picked my start date such that I would arrive in town on the same weekend as the festivals. Not surprisingly, the volunteers were able to easily convince the FFA staff to forego the orientation activities previously planned for Saturday night and turn us loose to enjoy Yi Peng instead. The biggest and most popular release of khom loi occurs at Mae Jo University, where thousands of people arrive to send their bad luck and misfortunes floating away into the inky black sky.
Truth be told, the festivities at Mae Jo are a logistical nightmare. The traffic to and from the campus is terrible and the massive crowds are constantly forcing their way through various chokepoints and narrow walkways that were never intended for that many people. The actual release is over in a minute or two, but the overhead of being there in person is many, many hours and lots of shuffling through throngs of people.
That said, it is completely and undoubtedly worth it. As an adult, I feel like I've seen so much in my life that there couldn't possibly be anything left that could legitimately fill me with amazement or wonder. For the first time in many years, possibly decades, I witnessed and felt absolute magic. The sight of the sky lighting up with softly lit and slowly rising khom loi was nothing less than awe-inspiring. As short of a moment as it was, it truly was magical. Even after the initial release was over and the lanterns drifted away, the sky was filled with a gently moving mass of light, like a river of stars flowing dreamily through the night.
The following day we had some more orientation and another language lesson, then it was off to the Sunday market to taste lots of small Thai bites, including fried bugs. I opted to remain an observer and photographer.
That night was one of the nights of Loi Krathong, so a few of us loaded up on street food and walked down to the Ping River to watch the festivities. There wasn't a singular fantastical moment like Yi Peng, but rather a sustained release of awesomeness that lasted for hours. There were khom loi, krathong, lights, fireworks, lots of street food and vendors, and a parade. All the lights and the immense amount of fireworks made the river feel like a warzone. New Year's here is going to be flat-out ridiculous.
The following day (Monday) I started my internship at Citylife magazine, but I'll talk more about that below.
The week was filled with a decent amount of work and a whole hell of a lot of evening fun. Chiang Mai is a place where several forces combine to create a really amazing city. The main force is the constant influx of travelers, which means the city always has people from all parts of the world who are always looking to let loose. The city parties every night. And I really mean every night. It has taken a lot of restraint on my part to keep the partying to less than seven days a week. The Friends For Asia guesthouse is in a very active part of the city and the city feels so alive after the sun goes down.
Consequently, there are a lot of businesses that cater to the tourists and expats, which means the city is filled with restaurants, bars, clubs, massage places, hotels, shops, night (and day) markets, and live music. Some places are frequented by mainly farang (Westerners a.k.a. white people), some by mainly Thais, and some by a mixture of both. On top of all this, some very traditional components of Thai culture exist; the city is dotted with old temples, Buddha statues, and incense, and it's not unusual at all to see monks in orange robes walking around town. Like other places in Thailand, some of the most interesting visuals are when the ancient and modern worlds collide, such as seeing an ancient temple directly next door to a chic restaurant. No big deal.
The uniqueness and undeniable cool factor of Chiang Mai hit me within a few hours of arriving. As I walked around, getting my bearings and the lay of the land, I came upon a temple that offered foot massages (one hour for $4). I sat in a chair as a super-smiley, happy grandfather gave me a foot massage as monks walked around behind him, sweeping up leaves that had fallen in front of the golden temple that was looming over me. I think that was the moment I knew I'd be spending quite a lot of time here.
Fast-forward to the weekend. After a delightful and very long Friday night that included unlimited wine tasting with Omar and some incredible Burmese food courtesy of The Swan, a bunch of the volunteers went to an elephant park the next day. Besides riding elephants, we also rode bamboo rafts down the river, went on a zipline (yes, singular), trekked through the woods a bit, swam in a stream next to a few small waterfalls, and visited a market of some of the hilltribe people. The entire operation was manufactured and well-run (read: super touristy) and the non-elephant attractions felt a little forced, but overall it was a good day. An elephant's hide feels exactly like how I expected it to, so I kicked my sandals off and gave myself a little foot massage on his back as we rode around. Feeding our elephant bananas and sugar cane was super cool, though he was a fussy eater, so when we tried to feed him a banana, he would throw it on the ground and demand sugar cane instead.
Sunday was a lovely lazy day, perfect for catching up on sleep, which was desperately needed; I think I woke up at 2:00 pm, which I haven't done since probably college. In the evening, a few of us went to a Christian
The following morning, partially out of logistics and partially because it was my birthday, a few other volunteers and I set off before sunrise to visit Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, a mountain temple just a little bit outside of town. We had decided the day before to go at sunrise because the temple is a massively popular tourist attraction. Sure enough, as we were leaving the temple around 8:00, the minivans and coaches full of tourists started showing up and whatever tranquility we had was dashed.
The temple is very beautiful, filled with gold, Buddha statues, bells of all sizes, and monks. It was really pleasant to enjoy the relative peace and quiet in the early morning while the number of monks still outnumbered the number of tourists. Speaking of the monks, one of the funniest things about them was their use of cell phones, both for taking pictures (for those who were visiting the temple) and for talking.
That night, a good number of the volunteers came out to celebrate my birthday via the usual Chiang Mai shenanigans: dinner at one of my favorite local cafes (The Cat House), followed by live music at a jazz bar, then barhopping until the early morning. Dinner was quite memorable because the restaurant blew a fuse while cooking dinner, leaving us mostly in the dark. However, since the kitchen appliances were gas and not electric, the staff was able to continue cooking by candlelight and slowly brought out everyone's (very delicious) dinner. I think "Happy Birthday" was sung three times and Jacky (the incredibly sweet and adorable owner) even brought out a pancake with ice cream and candles in it. She totally won me over that evening and I've been back to Cat House almost every day since, usually for her awesome (and cheap!) breakfasts and smoothies.
The rest of the birthday evening included lots of free drinks and shots courtesy of FFA friends, so let's just say that everything after 1:00 in the morning is a little fuzzy. When I pulled an Irish exit at the last club we went to, I had no idea where I was in the city, so I haggled with a tuk-tuk driver until I got (what I thought was) a reasonable price considering I was about to fall over. It was literally a thirty-second ride; I was basically around the corner from the guesthouse. I begrudgingly paid the man, cursed under my breath, and then faceplanted in my bed.
The phenomenal hangover the next day went until about 2:00 in the afternoon, when I could finally eat solid food again. I consider it a point of pride though that I made it into work right on time, even if I was a pretty worthless employee for half the day. Part of being an adult is living with the consequences of your partying. On a sincere note, it was a really great birthday and I feel blessed to be surrounded by a lot of wonderful people.
A few days later, about twenty of us had Thanksgiving dinner at Art Cafe, a local restaurant that caters to tourists. Their coverage of the customary Thanksgiving fare was pretty good: turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, (canned) cranberry, bread and butter, and carrots with dressing and raisins. Actually, I left out the best part: the pumpkin pie, of which I ate two and a half slices. The food was good (not great, but I'm not complaining), but I think I derived as much pleasure from the food as I did from introducing some non-Americans to our traditions. Dinner was followed by the usual nightlife follies, cut a bit short so I could head home and Skype with my family during their Thanksgiving (2:00 am in Chiang Mai = 2:00 pm on the east coast).
Saturday ended up being pretty lazy, which was very much needed after all the week's events. In between breakfast, lunch, and working for a bit in the afternoon (Citylife has a monthly deadline crunch), I wandered around old city until I found a place to get a much-needed haircut. I ended up stumbling upon a fantastic spot (Joy's Salon) and Joy gave me one of the best haircuts I've ever had, plus a wash before and after, plus about ten minutes of head massage, all for $9. I gave the man working the register a 100 baht (about $3) tip and he emitted an audible gasp (tipping is a bit rare in Thailand), which brought me a little bit of extra joy (pun intended).
Sunday morning, while fighting through the haze of a solid hangover, my roommate and I were picked up at about 9:30 for our day's ziplining adventure, courtesy of Dragon Flight. Half an hour later, we were driving up the side of a mountain on a winding jungle road, windows down so we could all breathe in the cool air. After joining up with a group of the most stereotypical-looking gap-year Southeast Asia travelers (Chang and Red Bull tank tops and lots of cigarettes), we spent the next few hours ziplining, trekking, and "abseiling" through the cool, serene jungle. I put "abseiling" in quotes because we didn't rappel down a vertical surface, but instead were hooked up to a pulley system and just flat-out dropped about 40 feet. Think of it as a watered-down version of bungee jumping. Throughout the day, I had the humorous thought that the local villagers must be amused (or annoyed) that the serenity of their mountain home is interrupted every morning by the far-off screams of adventure-seeking Westerners.
Not surprisingly, the staff (rural, blue-collar Thai men) were incredibly friendly and fun and really made the experience. After the ziplining was over, we sat down to a massive, delicious Thai feast prepared by some of the local women. When I say feast, I mean it; I'm pretty sure everyone had enough food for two or even three people: an entire plate of pad thai, an entire plate of rice, a bowl of steamed veggies, a bowl of coconut curry veggies, a plate of fruit, a bowl of soup, water, and coffee. We gorged ourselves at outdoor tables next to a peaceful stream that runs through the jungle. Oh, and did I mention the puppy that was running around and trying to play with the big dogs? The excursion was incredibly fun and a perfect way to treat a hangover; it's hard to be lethargic or tired or lazy when you're flying through the jungle with quasi-crazy Thais cracking inappropriate jokes and laughing maniacally.
Well, I think that brings me up to the present in terms of social stuff. This is making me realize I need to not go so long between posts, but that's easier said than done, as I have had zero free time between working, sightseeing, and going out on the town with my new friends.
Speaking of working, here's a quick summary of what I've been up to at Citylife:
- I've gone out a few times to take photos for stories that will appear in Citylife or on CityNews. Being a published photographer is a really cool feeling and I was all smiles at my desk on Thanksgiving, the day the Abundant Life Festival article was posted on the website.
- Citylife is looking to overhaul their ancient website by migrating everything to WordPress. As a part of that process, I've been asked to provide some guidance on their Google Analytics stats, choosing a new hosting provider, and making improvements to website in general. I've found that tech knowledge I consider routine could be potentially revolutionary in this kind of setting. Let's be real: a local magazine for a mid-sized city in Thailand is very far removed from the bleeding edge technology I was used to hearing about on a daily basis in Silicon Valley. I am very much enjoying the opportunity to pass some of this knowledge on to the good folks at Citylife.
- I've made a couple very small fixes to the CityNow website where I had noticed some functionality was completely broken. It doesn't make sense to make any significant changes since the site will be completely redone anyway.
- Most recently, I experienced the crunch of the monthly deadline as I helped out with taking the articles that appear in the print magazine and adopting them for the website. The two mediums are different enough that this process can't be automated; an actual human being has to go through each article, adjusting the layout, pictures, text, and hyperlinks so that the article can be appropriately displayed in a web browser. This required some extra hours over this past weekend, which I actually enjoyed in some sick and perverted way. It felt nice to be working on something important (and fun! and local!) where my contributions were legitimately needed.
I love this country.
Full photo albums:
