Laos?! What happened to Thailand?? We’ll get to that in a moment. For now . . . . . week 2 is complete. It was a mixed bag. I felt like I was actually starting to get it at the beginning of the week and then during my last day, I suddenly felt incompetent and unsure. Good times!
In the evenings I have found a yoga studio I like that I try to do a couple of classes at. It’s a 25 minute walk away and conveniently next to a food market, so by the time I get to class, take it, have my $1.60 supper and walk home, it’s already time for bed. I’ve also spent a couple evenings walking around seeing what I can find. I find Asia to be a continent where simply walking around can be the most chaotic, overwhelming, frustrating experiences on some days, but on other days it’s exhilarating, exciting and energizing. There’s this energy in Asian cities that is just not found in Canada.
The few hours I do spend at my guesthouse are really good. It’s on a side street, so it’s a bit quieter. My room is spacious with a comfortable king size bed (I may have one of the only mattresses in Thailand that isn’t rock hard). It’s a small place with just a few rooms. The owners (Noi & Deng) are a sister and brother team who grew up in this compound and converted it into a guesthouse. There is absolutely no smoking within the compound walls (great for me, maybe not so good for the Swiss girl that goes to my school that smokes). A few of the people who are staying here are long term and are people who regularly come back to this place. It’s quiet and low key!! I see and chat with Noi every morning when I make my breakfast, but other than that I don’t often see other people around. Some people may not like that and would prefer a more communal atmosphere, but as an introvert who is around people all day, I find it a bit comforting. Those times when I do feel lonely or would like someone to talk to, a lot of my classmates are at a guesthouse a simple 10 minute walk away, and there are two other massage students here (one who goes to my school and one who goes elsewhere).
Tiptop Thai in Chiang Mai . . . my home for the month
I’m on the second floor. There are lilacs outside my window which smell amazing in the morning.
My room is at the end of the hall . . . I’ve used that chair a few times to study.
B-Rod’s flip flops are still here . . . he was here once upon a time!
I was drawn to this place because they have a kitchen (great for breakfast, but suppers are just too cheap to bother cooking for myself), and . . . .
. . . . an awesome space to do yoga (I’ve taken advantage of it many mornings)
View of the “yoga studio” from the outside.
Lots of things to see around the space and lots of vegetation. It’s Noi’s dream to one day open up a vegan cafe in the compound.
It was a busy weekend. On Saturday, I went on an excursion with a couple of people from my school. It was an action packed day . . . hot springs, white temple, golden triangle, and Karen long neck village . . . a 14 hour day. I knew what I was getting into and what to expect. Next time, I will just go to the white temple and spend a lot more time there.
I’m sure there were better hot springs elsewhere, but I think this was mainly used as a way to break up the 3 hour drive to the white temple. On the excursion were me, Karlijn (Holland), Claire (Namibia) and Heidy (Portugal),
The White Temple was pretty incredible. It was super busy, but that didn’t seem to take away from its charm for me (maybe because it was such a whirlwind tour through there . . . I didn’t have time to get annoyed by the crowds). The White Temple or Wat Rong Khun was rebuilt by a Thai artist in 1997, and the artist’s goal is to continue working on it until the day he dies. It’s pretty incredible!
From here we made our way to the Golden Triangle. The Golden Triangle is the meeting of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos and where the Mekong and Ruak rivers meet. It was previously known as a big opium producing spot, but now it’s more of a tourist zone. We got on a boat, crossed the borders and could see the casinos on the Myanmar and Laos side (casinos are illegal in Thailand). We stopped in Laos for they typical touristy trinkets and traps and then headed on our way.
No man’s land. A small island in the centre that has no country – can you tell I was sitting in the middle of the boat 🙂
Back on the Mekong.
Back to Thailand.
I didn’t take a lot of pictures at the Karen hill tribe village. It felt a little bit weird to me, even though the people themselves encouraged you to take their picture. Apparently this village is actually a refugee camp as the people had originally come from Myanmar during the troubles there.
Today, instead of taking it easy, I got up early again!! Noi (one of the guesthouse owners) took me to an organic market. I rented a bike and we set out at 6AM.
Lots of greens & produce, . . . .
. . . . an art/craft market, and . . . .
. . . a second hand section.
Me & Noi on our way out.
Since I had the bike rented for the rest of the day. I set out to a temple I had wanted to see a bit outside of the centre. I was a bit nervous about navigating traffic (and being in the exhaust), but I managed to do it. I stopped at Wat Suan Dok which was another temple on the way. Wat Suan Dok also has mausoleums which house the cremated remains of members of the royal family of Chiang Mai.
This is the traffic I have to navigate through!
Stop 1 . . . I made it!
Stop 2 and my intended destination was Wat Umong. This temple, or wat, is known for its tunnels with enclaves for various Buddha statues. Umong in Thai means tunnel. The story is that the tunnels were built for a famous, yet crazy monk. The tunnels kept the mad monk from wandering off! It is in a heavily forested area (despite being close to the city) and is a centre for meditation where you can actually stay and learn meditation from the monks.
That’s a better rode to bike on!
Along the way, there were trees with signs to give you advice 🙂
There was this section that was like the land of misfit toys! Buddha statues with one or more parts missing.
The tunnels were really cool!
Now that’s it’s 8:30 on Sunday evening, I guess I should actually sit down to study something! Here’s to a new week and the beginning of week 3!!
It's easy to miss/ not miss the chaos and energy. I always wonder what kind of immigrants from Asia feel the moment they arrive in Canada. It must be like a sugar-high crash.