My last post.... for this trip at least

Written 5/22/15: I’m doing this as I go along because I don’t expect there to be as much ‘news’ or ‘pictures’ for my last couple of days. 

On Thursday (yesterday), I went looking for a dress and I found it. And then I found I was not able to try it on. So I didn’t buy it. I think we all know my body is too complicated to submit to the whole ‘free size’ situation. On a side note a seller who spoke English said if I return to her tomorrow, she will have the pants I’m looking for.

I went to the Lanna Folklife Museum. My attention span was a lot better but I still spent much of the time pulling language for poetry. I want to do more mis-translations; now all I have to do is pay more attention when people are speaking Thai around me, or take more notice when I see their words spelled out phonetically. Anyway, the exhibits were pretty cool; they showed early Thai stonework, arts, textiles, etc. 

I ate at the same restaurant twice, for breakfast and lunch. It’s called Dada Cafe and it’s a health food place and really really yummy. I also did some day- drinking. I swear this place makes me want to drink alcohol in the afternoon. There are all these bars and pubs open in the day time and it’s hot and I want a beer (I’ve been thinking this the whole time I have been here). So I finally did it. After lunch I went to an Irish Pub in my guide book and I ordered a cocktail. And I drank it. Mission accomplished. And then I went back to my room. And got tired. Oh well. Some things are not as fun in practice.

Did I mention that my guesthouse has been overrun with tourists? There is a family here and they want to be sitting places and talking all the time. Getting in my way. Whatever. 

It rained again, and I suspect it will off and on until I leave. It made dinner a bit complicated. I have been trying to eat everything I want to try before I go. I was going to walk to where I thought they’d have street food (nevermind that they have a ton of it around the corner from my guest house… I wanted to go to this area).  But I went to leave and saw it was raining again. So I had sushi across the road. It was not too good, not because it was bad, but because they don’t have the options common in the states so the rolls were quite small and lackluster. When it stopped raining, I thought my little dinner entitled me to a second dinner. So I walked to get street food. There was no street food there, just people buying these baskets of flowers in order to offer at the temple. I think there is some kind of ritual that has been going on for a few days. 

(On a side note, I am sitting in a cafe that is playing some horrible renditions of popular music and I just heard some bastardized version of G&R’s ‘Patience.’) Anyway, no street food. Walked back to my area and bought myself a banana spring roll. It was okay. But this is what I have realized. I really hate eating standing or walking. I will go hungry rather than eat in anything other than a seated position. Because I want to enjoy my food. So there is street food very close to my guest house and I don’t know if I’ll be having anymore because there is so much else I want to eat. We’ll see. I came to Thailand and didn’t eat a bunch of street food. I fear I will be judged for this.

I don’t have much energy to do nighttime things like go to clubs/bars and since I am by myself, I feel I might be bored. Well I guess if I was not up at 6am every day I might attempt it. At night I watch some horrible thing on TV (sadly I am not able to get Daily Show or Nightly Show episodes online here… guess I’ll have to catch up when I get back). But the hotels I have been in have had BBC news and Al Jareeza so I have probably been kept abreast of more international news since I’ve been here than at home. And I discovered this show on BBC (you can see it on youtube) called ‘The Big Questions;’ it’s people debating big issues. A lot of it centers around religion. But there interesting conversation about other cultural issues. (Oh my god, they are doing a really bad version of ‘Rockaway Beach.’ That was a Ramones original wasn’t it? Did they just ‘F’ with the Ramones?) I also have completed one baby sweater and one baby hat (although, I am not certain that the baby can wear both at the same time). 

Coming to the end of the trip, I am asking myself if I am in a rush to get back. I’m not. I’m not in a rush to stay either. I think 2 weeks in this area is plenty, although I’m happy I didn’t plan to move around too much; I don’t like feeling rushed. I think when I usually travel, one of the things I want to get back to when I go home is my alone time. But since I have been alone this whole time, I’m not really feeling that pull. 

So tonight, if I decide to go to the fancy-ish restaurant that was recommended to me, and/or if I decide to go to the Night Bazaar (which might be a waste of time) I may splurge on a taxi. I’ve tried to walk most places, because I am very aware I have not worked out for 2 weeks. And at the same time, I get to know the lay of the land a million times faster if I walk. I now get around here pretty easily. 

….and later: 

Today I didn’t do the fancy-ish restaurant or the bazaar. Went to a Thai place in my guide book for breakfast (and had typically un-breakfast-y food by American standards.) Went to the Chiang Mai Historical Center. It covered the history of Chiang Mai, (go figure) and I lifted more language for poetry. 

I ate twice again in the afternoon and then headed back to the guesthouse due to rain, damp shoes and toe blister. I fought with the wifi until it worked. 

Finally, a little before 5pm, feeling like a slug and noticing the rain stopped, I ventured out. I walked around and found a market at a temple. I also found the pants I’d been looking for (that other seller didn’t have them). I got a departing foot massage. I went to a pub called the Kafe. It had been calling to me; they serve Thai food and booze so I figured it was a good place for my last Thailand dinner (not counting whatever I pull off at the airport and in the plane). It was quite good. I spent some time there writing, which was nice. 

I am trying to figure out how to negotiate tomorrow. Check out time is 11am and my flight is 6:35pm. I have a roller board suitcase. These streets were not made for roller boards, not to mention the rain. I’ll likely hang out in a restaurant for a couple of hours and then go to the airport early. I don’t want to sweat through my travel clothes although the place I plan to kill time at doesn’t have air conditioning. I’ll probably have to figure out how to change clothes. So much to think about. Also figure I shouldn’t sleep on the plane because I’ll need to sleep when I get home. With all this in mind, I won’t be posting tomorrow morning. I want 100% battery life on this thing for the plane and I plan to spend the morning writing journal style. 

I hope you have enjoyed reading. It’s good to stay connected to my people when I am far away. Next time I’m thinking Australia, Singapore or Vietnam… or maybe someplace in Europe. Thoughts?

Love

Delia