Just when you thought it was safe to get back in that dental chair......
My second session today was a bitch. I wasn't expecting it, thought the worst was over. I've had a number of crowns and don't remember the prep hurting so much. Then again some of them ended up leaking and failing. So maybe they are just more careful here in the land of smiles.
By careful I mean peeling back the gums all the way, with what felt like barb wire. Oh well. It's over. Part of the problem was having three done in one session. That wasn't their idea. They were kind enough to work with my tight schedule.
Only one more session to go, on Monday. THAT one should be easy. Maybe.
The moral of the story is: brush your teeth. And floss 'em. Three or more times a day.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Settling In a Bit
I'm in between apts at Grace, and back down in the Tha Pae Gate area, which boasts an enormous public area, paved with brick. I realized early on that that was an address virtually every songtheaw driver would recognize, even with my numbed tongue and lips. And also a little cheaper to get to, since it's very central. Usually I pay either 20 or 30bt to get where I'm goiing.
On the way back from apt number one, we stopped and a group of young monks hopped in the back with me. They were super friendly and wanted to talk, at least a couple who were keen to practice english. They were so full of good energy that when I got out at my stop, I realized I was feeling all charged up! I wish I could've visited more.
Somehow I feel that I've slipped into Chiang Mai mode. I'm starting to recognize where I am en route, instead of it being an incomprehensible mish mash of chaotic sights and sounds, with fumes and beeping.
Also, I've had a few nice conversations with other guests at the Rendezvous. What a relief.
There's a little open air restaurant just steps down the Soi and they have really yummy food and it's very very cheap. I love it. This morning I had a 'vegetable omlette' with a croissant and it was heavenly.
This place has special meaning for me too, because I have a vivid memory of trudging down the Soi with the whole family and all our luggage, looking for better digs. It was much much hotter and we were hot, tired and discouraged. All the places were full and we needed two rooms.
We decided to rest at that open air cafe and while waiting for the food and cold drinks, I scouted ahead (I think Joyce was with me) and we found two rooms at the Rendezvous. We were so relieved and grateful to find that place.
I actually have a photo of Joyce on the little balcony looking very happy. It's funny, cause the place is a little bit dumpy. Not bad at all, but not funky around the edges. But the energy there is great. Just the opposite of my last place.
I'm babbling.
Last night I went down to the night market on a mission. To buy a less goofy hat and a few silver do dads for Krista. (my plan to import some silver for resale has been ditched. It's too expensive!)
I've seen a lot of farang guys wearing these caps, sort of like an army hat in shape. They come in lots of colors and fabric styles. I haggled mine down to 300bt, and probably drove the vendor girl crazy cause I had to try on half her stock. I'm terrible with deciding things like that.
Anyway, my hope is to find a Hmong family at the Sunday market and ask them to sew on some of their fabulous needlework patches or some such,. That would make my hat very special indeed.
I also bought some Thai tie die shirts last night. I was staggering around very tired indeed and I came across this great storefront/stall at the Anusaran food market.
It struck me as the most beautiful, artful tie die I've ever seen. So I bought 9 shirts and some very lightweight fisherman's pants. I hope to sell some when I get back. I say "hope" because they are so gorgeous it will be hard to let any of them go!!
Fortunately they are rayon and very light weight.
The other part of my mission was to find a suitcase the right dimensions to hold the spirit house I bought, and yet small enough to meet the airlines new size restrictions. No luck. I'm going to approach a shipping/post office store down the street and see if they'll make me a sturdy box to put it and other goodies in. Maybe fashion a handle. Of course they'll do it, and it will probably be dirt cheap. Hell, the luggage is absurdly cheap.
I'm going to stay put at the Rendezvous, so I guess I can start accumulating goods to import/export. Let me know if you want something!
Sawadee Kraaaap.
rob
Getting Better
I'm feeling pretty good about my new digs. The folks on this Soi are somehow very different than the come and go tourists at the old place. More relaxed for sure, and maybe they've been around for a while.
Had breakfast with an Irishman name of Tommy, who's here for three months studying Chi Kung. He's been coming to Chiang Mai for years and was a wealth of info and perspective. One alarming thing--I mentioned how that prostitute grabbed my arm and he said she was probably going for my wallet, that they are all masterful pickpockets! Yikes. Don't think I'll be walking down that street at night again.
He also talked about "roofies", the date rape drug. Apparently it comes in powdered form that they can slip in your drink, or even blow into your face and that's that. I find it hard to believe that there is much of that going on, given that I see lots of farang with Thai girlfriends walking around.
I just glad there's no temptation for me. It's like with gambling. It fascinates me that people gamble, and it has no draw for me at all!
My weakness is massage (the real kind). I went back to the same place for the third time last night and all the ladies saw me coming and were all smiles (it's an open air room with about 8 mats on the floor and 6 or 7 chairs for foot massage). Because I've been giving 20 baht tips I'm like their national hero!
Tommy says no one ever tips massage gals, and in fact it's quite rare even for meals, except to round up the bill to the nearest 10. But for me, it's just good karma to tip for massage! I remember how good it felt.
So today I have two apts. Yesterday was Sooooooooo much less painful than the day before, and I think the worst is over (though I'll still need injections, ouch!!!). Both doctors took great care to explain why I needed the second root canal. In fact, once the crown was off they seemed surprised by how much decay there was! Even though the tooth felt much better, it was only a matter of a year or so before it went supernova.
Dr. Korakat wanted me to look at the decay. I declined! I'm glad they are so professional and careful. And I can't wait till it's over!
Tomorrow I finally get out of town for the Elephant Nature Park, or whatever it's called. An all day affair out in the countryside. Then the flower festival the next day.
Hope this note finds you well and happy.
rob
Had breakfast with an Irishman name of Tommy, who's here for three months studying Chi Kung. He's been coming to Chiang Mai for years and was a wealth of info and perspective. One alarming thing--I mentioned how that prostitute grabbed my arm and he said she was probably going for my wallet, that they are all masterful pickpockets! Yikes. Don't think I'll be walking down that street at night again.
He also talked about "roofies", the date rape drug. Apparently it comes in powdered form that they can slip in your drink, or even blow into your face and that's that. I find it hard to believe that there is much of that going on, given that I see lots of farang with Thai girlfriends walking around.
I just glad there's no temptation for me. It's like with gambling. It fascinates me that people gamble, and it has no draw for me at all!
My weakness is massage (the real kind). I went back to the same place for the third time last night and all the ladies saw me coming and were all smiles (it's an open air room with about 8 mats on the floor and 6 or 7 chairs for foot massage). Because I've been giving 20 baht tips I'm like their national hero!
Tommy says no one ever tips massage gals, and in fact it's quite rare even for meals, except to round up the bill to the nearest 10. But for me, it's just good karma to tip for massage! I remember how good it felt.
So today I have two apts. Yesterday was Sooooooooo much less painful than the day before, and I think the worst is over (though I'll still need injections, ouch!!!). Both doctors took great care to explain why I needed the second root canal. In fact, once the crown was off they seemed surprised by how much decay there was! Even though the tooth felt much better, it was only a matter of a year or so before it went supernova.
Dr. Korakat wanted me to look at the decay. I declined! I'm glad they are so professional and careful. And I can't wait till it's over!
Tomorrow I finally get out of town for the Elephant Nature Park, or whatever it's called. An all day affair out in the countryside. Then the flower festival the next day.
Hope this note finds you well and happy.
rob
WTF?
Travel in Thailand is a never ending series of WTF moments. Lots of things defy easy explanation. I jumped out of my songtheaw to take this shot, on the way back from Doi Suthep.
This was across the road from the entrance to the Zoo.
The thing is, I like those WTF moments. I appreciate themas reminders that I'm visiting an alien culture.
This photo also captures the all too common juxtaposition of some carefully crafted work of art with the most butt ugly utilitarian eyesore.
Sunday Market from the top of Tha Pae Gate
I can't pretend to understand the Thai people, but I have learned two things: They love to eat, and they love to shop.
This market starts about 4 in the afternoon and goes until around 11:30 or so. I am already looking forward to this next Sunday.
Construction Workers
I'm sort of stuck here in Chiang Mai, because of all the apts. It's not a bad place to be stuck. It's cheap, there's amazing food all over the place, great massage to be had for next to nothing, temples galore and even prostitutes (if that's your thing). Actually, did I mention this already, I had a prostitute grab my arm the other night as I was walking past her bar! Kinda freaked me out!
There's this one street, Loi Kroh, with lots of bars and usually 4 to 6 gals would be right out front at some tables. If I made any eye contact (and I'm used to politely addressing people Sawadee Kraap), even if I just turned my head a little, they would start cat calling and waving.
After a few minutes of this I realized that a) it was night time b) I was a western guy and c)I was alone. Why else would I be walking down that street right?
That's when I noticed that there were other single white guys cruising that street, who were there for a reason. Creepy.
Anyhow, yes Chiang Mai is great. But I don't want to neglect to mention that the air is quite polluted, and it's dirty, and has way too much traffic, and that not everyone is all smiles--at least not in the tourist ghettos where I've been hanging.
Times are tough here, just like everywhere else, I guess. and they've been tough for some time.
I've seen a lot more beggars and people sleeping on the street than I can remember from 4 years ago. I mean, it's not as bad as Santa Rosa, but still....
So here's some construction workers. That woman is balanced over a pile of concrete, on a relatively narrow beam, hauling bricks up in a bucket. Call OSHA!
Wat Chedi Luang
This thing is a monster! It's so huge. And old. I think I read that it's 700 years old or more?
Chiang Mai has so many Wats, but this is one of the most famous ones. I've been treking around visiting them the last few days. I've gotten to meet some monks, including the fellow this morning who gave me my lucky bracelet.
I went to a huge Wat today, after my root canal. It's home of a large Buddhist university, and had a brand spanking new looking chedi, that seemed almost this big. It was covered in gold!
Samlor Rider
I love these things. Often times the 'driver' is an old guy! With really big leg muscles. This one is totally beat up, but I've seen newer fancy ones. It's funny to see a group of people going down the street, usually one to a samlor. Sometimes they'll squeeze in two, but god that must be hard to pedal.
I saw a brand new bicycle in a store today and it was about $85 I think. Wonder how much these cost, and if you could get on on the plane?
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Sudden Changes
This morning I met a travelling monk at one of the wats on my street. He wrapped some string around my wrist for luck and blessed me. After a nice chat I went back to Chiang Mai Thai House to discover that I had no room!
It's true that I've been a little dodgy about committing to staying there. I was going two days at a time. But it's also true that Richard and I had a solid reservation for the 6th - 9th, which they ignored. They said it was because he had made the reservation instead of me, but I think they got a better offer from someone staying longer. So they politely booted me out!
I was pissed off, but this is Thailand and you just don't show anger here. I thought maybe it was my lucky bracelet propelling me out of there into a better place. I called the Rendezvous where we had stayed four years ago and they had one last room. I hired a tuk tuk to haul all my heavy stuff over there (I have done a bit of shopping!) and that was that.
The Rendezvous is much dingier in a way, but then again I have a chair to sit in and a nice balcony off the corridor (where I have fond memories of writing postcards years ago). Basically it's just as clean. And I wasn't going to be using the pool at all.
I'm hoping that people on my new Soi (alley) are more friendly than the Thai House crowd.
It's true that I've been a little dodgy about committing to staying there. I was going two days at a time. But it's also true that Richard and I had a solid reservation for the 6th - 9th, which they ignored. They said it was because he had made the reservation instead of me, but I think they got a better offer from someone staying longer. So they politely booted me out!
I was pissed off, but this is Thailand and you just don't show anger here. I thought maybe it was my lucky bracelet propelling me out of there into a better place. I called the Rendezvous where we had stayed four years ago and they had one last room. I hired a tuk tuk to haul all my heavy stuff over there (I have done a bit of shopping!) and that was that.
The Rendezvous is much dingier in a way, but then again I have a chair to sit in and a nice balcony off the corridor (where I have fond memories of writing postcards years ago). Basically it's just as clean. And I wasn't going to be using the pool at all.
I'm hoping that people on my new Soi (alley) are more friendly than the Thai House crowd.
Wat Phra Singh
Sawadee Kraaap. I finally got some new photos up on Flickr. Considering that I just had a root canal treatment and couldn't really talk, or even open my mouth much, I think I look pretty happy here.
I've got a few more stories to tell, but right now I have to go have breakfast.
rob
Monday, February 02, 2009
OW!
Ow ow ow ow ow ow owwww!!!
So much for no root canals. What a miserable experience! Even thogh my third dentist was very nice, and I'm sure quite capable, the shots hurt and I had to have my poor mouth propped open for about 12 hours, I think. Maybe it was just one hour. But my jaw is totally sore. I'm going to take some arnica soon as I get back to my room. Should've brought it with.
The really good news is I get to go through it again tomorrow. And also have that other crown pulled off. This gal today confered with the cautious Dr. Koracat and says 'take it off'.
So Ow! At least it didn't cost that much.
over and out,
rob
So much for no root canals. What a miserable experience! Even thogh my third dentist was very nice, and I'm sure quite capable, the shots hurt and I had to have my poor mouth propped open for about 12 hours, I think. Maybe it was just one hour. But my jaw is totally sore. I'm going to take some arnica soon as I get back to my room. Should've brought it with.
The really good news is I get to go through it again tomorrow. And also have that other crown pulled off. This gal today confered with the cautious Dr. Koracat and says 'take it off'.
So Ow! At least it didn't cost that much.
over and out,
rob
Further Adventures in the Land of Smiles
I am currently unable to smile or talk. I'm hiding out in the internet cafe, while the novocain wears off.
It was a surprising visit to the clinic today. Even though I got there on time, the front desk people didn't tell the doctor I was there. So after half an hour she send someone out to check on me. She was a little pissed off, I think. Next time I'll check in! I thought that a wave would do it.
So the real surprise was that once she had me numb and cleaned up the left molar and took an xray, she didn't think it needed a new crown or root canal! She thought the problem was a filing gone bad at the base of the crown and she fixed it.
Now I should be glad, right? That's a lot of money and pain and time in the chair she's saving me. But this is the tooth that's been really bothering me, and I don't want to go home with out it being really fixed.
She says we'll know tomorrow if it's okay or not. I guess I hope that it is?
The other good news was that I may not need a root canal on the right molar either. She's referring me to the specialist who I see tomorrow. She did take the crown off (I've got it in my bag for a souvenir). But maybe no root canal.
She's definitely conservative, and I guess that's a good thing. She's also very good at giving shots. Only one out of the four today hurt at all, and that one just a bit.
There was only one thing I really didn't like. She used some sort of chemical stuff to either take the impression of my tooth, or maybe cement on the temporary crown. It smelled extremely toxic to me. I tried to mention it, with my totally numb tongue I don't think she understood what the hell I was saying. They acted like nothing was wrong at all. Weird.
Sorry if this is absurdly boring.
It's been a strange day. This morning I went out for a walk, trying to find Juicy 4U, a place my friend Bryon recommended. It took me forever to find it, because it wasn't open! Not open usually means a big metal roll down door obscuring the place. I walked right by it at first.
Not open! But the lonely planet said it was!
Chiang Mai is not a great place to walk about early in the morning. Too many roll down doors and too much traffic. People like to stay up late I guess.
I picked up my new glasses today and really like them. I think maybe they make me look less stern, so maybe I can find more people to chat with. I feel that people are avoiding me--I think I look scary somehow, even to the farang.
When I hear an American speaking I feel drawn to them! The mother tongue. I had the same experience in Bali when I was solo there. Conversation is one of the things I live for. And pigeon english is only fun for so long without a real talk.
Speaking of pigeon english, I hired a songtheaw driver to take me up to Doi Suthep, the mountain temple about 16km from downtown. He had me sit up front and wanted to talk, which was great.
Turns out Mr. Chairat Aphichai, my driver and guide, is 74 years old! He was a very mellow driver too. Said he learned english working with the US military in the Vietnam war. He actually still gets a pension, which is good since he has 6 kids. His oldest son is 53 and an engineer, etc.. I learned a lot about him and various changes in Chiang Mai.
For example, he said he was able to buy some land thanks to his military service for about 1000Bt. He sold it some years back for 500,000Bt! and now it's worth about 830,000Bt, according to Mr. Aphichai (if I understood him). I also learned the prices for songtheaws and tuk tuks and petrol.
Doi Suthep was okay. But can't hold a candle to the Chiang Dao Cave Temple, in my opinion. Maybe on a clear day it would be spectacular, but I couldn't really see much cause of the hazy smog. I wonder if there ever is a clear day? Maybe once or twice a year.
Doi Suthep has a very long stairway heading up the mountainside. Very steep. After getting down my legs were shaking a bit, so I ducked into this huge open air shopping area. Lots of stalls selling antiquey looking stuff. Nice stuff really. Those antique puppet dolls that Jerry likes, and masks and carvings and tons of brass buddhas and such. Some cloth stuff, but mostly dark wood and brass.
The women staffing the booths were hard core. It was like being in Bali. I almost fled right off, but I actually liked the junk I was seeing. Different from the street markets. And so I got caught looking at a teak spirit house. I swear to god the vendor held a gun to my head and made me buy it. Really.
Well, not really. She held an oversized calculator and kept calling to me with a reduced price. Since I really had no intention of buying it I kept walking away and that price just kept dropping! Trouble is, it's the one thing that Krista said she might want. And it was really gorgeous and well, it started out at 4600Bt and she came down to 2000. Now that's about $56 or so.
I've never seen one this nice in the US and the ones I have seen are always a couple hundred dollars. The real clincher was she kept saying 'only one kilo! come apart. pack very good. special box. Use credit card!'.
When I finally relented, two women showed up instantly and helped her package the hell out of the thing. They did a very good job very quickly but I just kept wringing my hands and moaning 'what have I done?'. How the hell am I going to fit that thing into a suitcase? Shit.
Maybe it will just sit on my lap for 19 hours?
One thing that I've noticed is that I don't attract a lot of sales attention from the Thai (aside from this one place, where I was the only customer). I think it's sort of racial profiling. White male, late 40's--unlikely to buy anything, don't waste your breath. Right. Well that all changed when I came out carrying that huge bundle in a big plastic bag. I still had to run a gaunlet of stalls all down the way and everyone was calling for me to come look and buy. Good god! I didn't know what I was missing.
I'll just mention one other thing. Today I discovered a whole new side of my guest house. The other side. I'd noticed that I had the only room on the pool side of the building. It's at the end and looks out over the alley. Today I was walking along the balcony corridor and the other rooms all had their doors open as they were being cleaned. Turns out they all look out over trees and ancient teak houses. Instead of dogs barking in the middle of the night and rowdy people and scooters, they've got birds chirping. I've been having a hard time sleeping because of the noise, even with my earplugs. Shit. Tomorrow I get to change rooms. Hello chirping birds, goodbye alley dogs.
Well, my tongue is starting to tingle. I guess this is long enough.
goodnight from Chiang Mai
rob
It was a surprising visit to the clinic today. Even though I got there on time, the front desk people didn't tell the doctor I was there. So after half an hour she send someone out to check on me. She was a little pissed off, I think. Next time I'll check in! I thought that a wave would do it.
So the real surprise was that once she had me numb and cleaned up the left molar and took an xray, she didn't think it needed a new crown or root canal! She thought the problem was a filing gone bad at the base of the crown and she fixed it.
Now I should be glad, right? That's a lot of money and pain and time in the chair she's saving me. But this is the tooth that's been really bothering me, and I don't want to go home with out it being really fixed.
She says we'll know tomorrow if it's okay or not. I guess I hope that it is?
The other good news was that I may not need a root canal on the right molar either. She's referring me to the specialist who I see tomorrow. She did take the crown off (I've got it in my bag for a souvenir). But maybe no root canal.
She's definitely conservative, and I guess that's a good thing. She's also very good at giving shots. Only one out of the four today hurt at all, and that one just a bit.
There was only one thing I really didn't like. She used some sort of chemical stuff to either take the impression of my tooth, or maybe cement on the temporary crown. It smelled extremely toxic to me. I tried to mention it, with my totally numb tongue I don't think she understood what the hell I was saying. They acted like nothing was wrong at all. Weird.
Sorry if this is absurdly boring.
It's been a strange day. This morning I went out for a walk, trying to find Juicy 4U, a place my friend Bryon recommended. It took me forever to find it, because it wasn't open! Not open usually means a big metal roll down door obscuring the place. I walked right by it at first.
Not open! But the lonely planet said it was!
Chiang Mai is not a great place to walk about early in the morning. Too many roll down doors and too much traffic. People like to stay up late I guess.
I picked up my new glasses today and really like them. I think maybe they make me look less stern, so maybe I can find more people to chat with. I feel that people are avoiding me--I think I look scary somehow, even to the farang.
When I hear an American speaking I feel drawn to them! The mother tongue. I had the same experience in Bali when I was solo there. Conversation is one of the things I live for. And pigeon english is only fun for so long without a real talk.
Speaking of pigeon english, I hired a songtheaw driver to take me up to Doi Suthep, the mountain temple about 16km from downtown. He had me sit up front and wanted to talk, which was great.
Turns out Mr. Chairat Aphichai, my driver and guide, is 74 years old! He was a very mellow driver too. Said he learned english working with the US military in the Vietnam war. He actually still gets a pension, which is good since he has 6 kids. His oldest son is 53 and an engineer, etc.. I learned a lot about him and various changes in Chiang Mai.
For example, he said he was able to buy some land thanks to his military service for about 1000Bt. He sold it some years back for 500,000Bt! and now it's worth about 830,000Bt, according to Mr. Aphichai (if I understood him). I also learned the prices for songtheaws and tuk tuks and petrol.
Doi Suthep was okay. But can't hold a candle to the Chiang Dao Cave Temple, in my opinion. Maybe on a clear day it would be spectacular, but I couldn't really see much cause of the hazy smog. I wonder if there ever is a clear day? Maybe once or twice a year.
Doi Suthep has a very long stairway heading up the mountainside. Very steep. After getting down my legs were shaking a bit, so I ducked into this huge open air shopping area. Lots of stalls selling antiquey looking stuff. Nice stuff really. Those antique puppet dolls that Jerry likes, and masks and carvings and tons of brass buddhas and such. Some cloth stuff, but mostly dark wood and brass.
The women staffing the booths were hard core. It was like being in Bali. I almost fled right off, but I actually liked the junk I was seeing. Different from the street markets. And so I got caught looking at a teak spirit house. I swear to god the vendor held a gun to my head and made me buy it. Really.
Well, not really. She held an oversized calculator and kept calling to me with a reduced price. Since I really had no intention of buying it I kept walking away and that price just kept dropping! Trouble is, it's the one thing that Krista said she might want. And it was really gorgeous and well, it started out at 4600Bt and she came down to 2000. Now that's about $56 or so.
I've never seen one this nice in the US and the ones I have seen are always a couple hundred dollars. The real clincher was she kept saying 'only one kilo! come apart. pack very good. special box. Use credit card!'.
When I finally relented, two women showed up instantly and helped her package the hell out of the thing. They did a very good job very quickly but I just kept wringing my hands and moaning 'what have I done?'. How the hell am I going to fit that thing into a suitcase? Shit.
Maybe it will just sit on my lap for 19 hours?
One thing that I've noticed is that I don't attract a lot of sales attention from the Thai (aside from this one place, where I was the only customer). I think it's sort of racial profiling. White male, late 40's--unlikely to buy anything, don't waste your breath. Right. Well that all changed when I came out carrying that huge bundle in a big plastic bag. I still had to run a gaunlet of stalls all down the way and everyone was calling for me to come look and buy. Good god! I didn't know what I was missing.
I'll just mention one other thing. Today I discovered a whole new side of my guest house. The other side. I'd noticed that I had the only room on the pool side of the building. It's at the end and looks out over the alley. Today I was walking along the balcony corridor and the other rooms all had their doors open as they were being cleaned. Turns out they all look out over trees and ancient teak houses. Instead of dogs barking in the middle of the night and rowdy people and scooters, they've got birds chirping. I've been having a hard time sleeping because of the noise, even with my earplugs. Shit. Tomorrow I get to change rooms. Hello chirping birds, goodbye alley dogs.
Well, my tongue is starting to tingle. I guess this is long enough.
goodnight from Chiang Mai
rob
Sunday, February 01, 2009
The Sunday Walking Street Market
Well, it's every bit as wonderful as they all say. I just had three or four hours of wonderment. In some ways it was like last night's market. In fact, I saw some of the same folks selling, and certainly some of the same blind musicians (I'm glad there's a finite number). I even recognized some of the same farang!
But this market is even bigger. Much bigger and many of the wats (temples) are involved. They turn their compounds into food centers. One of the biggest had a program of chanting going on in the temple proper--it was broadcast over loud speakers into the huge courtyard where gazillions of food booths were set up and tables were full of happy people eating.
I ended up having a dish of pad thai and a bit of this Canadian guy's squid. It was New Zealand squid and came in huge steaks that were being grilled. I have to say it was very good. So were the fish cakes, the bean buns and the passion fruit juice I had.
I sat at a table with an old fellow from South Carolina and his Thai 'girlfriend' (I guess) and a young German couple, who ended up being pretty chatty (for Germans). You just couldn't help feeling social with all the happy hubbub and the chanting.
After I stuffed myself I checked out the temple and there were people inside bowing and chanting along with the recording. There was also a Thai woman doing a tarot reading right to the front of the entrance with a card table and the Rider deck! What a trip.
I found a few things that I just had to buy. Some for presents and (I hate to admit it) a few things for me! For years I've read about the Thai fisherman's pants that the backpacker hipsters wear. I wore some last night for my massage and liked them. So there they were in abundance. 80Baht.
I also bought a little tuk tuk made out of a Coke can. Made by the lady who sold it to me, as she made of point of pointing out. 80Baht.
There were much more expensive things that caught my eye--mainly gorgeous fabric items by the Hmong or Karen folks. Really gorgeous wide belts with pockets and purses and bags and such. 600 to 1200Baht.
I talked to a guy from Seattle who was buying ten purses for his sister's store. They were really beautiful and I would've scored one but they were buying almost all of them. Again, 650Baht. That's about $19.00. Is that alot? I have no idea what it would sell for in a US store. Surely more than $100 at least. But how the hell do I know?
I've been missing Krista terribly at these things. She'd know what to buy and buy it.
Anyway, I've decided not to buy stuff just to sell it, unless it really calls to me. And the people selling it have to be really nice too.
I'll be in town next week for this same market. And I'll have a big new suitcase to put all these treasures in.
On the way out of the market I discovered that people were climbing up on the Taepae Gate! I never noticed there were steps. Very steep ones. I clambered right up and was rewarded with an awesome spectacle and photo op. It was crowded up there and I got a touch of vertigo, but I noticed that some of the other farang were displaying signs of the same wonderment I was feeling.
I'm going back to my room to offload the stuff I bought. It's only 8:15! Feels like 2am. I should really go back out, but I could so easily fall asleep. I think it's about 5:15 am back home and my poor body is still a bit confused!
It's also weird being solo. I keep longing to have a conversation with someone who speaks english. I remember this happened when I was in Bali too.
Well, at least I have you to tell my stories to.
Hope you are all sound asleep back home.
rob
But this market is even bigger. Much bigger and many of the wats (temples) are involved. They turn their compounds into food centers. One of the biggest had a program of chanting going on in the temple proper--it was broadcast over loud speakers into the huge courtyard where gazillions of food booths were set up and tables were full of happy people eating.
I ended up having a dish of pad thai and a bit of this Canadian guy's squid. It was New Zealand squid and came in huge steaks that were being grilled. I have to say it was very good. So were the fish cakes, the bean buns and the passion fruit juice I had.
I sat at a table with an old fellow from South Carolina and his Thai 'girlfriend' (I guess) and a young German couple, who ended up being pretty chatty (for Germans). You just couldn't help feeling social with all the happy hubbub and the chanting.
After I stuffed myself I checked out the temple and there were people inside bowing and chanting along with the recording. There was also a Thai woman doing a tarot reading right to the front of the entrance with a card table and the Rider deck! What a trip.
I found a few things that I just had to buy. Some for presents and (I hate to admit it) a few things for me! For years I've read about the Thai fisherman's pants that the backpacker hipsters wear. I wore some last night for my massage and liked them. So there they were in abundance. 80Baht.
I also bought a little tuk tuk made out of a Coke can. Made by the lady who sold it to me, as she made of point of pointing out. 80Baht.
There were much more expensive things that caught my eye--mainly gorgeous fabric items by the Hmong or Karen folks. Really gorgeous wide belts with pockets and purses and bags and such. 600 to 1200Baht.
I talked to a guy from Seattle who was buying ten purses for his sister's store. They were really beautiful and I would've scored one but they were buying almost all of them. Again, 650Baht. That's about $19.00. Is that alot? I have no idea what it would sell for in a US store. Surely more than $100 at least. But how the hell do I know?
I've been missing Krista terribly at these things. She'd know what to buy and buy it.
Anyway, I've decided not to buy stuff just to sell it, unless it really calls to me. And the people selling it have to be really nice too.
I'll be in town next week for this same market. And I'll have a big new suitcase to put all these treasures in.
On the way out of the market I discovered that people were climbing up on the Taepae Gate! I never noticed there were steps. Very steep ones. I clambered right up and was rewarded with an awesome spectacle and photo op. It was crowded up there and I got a touch of vertigo, but I noticed that some of the other farang were displaying signs of the same wonderment I was feeling.
I'm going back to my room to offload the stuff I bought. It's only 8:15! Feels like 2am. I should really go back out, but I could so easily fall asleep. I think it's about 5:15 am back home and my poor body is still a bit confused!
It's also weird being solo. I keep longing to have a conversation with someone who speaks english. I remember this happened when I was in Bali too.
Well, at least I have you to tell my stories to.
Hope you are all sound asleep back home.
rob
Doctor Boe
This was my dentist today, Doctor Boe. She's not a whole lot bigger than Eden! She also did the cleaning on my teeth! I've never, ever, had more careful work done. Even the best dentists I've seen in the states were slapdash compared to Dr. Boe.
So far so good. Except that the receptionist happened to mention an apt on the 10th to finish the crowns. I freaked out! I'm actually leaving that day. Good god. She'd neglected to discuss it with me, or write it down on the apt card she gave me.
So I guess they're scrambling to get me in on the ninth.
The other bummer is that I'm not going to get my teeth laser whitened after all. I was hoping to have that movie star look. Damn.
Dr. Boe said it takes two weeks for the color to settle for them to match the fillings. She actually suggested that I have the laser whitening done and get my fillings on my return home! Ha ha ha.
I just saved about six or seven hundred dollars on those fillings.
I'll get the movie star look next lifetime.
Maybe.
I'm getting out of this cafe. There's a horrible American woman yelling into the skype headphones at some fool in China about her reservations--CAN YOU HEAR ME??? CAN YOU HEAR ME???
Good god.
Love that faux fur collar!
I really liked this gal's fashions. Was thinking about bringing some home to try and sell....what do you think? There's more on my flickr page. Comments welcome!
Mmmmmmm. Er, what is it?
I met several gals from Australia (I think) who were game to try anything and everything. I was more timid.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Adventures
Sorry no pictures yet. I'm about to tackle that one. So far I've wasted a huge amount of energy trying to get cell phone working. Mainly because the dental clinic people looked distressed that they couldn't contact me. Turns out that Skype is available everywhere and it's only 2 cents a minute to call home, or free if we did it via the computer.
I ended up hiking to hell and gone to find this tech shopping center. Two Thai techie guys looked over my ebay phone and pronounced it unworkable. So I bought a cheap new phone (that I hate) and spent about an hour trying to get it set up, only to have the credit run out after a ten minute call. I don't understand the Thai phone system! But I surely do love Skype!!!
Sorry for the rant.
While I was searching for the tech mecca, I found one of those nationwide optical chains Top Chaoren and went in to see about getting a second pair of glasses. What a trip. There were four or five very pretty young women in tailored uniform outfits who brought me juice and a chair and many more frames than I actually wanted to look at.
Fortunately the manager was not so distractingly pretty and spoke decent English. She said she'd been to San Francisco twice!
I got the cheaper lenses and frames and it came out to about $60 I think. Probably people will point at me and laugh out loud when I wear them, since I picked them out myself without the aesthetic counseling I'm used too. That would be American people laughing at me, I mean. The Thai are much too polite.
On the way back to my hotel I was shanghai'd (sp?) by a massage provider. A rather big and strong Thai woman, from Issan, the poorest part of Thailand. Many workers, taxi drivers, etc here in Chiang Mai are from Issan.
Somehow I always end up hearing the sob story of my massage provider. I don't know if that's just me, or universal. This woman had to leave her bad husband and take care of her two kids, who were back in Issan. Today is her seven year old's birthday and 'no party'. No money.
Well, thank god the massage was excellent. I gave her a very good tip indeed.
The massage was excellent but the room was bathed in lurid pink light and there were many mosquitoes despite the too cold air con. I was worried about getting bit, but didn't. When I saw that pink light I was worried it was a sex place. I have to admit to being very naive about such things. I've heard an offer of an "oil massage" can be a euphemism for sex.
My gal wasn't the type. Thank god.
So after the massage I was almost home when I spied an old man sitting in a samlor. A samlor is a bicycle rickshaw and I'd been wanting to try one out. So I 'negotiated' a ride to the Saturday night walking street market over by Chaing Mai Gate. When I say negotiate I mean that this old fellow kept saying "whatever you like" when I asked how much it would cost! I offered 30B and he was happy, but I ended up paying 40B since it seemed like hard work hauling my skinny ass around through thick traffic, crazy intersections and long quiet dark alleys. It was a beautiful experience. The Thai seem to do much of their living at night. I guess because it's usually so hot. It reminded me a bit of the Oregon Country Fair, how so many places were all lit up with colorful lights, and lots of music from bars and clubs spilling out on the street.
Anyhow, we finally got there and made warm farewells and I waded into the walking street experience.
I'm guessing it was about 97% Thai. The farang were few and far between. I met a few very nice folks from Oz and Florida and Paris. I was craving having even a brief conversation in English and with the overwhelming sights and sounds it was lovely to be able to share words.
Of the sights and sounds, perhaps the most intense were all the musicians parked in the middle of the street. It was a fairly narrow street, what with solid lines of booths and stalls down each side, and totally crowded in most places. The musicians would usually be sitting on a mat and after a bit I realized that most of them were blind. Quite visibly blind, if you know what I mean.
They had cans or boxes out to collect money and the music they were making was quite diverse, but uniformly awesome. A whole range of instruments, from horns to electronic keyboards, to drums. I ended up spending much much more on these folks than on food. I did buy a little skirt for Eden from some Hmong folks. They were really nice people too.
The food was just a trip. I kept thinking Jerry would love it. For a quasi-vegetarian it seemed a bit risky. In fact I was tempted at one point by these crepe like desert things a woman was making, they had chocolate syrup and weird ingredients to choose from. I asked what this stuff was on one of the crepes she was making and it was shredded pork! With sugar, syrup and chocolate sauce no less.
I was looking at these little leaf boats filled with baked eggs. They looked like they'd been cooked over a hibachi and all had stuff in them. One was crab, one mushrooms and another insects. Ironically those were the tastiest looking ones. When I asked what sort of insects the woman held out a little tupperware tub of wriggling meal worms!
I guess I made a loud "Oooohh" cause all of a sudden people around me were laughing and I heard a little girl imitate my Ooooohh. They thought that was hilarious I guess. I didn't even know any one was watching me!
Well, I'm almost out of time (I bought an hour) and I need to get cleaned up. Actually I'd better buy a few more shirts today as I only brought the two.
One last thing though, so far I've been totally unable to sign into my email with sbcglobal. They say they're updating their goddam webmail service, so if you'd like to email me, please us robnelson.eft@gmail.com. I don't have anyone's email addresses at this point, unless I happen to have them memorized.
love from Thailand,
rob
I ended up hiking to hell and gone to find this tech shopping center. Two Thai techie guys looked over my ebay phone and pronounced it unworkable. So I bought a cheap new phone (that I hate) and spent about an hour trying to get it set up, only to have the credit run out after a ten minute call. I don't understand the Thai phone system! But I surely do love Skype!!!
Sorry for the rant.
While I was searching for the tech mecca, I found one of those nationwide optical chains Top Chaoren and went in to see about getting a second pair of glasses. What a trip. There were four or five very pretty young women in tailored uniform outfits who brought me juice and a chair and many more frames than I actually wanted to look at.
Fortunately the manager was not so distractingly pretty and spoke decent English. She said she'd been to San Francisco twice!
I got the cheaper lenses and frames and it came out to about $60 I think. Probably people will point at me and laugh out loud when I wear them, since I picked them out myself without the aesthetic counseling I'm used too. That would be American people laughing at me, I mean. The Thai are much too polite.
On the way back to my hotel I was shanghai'd (sp?) by a massage provider. A rather big and strong Thai woman, from Issan, the poorest part of Thailand. Many workers, taxi drivers, etc here in Chiang Mai are from Issan.
Somehow I always end up hearing the sob story of my massage provider. I don't know if that's just me, or universal. This woman had to leave her bad husband and take care of her two kids, who were back in Issan. Today is her seven year old's birthday and 'no party'. No money.
Well, thank god the massage was excellent. I gave her a very good tip indeed.
The massage was excellent but the room was bathed in lurid pink light and there were many mosquitoes despite the too cold air con. I was worried about getting bit, but didn't. When I saw that pink light I was worried it was a sex place. I have to admit to being very naive about such things. I've heard an offer of an "oil massage" can be a euphemism for sex.
My gal wasn't the type. Thank god.
So after the massage I was almost home when I spied an old man sitting in a samlor. A samlor is a bicycle rickshaw and I'd been wanting to try one out. So I 'negotiated' a ride to the Saturday night walking street market over by Chaing Mai Gate. When I say negotiate I mean that this old fellow kept saying "whatever you like" when I asked how much it would cost! I offered 30B and he was happy, but I ended up paying 40B since it seemed like hard work hauling my skinny ass around through thick traffic, crazy intersections and long quiet dark alleys. It was a beautiful experience. The Thai seem to do much of their living at night. I guess because it's usually so hot. It reminded me a bit of the Oregon Country Fair, how so many places were all lit up with colorful lights, and lots of music from bars and clubs spilling out on the street.
Anyhow, we finally got there and made warm farewells and I waded into the walking street experience.
I'm guessing it was about 97% Thai. The farang were few and far between. I met a few very nice folks from Oz and Florida and Paris. I was craving having even a brief conversation in English and with the overwhelming sights and sounds it was lovely to be able to share words.
Of the sights and sounds, perhaps the most intense were all the musicians parked in the middle of the street. It was a fairly narrow street, what with solid lines of booths and stalls down each side, and totally crowded in most places. The musicians would usually be sitting on a mat and after a bit I realized that most of them were blind. Quite visibly blind, if you know what I mean.
They had cans or boxes out to collect money and the music they were making was quite diverse, but uniformly awesome. A whole range of instruments, from horns to electronic keyboards, to drums. I ended up spending much much more on these folks than on food. I did buy a little skirt for Eden from some Hmong folks. They were really nice people too.
The food was just a trip. I kept thinking Jerry would love it. For a quasi-vegetarian it seemed a bit risky. In fact I was tempted at one point by these crepe like desert things a woman was making, they had chocolate syrup and weird ingredients to choose from. I asked what this stuff was on one of the crepes she was making and it was shredded pork! With sugar, syrup and chocolate sauce no less.
I was looking at these little leaf boats filled with baked eggs. They looked like they'd been cooked over a hibachi and all had stuff in them. One was crab, one mushrooms and another insects. Ironically those were the tastiest looking ones. When I asked what sort of insects the woman held out a little tupperware tub of wriggling meal worms!
I guess I made a loud "Oooohh" cause all of a sudden people around me were laughing and I heard a little girl imitate my Ooooohh. They thought that was hilarious I guess. I didn't even know any one was watching me!
Well, I'm almost out of time (I bought an hour) and I need to get cleaned up. Actually I'd better buy a few more shirts today as I only brought the two.
One last thing though, so far I've been totally unable to sign into my email with sbcglobal. They say they're updating their goddam webmail service, so if you'd like to email me, please us robnelson.eft@gmail.com. I don't have anyone's email addresses at this point, unless I happen to have them memorized.
love from Thailand,
rob
Shock to the System
I just had the most wonderful meal, here at the Vegetarian Restaurant. Catchy name. I passed by this place last night on my weary way to the Night Market. It looked nice. Turns out it's affiliated with the Elephant Nature Park, where I'll hopefully be headed Wednesday.
Their menu was about 25 pages long. Incredibly varied. I had red curry with some sort of yummy brown rice and a side dish of fried mushroom cakes with a dipping sauce. The first bite of the curry caught me by surprise--immediately yummy and then wham! HOT. But I got used to it without too many tears or a runny nose. This was the best meal I've had yet, though my breakfast burrito and mocha at the Art Cafe was damned good.
My body thinks it's 1am still.
I've been walking all over the place. It's just a little bit hot in the sun. Just a bit. In the shade it's perfect. Very different from last time, when we were all just melting.
I took a long and wild tuk tuk ride to my dental apt. I thought the driver was trying to over charge me at first, but then it really was a long way. The problem with the tuk tuks and even the songtheaws is that they're hard to see out of. At least if you're tall.
As we careened throught the chaotic streets I became more and more nervous about my dental apt. I always do that. Put off the worry until the end. Not sure if it's better that way or not, but I can't help it.
The apt was indeed a shock, despite my research and all. Because the xrays showed that I'll most likely need two root canals on two back molars. I suspected I might need one. So that was bad news. Not just because of the pain and extra expense (hey, the more I spend the more I save!) but because it means lots of extra apts. Seven in all, counting today, where she mainly just took impressions of my teeth.
So much for all my jolly sight seeing plans. I'm going to be here in Chiang Mai pretty much the whole time. Which is fine.
Last night I was trying not to go to bed too early, so I walked over to the Night Market, trying to find the outdoor food area where Krista ate her famous bowl of HOT soup. I have a great photo of her eating it, sweating like crazy. Didn't find it, but did look about in the shops and night market stalls.
I'm not all that into shopping. But this experience is staggering. I was especially caught by the bags, dresses, and coats made out of Hill Tribe fabrics and sewn together in very creative stylish ways. One woman's stall in particular grabbed me. She said her sister did all the sewing (and designing). I'll probably bring some back.
The big problem with Thai clothing though is that all the sizes are too small for us Jumbo Size Americans.
I just noticed this is getting pretty stream of consciousness here.
So I'll just mention what I discovered about the Taipei airport. Our flight from SFO got dumped out into the old section of airport. It's smelly. And kind of grungy. I had time to kill, so I put my heavy bags on a cart (they're always free in other countries) and went for a long walk down the seemingly endless corridor. Finally I did see the end, or so I thought, and decided to go all the way. But there was a corner and then another and viola! I was suddenly in the NEW section of the Taipei airport, with floors of shiny polished granite and an art exhibit, a kid's playground area, and best of all--an area set apart with bamboo in planters, with pretty lanterns overhead and eight massage chairs. The really good ones that even do your calves. And they were for free! I went through two cycles, about 4o minutes I think. Oh my god.
Oh, and there were free internet stations all along the way.
Not such luck in the Bangkok airport. Big and modern and clean, but no freebies. Even the seats in the gate areas were metal. C'mon. Metal?
I hit bottom there. I desperately needed to eat, but all the food looked horrid. Warmed over airport food. I ate a Cliff bar and a carrot and felt awfully shaky until I did some tapping.
Anyhow, I'm here and I just used up my free internet. Gotta go.
love and hugs,
rob
Their menu was about 25 pages long. Incredibly varied. I had red curry with some sort of yummy brown rice and a side dish of fried mushroom cakes with a dipping sauce. The first bite of the curry caught me by surprise--immediately yummy and then wham! HOT. But I got used to it without too many tears or a runny nose. This was the best meal I've had yet, though my breakfast burrito and mocha at the Art Cafe was damned good.
My body thinks it's 1am still.
I've been walking all over the place. It's just a little bit hot in the sun. Just a bit. In the shade it's perfect. Very different from last time, when we were all just melting.
I took a long and wild tuk tuk ride to my dental apt. I thought the driver was trying to over charge me at first, but then it really was a long way. The problem with the tuk tuks and even the songtheaws is that they're hard to see out of. At least if you're tall.
As we careened throught the chaotic streets I became more and more nervous about my dental apt. I always do that. Put off the worry until the end. Not sure if it's better that way or not, but I can't help it.
The apt was indeed a shock, despite my research and all. Because the xrays showed that I'll most likely need two root canals on two back molars. I suspected I might need one. So that was bad news. Not just because of the pain and extra expense (hey, the more I spend the more I save!) but because it means lots of extra apts. Seven in all, counting today, where she mainly just took impressions of my teeth.
So much for all my jolly sight seeing plans. I'm going to be here in Chiang Mai pretty much the whole time. Which is fine.
Last night I was trying not to go to bed too early, so I walked over to the Night Market, trying to find the outdoor food area where Krista ate her famous bowl of HOT soup. I have a great photo of her eating it, sweating like crazy. Didn't find it, but did look about in the shops and night market stalls.
I'm not all that into shopping. But this experience is staggering. I was especially caught by the bags, dresses, and coats made out of Hill Tribe fabrics and sewn together in very creative stylish ways. One woman's stall in particular grabbed me. She said her sister did all the sewing (and designing). I'll probably bring some back.
The big problem with Thai clothing though is that all the sizes are too small for us Jumbo Size Americans.
I just noticed this is getting pretty stream of consciousness here.
So I'll just mention what I discovered about the Taipei airport. Our flight from SFO got dumped out into the old section of airport. It's smelly. And kind of grungy. I had time to kill, so I put my heavy bags on a cart (they're always free in other countries) and went for a long walk down the seemingly endless corridor. Finally I did see the end, or so I thought, and decided to go all the way. But there was a corner and then another and viola! I was suddenly in the NEW section of the Taipei airport, with floors of shiny polished granite and an art exhibit, a kid's playground area, and best of all--an area set apart with bamboo in planters, with pretty lanterns overhead and eight massage chairs. The really good ones that even do your calves. And they were for free! I went through two cycles, about 4o minutes I think. Oh my god.
Oh, and there were free internet stations all along the way.
Not such luck in the Bangkok airport. Big and modern and clean, but no freebies. Even the seats in the gate areas were metal. C'mon. Metal?
I hit bottom there. I desperately needed to eat, but all the food looked horrid. Warmed over airport food. I ate a Cliff bar and a carrot and felt awfully shaky until I did some tapping.
Anyhow, I'm here and I just used up my free internet. Gotta go.
love and hugs,
rob
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