Construction Workers

Construction Workers, originally uploaded by Robbi Baba.

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!