Written By Claire & Dan
So. Chiang Mai. What a crazy three days. On the first day, we pulled up to our hostel at around 11am, and threw our bags in the storage room so we could go out and explore before our check in time at 2. Our plan was to bathe ourselves in luxury, and that we diddd. Let’s just say Lila Massage got a lot of business that day. Some of us went for two hours or more, some of us may have even gone for another one the next day–we got facials, body scrubs, oil massages, Thai massages, you name it, we probably got it. Some of us walked around, did a little (or maybe even a lot) of shopping, tried some new food and generally just explored the city. Really felt like we were stepping back into urban civilization after a couple weeks of rural living. By 6:30, most of us had made it to our rendezvous spot: the cinema of Maya Mall, Chiang Mai. We say most of us, because if we’re being frank, there were a couple lost in the mayhem of shopping… but we all made it there safe and sound, no harm done. As we were getting ready to go in and watch the world-renowned film, 3D Avatar, we stopped at the snack stand and picked up some popcorn delicacies: disclaimer, if you haven’t tried miso popcorn, go get yourself some miso popcorn. Even though it wasn’t intentional, we found ourselves making connections between the movie and the experience we recently had at Huai Hin Lad Nai Village, where we fully immersed ourselves in connecting with nature. A lot of the themes of colonization, natural resources, and taking advantage of marginalized indigenous people, especially resonated with us, and our recent experiences gave us a new perspective on the issues raised. Even though the activity was as simple as watching a movie together (in the back-row luxury seats), it was still a really awesome experience, and a great start to our Chiang Mai adventure.
Day two, we got up nice and early and pilled into the back of two songthaews, ready for our half-day cooking class. Coincidentally, there happened to be another man staying at our hostel who had also signed up for the class, so we ended up hanging with Shalom for the morning. Before we started cheffing it up, we stopped at the local produce market to learn about where our ingredients were coming from, and Miss Ava did happen to pick up a ‘Joker’ shirt, which foreshadows some events to come… Then we made our way to the cooking school, where we took a tour of their organic farm and then got straight to business. With a whole menu to choose from, we all got to try our hand at cooking different dishes–Khao Soi, Massaman Curry, Tom Som, etc. After a couple hours of cooking and eating our hearts out, we pilled back into the songthaews and headed back to the hostel. It was during this ride back, that I, Claire, was forced to confront a serious issue that I, along with others, have been suffering from in the recent weeks. Our new friend Shalom, who we’d been chatting with though out the class, mentioned that I had a little bit of a Texas twang in my voice. I, however, was raised in Hong Kong, and have in fact never been to the south. This, was my wake up call. We had to stop. (We may or may not be speaking in Southern accents right now.) No one knows how exactly it began, but somehow almost every single one of us has developed a Southern accent while traversing the mountains of Thailand. We are scared. We have a problem. But we just can’t stop.
After filling our bellies to the brim, we all took a bit of a break back at the hostel before heading out for more free time. Some of us continued explorations of Chiang Mai, visiting temples and local historic sites, some of us continued our spa day from the day before, and others walked around and did a little more retail therapy (which will become a problem when we’re all trying to pack.) Kate and I (Danica) went to go get our feet eaten. Yeah, you heard that right. So what happened was we were walking, and I asked her–what have you not gotten to do yet? And she responds with–I wanted to get my feet eaten. And then, we turn to our right to see a full tank of fish calling our name (and feet). I have never seen Kate in such a state of euphoria – it was really something. Some of us may have gotten lost, again. You know, it happens. What’s a girl (or Trevor) to do? At around 6:30, we met up with Sheldon at a little food market by the North Gate, and ate some din din. I, Danica, really wanted to eat some snails–but they were out! Really hit me hard. But, we move on. After getting some good grub, we headed over to the North Gate Jazz Co-op, where we had the time of our lives. It was Lose Yourself Tuesday, and we sureee did. It was open-mic night, so a bunch of people were just going up, playing some sick tunes, singing their hearts out, and we were eating it UP like papaya salad. Eyes watering and everything. At one point, a guy went up and was asking the crowd for three words that he would freestyle about, and sure enough we yelled “The Joker” as loud as possible. Now you may not understand the significance of this moment, so let me tell you–it was earth-shattering. Ava, you see, has an infamous ‘Joker’ impression, which has really influenced the group’s trajectory of late. So, this man takes our suggestion, and coincidentally, the two other words he gets are RICE and MUD, which just about sums up our entire semester. Joker Rice Mud. You heard that right. This was, one of the best songs we have ever had the honor of listening to–honestly you just had to be there. Shit was cray. The music was transcendent, the mocktails were flowing, and we can all agree it was one of our best nights yet. We stayed until past midnight, and by the end we couldn’t help but break out some dance moves, the energy was just radiating off of us.
We passed out that night at around 2am. Crazy stuff.
On our last day in Chiang Mai, we rallied so hard at around 10am (which, sure, isn’t that early, but after the night we had–it felt like the crack of dawn), and headed off on a “short” hike up the Monk Trail to Wat Pha Lat temple. We were sorely missing Nella, Kelli and Sheldon, who spent the day held up in the embassy, trying to figure out their visas. Mini hearts to them, fo riz. The steep uphill was definitely a bit challenging, but nevertheless we persevered, and it was definitely worth it when we reached the temple at the top. We spent some time walking around, appreciating the peaceful waterfall, and admiring the way the temple’s architecture blended in so seamlessly with the nature around us. It was by far one of the most beautiful temples we’ve had the opportunity to see. For lunch, we caught a songthaew up to another temple higher up on the mountain, Wat Doi Suthep, which had a little market area with restaurants and shopping. Because we totally needed another excuse to spend some Baht. By the end of our morning excursion, we were pretty in need of a nap. To be honest, I, Danica, went for another massage. Two hours. Oops. Sometime you gotta do what you gotta do. As for the rest of us, Trev bought a ukelele, Kell got herself some street meat, Sammy G lost a singular stinky shoe (it was in her bag the whole time), and the rest of us straight vibed in our new favorite city. All of us spent a little time getting glammed up in our recently-purchased outfits, and headed to our first “fancy” group dinner at the Riverside Bar and Restaurant. Dinner was delicious and the conversation was great, the only issue of note was that I, Danica, might have reached my spice limit after one too many papaya salads. That’s just Thailand for ya.
Signing off,
Claire and Dan