ramblings in chiang mai

Posted on | February 12, 2008 | No Comments

random notes in chiang mai

this is a really strange little city.
it’s not “beautiful” in any recognisable way.
sure, it has a lovely moat and remnants of a huge brick wall that once circled the old city…..but the rest of it is chaotic and flat and haphazard.
and yet there is a real charm here.

tonight we went to the sunday night markets…..a new thing since our last visit in 01.
this stretches for blocks and blocks….the streets are closed to traffic and it is the maddest throng of humanity and stuff for sale that i have ever seen.
well, it is comparable to the chinatown markets in bangkok!
plenty of food for sale everywhere…..we had fried bananas….mango with sticky rice and coconut cream……a bright green coconut cream and condensed milk and shedded tapioca thingies drink…..chiang mai pork sasuage…..flat noodles with dangerous amounts of chilli….fried chicken and basil leaves with deadly amounts of chilli……freshly squeezed passionfruit and orange juice……and beers.
LOADS of sellers with cards and trinkets and flowers to commemorate that ancient and traditional thai holiday of st valentine’s day.
which leads me to something…..i’ve noticed a few heavily decorated chrstmas trees around the place.
the combination of coloured lights, sparkle and greenery actually seems more thai than anything else, now that i really think about it.

i had an hour long reflexology foot massage after all this excitement and miles of walking.
it was a brightly lit place with about five chairs….two older american harley-looking guys already installed.
the three girls chattered non stop and after a ittle while, i noticed there was a bed made up in the middle of the floor, with a couple of kids in it, watching tv.
one woman sat next to the bed, making a green papaya salad.
i watched her closely and finally discovered how to get that exact shreddy slice they get!
people came and went….one young guy cleaaned and dressed some fresh wounds on arms and legs.
i winced along with him and then mouthed “motorcycle?” when we made eye contact and got a very wry affirmative.
a biker brother.

other stuff i’ve seen:
a young monk in orange robes and rubber sandals, crossing the road and talking animatedly into a very slimline trendy little mobile phone.

a whole entire market stall devoted to hello kitty stuff…..it was like a pale pink explosion.
another whole market stall devoted to tiffany silver copies. really REALLY convincing, too.

bars full of young women wth a lot of make up. imean a lot.
maurice says innocently as we go by: gee, look at all those waitresses in there! i bet you could get a beer this fast! *snaps fingers*

a little tiny girl all dressed up gorgeusly in colourful hilltribe clothes and jewellery, from head to toe, dancing like a little doll in the middle of the market and raking in a fortune in loose change.
i have a picture of her, she was just so composed and exquisite.

three blind guys sitting in a row behind one another, playing homemade instruments and singing …..and they were fantastic.
the guy at the end had a drum made from a plastic drum, such as we get half our oils in….we were impressed. he was getting an incredible sound out of it…..i kept looking for the REAL drum,but there wasn’t one.

i bought a bar of papaya handmade soap….business name “spirit of nature”.
in all that mass of handicrafts and art, i saw three soap sellers.
two were MP with loofa embedded and so on.
the one i bought was all natural, handmade brown paper cigar band, shrink wrap….palm and coconut oils only and a mix of Fos and Eos, singe notes only.
of course, we want to retire here and open a soap shop. immediately.

people here seem to be really into dogs.
i’ve seen various lapdogs in really cute coats, looking very pampered and trotting about the city with their humans.

tomorrow we are going around the various temples in inner chiang mai with a tuk-tuk driver.
this is a very unusual tuk-tuk driver…..he is an american guy, 25 yrears old….who happens to be a thai national, born here.
he is licensed for his tuk-tuk and ready to roll…..apparently he is doing a year or so of tuk-tuk driving before he decides on his career. a sort of tuk-tuk gap year.

anyway, he speaks english of course and he charges the going rates and he knows his way around the wats and i thought he would provide some very interesting insights from his unique position, so i phoned him and booked him.

today i went slightly insane at the market and purchased FIVE bed covers, all made by hand.
they are difficult to describe; i shall take photos.
no two are the same….there are strips of batik with indigo dye…..strips of hilltribe cross-stitch….strips of the intricate hiltribe stuff with tiny little strips if fabric sewn in layers….they are a textural delight and a riot of colour, and of course, i get very excited when i see ethnic textiles, so i just gave in and will be posting stuff later in the week. and between you and me….i don’t think i am done yet. i will be able to open a shop when i am old…..
the seller was beside herself as we just kept buying more….she was flipping open folded covers with abandon. we didn’t haggle at all and she gave us a small discount….no doubt she felt sorry for the stupid farangs….but it was a fun purchase and really the only thing we’ve bought so far.

Share and Enjoy: