Last Smoothie of the Night: Goodbye Thailand

Billy. Remember landing here in Thailand? Remember being driven to the Airbnb through what looked like dilapidated streets where stray dogs roamed free?  Elliott. I remember. I remember thinking that we were really in for it. Billy. Look at us now though: walking down the street at night sipping smoothies, feeling completely at ease. This …

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Foreigner Anxiety

Conversation overheard at a bar. I didn’t catch the names, so I’ve just made them up. Harold. Is this your first time in Chiang Mai?  Caroline. No. This would be my fourth time visiting here. May as well move here right?  Harold. I guess so. This is my first time in Chiang Mai. Caroline. How …

Clothes

I do laundry here about once a week. I only have a few articles of clothing, so once a week is enough. Mostly we rely on the old smell test to know when we should do a load of laundry. Other than that, clothes haven’t been an issue for either of us, a fact which …

The Sunday Market

Every Sunday a section of Chiang Mai’s old city gets sectioned off to become a sprawling open air market. The streets become lined with tents selling innumerable tchotchkes and an seemingly endless supply of tourist bait garbage. Shirts that read “I Love Chiang Mai!” or magnets in the shape of elephants, on which are written …

Strays

I have noticed a fair number of stray dogs and cats here in Chiang Mai. Seeing the wayward dog or cat is always a bit of a surprise to me. Billy remarked that he’s never seen a stray dog in New York city, even though I’m sure they are there. I haven’t seen a stray …

Coin Toss

Never in my life have I been to so many restaurants in such a short span of time. We’ve eaten out every night here, usually trying a new place or sticking with a favorite (Kanjana’s). Most of the time we’re able to narrow our choice down to just two options, so we do a coin …

The Sunday Service

Ninety percent of Thai people identify as Buddhist. The remaining ten percent is composed of Christians, Muslims, and Jews. Part of my time spent here in Chiang Mai is dedicated to helping locals learn English, and one of my pupils just happens to be a part of that ten percent. He asked me, “Are you …

Crossing the Street

The pedestrian crossing lines on the streets of Chiang Mai are mostly decorative. The steady stream of red trucks, tuk-tuks, and motor bikes yield to no man or woman; they will swerve to avoid you rather than come to a complete stop.  Keeping this in mind, the walking time to a restaurant is always a …

Bikes

There are two bikes available at anytime here at our Workaway location. Being free of use, they’re naturally a little grungy. After using them several times it’s become an unspoken rule: I take the bike that has functioning gears and is in more or less decent shape, and Billy gets The Piss. I call it …

The Apartment

Our accommodation here in Chiang Mai is not a hostel or a hotel. We are living in an actual Thai apartment. Our Workaway location is essentially the garage of a home turned cooking school, and the Workaway staff get to stay in the apartment building next door. It’s essentially just one room with a small …