Today I Leave Thailand

These past few weeks have been a roller coaster. A fall out with some friends made for some serious heartbreak, which became another life lesson learned. One of the hardest things about growing up is learning about burning bridges. When you are the type of person who cares so deeply for people it is easy to become a door mat. I thought I had learned how to discern between quality over quantity. I am now realizing that there are times where you need to be the one to light that match and walk away. Saying goodbye to NIS was like a bad dinner party you excuse yourself early from, due to a "headache." There are people there who touched my heart and at one point I did love that place so it's not all negative memories. I have to say lately I have felt like the people I thought were my friends here in Thailand truly were friendships out of convenience. With the exception of one person, (and a few wonderful colleagues) you know who you are. The real relationship I am leaving behind is the one I have with Thailand. I have learned so much here. At times dysfunctional, this love hate relationship has changed me forever and I would not trade it for anything. This is my final post as “An American Girl in Chiang Mai.” I will continue a new blog as “An American Girl in Seoul.” I am choosing to leave you with my final words of things I have learned so here it goes, my Words of Wisdom From Thailand Remember you are in a conservative Buddhist country and be respectful of their values and beliefs, Don’t wear a wrap dress on a motorbike, If you chose to get on a motorbike be prepared to crash at least once, Smiling will get you much further than frustration, Smile especially when you are feeling frustrated, Get used to the word “Farang,” Take a moment on occasion to remember not to take yourself too seriously, People will call you fat. You are not Thai size and that’s okay, Complete strangers will go out of their way far more than you would ever expect, when you least expect it. Sometimes when you need it more than they will ever know, Life is different here. Don’t look at a more simplified, hard working life with pity, but stop to think about how much happier people seem. You might even find yourself envying them, Soak it up and learn as much as you can. Stop, pay attention, and observe. There is a lot more to “The Land of Smiles” than meets the eye.

Chiang Rai

On the Golden Triangle trip I passed though Chiang Rai. It is very similar to Chiang Mai so aside from the famous White Temple there’s not much reason to visit there when you live in CM. Unfortunately on the tour we had barely 30 min at the Temple and it was just too rushed. I promised myself I would go back and do it at my own pace. So again I chose motorbike over minibus (on that Golden Triangle ride before we even made it to CR someone vomited in the mini bus). It’s 263 Kilometers from CM on not nearly as fun and curvy but still breathe taking and beautiful. Although mentally ready to leave Thailand there were moments where I looked at the scenery and thought to myself “You are going to miss this.” I stayed in a bit nicer place as it was just for one night and I got an excellent low season price, plus haggled discount. Luckily the Guest House I am staying at in CM let me keep my things there without paying for the night in both places. The guest house was nice. I spent the late afternoon at the white temple. It was really nice to take my time and see everything as I wanted to without feeling rushed. It was also practically empty so taking photos was easier. The White Temple is a modern project which began in 1997 by a local artist named Mr Chalermchai Kositpipat . He is responsible for creating and funding the entire place which is ongoing and not expected to be completed for decades. On the inside is a mural depicting a Buddha on a lotus and all sorts of modern pop culture icons. It’s pretty amazing and a very direct social commentary. The photos speak for themselves and I would recommend it to anyone. On my way home from the temple I was pulling in to the driveway of the hotel when a guy on a motorbike (trying to go around me as I was turning with my signal on right next to the driveway!) slammed into my bike. He scraped me up a bit but just sat there stunned. I looked at him and shooed him off as I was pretty pissed at him for being such and idiot and yelling at people in public is frowned upon in Thai society. Took nap that evening, checked out the CR Night Bazaar which isn’t much to see then retired to my room to watch the season 4 episode of Sons of Anarchy and enjoy my cushy bed with an air conditioned room. I got a really good deal with my bartering skills. I have been on a role with that lately as my Thai has improved dramatically. The next day I slept in, checked out and set off for the “Black House.” It is often referred to as a temple but I was told by locals it is not in fact a temple. The photos cannot do justice to this place. As I arrived I entered the main house. It began to monsoon downpour so everyone cleared out. The care takers began shutting all the windows. I found myself trapped with a few tourists and 2 monks for about 15 min in almost all dark surrounded by animal bones and skins. The Thai artist responsible is Mr. Thawan Duchanee and the grounds include nearly 40 small black houses made of wood, glass, concrete, bricks, or terracotta in various unique styles and design scattered around the temple’s area. This has been a project ongoing for 36 years and development still continues. The cluster of houses accommodates Thawan’s collections of paintings, sculptures, animal bones, skins, horns, and silver and gold items from around the world. Several of the houses exhibit Balinese and Burmese architecture and art dating back to the Ayutthaya period. The artist uses bones as a source of inspiration to paint. Live animals are also housed on the property including a bird, two huge pythons and some horses. When I asked the locals about this they said they inspire him. The place gives you an eerie feeling to say the least, and the rainstorm cleared everyone out so I was pretty much alone which added to the eeriness, but I loved it. I found it absolutely fascinating and so different from anything I have ever seen. I stayed a lot longer than I had originally planned so got a later start back to CM than originally planned but still made it back by dusk.

Pai

This past week I stayed in a guest house due to a falling out over the planned living situation. This is what lead to buying a plane ticket home much sooner. Before leaving Thailand there were two things I absolutely had to do. See Pai, and return to Chiang Rai for a final visit to the White Temple, which also included a visit to the Black House. After much debate between taking the mini bus that runs hourly from CM to Pai or Motorbiking it I decided to take the Fino. I had been on part of the road to Pai when I went camping in a truck, and it's no joke. Near the beginning of the journey I was coming around a corner and a snake was crossing the road at the same time. It was at least 6 feet long and the width of my arm. Scared me to death and there was no avoiding it. It squirmed and my guess is the truck I had just passed finished the job unless it made it's way across first. Biggest snake I saw while there but at least it wasn't face to face. We are talking major mountain switchbacks plus potholes and dodging water buffalo, along with their poo. Thing is the mini bus drivers are batshit and drive like maniacs insuring that on each trip at least someone gets sick. If that person isn't you, you still have to deal with the smell. I have in that situation just different destination. Fino won, and I did the 138 Kilometer drive on my motorbike. It was fun, I loved it, and some might think I am nuts but it made me happy. Pai proved to be lovely. The first night I stayed in a hostel based on a recommendation by a friend. Beautiful, in the middle of a rice field, the accommodation is a hut with bunks, mosquito nets and no actual walls. I lasted there one night. Not because of the place itself, but the vibe of the group staying at the time. Luckily I met some lovely Irish guys who felt the same and we stuck together a bit. The day I arrived I immediately took off for Pam Bok Waterfall. On the way in I had busted up my toe and the kind people at the hostel helped me patch it up. Well it turned out the only way to actually see/ photograph the waterfall was to get in the water. Oh well I figured there are lots of good minerals and shit in that water, never mind all the bacteria. It was beautiful. Next was Pai Canyon. It was about half past 4 so I headed up with the intention to hike around the canyon and take photos back at the top for sunset. Well my attempt was foiled by my busted up, now waterfall soaked, toe. It's about 13 km out of town so it didn't make town to go and come back. I just hung. Sunset was at 7. I arrived about 5. Let's just say a lot of photos, and directly following my "cousin it" photo a Chinese man approached to as if "I need some help." Sunset proved to be worth it. I headed back into town and found a place to eat. Ran into some acquaintances, went to a bar, had a beer. Then a bucket. Then some more drinks. I don't recall paying for a single drink and I am not quite sure how that happened. Eventually we ended up at a bar just near the road to the hostel. The Irish guys jumped in the back of a police pick up truck and hitched a ride. Once I arrived at the after hours bar I decided it was time to call it a night and went to my bunk, snuggled into my mosquito net and assed out. The next day I woke up and decided that I needed my own room that night. It was fine I just had this feeling there were going to be thunderstorms that afternoon (which proved true) and wanted my own space to hang out. I checked out and found a great little guest house that gave me a room w/ double bed, cable tv, own bathroom/ shower for only 50 baht more than the night before. He also gave me low season plus a bit of a discount. I set off for a waterfall and ended up on a trek through the jungle only to find the trail washed out. So I high tailed it out of there and went to another falls. It was quite the jungle trek, all alone and I got a bit freaked out. I am pretty hard core and tough but turns out even I have a limit. I set off for another waterfall and spent about an hour there before the thunder started so I left and went to take a nap in my cozy room. I woke up just in time for sunset, and the storm had passed. I decided to motorbike up to a well known temple that is a viewpoint over all of Pai. Well the storm hadn't cleared enough and it was still rainy and too cloudy for a sunset. There were about 10 other people up there and I sat for a bit. Then when I went to explore the temple I slipped on the wet tail and bruised the hell out of my ass. A few of the guys rushed over to help. Mostly embarrassed and wet, but we had a good laugh. So typical. Later that night I went out to buy a souvenir tee shirts and ran into the Irish guys. We had a lovely steak dinner and I had a great nights sleep only to leave the next morning back to CM for the super fun ride on my motorbike. Trip complete, mission successful and all around lovely.