Hi there everyone! Well, I made the train journey north to Chiang Mai a few days ago. It wasn't as romantic as I had hoped. The train left at 6pm and it got dark an hour later, so I couldn't see the country-side as we passed. I tried to imagine it though.

It being over 90 degrees in Bangkok somehow made whoever was in charge of the air-con on the train go crazy, it was like a meat locker in there. I had two shirts on and I was still freezing. Add to it a late, cold (should have been hot) dinner and the fact that the blazing lights never went off all night and you have one tired grumpy Kate.
Thankfully, my mood changed quickly. Chiang Mai is quite different than Bangkok. It's the second largest city, so it is a city, but it isn't anywhere near as crowded and the people here seem more laid-back. The owners of the guest house I'm staying at are really nice and helpful, which is great. I went on a motorbike tour for a few hours with one of them yesterday and got to see some of the local crafts. Here's a few pictures from that...

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Just like in Bangkok, there's plenty of shopping here. There are outdoor markets during the day which sell many unfamilar (to me of course) foodstuffs and gorgeous flowers, a huge night market which spills out into the street and you can get anything from grey market designer items (Diesel being especially popular) to hill tribe crafts, to many other types of clothing, accessories and leather, to herbal Thai wine. I haven't tried that one yet, but definately want to.
Also all over the popular streets are food vendors serving noodles, curry and an interesting assortment of fried creepy things.

I'm so proud of myself for having an amount of self control. I love going to these markets, but I just look, get an idea of pricing and take pictures to help me remember the things I've seen that I like.

Other than shopping, I'm doing alot of walking. It gets pretty hot during the day, and tuk-tuks are everywhere and cheap. (btw $0.50-$1.50 anywhere in the city) The traffic here is alot less frightening than in Bangkok, so here the tuk-tuk rides are pretty fun.

And, of course, I've been going out a bit too. I think I'm the only single girl staying at my guest house and I was adopted by this group of Dutch guys. I didn't really know what to expect going out to girl-bars here. Honestly, I felt a bit emotionally uncomfortable with the prostitution situation in Thailand. It's everywhere. You walk by any bar and there are at least 10 Thai girls and you know exactly what they are there for. But, I'm travelling to learn and to broaden my understanding of the people and places I visit. Bar girls are an integral part of Thai culture and so I set out to find out about it.

So a few nights ago, I went out with the Dutch guys and the owner of the guest house (who is also Dutch).
Luckily, these guys are really nice, and they seem to care about and respect these girls. They've all been to Thailand many times and are familiar with how things work here. All I'll say about that night was that I couldn't handle it, I freaked at the thought of these adorable Thai girls selling themselves, and possibly giving diseases to my new friends. So my first attempt at 'understanding' didn't go too well.

Last night however, I went out with them again since it was their last night here. This time I made an effort to talk a bit with the girls (instead of ignoring their existance like I did the first time) and it was okay. My one friend had something going with a girl named Tomm and I talked with her about her family, and little things, chit-chat, I didn't want to ask personal questions (like, do you like doing this? Why?)

Overall, last night made me realize that these girls view what they do as acceptable. And that made me feel a bit better because I don't have to pity them. It's part of the way of life here, it's been going on a long time and they don't seem to have a problem with it (AIDS not withstanding). I've gathered that physical contact is a big part of Thai culture, which includes many types of massage and other physical healing practices. I don't think like a Thai, so I really shouldn't judge them by my standards.

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!
Kisses,
Kate