Living in Chiang Mai
I was told by several travelers that I will enjoy Chiang Mai and that this is the perfect place to recover from injuries. They were absolutely correct. I haven’t done much in the form of travel but I have lived here for the last week in a state of normalcy. I was planning on coming up here for a few days and then heading back to Bangkok for the week and then coming BACK here for Marisa’s wedding but I decided to just stick it out here. I finally stopped going to the hospital and got the stuff needed to do the cleaning myself. I will go back in a few days if it doesn’t look any better but I was given the the OK to take a shower as long as I dry the wounds well and apply anticeptic afterwards. The wounds themselves aren’t too bad anymore but they are still at risk of infection and I am feeling well enough to walk around and start seeing the city some more. I think in another 2-3 days I will be ready to start seeing the surrounding hills of Chiang Mai. There are several tours I can take to tribes and villages nearby as well as trekking and white water rafting. All things that I wanted to do here but up until now have been unable to to do. I hope to not even bring up the accident anymore after this post because I am certainly tired of writing about it.
Nothing really exciting aside from the robbery has occured the last few days. I was ordered by the doctor to stay out of the sun for 2 days so I kept to internet cafes, my hotel room, and the movie theater. The internet said that ‘300’ was playing at the airport plaza but when I arrived it wasn’t showing yet so I settled on ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ which I never planned on seeing but I thought the movie was very good. It was inspirational. I also watched ‘The Last King of Scotland’ and found that incredibly good. I always enjoy a good movie about Africa.
I have changed hotels 2 times since I arrived in Chiang Mai. I liked my first accommodation but it was too expensive and I was mostly paying for the fact that there was a pool available and since I wasn’t able to swim I moved across the street for half the price. I was paying $6 for a very comfortable room. The only problem is a new club opened up right down the street and you can feel the bass beating till 4am. I said Chiang Mai was very quiet and I’m surprised they allowed this club to open up in the location it was because that whole area is very relaxed. There are a lot of homes near by so I would expect some complaints soon. I eventually found my way to a guesthouse in the same area but a few dark streets away. I don’t even know the name of it. It is a Thai name and I am ashamed to have forgotten it already. I am far enough away from the music and I even have a TV to catch up on the news with.
Aside from relaxing and doing the ‘normal’ things I would do if I was at home and not feeling well, I have ventured out slightly. There is a main stretch of road leading down to the Chiang Mai night market with loads of bars and massage parlours. It is much nicer than in Bangkok because the vibe is more relaxed and you can actually go into a bar and have a drink and not be hounded by the other lady patrons. I treated myself to a Beer Lao and a Thai massage yesterday. It was a half massage since I asked him to stay away from the legs with the scabs still. The 30 minutes was extremely painful with my body parts being bent backwards and lots of pressure but in the end it was worth it. When I no longer have any scrapes I will go back for a 1 hour full body massage. Oh, and it only cost $3. It is one of those moments while you travel that you get overcome with a bit of guilt, especially since it was about 8am EST on a Monday morning for everyone back home.
Yesterday, Marisa and Sean left Texas for Bangkok and will be arriving in Chiang Mai on the 19th. I plan on hanging around the ‘old city’ where I am now until they arrive and then I will switch to a riverside hotel closer to where the wedding will be held. I have decided on doing the visa run to Burma. I have quoted a few prices and it seems like $18 is the cheapest I can find for a mini-bus to take 10 people to the Burmese border to cross and then come back to renew our Thai visas. I want to wait as long as possible so then I have a longer time to stay in the country.
If I do the visa run to Burma then that will seal the deal that I am heading south again after the wedding. Once again altering my travel plans. The original idea was to go north into Laos and then make my way through Vietnam and Cambodia but I think I will go back down to Bangkok and actually enjoy my time there then head to Pattaya the first or 2nd week of April. An ex-coworker of mine (Mark Pratt for any CAF folks reading this) will be in Pattaya with his wife and I would love to head down there and have drinks with them. The beaches there are supposed to be really nice so I figure I can get the sun I was supposed to get in Ko Phangan. After that I will make my way into Cambodia and onward.
I always expected that my plans would change at some point but right now the month of March looks nothing like I had planned and it looks as if April will be more of the same.
Tags: Cambodia, chiang mai, pattaya, Thailand, travel plans
Joey
Glad to read to you’re healing and starting to feel better. You’ll have many more travel opportunities in the future, so just go with the flow and don’t worry about your schedule. As long as your experiencing new things and locations you’re keeping with your goal, right? 😀
Have fun and enjoy yourself my friend! Miss ya!
Oh, and a massage would be great right now!
Yo! Chill for a while sound like a really nice area Joe. Enjoy
JOEY!!!!! tell Pratt I said hello and I miss him! I hope you are feeling better.. sounds like you are– have fun stay safe and I miss you
Hey !!! I forward ur message to Mark Pratt… He would love to hang with u and have over there !!!
Joey,
Didn’t I tell you to be careful out there young man?? I hope you are feeling better and stay outta trouble we want you to come back to us!! Hope all is well and we miss you
Joey, what’s with this “haze” i’m reading about on the news sites? the military is dumping water on the city to clean the air?