Ok, so Thai food may not be THAT bad
It has been an uneventful past few days as far as traveling is concerned. I am still in Chiang Mai and still finding things to keep me busy. Last Thursday I decided to head out in search of some nightlife and came across a nice bar called “Sax” which played a good assortment of music. I chatted with the bartender for a bit, her name is Nicharee in Thai but goes by her english name of Apple.
She 25 yrs old and lives and works in Wales but is currently on break from that and visiting Thailand again. She was born and raised in Bangkok but has worked in Chiang Mai and has friends here. After she got off work she took me out to a few places around town. One being a really relaxed rasta bar not too far away. We hung out there till closing and then got to jam with the owners and a few patrons for another hour or so. They had bongos, drums, guitars and other instruments to use. I tried my hand at the bongos while a dredlocked, arab guy in dark sunglasses hit the drums. The paintings on the walls of this place were pretty twisted and amazing and I can only imagine the state of intoxication the artists must have been in. The owners finally decided it was time to go so they gave us the keys and said to lock up before we left. We were still wide awake and chatting away so we decided to stay there. I guess the Thai way of life is to not ruin anyone’s good time by telling them that they have to go home so they trusted 2 people who they had never met before to close up their bar. That is a lesson to me in trust and a brand new experience while traveling.
We made plans to hang out the next night and decided to try and get to the rasta bar a little earlier so that we could hear the live band. It was pretty fun. Lots of farang (foreigners). That brings us to Saturday and St Patrick’s Day so I told her we need to at least stop by an Irish Pub for a little while so I can get myself a nice tall Guinness. We eventually made just in time to watch the end of a pretty intense rugby match featuring Scotland. While ordering drinks I overheard someone make a comment about being American so I introduced myself. A group of 3 girls also partaking in St Patrick’s Day activies. It turns out they are all from New York and one was from Levittown, Long Island not too far from where I grew up. Apple wasn’t into the whole Irish pub thing and to be honest, one Guinness was enough so I was ready to go out.
It was getting pretty late but she wanted to meet up with a couple of her girl friends and go get some food. I wasn’t too hungry but I couldn’t pass up the chance to be taken out by 3 girls to a Thai-only hot spot. We showed up at this outdoor food court a few kilometers from where the center and they started ordering away. Thai’s love to eat. It felt like every few hours we were sitting down somewhere with a selection of Thai food. I will admit, I have found a few items no the menus here that I am starting to get a taste for. I realized that it is pad thai that I am not a big fan of and I don’t really like any noodle dishes but anything with rice or curry chicken, beef or pork is very good. Some of the soups are extremely tasty too. I still can’t bring myself to eat them every day but I do my best. I was really glad they took me to this place because it was way off the tourist trail and I was literally the only farang. It was nice to finally get some attention again. You wouldn’t believe how much I missed all the children pointing and smiling at me in Africa calling me MZUNGU!!! It is true though, the further you wander from where all the tourists go the more people look at you and wonder why you are there. Even if it is just a few blocks down the road.
Apple has been great. I appreciate her taking me out and being a good local guide in a sense. We ended up heading out of Chiang Mai the next afternoon to a lake near the mountains. It was really nice and the temperature dropped significantly so the cool air was refreshing. We had some snacks and drank a beer and watched the sunset. That sounds so much like a date… maybe it was? We headed out again that night for what was going to be my final night of drinking and partying for a little while. I told her she was too hardcore for me and that I need to get back on a normal schedule of sleeping during the night and doing things durnig the day. Marisa’s wedding is in a couple of days and I don’t want to be a zombie for all the activities we will be doing.
I ended up changing hotels this morning and moved closer to the riverside area in order to make it easier on Marisa’s family and the organizers to pick everyone up from one place when we do things. I should be getting a hold of Marisa in a few hours to do dinner with everyone so it will be fun.
It looks like I will have one more weekend coming up in Chiang Mai and then it is time to get the hell out of here. In all seriousness though, I have loved it here. I feel a bit guilty that I don’t have much more than bar hopping and sleeping to talk about but I guess I shouldn’t stress too much. I saved up the money so for a short period I could enjoy life in the form that I want to and not the form that I’m pressured into needing. I’ll have plenty of time for work again someday.
But for now, cheers and sawasdi krap!!
Tags: chiang mai, st patrick's day, Thailand
Joey
take lots of pics of the wedding and tell marisa and sean hello and congrats for me. 🙂
Hello… Happy to see you updated your blog… and I agree with Daisy… take lots of pics of the wedding… Love ya!
Joey,
Sound like you found a wedding date in my absence. Just remember, nothing’s as good as the original. 🙂
Have an awesome time, wish I could have made it.
Rachel
Have fun at the wedding! BTW, Storm 0-3-sucks!
Well it sounds like you made a friend and that is always good.
“Happy for the attention again”
sounds like you have the makings of a media whore.