The sun was slowly setting behind the silhouette of the mountains in the distance, with pink and dark orange rays shooting upwards from the horizon. It was a beautiful sunset, and just as I was landing too. What a great view!
I was exhausted, go figure, and hailed a tuk tuk requesting he take me downtown to a cheap guesthouse. At this point I just needed a place to lay my head, and had no clue where to go. So I put my faith in wherever he suggested.
Driving into the city, I was overwhelmed with the pungent smells of exotic flowers, the fresh warm air that I usually only associate with vacation or Spring time, the slight sting of Thai curry, and temple incense burning at every turn.
I was so happy I finally made it!
I checked in, threw my stuff on the bed, and went for a walk. I desperately needed to stretch my legs. I headed to the Night Bazaar, which is an open-air night market that certainly rivals the best of 'em! The market consisted of stall after stall of clothes, jewelery, decorative items, furniture, and of course FOOD!
After about two hours, I retired back the guesthouse for a beer, and would likely head to bed for the next 12 hours to recover from the day of travel. I sat at the bar and started chatting with Quan, the bar tender, telling her about my move to Thailand.
Note: Thai people are so incredibly hospitable, and friendly...seriously, like no other!
She immediately said I needed to meet one of her friends who spoke great English, and happened to be at the bar at that moment. I joined her and her friends who were generously drinking on a bottle of Johnny Walker Black Label, and offered me a glass.
Her name was Be Be, and she was a college educated business owner who seemed to be pretty well off, even for western standards. She really wanted to help me out and was eager to show me around the city. You could really tell she took great pride in her city, and was explaining how Chiang Mai was very different than the rest of Thailand. She suggested I call her the next day and she would give me the grand tour, so of course, I complied.
This was just amazing, and frankly indicative of how awesome Thai people can be!
Within four hours of landing in Chiang Mai, I'd made some Thai friends! This was so clutch for someone who doesn't speak the language trying to get situated in a new city.
She took me all around town. Ushered me to the mall to get a Thai phone number (even got Thai prices, not white people prices...she knew the employees), and showed me the night safari, some temples in the mountains, the hot spots for food and drink, introduced me to a ton of Thai people, and taught me some of the language. She really was making my life so much easier here!
She even got me an interview with a travel agency for a potential job to take my picture for tourist brochures. Weird I know, but apparently they are always in need of white people for advertising, and thought this could be an easy buck! I'll need to make some money soon. Only in Thailand would this be a potential opportunity for me, but I'll take what I can get for now!.
One afternoon I went for a drive into the mountains and got seriously lost! I rented a motorbike and headed straight for the mountains for a scenic afternoon drive. I had no clue where I was going. I drove for hours, and ended up three towns over in a place I cant even remember at the moment. I stopped to take pictures along the way, and stumbled upon some amazing views, and elephants walking down the side of the road.
I was so lost, at one point while on the highway I knocked on the car window next to me and asked how to get back to town. The girl told me to follow her, and I was guided back into the area I was familiar with. That was so nice, and thank god for her too, I was running out of gas!
Thailand hosts many different festivals throughout the year, and fortunately I was just in time to catch this year's annual Flower Festival. I met a Chinese girl, Wei-Wei, and we decide to go check it out together and take some pics. The parade consisted of floats made from all kinds of Thai flowers, and young kids in a few different marching bands, blasting their way through the streets. Exotic flowers adorned each float and costume with so many vibrant colors and shapes, it really was very beautiful.
In the next few weeks I'll be looking for work of some kind. Teaching English is in high demand here, and have met a few teachers who really enjoy the work. Learning English is incredibly valuable for Thais. Many work in hospitality, tourism, and other occupations centered around accommodating the influx of westerners. So teaching something that could directly benefit the livelihood of the local people would be a challenging and rewarding experience. I think I'd really enjoy it.
I have a few contacts now in tourism and teaching. Be Be seems to know people in all these industries, and feels confident I should be able to find work within a month or so.
I'm in no rush, but will need to stay away from the tourist trap that does exists here, and be easy on my funds.
I've moved here, I'm not a tourist!
I need to learn to say this phrase in Thai so I can get resident pricing too, instead of the premium tourists pay while traveling through Chiang Mai. Learning Thai will be a priority. It will be quite a challenge, but also really cool to speak and constantly use a second language. Life will be easier for sure once I accomplish this.
I think I'm approaching this move with the right attitude. Some westerners come here and try and impose their western standards and ways of thinking to no avail. Some won't even try learning the language, further isolating themselves from the majority of the Thai people. This isn't the way to live in another country. This is Thailand, and I need to embrace the culture, their language, and their customs. Its a challenge, and something I've never done anywhere before.
I'm excited to try!
Chiang Mai is very laid back. Thais are very laid back people as a whole really, but this place has an awesome down-tempo kind of vibe. It's slow, and people just seem more relaxed, like no one really has any place to be. Thais enjoy gathering around the many street vendors on plastic tables and chairs that seemingly flood every street, drinking their whiskey until the wee hours of the morning (normal for weekdays), laughing and joking with friends. It will be 2am and I'll still see children playing outside. It's like no one really sleeps, or I'm just not sure when they make the time. They do obviously, but I haven't quite figured out what "normal" working hours are here. It's all so common to walk by a slow business in the middle of the day and see the employees taking a siesta in their shop, I'm assuming while on the clock?
I'm excited for this new challenge, and look forward to the unknown here in Thailand. I already feel welcome, and made some friends that genuinely want to help with my transition.
I think I'm going to like it here.
