Chiang Mai

Before we leave Chiang Mai this evening via bus, we will have been here 8 full days. That's the longest we've been in one place so far on our trip. As a result, we have come to know the city and its people fairly well. The heart of the city is surrounded by a moat called The Moat that is filled with water and is in the shape of a large rectangle. We imagine that in a much, much earlier time period, the Moat was used to fortify the city's defenses. Now it just serves as a tourist attraction with loads of lotus- and dandelion-shaped fountains spewing water at intervals.

Within the walls of the moat you will find hundreds of Buddhist temples, backpacker guest houses, massage parlors, fish spas, restaurants, bars, coffee shops and clothing/souvenir stores. Basically, an average human being could survive quite happily within the Moat until he/she died from old age. That said, we have actually ventured outside the Moat at least once a day for kicks and giggles.

Amir's uncle Mo lives in Chiang Mai full-time so we were able to hang out with him, his lovely girlfriend Lisa and Amir's aunt Nana from Vancouver who happened to be visiting Mo as well. Nana cooked several delectable Indian meals for us including chicken curry and cuckoo paka (Amir's all time favorite). All were, of course, served with Nana's new favorite ingredient, the Thai lemon, which is small and green like a lime.

We all went out together for a few Thai dinners as well. One night, we ate outside in the middle of a cluster of little street food booths. We were able to order several different kinds of dishes which were prepared at several different booths and delivered to us when they were still piping hot. There was chicken fried rice, plain white rice, sauteed morning glory and chicken (morning glory is like kale), omelet with a delicious orange sauce one the side and then a second serving of the morning glory with chicken because Nana liked it so much. Amir and I enjoyed the food so much there that we went back together the very next night to sample the pad thai encased in an omelet and more chicken fried rice.

We found a fantastic little breakfast spot as well that was near our second guest house. The place had been written up in the Lonely Planet and was usually pretty full no matter what time we arrived. The first day we ordered mango and sticky rice and a bowl of noodle soup with pork and two coffees. The coffees were really Americanos so they had this delicious frothy crema on top. The mangoes are just about in season here now and are so scrumptious that we had to order a second serving of mango and sticky rice. And then we had to order a third serving to give to some Canadians we struck up a conversation with at the next table over. And then we had to go back to the same spot every morning for the next three days to order the mango and sticky rice and coffee again.

One of the Canadians we met at our breakfast spot was a teacher of English in South Korea. She was actually in her fourth year of teaching there and we were able to pick her brain a bit about how it all works there. Apparently, South Korea is the best place to teach English when it comes to your paycheck. Lodging and up to 4 months of vacation are included so anything you earn is basically spending money once you've paid for food. She said to avoid using a recruiter at all costs as they tend to only place teachers with the crappiest institutions who can't attract teachers on their own. If you have a Masters degree, you can get a teaching post at a university which means working 12-15 hours per week. Rough gig, no? The biggest money to be made there is by tutoring on the side so obviously getting the university gig is the way to go as it pays the same and still leaves you with tons of time to private tutor. So if Amir and I decide not to stay in the states when we return in November, you know where we (and Franklin) will be!

A few days ago we went on a walking tour of some of the Buddhist temples, or Wats, in Chiang Mai. Any Tom, Dick or Harry can walk into a Thai temple virtually any time of day as long as the gates are open but there is some etiquette to follow once inside. First of all, no shoes are allowed inside the temples. But that's really the same for any Thai house and even some businesses so no surprises there. You also have to be dressed appropriately which means covering up from your shoulders down to your knees. Once inside, you can take as many pictures of you like. Flash on, flash off, no one cares. The only major faux pas are pointing the bottoms of your feet at any of the Buddhas, making out or trying to take home one of the smaller Buddhas as a souvenir. The feet thing means you end up sitting facing the Buddha on your bum with your legs bent around behind you with feet pointing to the door of the temple.

The Buddhas inside the temples were very cool. All of them were gold and gigantic. One of them had a circular halo of emerald colored bits of mirror behind its head. Many of them had a network of string tied to their hands or fingers. The string extended from the Buddha and zigzagged all the way toward the entrance to the temple. Amir's theory on the significance of that is to show that the Buddha is connected to all of us and we are all connected to each other. Nice theory, eh?

Tonight we are scheduled to depart Thailand on an 8pm VIP bus that will take us most of the way to the Laos border. I think, all in all, it will take us 4 types of transportation to make it successfully to Vang Vieng, Laos by tomorrow midday. So wish us luck. We should have wireless internet in Vang Vieng so we can regale you all with our tubing, beer and pizza exploits there.