I made it to Thailand, y’all! I’ve been dreaming about going to Thailand for honestly probably 10 years or more- basically as long as I can remember. And I’m finally here. And not just here to visit for a week or so. I’m going to be here for FIVE weeks. Of course that’s not nearly enough time to explore this majestic country, but it’s a heck of a good start. We’re based in Chiang Mai this month; and I say ‘based’ because I fully intend to side trip EVERYWHERE over the next five weeks. I’ve already planned a solo trip this weekend to Krabi and then I’ll be in Bangkok for a week later this month as well. I’m SO excited to be here (and not just because I plan on eating everything that ever existed).
K
Chiang Mai has the reputation of being the laid back, super chill ex-pat haven of Thailand (and honestly, the world) and I’m looking forward to exploring it further. At first glance it strikes me as interesting if only because there are ancient walls here that enclose the “old city” and traffic runs around them in a perfect square. (Also they drive on the opposite side of the road which is super weird because they’re the only country in South East Asia that has never been conquered/ruled by a European power, aka no reason for that nonsense.)
K
We also have AWESOME accommodations this month in the Nimman area (pronounced Nee-man) which is an ex-pat haven and known for amazing thai and western restaurants (aka GET IN MY BELLAY). Our buildings are brand new and have pools and gyms and rain showers and such. We also all have studios or one bedrooms which is amazing. As much as I honestly love bonding with a roommate, I also loveee having my own place.
K
But before I get too ahead of myself, we still had a few days left in Hanoi.
What I did this week:
- Finally crossed off the one thing I had on my bucket list for Hanoi- go fabric shopping. Before leaving for Remote Year my mom drilled it into my head that Vietnam has amazing fabric and I needed to find the markets and pick some up. Being the textile nut that I am (#nerdalert) I knew I had to find where locals pick up their fabric. And boy oh boy did I.
- After searching the internet, yelp and foursquare #researchismyhomeboy I was able to locate a nondescript building in a local part of town that was the mecca of local fabric. This place was no joke literally a maze of stalls piled head to toe with fabric. Aka heaven on Earth. I did a few laps and then dove in headfirst.
ZOMG
I could fill a whole album with Asian people sleeping in pubic.
Ended up finding so many good things that I had to run back outside to an atm to pull out more cash. After getting my fill I left and quickly located a well reviewed lunch spot..and then realized that in my fabric excitement I had totally left my debit card in the machine. Shit.
Immediately ran back to the machine and tried to get it to spit it out my card.. to no avail. After frantically looking around to see if anyone saw anything, I spotted an old man guarding the fleet of motos next to the market. I ran up to him and gestured to the machine and to myself and by the grace of god he reached under a book on the table next to him, pulled out my debit card and handed it back to me. I really can’t say it often enough- the Vietnamese people are incredible. Also, karma is real.
The goods.
- Ventured into the ex-pat haven of Hanoi for our going-away party in an old converted French chateau. The food was great, the view was great but the company was obviously the best. God I love my group #Kairazy4life
Oh haiiii it’s-a me! Dana!
In Hanoi, nature always wins.
- Checked off my final food bucket list items with Kat on Friday afternoon- Pho and Bahn Mi. I’m seriously going to miss this food so so so much.
AAAIIIIIIEEEE WE WANT SOME BAHN MI!
Isn’t she just the most precious? Also- may or may not have put too many chilis in this Pho.. j/k there’s no such thing as too many chilis.
- Arrived in Thailand on Saturday afternoon with time to relax, recharge and get ready for the night market. Apparently all of the markets here happen at night. Shelby, Katrina and I went to the Saturday market together and had a wonderful conversation over a bowl of Khao Soy (my new favorite thai dish) before we met up with everyone for a few drinks.
Apparently their version of taxis here are pickup trucks that have been modified to sit 10 or so people in the back. How safe are they? Lol. 😬
- Went exploring on Sunday to the grocery store (gotta get dem breakfast foods) which happened to be in the basement of a mall that was straight out of the 90s. BUT there was a store that had American college football sweatshirts and THEY HAD A HOKIES SWEATSHIRT. Yassssssssssss. So excited.
The mall also had this arcade that I absolutely loved for obvious reasons.
- Joined a group of Kaizens heading to the Sunday night market which is supposed to be the biggest one. Our red truck apparently had other ideas though and decided to drive us all around the old city while we sat in the back perplexed over why we kept going the wrong way. We finally understood a half an hour later when he finally stopped to let someone out from the front seat. Apparently red trucks are more Uber pool and less UberX. #themoreyouknow
Ended up losing the group at the market but I did find this didgeridoo band that I liked so much I paid $2 for their cd before thinking about how the eff I would get it on my computer without a CD drive. #genius #firstworldproblemstothemax
- Got more khao soy (can’t stop won’t stop) and tried my first mango sticky rice.
- Became addicted to mango sticky rice
- Picked up two orders of mango sticky rice to take home with me
The Holy Grail itself- Khao Soy. Red curry broth, thai egg noodles, a chicken leg so well cooked that the meat falls off the bone with a touch of a fork and crispy noodles to finish it off. I couldn’t dream up a better dish if I tried.
- Went to dinner with the city team at another market on Tuesday. Successfully asked for the check in Thai. Did not successfully order drunken noodles (Pad Kee Mau).
- Bopped around the amazing coffee shops in our neighborhood and explored a cowering space in the Maya mall that has awesome seats. They have little ledges that let you sit crosslegged which is how I usually sit no matter the chair so I was in heaven. Why doesn’t this exist in the states? Seriously though.
- Lost internet at home and then got locked out of the 24 hour workspace just in time for the Kaizen Fantasy Football draft..which resulted in autodraft picking Aaron Rodgers for me IN THE FIRST ROUND. A QB in the first round? Da fuq? *sigh*
On the left: me. On the right: the workspace. -___-
- Went to my first acro jam here. I’m really looking forward to getting back into acro in Chiang Mai and also pushing myself outside of the Kaizen group comfort zone. I’ve been reaching out to people in the acro group and a bunch of us met up to monkey around which in true Chiang Mai fashion ended in a DOWNPOUR that left me soaked to the bone. #monsoonseason. Oh yeah and then I ate SHIT walking out of a tiled pavilion to get to my Uber. I was totally fine but I think my metal water bottle hitting the tile scared the living daylights out of all of the local thai people who were there.
Crappy photo of acro people because I was a genius and forgot to take a good one.
- Left Friday afternoon to spend my Labor Day weekend in Krabi- my first solo trip (ever!)