A Day and Night in Chiang Mai - special sights

Thailand - as I see it.

We got up leisurely, as usual, and the air quality was again hazy.  We have only seen the sky - blue sky and white clouds - one time in Chiang Mai.  The haze is so thick that we can't see the mountains.  But last night we saw the moon, a full moon and a few stars.  As we rode the motorcycles, it was quite a sight to see hundreds of motorcycles on the roads and we were weaving in and out of the pack as most roads are one way in Chiang Mai and you have to go around the moat of the old city to get most places.  Yes, they drive on the opposite side of the road, very disconcerting sometimes as you can turn left on red, right on red and also go straight on the red light.  I asked about this and my son, Rob said that it was a light to tell you to take care and just yield into the traffic.

We rode down one main street in Chiang Mai and passed by an elephant right in the street.  Many places in the city are statues of elephants, pictures of elephants, but this was the first live one we had seen in the city.

We parked the motorbikes and walked through the Night Bazaar to the massage parlor.  Women dressed in native Hill Tribe costumes were selling their wares.  Some were selling bracelets, necklaces, hats, clothing and a wooden musical instrument that you run a stick over and it made a rat-rat-rat sound.  These women were about four feet tall and even looked short to me.  They looked up to Rob, and when he spoke Thai to them, a group formed and just looked up and smiled and talked with him so happily.  Even though, we didn't buy anthing, they were so happy to see him.



We walked by a Mc Donalds Restaurant and a huge Ronald Mc Donald was outside welcoming the people.  He had his hands in the form of a Y and it looked so cute.  The Y in Thailand is a very important part of the Thai culture.  Everywhere you go, everyone you see greets you with a smile and a Y.  The Y is made with your hands together and fingers facing up like in prayer.  The people greet you with this sign, smile and say their greeting.  In my next writing I will write it for you.

The massages were so great.  Pupay, is a 30 year old lady who is my favorite masseuse.  She has done my manicure, pedicure, hand and arm massage, neck and head massage but last night she worked on my feet and legs and gave me not only a massage but put hot tiger balm on my legs and gave me hot ginger tea.  What a special treat. 

Willi has gone outside on the patio every morning to sit in the sun for an hour or so and he has not ever gotten burned.  With the haze, the air feels comfortably warm but not hot.  Willi and I both have masks for our nose and mouth, but I dont seem to need it very often.  Mine is a charcoal mask and it keeps out the polution.

Last night we went for a long walk on the walking street which was about a mile long.  On both sides of the street are vendors, shops, food carts, artists, and people demonstrating their wares.  We stopped at a booth that had a wire head massager, wierd.  It gave me the goose bumps and chills.  It is an eerie feeling but I bought one so I could give my friends a massage when we get home.  haha  Another food stand had roti and cooked bananas.  A young man took a small wad of dough, swung it around on the table until it looked like a round pizza, but very thin.  He then cut up fresh bananas and spread them on the dough.  He cooked it on a griddle with oil and made it very crispy.  Then he folded it together and cut it in small squares.  He put hot chocolate or a honey mixture over it and it was delicious.  They also had small round balls the size of a ping pong ball which were also fried bananas. They were light and fluffy.  The third kind of friend bananas were slices of banana dipped in a crispy batter and fried.  They were all delicious.  A glass of fresh orange juice just made the walking tour perfect.  At the end of the street there were Thai dancers and beautiful Thai music.  We passed a lady in the middle of the walking street nursing a baby with two other little children just playing with a string and a piece of material.  We walked back down to our hotel and I was exhausted, but I did it. I am trying to increase my stamina so I can walk better when we get home to Ft. Myers.  This was a bit rambling but I keep thinking of things to say.  Bye for now.