नो इ कैन फिनाल्ली रेल्स.

Now I can finally relax! (The title will only print in Thai!!!)
(Remember, you may click on any photo to enlarge it.)


Ever since coming to Thailand 2 weeks ago, I've been tense and nervous surrounded by the craziness that is urban Thailand. The contrast with Japan is palpable. The word I always used to describe Japan was "civilized." The word that instantly came to mind to characterize Thailand for me is "chaotic." Bangkok is a jumble of noise, exhaust fumes, constant motion, cooking odors, colors, streets and sidewalks jammed, people everywhere. In addition, or in contrast, it is also a space age city with huge shopping and office complexes with multi-level walkways, escalators, sky trains, ramps, etc., that make it look like something out of a futuristic cartoon. Then venture around the corner and people are selling food on the street, literally, on a mat on the street, or on a rickety table set up on the sidewalk. There seems to be no regulation at all as to use of the sidewalks. People set up for business right on the sidewalks making shopping and eating easy, but walking difficult. Fortunately for me, on my first afternoon in Bangkok, I was able to meet up with Rebecca's friend Roger who helped me to understand the chaos that is Bangkok. Talking to him helped me to calm down a little. He led me to a pad thai place in the Ari neighborhood where I was able to eat a green papaya pad thai dinner while embracing, even enjoying the wild scene in front of me on the street.

I'd had enough of Bangkok after 24 hours, and booked a plane the next day to Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand. Before my plane left, for some strange lapse in judgement, I decided to go to the famous Weekend market. For someone who tends towards agoraphobia, going to the weekend market was about the stupidest thing possible. Even so, I wandered through the very narrow lanes, shoulder to shoulder with the multitudes of Thais and tourists alike shopping for everything from pets to furniture. After an hour or two I finally left without purchasing a thing, not that I could fit anything else in my backpack anyway.

Finally, that evening I arrived in Chiang Mai and found an ok guest house for about $15/night, on the high side by backpacker standards in Thailand. Venturing out the next morning, I found the moat-enclosed Old City of Chiang Mai to be totally infested by foreign tourists (like me). Vacant eyed westerners wandering around in the heat browsing at the multitude of opportunities to spend their bhats. Almost every block on the eastern side of the Old City has numerous internet cafes, clothing and souvenir shops, tour operators, bike and motorbike rentals, English book shops, tailors, yoga studios, massage parlors, and of course restaurants selling hamburgers, sandwiches, pizza, and fried chicken as well as Thai food. Luckily for me, there are also over 30 vegetarian restaurants in Chiang Mai, some of them even organic. There are also over 300 wats (temple complexes) in Chiang Mai, each one extremely elaborately built and decorated with bright colors and mosaics made with mirrors and ceramic chips, most of them hundreds of years old. Needless to say, I was totally overwhelmed with all this stimulation. I had been excited about landing in Chiang Mai and was expecting to settle there for about 4 weeks until Lily joins me in mid-December. But my first reaction was major disappointment with the crazy scene I witnessed there and the tense feeling I felt within. I wanted to like it and find a home there, but I just felt disgusted (maybe that's a bit strong, but close).

My friend Tammy, who spent about 6 months in Chiang Mai last year, gave me a bunch of contacts for which I am eternally grateful. One of them was a couple, Yao and Grit, who run an organic vegetarian cooking school on their land about an hour and a half north of Chiang Mai (www.yousabai.com). Not that I'm all that interested in cooking, having been on a raw foods regime for the past 2 years before leaving on this journey, but I did want to get out of town, so after a couple of days in Chiang Mai, I took a sangtao (a pick-up truck with benches in it that operates like a bus) to Mae Tiang.
Grit came to pick me up on his motorbike, and off we went, up to their mountain setting. They also teach building with adobe/mud bricks. There are NO building codes in the countryside, so they can and do build whatever they like. They seem to have a lot of fun building in this free-form, whimsical manner. We are in the dry season now, but this type of building necessitates a large overhanging roof so the bricks don't melt.

I enjoyed the cooking lessons very much, and ate all that we made for ourselves -- curries, papaya salads, spring rolls, pad thai, tofu, soy milk, etc. It turned out to be too much of a good thing, because I broke out in a rash all over my trunk that itched like crazy. I guess it was the rich, spicy food that did it, because it calmed down after a few days of eating more simply. What I enjoyed most of all was getting to know Grit, a renaissance man now doing what he likes best. In past lives he has been an engineer, a journalist, a chef, yoga instructor, and no doubt more things that I don't know about. Now he teaches cooking classes, with his wife Yao, and is building a community as well as adobe abodes. So far, he's the only Thai person with whom I've had a deep communication, and I am grateful to have connected with him.

After leaving You Sabai, I met up with Jeff and his wife Sarah on their one acre of paradise-in-the-making. Read about what they're doing at www.fairearth.co.th. They have taken a chemical laden rice field about 45 minutes north of Chiang Mai near Mae Rim and are turning it into an organic farm/agra-forest with a vast variety of plants and trees from all regions of the world, as well as fish and soon animals, creating a sustainable utopia for themselves and a model for all of us. Jeff and Sarah welcomed me into their home where I stayed overnight, but I was unable to contribute much because I had hurt my back doing yoga the day before. (It's better now.) I loved playing with their very bright 7 year-old daughter Annie.

Back in Chiang Mai agonizing about 'trying' to make a go of it there, I was still getting down on myself for not getting into the swing of the place. I went to Chabad for Shabbat and met some new people who made some suggestions for me, but it wasn't what I was looking for. The second to last straw was moving to a cheapo guest house that had kitchen and laundry privileges, etc. The room for $6/night was dismal. The only decorations on the wall were dirt smudges from previous tenants. But the very last straw came as I walked a half a block from that guest house and was bitten by a mangy dog! I was really feeling down already, but that did it. I left Chiang Mai the next morning!

By noon the next day I found myself in the small village of Ban Tha Ton, and it is here that I can finally relax। This town is more my speed -- one wat, one internet place, a few simple restaurants and shops, and for the same $15/night, I have a luxurious large beautifully decorated bungalow with a deck right over the river. It's quiet and peaceful here. The people are friendly, the pace is slow, the air is clean. I love it!!! Last night the restaurant owner where I was eating sat down with me and looked at the photos on my camera as I ate my pad thai with veggies. A monk at the monastery has befriended me and we discuss meditation and life choices.

Tha Ton is located in the far north of Chiang Mai province right on the Burmese border. This morning I walked about a kilometer or so to the border. There was no one there. Not too exciting, but there it was. From town you can look up to the top of the hills to the north and see the Myanmar army lookout posts. Drug running is still prevalent here, so police on both sides are after the smugglers.


I've been here a few days now, and I feel very happy to have finally found a part of Thailand that I can enjoy and appreciate. One of these days, I'll check out the mountain villages/hill tribes around here and eventually, head east down the river to Chiang Rai. Until then, I'll just be kicking back and revelling in the Thai village life I've found here.