Tuesday's Thoughts

The View of Chiang Mai from Doi Suthep

The shower is finicky. In fact today may be the first time I figured it out. It's a beautiful marble shower with a lovely rain effect shower head. It's just that it either ends up being boiling or cold and so I end up dodging in and out and most of the time prefer to be a little chilly that singe my skin. But this morning everything changed. I had a warm, comfortable-to-stand-under-for-prolonged-periods shower. Yipee!

I went to Doi Suthep this weekend. I can say I've seen a major temple here but I don't know how impressed I was. I was a bit disappointed with the Foreigner/farang entrance charge, the tourist trinket vendors all over the place and the little girls all dressed in traditional clothes charging money to take their picture. Things don't feel so holy when all that money is involved. Still, the views of Chiang Mai from up the mountain were fairly spectacular and it was pleasant breathing slightly less polluted air for a few hours.

Pictures of the Temple

I have mastered the art of riding the red "bus" taxis. At first I had no idea how to tell where they were headed and if you could just get in, but after doing it once or twice I'm an old pro. You just tell them where you're headed and if they are willing to go there or are headed there already, you're golden. 20 Baht will see you to any destination in and around the old city. That's a real discount from the Tuktuks who charge 40 and up normally. What I like most is the open back end of the red trucks so you can swing out at any time. And fully inhale the traffic fumes. Geez, I'm practically a local now!

Last night I picked a dying cockroach off my bedroom floor. I don't know how it got there and I had a slight moment of panic before I threw a tissue over it and grabbed it up and tossed it in the garbage. Ugh.

I ate a Mexican avocado filled sandwich for dinner last night as a treat and a change from the local fare. I just craved bread and avocado for some reason. Plus I'd just been to yoga, so I felt it was deserved.

Week two is off to a good start and is quite physically demanding on the therapist's part. Thai massage is not for the weak or inflexible - at least if you're the practitioner. Today when I received the work, I could see my foot maybe 2 feet behind my head. Certainly not any natural position I fling myself into, but certainly not uncomfortable. People either love or hate working with me because I'm so bendy. It tests their limit in terms of maneuvering but it also helps if they really want to know what some things feel like.

I had another full 2 hour Thai massage from one of the teachers this afternoon. It was blissful though I left feeling very much like a wet noodle. More soon, stay tuned.

Me at Doi Suthep