Travel Talk

Chilling Out in Chiang Mai

Top of the morning, afternoon, evening, whatever,

First off let me remind you of the free 1st class 2 month 15 travel day eurail global pass give away going on, a lot of people liked the update but did not leave a comment, you have to join the facebook page, like the page itself(found at bottom of update) and leave a comment on the update itself. Please read instructions carefully and you must do all 3 things to qualify as an “entry”. If you like it and do not comment, how do I know that you joined and liked it? Oh yeah, I can’t.

This really validated something I had thought / known for a long time… Most of the readers here at SHABL are NOT bloggers but actual travelers, people who like travel and what not. Got lots of facebook msgs about where to comment or even how… Also validating my theory that for the most part, travelers do not read travel blogs, indeed. That survey must be done, still shocked by lack of response, ~very small % of daily traffic liked it, odd.

Back to reality…

Spent the last day chilling out in Chiang Mai, what a place to just “chill out”. I found myself at this guest house for 200 baht a night, if you do the math that is ~1400 baht a week or 5600 baht a month. I will probably move in a bit but currently, there is a solid crew here and all of them blog / involved in a blog or vlog project related to travel so why leave? Remember, had yours truly planned and booked accommodations, never would have been brought here like the other “whatever let’s just go” aka like-minded crew.

Living here is very cheap and pleasant, surprisingly, 7/11 is the most expensive place around. For 22 baht you can get hot dog, for 25 baht you can get a ridiculously delicious pork like pho + dumplings. The portion is not huge but they are open all night so I just go back a few times, hit it up twice yesterday, 25 baht, wt…!?

Had lunch with the lady friend I met in Bangkok in January and who’s birthday it is today, delicious nachos with chicken, coke, shake and whatnot. She had the same, total cost? 300 baht… That is 5$ each, also great and oddly enough ~expensive~ for “round here”. What would ~3.XXE get me in Europe? When out and about with people, why not eat wherever, drink wherever but when alone, find some great food stands and just hit them up. Also, have found, the more you frequent one place, the larger your portions get.

Learning a bit of thai, have a sentence or two, wish I knew more. I cannot stress enough how happy people are here. It’s the only country in the world where most people you meet you can have a solid laugh and it is typically just body language related stuff. From ladies chilling at lunch to the tuk tuk driver who asks if you want a ride and say “walking” then make the walking motion with your hands or what not. It’s a real laugh though and laughing is contagious, there is a serious epidemic going on around here and I’m thrilled to be fully infected. (Weird sound bite)

All is not well in paradise though, dengue fever is here but supposedly all over SE Asia. I am buying bug spray today as last night some bugs feasted on me, hopefully they are not infected. I guess not having bug spray is like being “unprotected” or whatever. I should get on that, pronto.

I have not caught a fish with my new rod since buying it in France, except these little weird things in Lagos which do not count. In the canal around the corner from where I stay, there are lots of fish, I know Asia will provide, it always has.

Oh yeah, in MBK on the way back from Pan Tip Plaza I ran into the old school hippy guy who tipped me off in Cairo, remember what I told you about once you meet someone, you see them everywhere… MBK is packed but he yelled “Hey Canada” and he gave me another great tip / quote “This city is co cheap you’ll go broke” aka you’ll buy way more stuff then you normally would / need so many end up going broke anyways.

That being said, going broke once in your life (preferably when young) isn’t that terrible a thing, once you’re there and can’t rub 2 pennies together and standing in the rain, it really motivates you to never go back, EVER. Oh ya, his shirt said “It’s never too late to have a happy childhood” hahaha.

Also, many awesome markets but I have never met anyone who has ever lived here who has ever cooked a meal for themselves, why would you bother stocking up when you can have a real pro “Just like Mom” style cook it for you, fresh on the spot?

Flick of the cap,

P.S: Nothing

Search Du Jour!?: “Live a Month in Bali” – Result.

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