Chang Mai is starting to really grow on me. Ive met quite a few people that have moved here from different countries and I can totally understand why. Once you get out of the tourist ghetto area its really beautiful and the people are really nice. Inside the moat there is a mix of thai people and tourists, but once you head outside of the gates (and FAR FAR FAR from the night bizzare...its like the little brother of khao san road but with a middle age crowd and more prostitutes) it is the real Chang mai. I can picture myself spending quite a bit of time here, but I should keep moving...my next stop is Laos.Some pics from around Chang mai:
The dogs here are awesome...
I'm really enjoying the thai massage course! There are 7 people in the course (including me), from all over--Brazil, US, Ireland. And the best part is they are all experienced massage therapists! So its a tough life...getting massaged by massage therapists all day ;)
Giving Sean a back stretch (look at that face! He LOVES it!):
I've been staying at some pretty sketchy places so far looking for the cheapest digs that I can live in for two weeks. The last place turns out had no running water, didnt come with bedsheets/towel and the toilet was nasty black on the inside...not sure it actually flushed (I didnt bother to try and use the shower). It was super cheap and had free internet though! :)
Now im paying about 30 BHT more (about $1 CDN) for a room that overlooks a garden and has a free pool table and plays jack johnson all the time (its called Rama...Ive been told its in Lonely Planet if you want to follow along ;). Im pretty happy with it, but there is a place a walk away that is cheaper that I have my eye on....
So my day pretty much goes like this:
-wake up 6:30 a.m...cold shower (ummm refreshing?)
-7am: walk to fav breakfast place and eat with nice old Belgian man.
( If I am alone and heading for food I ask if I can join other people sitting alone too. No one really likes to eat alone I think, and Ive met some really nice people! It turns out this place is this man's fav breakfast place too and we eat at around the same time every day. He has his own shop selling fish on the coast in Belgium in the summer)
-8am: get picked up by the truck for school. Thai massage all day..lectures and hands on
-4pm: school finishes....truck back into the old city
-after 4pm: do random things...lately it has been going for food with people from school, going to the night bizzare or just chatting with people in chill places over drinks. I ran into the guys from BC the other night at a bar and today ran into the couple from England and had a drink...it seems big but it is really a small city :) I havent even spent a night hanging out at my new place...looking forward to playing some pool.
Hanging out at Somwang guest house the first night:So my day pretty much goes like this:
-wake up 6:30 a.m...cold shower (ummm refreshing?)
-7am: walk to fav breakfast place and eat with nice old Belgian man.
( If I am alone and heading for food I ask if I can join other people sitting alone too. No one really likes to eat alone I think, and Ive met some really nice people! It turns out this place is this man's fav breakfast place too and we eat at around the same time every day. He has his own shop selling fish on the coast in Belgium in the summer)
-8am: get picked up by the truck for school. Thai massage all day..lectures and hands on
-4pm: school finishes....truck back into the old city
-after 4pm: do random things...lately it has been going for food with people from school, going to the night bizzare or just chatting with people in chill places over drinks. I ran into the guys from BC the other night at a bar and today ran into the couple from England and had a drink...it seems big but it is really a small city :) I havent even spent a night hanging out at my new place...looking forward to playing some pool.
The Sunday walking market:
Pets for sale on the street!
