Chanelling Chaing Mai

Have you ever realised you’d stopped breathing… when you’re watching a thriller… waiting to see if the victim will survive, when you’re driving and you see an almost-accident? Cutting into a steak for a dinner party and PRAYING its medium rare and not… well… dead.

That is Chaing Mai…

Its being in China for six month, then freaking out while in the forest, then… Chaing Mai… and suddenly your heart is beating slower, your breath is deeper, the sun is… sunnier?

Admittedly I might be biased, while my time at Kindred Spirit was the most inspirational and awe inspiring experience of my life, my innards were not so inspired… and thus upon arriving in Chaing Mai at my hotel only to find a large square shower head with ‘rain shower’ option… I almost died… not to mention the pristine white toilet with complete flushing capabilities.

I promised myself I’d spend the two days in Chaing Mai in the hotel, enjoying the pool and just relaxing (and general colon repairing), unfortunately what I say and what I do are never one and the same. My guilt that I get to travel trumps my desire to chill out and I only had one day in Chaing Mai, and so… after the longest, most delicious, soapy shower of my life, I was in bed by 8pm, up at 8am and off to check out the city.

Chaing Mai is not a huge city… I thought it was, but living in a ‘small town’ in China of 8 million… the term ‘town’ and ‘city’ are relative terms… there are only a million or so residents in the greater area. This might contribute to the homely vibe, the sense of community therein… Possibly given its also surrounded by mountains on every side, urban and rural are uniquely and peacefully intertwined.

The city dates back to 1296 BCE and was originally a walled city, of which, much of the wall still remains. It was beloved by the recently passed King and Queen of the Thai Kingdom and therefore cherished by the people and very much looked after.

You can almost feel the honour and respect for the place as you wander around.

As far as I can understand, Thailand has long been a very peaceful state… although originally split into individual ‘countries’, Chain Mai was part of the Lanna Kingdom and had strong relationships with the Royals of surrounding kingdoms. The 16^th and 18^th Centuries saw them experience invasion from Myanmar (Burma) and Ayutthaya (Siam) but eventually around 1774 the King of Bangkok realised the need to protect the city and the north… and in the most basic of terms, that brings us to here we are today.

The north is made up of a plethora of villages, peoples and cultures… all seemingly to respect and accept one another… may be the original melting pot… and makes for a diverse experience with constantly arising interesting facts… little pockets of history just waiting to be uncovered!

I literally just want to eat this place! I love it!

I spent the day visiting temples, but the places that most impressed me had more to do with the human component. Women that have been placed in jail get opportunities to learn skills, from baking to massage and beyond. There is a coffee house run by soon—to-exit female prisoners, massage spa’s run by

previous inmates… its incredible… this focus on rehabilitation, this focus on community and not… well, not painting a person for their whole life on one or multiple actions that they may have made based on situation – seems very different in the West… I think we could learn a thing or three.

At one of the more ancient sites I met with Buddhist Monks who had an ‘English Chat’ room… not online… literally tourists would sit down, have a cuppa, and chat to the Monks. This improves the Monks English, but also enables the sharing of ideas… my heart almost BURST at this concept

and I hope when I move to Thailand to be involved in this.

I’ll write about the South another time, but comparatively, this place… Chaing Mai… just made sense to me, seemed like a home away from home… my Asian version of ‘York’… a similar sense of peace and belonging…

I took a seat at a quaint outside restaurant, vines trailing over the awnings and ordered a seafood salad… “Is it spicey?” I asked, I was still somewhat tender for the previous 48 hours bout of well – you know what, “No… no!” the lovely waitress assured me “Very not spicey”.

Now, relatively recently I’ve discovered that I actually have a moderate to high allergy to fresh chilli. My colleagues complained that when I made them meals they were not spicey enough. So off I went, grabbed some fresh red and green chillies… started chopping them, while have a nice boogie in the kitchen and then…

My lips began to spontaneously grow… glow… tingle… flames ignited in my nostrils, my eyes watered and red… ca-ca-kafawing as my throat erupted in hives… Using my pinkie – which I knew I’d not touched any of the fruit of satan with, I rubbed my eye and LORD IN HEAVEN but the pain! I ran to the mirror… the left eye bloodshot and bulging!

Back into the kitchen, and I threw every remnant of the evil stuff in the rubbish, then grabbed the bag and took it out to the skip… Returning to the bathroom to shower and gargle and prey there would be no long term ramifications…

And since, I’ve been averse to going anywhere near anything resembling fresh

chilli or any of its devious relatives!

So when the most magnificent looking and mouth wateringly smelling giant seafood salad arrived at my table, and I… having been starved of anything but rice for a week… realised upon first mouthful that death was imminent… it was the first and last bite. The chef was devastated! But I thanked him graciously and explained my dreadfully Western palate!

The rest of the day was spent seeing temple after temple, some dating back to 1200 BCE… these awe inspiring ancient constructions leading people to come and pray decade after decade…

I will say as I wandered, maybe meandered is a better description… for so is the pace of this city, the scent of burning incense in the air, mingled with aroma’s of spice and coconut… fresh and sweet.

The sun was shining, there was oxygen in the air (a unique experience for me while living in Tangshan!) and a bar presented itself and soon I was sitting at the outer wall of the city enjoying a glass of wine, writing in my journal and that most important thing of all… BREATHING.

Much to my parents chagrin, after my first tattoo I’ve developed a like, possibly a love, for them. However… I will only add to my collection when something profoundly important happens to me, and I figured this equated to that.

After five hours of wandering the streets, visiting temples and taking in the delights of outdoor markets and bazaars, a quick relax at a bar, I pulled myself together and found a clean looking tattoo parlour.

Flicking through the example pamphlet at the front of the shop, a young, highly tattoed young man came out with his iPad to show some of his own work. I grabbed my phone and showed him a picture I’d taken of three elephants,

small, bigger and biggest…

He led me inside, grabbed an image off his wall – a much better image than the one I had… YES! I said… I indicated I wanted this on my right foot (my other tattoo is on my left wrist… so figured this would ensure I continued to keep my balance).

“Tattoo before?” he asked, he was really nice, great choice of tunes

“Yes”, I smiled, as if I was a tat pro, and showed him my wrist.

“This” he pointed at my foot, “lots lots lots more hurt…”

“Lots lots lots?” I asked

He nodded and pushed his finger on my foot to indicate the thin skin and moving my metatarsals… but a decision had be made… and you make a plan… you stick to the plan! Come hell or… lots lots lots more hurt.

So he began, and I held my breath once more and tried to concentrate on the music and after what felt like 20 minutes looked down in relief, he had pulled the wee maniacal needle away… he had…

COMPLETED THE SMALLEST ELEPHANT!

“Ok”, I said… “goodbye!”

He just giggled at me, wiped away some blood and moved on to Elephant number two.

I love my three little guys, I look at them every morning and it takes me back to Chaing Mai and Thailand and they keep me company. Panda is the smallest, because he’s small and cute, Narla is the middle… the caring but strong mother, and then there’s Balloo, big and powerful but not the brightest button.

Another early night, tomorrow I meet my Karen Hill Tribe Guide (soon to be life long friend). It would be goodbye to Chaing Mai for now… but I know that I’ll be back again… and I’ll be setting up house there for a good while.