Day 1 in Thailand

I did not intend to blog from Thailand. Therefore, I did not bring my camera adapter and I cannot publish pictures at this time. But after my amazing day today, I had to blog! (Plus, there's a very cheap high speed internet cafe on either side of my guest house which makes it hard to resist.)

So! Day 1:
It's a quick 5:45 flight from Seoul to Bangkok. Customs & Immigration took about 10 minutes, I ate some quick & tasty Thai food at the airport and then the flight from Bangkok to Chiangmai was 1 hour on a huge airplane with exceptional service. My friend Emma had recommended a few guest houses in Chiangmai so I just picked one and had the taxi driver drop me in front. Of course they had availability so I got an air-con room for 500 Baht a night (roughly $15US). Looking out my window, there was the massage school I'll be attending next week! So convenient, thanks, Emma. I packed my camera and a few Baht(Thai currency) and meandered out around dusk to, unexpectedly, find the "Night Bazaar". Vendor after vendor after food stall of Thai goods (well, mostly Thai, some "Made in China", of course) and picked up some dried mango, Thai pants, and a watch. I think I'll wear Thai pants every day for the rest of my life. They're like wearing pajamas but acceptible in public. And very comfy for yoga. I spent the evening back at my guest house eating a nice dinner of veggie red Thai curry and planning out the stuff I don't to miss in Chiangmai. And then I slept like a baby.

Day 2:
I awoke to the sunrise out my 2nd floor room, warm and snuggly with about an hour before my scheduled Rueseri Dat Tan, or Thai Yoga class. A quick shower to wash away the previous evening's bug repellant in the Asian style shower-nozzle-on-the-bathroom-wall, on came the Thai pants, and a strong cup of coffee in the open-air cafe later and I was ready for my 1st Ruseri Dat Tan class. And it was great. My teacher spoke very little English, but it was easy to follow her movements and simple explanations. The studio is open on 2 sides to pink flowers, palm trees, and the calm Thai breeze, and the class begins with 10 minutes of meditation as the sounds of birds caress your waning thoughts. The 1 1/2 hour class was closer to 2 1/2 hours and took us through 10 poses I had done before, but in interesting variations and linked with specific breathing patterns that I have never experienced. I decided to take a full 15 hour course next week, so I'll be learning this style of yoga for 3 hours in the morning and basic Thai massage for 4 hours in the afternoon all next week. I know that's a lot of studying, but I came on this vacation as a personal retreat and these are the things I like to do on my personal retreats. I've been walking past "Trekking adventures" advertisements all day and, as much fun as they may be, I think I'll prefer to just stay quietly in Chiangmai and practice healing arts for the next 7 days.

After I left Loikroh Massage School, it was noon and time for some lunch! I headed in the direction of the 'Old City' which is surrounded by stone walls, gates, a moat, and a very busy road, and ran into Juicy4U, a vegetarian cafe & juice bar. Vegetarian food is, contrary to Korea, very easy to find in Thailand. However, most standard menus have only one or 2 choices. This place was great! I had pineapple, beet, ginger & carrot juice, and a northern style Thai noodle soup which was little on the spicy side. Yum! I think this'll be my home cafe for the next week since it's just a 10 minute walk away and will be a nice stop between morning yoga and afternoon massage. Consulting my guide map, I continued to explore the city for the next 2 hours, stopping at craft markets and a few batik shops mostly in search of Temples. I found 3 or 4 - there are over 300 in Chiangmai - and at the oldest and biggest I casually said hi to three young monks sitting in the shade, drawing the golden pagoda in front of them. The oldest asked if I'd like to join them, so I sat down to sketch the peak of an ancient shrine in ballpen. As the monk made a twig and grass exhibition with our sketches, we started chatting in English. He was warm and friendly, with the genuine smile I've only see on monks, and his English was refreshingly clear and well-pronounced. Janpur Liem, this 23 year old Laotian monk, graduated from a Buddhist University in Chiangmai the year before with a major in English, (he wanted to major in Buddhist Studies but, due to the lack of students, the major was closed) and is now helping his 2 younger brothers follow a similar path. He told me a lot about the Theravada Buddhism that is practiced in this part of Southeast Asia. We talked of the different practices of Buddhism in Asian countries and how each evolved from their unique social and spiritual culture. We laughed about monks who think it's okay to drink alcohol and wear plain clothes, and commiserated on the difficulty of expressing your true meaning in a foreign tongue. Finally after about an hour and a half, he excused himself to walk through the city with his brothers, and I continued on to a few more temples and an afternoon coffee stop at Wawee, a Thai coffee chain. A sidenote: Thai coffee is deliciously strong and flavorful and I'm already sad to go back to Korea where you pay $4-5 for a weak Americano. That about brings us up to speed. I'm currently sitting at a juice bar next door to my guesthouse using 65 cent an hour internet. I'll probably downgrade to a non-air conditioned room at my guesthouse for the next 6 nights. It's about 80 degrees F and not hot or humid enough to necessitate air conditioning. I think I'll head towards the river to find some live music a little later or check out the free live folk music from 8:30-10:30 at the Night Bazaar. Tomorrow I've arranged a cooking class in the afternoon, and Monday afternoon I start Thai Massage class. I also, tentatively, plan to meet my new monk friend Monday evening to learn some Thai Buddhist chanting. Maybe I'll squeeze in a massage tomorrow morning or grab a Tuk-Tuk out to a famous mountain temple with a beautiful view of Chiangmai city.

I had a thought last night as I walked through the bustling street market: I feel at home in Asia. Thailand is unique and this city is unique, but it's definitely Asian. It's not such a culture shock for me because I'm used to crowded streets, spicy foods, tiny fruit markets, neon signs, temples, and constantly hearing a foreign language. Thailand is certainly different from Korea, and from Japan and the Philipines - the only Asian countries I've been to - but they have a similar feeling. I don't think I can describe it, nor could I attempt to do it justice. But I am happy here.