I spent most of my time in Chiang Mai catching up with people I got to know last year and seeing some temples that I never got around to during that time.
A girl friend and I were out one night when we realized the tendency men have for comparing women’s features to animals. A guy approached our table and told her she has eyes like a panda during the day and like a cat at night. That reminded me of P’Tom who tells me he likes my chicken egg face and rabbit teeth. (Apparently, it’s a plus here if your two front teeth are longer than the rest, and there was even a time when hi-so women were shelling out for the dental work to accomplish this).
Another observation: As much as I love Chiang Mai, Bangkok has it beat for sure in one area—public transportation. In Bangkok, almost every place you’d need to go is convenient to a skytrain stop. And if it’s not, you just flag down a taxi anywhere, anytime—for cheap. Chiang Mai has overpriced tuk-tuks and songthaews that can be hard to find at times. Most people who live there depend on motorbikes, so if you won’t ride one, you’d better be prepared to stand your ground against a lot of peer pressure. I’m one of the rare few who won’t but for what I consider pretty good reasons. It was just about five years ago I was learning how to walk again, and once in a lifetime is enough for that. During rehab, I also met enough people there because of motorcycle accidents to dissuade me from ever riding one. Despite this, I really did almost give in for a short ride with a guy who swore on his safety. Last second, though, I couldn’t do it and shared a pricy tuk-tuk with someone else. When we all reached our next destination, the girl who did ride on the back of his bike was very shaken and scratched up. They had had an accident on the way over and she fell off, but luckily walked away with only scratches down one leg and arm. Because they were both foreigners and collided with Thais, they had to give all their money or deal with the police. No matter whose fault it is, the foreigner will always pay, and the police will make especially sure of this (they would get a cut of course).
This obviously affirmed my mistrust of motorbikes. It also reminded me of a Thai guy I know in Bangkok who wrecked his bike once, smashing all of the bones on the left side of his face. After many surgeries, he wrecked his bike again and smashed all the bones on the right side of his face. Sounds tragic, but he claims it’s okay. After the first wreck, he was ugly on one side and handsome on the other, but after the second, he was ugly on both so at least it’s even now. Gotta know how to look at the bright side I guess!
