Hello from the hazy north.
It’s day 4 in Chiang Mai, and today I have good news to report.
David (fellow volunteer) and I have been slogging away in the heat, visiting real estate agents and viewing rentals over the past 3 days - not much range of places (for location/budget etc), and requiring the translation services of our Thai work counterparts has been tricky. But our persistence has paid off, and we have a townhouse very centrally located and safe (yes mum). Photos to follow in a week or 3. Fully furnished, pretty tastefully so, from our short experience. Very happy I wasn’t forced into a motel-room esq. studio apartment. Our place is very basic and not much to look at but should be comfortable enough, with space for friends. Phew. One less thing.
Also as a plus we’ve managed to see a fair bit of Chiang Mai during this search. The old moated section of town is very pretty. Puppy-eyed tuk-tuk drivers seem to love harassing “farangs” (westerners – word meaning guava, cause we are round and white on the inside has been the explanation) for rides and I don’t feel comfortable seeing crusty old westerners coupled with very young Thai women, but avoiding the main tourist areas should help with both. Caught my first “sawng-thaew” (converted truck taxi) today. Am finding saying “khoop khun kha” (thankyou) and very little else all day to be quite monotonous – motivation for hitting the language books again I spose.
Other main point of progress was my starting work this afternoon. And right into the swing of things. I’m based in FORRU’s environmental education section with 3 very friendly Thai women. My main task, particularly early on, is to coordinate the English-speaking school programs. International schools pay to see the community nursery, tree planting sites, and for other environmental activities, and these visits help to cover costs for local Thai school students in the rural areas to have access to the programs too. On Sunday I’m heading out to a hillside community for 3 days (stay-over!) to see it all in operation. Am hopeful the variety of work will give me a fair chance to see lots of the Chiang Mai area.
OTHER LOCAL INFO: Chiang Mai is a city of about 200,000 people. The recent air pollution problems you may have heard about are mostly due to the slash and burn agricultural practice in combination with an El Nino (bummer – I’m doomed to drought conditions – bring on the monsoon I say). There is a beautiful, very large mountain overlooking the city, great eating venues along the river, and in 2 weeks there is the Songkran Water Festival for the Thai New Year. It’s “celebrated with an enthusiasm bordering on pure pandemonium” (Lonely Planet ref.). A 5 day water fight, and Chiang Mai is the place to be, so I’ll have amusements aplenty to report on soon.
In the local shopping centre I found a massage parlour advertising 1 hour Thai massages for less than $7, as well as a mango & sticky rice vendor, so I’m set. It sounds like western movies at the local cinema are about $3 each (even better than the Goulburn deal!) and ice skating for a similar price (yep, I’m going to be doing it tough up here).
I’m still deliberating about forms of traffic. I’ve been warned against bicycles unless I have a death wish, and my predecessor got around on a scooter, so I’m starting to consider that as an option......not sure.....even crossing the street here should be considered as an extreme sport, so having a wee bit of muscle with a motor could be helpful.......
I’ve got a good internet deal now and wireless to my hotel room, so bring on the updates, and recommendations for scooter colours. Otherwise, stay tuned for more adventures. And thanks for taking the time to read this epic!
Jen
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