So instead of creating another "Darcy Goes to Thailand" or "Darcy's Thailand Adventures" or another equivalent I decided to mix things up a little bit and call mine the Uncomfortable Traveler. Why might I call it this, might you ask? Well, let me explain.
- I've never traveled abroad before
- Barely any signs are in english
- Not many people speak english
- Butchering the thai language is ridiculously easy (saying 'ma' with different tones magically turns the word grandma into horse... yikes)
- It's over 100 and super humid every day
- People drive on the wrong side of the road/car.
- A majority of the bathroom facilities are squatter toilets (google it, much less awkward than trying to explain it)
- etc etc etc
So, as you can see we have the IDEAL makings of some FANTASTIC yet awkward, uneasy, and of course - uncomfortable experiences :) I don't mean uncomfortable as a bad thing, just an inevitable.
SO - anyways, moving on to what has actually been going on the past few days. Let's start at the beginning. I left the San Francisco Airport at 1 AM on March 27th. The customs man told me I was incredibly gorgeous and had never seen a better passport photo - I felt uncomfortable. Here you can see me handy dandy money/passport belt. Good idea in theory, except when you have to wear your most valuable possessions pressed against to your body in 105 degree heats... you guessed it, clearly uncomfortable. Makes for some pretty crunchy money and passports.... The flight actually went by pretty quickly and before I knew it I was arriving in Taipei. I had a 4 hours lay over, which I spent a good portion of it roaming around a somewhat confusing airport trying to find my gate and giggling at the funny signs that were poorly translated into english. For example, "I miss my hometown, Taiwan really good! Taiwan go go go!" 
I have NO idea what the advertisement was for but I found it incredibly amusing. A few hours later, a 4 hour flight, and 8 bracelets later (arts and crafts on planes really makes the time fly) I found myself safe and sound at my final destination of Chiang Mai. It was hot, humid, and incredibly beautiful. The dozen of us or so that arrived on that flight all piled into a taxi called a 'song tao' (I think...),
which is basically a covered truck with bench seats designed to hold about 12 or so people. You can also stand on the back ledge of it and hold onto the bars kind of trolley style, I love the things you're allowed to do here since the notion of suing and liability is ridiculous
We are all staying at a international hostel called Uniserv which is affiliated with Chiang Mai University. Upon arriving, a few of us decided to go to mall which is a few blocks away to purchase cell phones (100 minutes and a brand new phone for 700 baht, 20 bucks, not a bad deal!) and get money since American money is accepted most places. The mall is 5 stories, and is kind of a mix between a supermarket/grocery store/pharmacy/electronics store/bowling alley/everything else. Some of the floors basically consist of kiosks and are eerily empty - awkward. After that a bunch of us decided to check out the Sunday Night Street Market. They sell EVERYTHING here - clothes, food, art, movies, shoes, bracelets, masks, hats, bags, and everything in between. I learned here that virtually everything is negotiable in Thailand... and they don't take no for an answer very easily. There are these women donning beaded hats and brightly colors garments that come up to all the tourists, poke you with little sticks, and then take these little statues shaped like frogs and run the stick along the frogs ridged back which makes kind of a croaking noise. They really aren't that remarkable but these ladies seem to think that the tourists will love them of something. Even after telling them no you're not interested they just stand their uncomfortably close and stare at you. It's interesting...
The next few days consisted of orientation, wandering around Chiang Mai, and attending school for the first day. I'm taking business negotiations, environmental psychology, thai humanities, and an online class of business strategies. We also have a mandatory class of learning thai, which is EXTREMELY difficult. It's fun to try and learn but very easy to butcher. Luckily, most of the people appreciate you trying to speak their language even if you're not doing a very good job at it. I went to my first yoga class in Thailand. It was vinyasa and a really good time. The teacher spoke english decently well and was helpful when we didn't understand her. I also learned that yoga teachers in Thailand are definitely not afraid to touch/adjust you whenever/wherever they feel like it. The yoga class ended with a long savasanah, a cold towel soaked in eucalyptus, and a massage that was dangerously close to being felt up - felt really good, but borderline uncomfortable. It was definitely a fun experience, I'm hoping to get to go back soon.
We all went to a full moon party last night at a placed called the monkey club - it was RIDICULOUS. It was packed with people, black lights everywhere, sand on the floor, and buckets (yes, literal buckets) of alcohol everywhere. There were guys who I assume worked for the place (they could have just been randoms for all we knew, but who cares) painting people's faces/backs/arms/bodies as soon as we got in, so naturally being the tourists we are we all had to get them. I got a sweet gecko painted on my shoulder. We all danced, drank, and were merry. However an odd note when it comes to partying in Thailand - the people were don't dance at all. They play club music but just stand around... kind of uncomfortable... All in all, a great night though.
I don't have too much to report at this time, other than it has been an amazing experience so far and I cannot wait to see what the next three months will have in store for me.
Some random facts/observations:
- There are stray dogs everywhere ( one even wandered into our classroom)
- Geckos cling to billboards at night (for the heat I assume)
- People don't seem to obey the traffic laws whatsoever and it seems that a red light only appears to make people drive faster
- More people drive scooters/motorcycles than cars
- It's not uncommon to see a truck with 15+ people in the back of it or a scooter with 3 or more people on it.
- Instant coffee = poison. Ickkk.
- Dinner for breakfast is common (fried rice and soup mmmm)
- People smile a LOT when they talk to you
- Apparently you can get thrown in jail if you say anything bad about the king - this law applies to foreigners too.
- There are some really humorous signs
More pictures....
And finally:
No smoking, no dogs, and no meat? Hmmmm interesting. I think I can handle that, I'll have to remember to leave my t-bone and filet mignon at home next time.... drat.
Alright, well 'til next time - keep it classy, keep it uncomfortable :)
