Author Archives: Robert A Findlay

Tuesday 4th June Chiang Mai, Thailand

Payap, University, international, grad, graduate, Chiang Mai, ThailandSchool has started, class is great, and homework is happening. There are five students in the class, and everyone seems really nice. There is a young man from Vietnam, an older teacher from Wales who has been teaching at private schools around Asia for the last twenty years, a language expert from Singapore, a young women who I think may be in seminary and here on exchange, and myself. Also, because we are special students, our class is held in the international/graduate student building which is brand new and really nice. This means air conditioning and no bugs. Also, it is an inside/outside building so it is sort of like a touch of home (in this case home being Sakamaki Hall at the University of Hawaii).

And as always, the food is great. I have now entered the “hubris stage” and am trying to eat anything and everything edible. Will this come back to haunt me? Only time will tell. I took a picture of the menu at my favorite eatery so that I could come home, translate it, and figure out what the foods were. This has been great. It has allowed me to order foods that I know are loaded with vegetables, or on the other hand, to order deep-fried balls of pork stuffed with chilies! My favorite go to is a really simple and lean long roasted pork with a sort of thin peanut sauce. It is pretty delicious. Also, I have gained a reputation as one of the only foreigners that anyone on my street has met who likes fruit. Thus people now regularly bring me fruit to make sure that I experience the real variety. Not too bad a reputation I guess.food, Thai, Thailand, Chiang Mai

Friday 1st June Chiang Mai, Thailand

Despite a concern that my classes maybe canceled, it turns out that my classes are on, the tuition is all paid, and I start Monday. One month of intense Thai language training to go.

bird, nestI woke up pretty early this morning to the sound of chirping and flapping birdies. As it turns out, the mommy/daddy bird decided it was time to toss the baby birds out of the nest to make sure they learn to fly. I suppose it is vital that children are thrown out of the house to make sure they become adults, I mean you don’t want them living there forever, but man does it seem to make a lot of noise. Despite a couple of the birds hanging out on my balcony in the morning, I think they all made it through the ordeal.

spider, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Speaking of wildlife, I spotted my first one of these (not) so little cuties yesterday.  He ran away pretty quickly and I had no desire to chase after him. I mean, me and Hagrid our pretty tight, but still you never know how many friends he has.

 

 

Thai, Thailand, salad, yam muI also had my first meal this time around that was genuinely too spicy for me. I felt a little like I might be sick after finishing it. Although it doesn’t look too hot, I have found it is really the salads that get you. I guess the idea is to burn off any bacteria, germs, etc…

 

On the other hand, I had an extremely pleasant berries, mulberries, Thailandand super cheap bag filled with mulberries as a dessert. These are really a sort of byproduct of the silk production industry – you need mulberry leaves to feed to silkworms – but they are dried and sold in hippy food stores in the United States as a “super food” so they must be good for me.

Wednesday 29th May Chiang Mai, Thailand

Well, the rainy season has officially started, yeah!

While my pasty white skin will still require sunscreen and the temperature will not drop too much, after two years in Hawaii and multiple weeks of strait sun in Thailand I am looking forward to some weather diversity. Now I just need to not get caught in the sudden down pours.

Went into town today to meet up with some Thai friends I made while travelling. Because I live a little ways outside the city the transportation is actually really pretty expensive. road, Chiang Mai, Payap, ThailandDrivers know you have few options and will go on and on about how far away your destination is. In reality it is only three miles or so. After getting into town, there was some confusion about when I would be meeting my friends, but at least I got to hang out in a fancy hotel for an hour or so.

After that we spent the afternoon and early evening getting some food, looking around the night market, and generally hanging out. face, toy, squishySpeaking Thai all day is a little hard on my brain, but it was really fun and I can’t wait to meet up with my friends again. They even got me a little gift. Awesome!

Tuesday 28th May Chiang Mai, Thailand

IMG_1336Welcome new Students! At first I thought this was a billboard advertising cigarettes. But no, it is my official welcome to campus. I went and took my placement test and according to my teacher I can read and write at a very advanced level, but have a fair way to go on my speaking. We will work on it in class. Unfortunately, there is one problem. There might not be a class. We need six people andFruit, Thailand, Thai, Chiang Mai myself included we only have four. They think they could bend the rules if we get to five. We will know by the end of the week. In the meantime, I guess I better just keep eating.

Sunday 26th May 2013 Chiang Mai, Thailand

bed, sheetsMoved into my apartment today! I am officially living in Thailand now. Unfortunately my apartment came furnished, but with none of the personal utilities such as sheets, towels, etc… So, I walked down to a giant supermarket/outlet store called Big C. I bought some cool stuff to get ready for the school term and make the apartment livable. Also, apparently bed sheets in Thailand are really expensive.

tea, cup, angleI bought some of the cheaper ones and they were still comparable with, if not higher than what you would pay in the US. I guess the idea is that they are pretty nice and I should hang on to them for life. I also bought a cup that reminds me of Laurel. Not necessarily in appearance, but in loving willingness to provide me with tea.

I also now find myself with a lot of time on my hands. I live a few miles from the city center and there are no tourist sites o places to go out here. There are about ten family restaurants that I think I will become very familiar with. I had some of their food today and it was really good and cheap. Also, I think the portions were bigger than in the tourist areas which seems strange to me, but I enjoyed it anyway.food, Payap, Thailand, noodle, soup, pad ga prow

Saturday 5th May 2013 Chiang Mai, Thailand

Sour, Sausage, Chiang Mai, ThailandToday was great. It was sort of my last day as a pure tourist before I have to move into my apartment and start thinking more about school, and books, and learning, and stuff. I started the day right with a huge plate of self-proclaimed “sour sausage” scrambled with eggs and tomatoes. It was pretty delicious. I only got a few bites that were genuinely sour.

The big thing today I guess was that I worked up the courage to go and get a Thai massage. Not only have I never gotten a massage in Thailand, I have never had a professional message at all. And before you worry I steered clear of any “massage” places. There is a huge spectrum here that ranges between massage parlors that advertise with scantily clad women at the tinted doors to old blind men who perform massage inside Buddhist temple compounds. In my case, I went to a fairly middle ground. It was pretty nice really. The woman who massaged me was in her late fifties, yet stronger than I am. They had me put on traditional thin Thai pants and shirt as the woman got ready to do her thing. Thai massage is a little different from the spa type American thing (at least the one I imagine and have seen pictures of). Thai, Massage, Thailand, Chiang Mai

Here they are really going after your tension and problems with gusto. I was literally folded into a number of possess to induce stretching, popping, and cracking. A few times I giggled thinking about how the woman could, if she were so inclined, potentially snap, crackle, and pop me to death. While there are no pictures of this event, these pictures from the door are actuate.

After the massage, the women realized I could speak Thai and this turned into about an hour-long Q and A session. It was pretty fun, and overall, a great day.

Friday 24th May 2013 Chiang Mai, Thailand

Managed to sleep in late today until the crack of 7:30. The first half of the day was pretty lazy answering e-mails, getting some books, and getting prepped up for school to start.

Chiang Mai Night BazaarThe real highlight was going to the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar. Right around sun down I headed over to this giant and expansive bazaar where Chiang Mai Night Bazaar Streetshop owners line the streets in booths and whole blocks are sectioned of for food venders and street hawkers. It is really pretty amazing.

 

 

This area of Thailand was once a stop on the southern arm of the Silk Road and it shows in this giant marketplace.

 

 

 

 

Chiang Mai Night BazaarAlthough one might be able to find anything imaginable at this market, the majority of items are clothing and handicrafts made locally and in the surrounding areas. I bought two shirts, but I have to take one back and swap the size.

Also the food was pretty good. In particular there is a specialfried, chillies, Chiang Mai, Night Bazaar Halal Street that caters to the many Muslim residents of the city. These families have origins in southern China, Burma, and Malaysia and this incredible diversity is expressed in the many interesting and exciting food options.

Thursday 23rd May 2013 Chiang Mai, Thailand

Payap UniverstiyWell, I found an apartment and visited Payap University today. This is where I will be spending the next bit of time studying Thai. Actually, it looks like a really nice little place. It is a small private Christian liberal arts school with a lot of greenery and waterways. The only major drawback is that the University is a few miles Apartment, Payap, Chiang Mai, Thailandoutside of the main town area and there is very little to do there at night and on the weekends. The apartment that I found is near the university, has air conditioning and its own bathroom, and even has air conditioning. Also, because the housing market is flooded here, especially in the summer, the rent is only about 85 dollars a month. I can’t complain about that.

After securing my apartment, I went back to my hotel in town where I will be staying for the next Noodles, Chiang Mai, Thailandcouple of days before I move into my new place. I then spent the afternoon and early evening walking around the old city looking at wats and eating food. I ate a bowl of meaty noodles with broth so thick it was actually opaque. I think tomorrow I might go to one of the many Thai massage parlors and see how that is. My friend Buddha, wat Phrasingh, Thailand, Chiang MaiTrude goes all the time and she

described it to me as feeling like doing yoga, only someone else does all the work for you. I guess we will see.

 

 

 

Wednesday 22nd May 2013 Chiang Mai, Thailand

Today I mostly spend taking it easy and recovering from my overnight train ride on which I did not sleep to well. A hint to my German travelers out there, if everyone else is sleeping don’t read mumble to yourself and pop open a bag of crunchy chips. It keeps others awake. IMG_0974I am staying in the old walled city in the center of Chiang Mai and there is plenty to do and see. I walked around the old district and found a few really beautiful temples to wander in. I also saw the central temple in the district which has both new and old wats dating back to the founding of the city.IMG_0977

 

 

But mostly what I really did was ate a lot. Pork with pork noodles, spicy minced meat with egg and basil, fatty meat on stick, bitter matcha tea, roti with thin egg and condensed milk, and a delicious falafel. Of course this was not all at one sitting. It took me a few hours.Food Chiang Mai Thailand

Tuesday 21st May 2013 Lopburi, Thailand

Thailand TrainTaking the train in Thailand is always great. Sure it is a little bumpy and sometimes you pay for non-existent air-conditioning, but overall you get a chance to sit back, relax, and see some of the scenery on your way.

Today I took the train to Lopburi, a small town that was at one time a major military and political center. There are interesting ruins of old temple complexes and city walls which still show the size and shape of the previous city. Lopburi Thailand

 

 

ladiesWhile looking around some of the ruins I ran into three Thai university students who were themselves visiting Lopburi. Despite being in their mid-twenties, these women had not really left Bangkok all and had, like myself never been to Lopburi. We decided to walk around and take in the sites together. This turned into an excellent afternoon and evening as these intelligent, beautiful, and funny women both served as impromptu tour guides, and also supplied endless conversation topics in both Thai and English.

Lopburi MonkeyOh did I mention this town is run by monkeys. That is right, because one of the ancient temples is dedicated to the monkey god, or at least monkey helper, the locals encouraged monkeys to hang out in the past. Now, however, the monkeys have become somewhat of a pest problem that people feel they can’t really get rid of. One of the women I was travelling with had her bag snatched by the monkeys because it had food in it. I guess this happens in Lopburi all the time. At one of the temples, they even gave us sticks to beat the monkeys if they got to aggressive with us.

For my part I like the monkeys. I know you are not supposed to play with them, but I reached out to one. Things went downhill pretty quickly. Thailand, Monkey, Lopburi