Moat Walk!

Today I took it upon myself to do a little sightseeing around the old city of Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is a very walker-friendly city (it's only about 8 km across), and it is very hard to get lost. The city itself is divided into the old city and the new city, and expands from the inside out. The border between the two is a large moat which surrounds what used to be a very imposing brick wall that encircled the city. Think medieval castle with moats and parapets, but around an entire city. So, long story short, if you are ever lost, simply find the moat. Remnants of the wall are still found all around the moat, and the four main gates which provided access to the old city are still standing. In total, it is about a 6 km walk. To give you some scope, here's a map of the city.

Walking around the moat was great because it let me see how the city changes. Starting at Tha Phae, the very touristy part of the city, I made my way towards the more local areas. I began seeing more restaurants, clothing stores, some hair salons. You know, usual neighborhood stores. At the southwest corner of the moat, I came upon a gorgeous public park and began watching some guys who had met up to play some kind of game. One of guys stretching on the side started talking to me and explained the game. It is called Takraw (think taco, but with an r before the o). If you look it up in Wikipedia, it says it's like volleyball, but with your feet. These guys were playing a different version, from what I could tell. There was no net like in volleyball. Instead, as you can see in the video, they all stand in a circle and try and kick, knee, elbow, or head the ball into a net hanging about 15 feet above them. The guy told me they get different points for doing different things. So heading the ball in is 15 points, elbowing is 15, if you kick it through a circle you make with your arms, that's more. I don't remember the entire scoring breakdown, but it extremely elaborate. Oh, and he said they keep score for 40 minutes and whoever has the most, wins. Here's the video:

It was a quintessential Thai game in that the overall objective is to score as many points yourself and win, but you cannot do that without helping out your opponents. You can only score if the ball comes to you from someone else and you knock it in. So any kind of selfish or destructive playing will only hurt your chance to score. It's an oddly harmonious game.

After watching the Takraw game, I made my way north on the west side of the moat. This being the farthest from the tourists, it was the quietest side. On the northern side, I discovered a few electronics stores and stocked up on some stuff I needed. Then, I made my way back down to the Tha Phae gate, hopped on a Songthaew (shared taxi that's actually a pick up truck with two benches and a roof in the bed) and drove back to school. Pictures of my moat walk are on my Picasa page, which if you don't already have bookmarked, you can see here.

And we have internet

Finally got internet access in the room. It was very strange not having it at hand. I have become extremely attached to the internet, it would seem. Try it yourself and see how long you can last without checking your email or surfing the net.

Well, my first posting from my room should be about the school. I went around today and took a few pictures. There will be more, I promise. I walked around to try and remember my way around as much as I did to snap a few pictures. The campus is surprisingly big, and very spread out. The pictures started as location shots, but then I started doing close ups of flowers and butterflies, real manly stuff. Right after I took all the pictures of flowers and butterflies I wrestled a tiger and chopped down a tree just by looking at it, just to reaffirm my manliness.

No post, radio

A little update. A lack of internet access is the reason for the lack of postings. Believe me, there is more than enough material, just no way to get it out there. The IT department should be back at the school sometime in the next few days, and then I should have internet access in my room. Until then, it's sporadic access care of Nay's Cake & Bakery.

It Begins...

3 flights, two layovers (though they were more like rushovers. I have to leave more time between flights next time) and about 20 hours later, I have finally arrived in Chiang Mai. The fifteen minutes I spent in Hong Kong were nice; Bangkok was also very pleasant in the same capacity. But Chiang Mai will be my home for the next 6 months, so onto that. I did not expect this, but the moment I walked out of the airport in Chiang Mai, I was hit with that old familiar smell of a city in a developing country. Thoughts of Ghana and India flooded my memory as the smells of auto fuel, sweat, and damp air enveloped me. These are not bad smells, just very unique smells that can only be experienced, and made me feel even more comfortable in my decision. I like to think I thrive in these kinds of places.

I am staying in a swanky hotel tonight for about the cost of a Motel 6, and will be meeting people from the school tomorrow. They will show me my room, take me around (I hope) and help me get a sense of where things are. Then I have a few days to get settled before I start teaching. Until then, know that I arrived safely with all my bags, and I'm ready to begin this adventure.

I don't remember it feeling like that...

It is first class, and you'll pay every penny's

worth.

I went to Passport Health today to get my vaccines for Thailand and boy are my arms tired! Actually, they feel really sore, like I did 1,000 bicep curls. You probably heard me counting. But seriously, not only did I get five shots, but each of those shots average out to $75. I did get a sweet Garfield band-aid out of it though, so it all balances out in the end.

The whole Passport Health experience is a little ridiculous. They charge $65 just to show up and "consult" with you. The consultation involves a nifty little booklet explaining all of the horrible diseases you could contract and get vaccines for. The nurse reads through it with you and basically gives you a shopping list of shots you need. This is probably done to scare you into getting every shot they offer, which is exactly what I did. The way I looked at it, I could spend $575 today, or possibly get horribly sick there and then pay about that much for treatment. So the good folks at Passport Health gave me the shots, three in the left arm, two in the right. I don't remember other vaccines feeling like this, but I also don't think I ever got five at once. Just one more step towards my trip. It really is happening.