I chose to stay in a hostel here in Chiang Mai, but I took a private room with air conditioning. Breakast on the front patio is included. It is inside the moat, meaning in the old city. Most of the tourist hotels are well outside the historical core.
Doctor Fish: My feet took a leap into the deep today. I couldn’t resist a fish massage; that is, I let a tank of fish massage my feet. I had never heard of this before arriving in Chiang Mai, but on the very street where I am staying, I discovered Fish Spa. I read the sign, walked past, laughed out loud (lol), went back. In the window was a tank full of ‘guppies’ that looked like tiny catfish; they were the doctor fish. First, the proprietress washed my feet on the front step. In I went, hopped up on a bench behind an aquarium, and dangled my feet in the water. The little guppies started a feeding frenzy. It tickled. They scoured all dead skin and who knows what else off my fleshy phalanges. Especially the areas between my toes did they like. This lasted half an hour. Now truthfully, I can’t say my feet felt any better, but it was an experience I will never forget. I wonder if a franchise in Virginia Beach might find a market.
Serendipity is wonderful. A fish massage was not my objective this morning. Getting a haircut was. Be assured, though, that I did get my hair cut right outside the main gate to Chaing Mai. (Yes, all the old gates survive!) I was the only customer. I got a shampoo, a head massage, and a haircut for $5. Now, I look Thai and I have added to my international collection of haircuts. Remember: “The haircut is the souvenir that doesn’t take up any room in your luggage!” Where did you get your last haircut?
Chiang Mai: Chiang Mai is a big city with a small town atmosphere. I can see why Americans like it here. There are thousands. I hear they get together and celebrate July 4 every year (sponosred by the VFW). I met a teacher who had given up on California (where he wasn’t even a teacher), moved to Thailand, and got a job in a government school. Instruction is in English. He says there is a plan in the offing to provide all instruction in English for all students. Not verified, but it does make sense. Thailand has its own hill tribes that do not speak Thai, plus none of the neighboring countries speaks a mutually intelligible tongue. English will help modernize and knit the region (southeast Asia) together. If you need a job teaching English as a second language, come to Thailand. You will need a certificate, but you can get one here. There are flyers all over. In India, the role of English may be explainable by England’s overly long colonization. In Thailand, however, there was no colonial period, and English has no history. I suspect the first infatuation came during the Vietnam War when Thailand meant R&R for American troops. The Thais learned that English meant money.
The cost of living here is very low, and the city has apparently become a mecca for retirees, from both the US and Europe. Housing is cheap and foreigners can own property (but not the land). Plus, all the amenities are here or a quick hour-flight-to-Bangkok away. Coffee shops, pubs, restaurants, sidewalk food vendors are ubiquitous. I am finding free wifi here much more easily than in Bangkok. I like this laid-back town. Judging from the newspapers available, so do the French, Germans, and Italians. The newspapers look like they have been printed on a large-format printer and stapled together. News stands abound, and there are at least a dozen used book shops.
Geographically yours,
D.J.Z.
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