#2977, Sunday, January 1, 2023: Being the first and last day

Post 2977

- 13 years and 1 day since I started this blog -

At the Tae Phae Gate - kind of Chiang Mai's version of New York's Times Square - December 30, 2022. This may be one of the most cliched pictures of me ever. So it goes.

Journal

(written January 1, 2023)

Read this once (it won't change for the rest of the trip(s): I'll be linking this post to Facebook. If that's how you got here, here's some background: About 12 years ago I started this blog as a food journal. I had a medical situation and needed to lose weight. Initially, that's all I did here: Journal my food intake and my weight. It contributed to helping me lose 20+% of my body weight in 6 months, and continuing has kept me on track since then. I started adding commentary after a while, but lately it has become infrequent. 

While I'm traveling, I let go of the weight-tracking and food journaling, except for food shots when I've eaten something interesting or pretty. And that's where we find ourselves now.

It's the first day of the year, and my last full day in Chiang Mai. Tomorrow morning, I leave for Oaxaca, Mexico, a long trip that will recross the International Date line, and so, seem shorter than the forty hours that will elapse between takeoff in Chiang Mai and landing in Oaxaca.

Wistful isn't quite a strong enough word for the mixed feelings I'm having right now.

When I can't think of what to do in the moment, I usually end up at CU Corner. They have people playing almost every night, and some players are not averse to me joining in. Although on the night this pic was taken I was invited to join in advance, so brought my bass, they have a playable bass hanging on the wall, available on a whim. After Boy Blues Bar, probably the place I've done the most playing in Chiang Mai. My friend Ollie (top right, behind the harp player) invited me this time, so I got to play all night. I have such good friends.

Chiang Mai has all these little bars - thousands of them - three walls, open to the street. Something I can do here and nowhere else in the world that I've ever been to: Walk down the street and pass bar after bar with live music. Sure, not every street, but so many. The city is a delight for musicians.

At Chiang Mai Breakfast World, not only will you get a great breakfast, you can have this photo op with a chimp. All right, it isn't a real chimp, but carer has been taken to make the pics look like everyone is alive. Neither the chimp nor my claim to ever being cool are alive in this pic.

I've mentioned before that Chiang Mai has gone weed-crazy. Full-blown reefer madness. They sell pot everywhere - you can't walk a hundred yards and not see a weed store. And the quality of what they're growing is excellent; the Thai have always been good at growing stuff. The prices are high, which I find amusing, given that everything else is so inexpensive here. My friend David thinks it's because the whole business is immature, and thinks prices will come down over time. Oh, the picture: Look in the lower-left corner. There's a Starbudz weed store right next to an actual Starbucks! Can I also point out the pretty Support Local Growers sign right above it? Made you look. 

This is Oo, drummer extraordinaire, David's rhythm section partner - and best friend - and my best Thai friend. He's quite the character - always making mischief, and likes to be the boss of any situation, which, to be fair, he usually is. I've known him for five years, but only this trip have I gotten a real appreciation of him, especially his drumming. Just, crazy good.

That's Mi, badass proprietor of My Bar, all around good guy, and really scary motor scooter driver to ride with, and yes, that's a personal observation. Thais love the ice cream at McDonald's (I won't go in. I'm afraid of being struck by lightning) and David's all right with it, too. I just appreciate Ronald praying over my friends. Eating at Mickey D's, I'm sure it helps.

A slight digression. The top picture shows the beginning of Soi 5, the lane my guesthouse is on. That's Walking Street it's running off of. See that wot behind the wall? It conceals the golden temple pictured above, which it took me only three weeks to discover. I was just having too good a time.

New Year's Eve Section

December 30, and Chiang Mai has completed the 'Electric Garden' New Year's Eve decorations for the 'Chiang Mai New Year's Eve Countdown', which turns the Thapae Gate into a brillant wonderland. I got there just before sunset, to document the contrast.

It was wonderful seeing families get immersed in the 'Electric Garden'. It was a real success, beautifully done, and a perfect wonderland for children, who were out in force. I really like events that are primarily intended for Chiang Mai's residents, as opposed to Chinese and Anglo tourists. The Walking Market and holiday celebrations are some of those type of events. And the citizens come out in full force to support and enjoy these things. 

In an earlier blog post, I had some pictures of the lights on the moat, looking South towards the Thaepae Gate, before the lights at the Gate had been set up. Up top, how that ended up looking on New Year's Eve. Below, looking North from the Thaepae Gate. So lovely, and so nice to see people really enjoying it.

At Boy Blues Bar, New Years Eve Jam

I am so grateful to Joyce and Ollie for inviting me to play bass for Boy and be house bass for the New Year's Eve jam session. I was afraid I wouldn't get a chance to see Boy, who's been out of town taking care of a pretty serious medical issue. But getting to see him and jam with him was wonderful, and deeply meaningful to me. What a great New Year's Eve!

Random Closing Thoughts 

Next time I come back, I might stay in the same place. I really like this little neighborhood. A lot of things were different about this trip than my three previous visits over the last six years. For one thing, there's the new liberal attitude about pot. That makes a lot of things easier for me, and also, the pot is better than almost (almost, Jimmy) everything I could get previously. 

Even though the currency exchange rates were much better than any previous time I've been here (the US dollar is very strong now), inflation and Covid have combined to make it more expensive than any previous trip.

This trip was my least food-focused. I have become complacent - the food here is so good, no matter where it comes from. I didn't even visit my previous favorite Thai restaurant this trip - too many good restaurants closer.

The worst thing that happened to me this trip was this: I got angry at a cab driver for taking me out of my way, and was going to deny him a tip. Instead, I accidentally gave him a 1020 bhat for a 120 bhat fair - the thousands and hundred are almost the same color, and it was late and I was stoned. I don't mind the loss of money, but really feel bad about giving him a big reward instead of a taste of punishment. And that is the worst thing that happened my whole trip, which speaks to how excellent everything else was. No incidents at all.

While I was supposed to meet David and Oo at their gig after I was done at Boy's, there was a little mixup and that didn't happen. I ended up on the patio of my guesthouse at around 11:45pm. Being pretty close to the ThaePae party center, I had a good view of the fireworks, which were preceded by thousands of candle lanterns in the sky. I was able to sit in comfort, get stoned, talk to Alex and Katie in Philadelphia (family visit), and watch the big show.

Splendid! A great conclusion to a great evening. 

It's New Year's Day, and tomorrow morning I leave for Oaxaca, Mexico. I've never been to Oaxaca, although I've been to other parts of Mexico about a half dozen times before in the past. Quite a few travelers here, when they here I'm going there, are unanimous in telling me I'm "going to love it". I'm excited. 

Food Comment

No, this is not actually food, but a pretty bowl of petals and flowers on the front porch of Spices Indian Restaurant, my new favorite Indian restaurant in Chang Mai. Which means anywhere, because I've never eaten better Indian food than here in CM, and this is the best Indian restaurant I've been to antwhere. I really like Indian food - in my late teens, the restaurants on Lexington Avenue around  23rd Street provided me with my education on the cuisine. I've eaten Indian food everywhere I've ever traveled, except Jamaica. They have their own curries there. But Spices has eclipsed them all, including my former favorites, all here in CM. And, I didn't even get a picture, partially because the dishes came out one at a time, and partially because they weren't especially photogenic. When I come back, some day, I'll fix that.

Here's a sweet little breakfast plate from Chiang Mai Breakfast World, home of the chimp in the picture up top. This smoked salmon and eggs dish is, well, off the hook good. I've actually shown you this dish before, in context, but I was fooling around and decided to remove the background and feature only what I was served. Tastes as good as it looks. 

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