Chapter 4: Chiang Mai

January 12, 2020:

Now that I’ve given everyone a nice cry, let’s get back into the good stuff.

Sunday afternoon, 30 hours after leaving Minneapolis, I finally touched down in Chiang Mai. Three flights later, complete with questionably named “fish rice” for dinner on the plane and I had made it! As mentioned in chapter three, miraculously my checked luggage arrived and I met my driver at a pre-determined gate. I hopped into the unlabeled car with the driver who held up my name on a sign and quickly realized the drive would be a quiet one. He didn’t speak one word of English, nor I one word of Thai. We had a quiet drive, but thankfully pulled up 15 minutes later in front of a building which looked somewhat recognizable from the few photos I had seen online. After a quick tour and check-in with my host, I was settled into a charming, second-story apartment complete with white, hotel-style fluffy duvets, leather throw pillows, and French-chic décor accents, very dissimilar from the decrepit exterior of the apartment complete with peeling white and blue striped paint. I sat down in my new apartment, my home for the next 5 weeks, all mine. I smiled. This felt right.

Despite jet lag sinking in, it seemed time to explore. Life without cell service is remarkable and honestly somewhat challenging. It was my first experience in quite some time needed to pre-plan my every turn to venture out, find dinner, and make it home in the dark setting lights of a lively, magical, bustling city.

I found myself stopping to look and smell endless delicious foods on my way down busy Nimman Road. I found a quant restaurant with a patio spot perfect for solo dining and watching people stroll by. I sat down, greeted with the most incredible plate of fresh panang chicken curry. Heaping piles of orange, buttery chicken sat in a. simmering coconut curry broth. I scooped steaming piles of white rice (which I hadn’t tasted in months) into the coconut concoction and cried a little tear of joy. When my check came, I realized I had spent the equivalent of $4 USD on this feast. I walked away feeling equal parts excitement and guilt about this. Heading home, I found my way back to my gorgeous, solo apartment and smiled.

A co-resident and fellow traveling companion from Minnesota would be staying in Chiang Mai during the month as well. S and I knew each other prior to this experience but weren’t necessarily close. He seemed like a fun travel companion, however, and I was looking forward to spending some time getting to know this new city together. When you realize you only know one other person in the entire city, entire country, entire continent away from home, it’s a decently good opportunity to become fast friends.

S and I met up at an adorable, outdoor café for a second dinner. Because, well, why not? We ate Burmese-style pork curry. This northern-style Thai dish was melt-in-your mouth good. I think we ended up eating it 10+ times over the next few weeks and never got bored. With our pork curry, we ordered an incredibly spicy herbed eggplant spread and a dip made out of peppers which must have come straight from hell. Topped off with a Singha beer, our friendship was set and we were ready to tackle Thailand together. Arriving home, I fell into a peaceful, jet-lagged slumber, simply excited for the days to come.

Fondly,

Courtney

© CB2020