Scenes from the Street – Let's Just Travel

Chiang Mai is a really interesting place. I think it might be one of the “most different” places we’ve ever visited. Just driving around the town is so fascinating and you see so much that is new and unusual (to us anyway!). During our 4 months here I tried to capture some pictures of things that cause us to say “Kids, get off your phones and look around!”. Here’s a little taste of what we ~~hope the kids~~ saw…

Scooters. Everywhere. They squeeze in between the cars to get to the front of the line at intersections. Zoe compares them to bubbles that rise to the top in your soda. I am always sooo afraid we will hit one. Not sure why this guy felt like he needed a helmet but his son did not. Also, note the U-turn sign. The U-turn is a very common traffic pattern, but they leave very little room to wait until you have a space to make the turn, which backs up traffic in that lane.

By the end of the (very long) red light, there is be a huge group of scooters at the front. At least these guys were wearing helmets.

Three to a scooter is not uncommon. Helmets are fairly uncommon, however.

These flower things are sold at a lot of intersections. They are some arrangement you hang from your rear view mirror to bless your journey. I think these people had the right idea to bless their journey. We liked the guy who sold donuts at the intersection near our house.

Oh the wires! So. Many. Wires. They are everywhere. Interesting perspective, though… in some cases these wires are not considered an eyesore but instead, are evidence of progress, showing that telephones and electricity are prevalent in this area – which is something to be proud of. It’s amazing what you can learn when you view things from another’s culture.

More wires. It was almost impossible to get a picture without wires in it.

Riding in the back of a pickup is very common. Although I hear it will be outlawed soon, which will be interesting to see if; 1) it’s actually enforced, and; 2) how will all those people get around!? Note the U-turn sign again. And the wires.

Ubers and taxis all have little amulets and charms to bless their vehicle. This is the amulet in our rental car.

In October, the country was in mourning for the king’s death. He died a year ago but they were having his official cremation and funeral while we were in Chiang Mai. The entire town – and people – were decked out in black and white in remembrance. It was very, very sweet.

I snapped this picture during the 2-week mourning period. Everyone was wearing black, or black and white. Stores all changed their employee uniforms to dark colors. We tried to dress in dark colors, too.

This is the owner of our house. She is demonstrating The Thai Squat. Thai people are typically so small, they can easily do this little squat where they fold up their legs when they sit. You see people sitting on the streets like this, seemingly very comfortable. I did not attempt it. It would be called the “Middle-Aged Mom Can’t Get Back Up Squat”.

This is Haley demonstrating the Modified Thai Squat. It’s not quite right, she needs to be more on her heels, not on the balls of her feet. Good try, though, Haley.

The parking garages are pretty tight so everyone usually parks “back-in” to make it easier to get out. There are a lot of white cars here too.

These shrines are everywhere, adorned with fresh flowers and usually some juice. We were told that many gods like red juice. Red is the color for financial blessings. And gods seem to like sugar. [Allison nods in reverance.]

You’ll be just walking around, minding your own business and BAM! a temple. They were so pretty, especially at night. Chiang Mai has 400 temples. FOUR HUNDRED!!

This is one way to secure your load. Nothing to see here, folks.

The ads, especially for women, were noticeably NOT Thai people. That made me sad.

Whitening products are everywhere. You almost could not find soap or lotion without the whitening. Likewise, whitening treatments at skin clinics were also prevalent. And when you do see an Asian in an ad anywhere, it’s obvious that they’ve lightened the skin of the models. This explains why Zoe gets so much attention wherever she goes, because she has such a light complexion. They love touching her, too.

These throat lozenges are everywhere. I didn’t understand it at first but I learned that during burning season, when the farmers around this area burn their fields to prepare for the new crops, the air quality is so poor and so irritating to the eyes and throat that everyone uses these.

These were the snack options at the movie theater. They do not want hacking patrons disturbing the movie, clearly!

Ads are in a mix of English and Thai, but with the Buddhist calendar. What, exactly, is a Sexy Car Wash?? And notice the complexion of all the models?

This is an example of a sidewalk. It has some space to walk for awhile, but then it has cars parked on it that you have to walk around. It’s VERY hard to walk down the street and look around. You have to constantly look in front of you for obstacles or barriers, and that’s if there is even a sidewalk to use.

During some festivals, they have rows and rows of food vendors, which make the almost non-existent sidewalk single-file. So people would walk on the street, right next to the cars. Zoe was bonding with the driver of this car, evidently.

This is one of the guards at our community gate. This one, in particular, is so cute with his salute every time we come through the gate. The others salute too, but his salute is the best. He’s our favorite. We caught him in mid salute here. We will probably need to donate to his early retirement fund due to carpel tunnel syndrome. Or heat stroke. It was probably 90 degrees when we took this picture.

To me, this is one of the best (most accurate) pictures of Chiang Mai. You have a modern building, the red truck (their bus/taxi system), a memorial of the king and, of course, wires. The only thing missing is a scooter! And if you look closely you can see the flag at half-mast. This was during the mourning period.

So there are some scenes from the “real” Chiang Mai. It is a nice town with all that you would need, but I don’t think anyone would call it picturesque. It’s interesting in its rawness and grit and unique character. And it was “home” for 4 months. Thanks for being an interesting host, Chiang Mai!

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