Let’s be clear: I one hundred percent don’t blame people for not knowing where Kazakhstan is. What’s funny to me is when I have to low-key explain/defend that it’s “really” in Asia.
A comment on a Facebook photo might make me go, “huh, I think they think I live in Europe.” But then I also get variations on the person who asked, when hearing I was going to China in 2021, if I’d been to Asia before. “I live in Asia now!” “Yeah, but not ‘Asia’ Asia.”
Dude, earlier this month I was in Zharkent, literally 20 miles from the border with China.
How much more “Asia” Asia can I get? Does it have to be a place a majority of Americans recognize? In which case, does Thailand count?
Thailand is a place I’ve long wanted to visit. My friend Sahni, who has family from there and knows it well, invited me to join her in November. Alas, I’d traveled in July, August, and September. Christmas vacation was already on the books. Could I squeeze in anything else? Yes. About 3.5 days.
Why travel so far for such a short time? Because in foreign service life, when friends from home are on the same continent as you (to reiterate, my current continent being Asia), you have to make up for all those missed happy hours. Still, I did wonder if it would be worth it.
Verdict? TOTALLY worth it.
From Kazakhstan a 6.5 hour direct flight to Bangkok feels like no bigs. Then it was a short hop to Chiang Mai and, with a time difference of only one hour, not even much jetlag to contend with.
My visit involved much of what people expect from “Asia” Asia: motor scooters, street food, night markets with vendors hawking everything from clothing to jewelry to edible bugs, all against a backdrop of lanterns and Buddhist temples and monks and drag shows (maybe that last one is specific to Thailand).
I gorged on vitamins D and C thanks to sunshine and tropical fruits, fortifying myself before returning to a long and dark winter in beet and cabbage land.
As smelly as they say? Yes.
A delicious base for ice cream? Also yes.
All that was on my to-do list was to hang out with Sahni and Leo and to eat all the food. Consequently, I did less research about this trip than perhaps anywhere else I’ve ever gone and I can’t impress you with a newfound knowledge of Thai history or culture. But here’s a hodge-podge of impressions from a day trip to Chiang Rai and then my time in Chiang Mai:
- The temples are gorgeous and ornate. Thai Buddhism is very
closely related to Hinduism (so much Ganesh!) and temples are everywhere. You pass dozens just in the old city of Chiang Mai. If you were thinking that Buddhism was free from the sexism of Christianity and Islam though, you should think again. - Getting around was super easy and cheap with songthaew, the ubiquitous, communal red vans. But the car and scooter traffic, even inside the old walled city, is pretty intense.
- Thai massage is an experience. Expect to be in a room with others, clothed, with a lady crawling on top of you, yanking your limbs around and giving the general impression that if she had the strength, she would grab you by the arms and swing you around over her head. I loved it.
- I was pleasantly surprised at how low-key the sales pressure was at the markets, especially compared to Morocco.
- There are a million crap things to buy but also a million very cool things to buy, from silk fabric to silver (literally an entire kilometer of silver shops along one street) to teak and pottery. I wasn’t in a shopping mood but if I return some day I’ll bring a second bag.
These elephant print pants seem to captivate all tourists except me
- Chiang Mai was way cleaner than I expected. Someone is always sweeping the street, and between the tropical fruits and the blooming tropical flowers, punctuated with aromas wafting off of street food carts, it smelled amazing!
- The food is outstanding. Drinks like mango and watermelon and butterfly pea and dragon fruit smoothies; dishes like pad thai and kao soi and fish grilled in banana leaves and papaya salad. I couldn’t get enough.
My hodge-podge of photos:
Chiang Rai
Wat Rong Khun (White Temple) is bit like a Buddhist Sagrada Familia in that it is the creation of one visionary, Chalermchai Kositpipat, who will be dead before he sees his project completed (around 2070). The temple grounds include images from traditional Buddhist and modern pop culture.
Baan Dam (Black House) is an installation from artist Thawan Duchanee. Peaceful gardens are filled with dark buildings decorated with animal horns, phallic symbols, and crocodile skins.
My favorite color! Wat Rong Seur Ten (Blue Temple) may not have the historic or artistic significance of some of the other temples I visited, but is nonetheless a stunner.
Chiang Mai
I picked a few historic temples to visit and then just stopped by any others that looked interesting. I only know the names of a few. There are too many to keep track!
With such intense heat during the day, many of the markets don’t start up until the evening.
So there it is. Sure I have lived in, worked in, and touristed around Central Asia for the last year of my life. But I finally made it to “Asia’ Asia. I’m ready to go back!
In Foreign Places 