Local Market

Walking down the sidewalk past an apartment building, I noticed that people just leave their helmets on the fence when they park their motorcycles.  Imagine that kind of trust.

This appears to be a motorcycle adapted for a wheelchair.

Since I arrived in Chiang Mai it's been rainy and chilly.  That's fine with me since I'm in a large hotel room with huge windows and a deep soaking tub.  What an excellent excuse to hang out  and take care of some business on the internet.

I was disappointed with the availability of delicious, cheap Thai food, though.  In Bangkok, if you step out of a hotel you'll run into street food vendors.  I had seen none.  Shocking! 

Today, though, while still overcast and chilly, the rain held off most of the day so I went out to explore my neighborhood.

The neighborhood, between the new Maya Lifestyle Shopping Center and Chiang Mai University, is filled with apartments and hotels.  Surprisingly, given the number of people in the area, there seem to be few restaurants nearby.  There is a lot of traffic.

Happily, I found a small neighborhood market.  I found it with my nose, drawn by the smell of meat barbecuing.  The grill that drew me in had a variety of large pieces of meat.  I stuck with the leg/thigh quarter of chicken that looked perfectly done with a slightly sticky looking glaze.

I pointed at a cucumber and looked questioning.  The charming middle-aged woman who was manning the grill nodded enthusiastically.  I said "salad"?  She nodded harder.  She held up a small red chile, asking if one was ok.  I said two and held up two fingers.  Silly me, it's unlucky to use an even number of chilis, so she added three to the larger mortar where she was tossing in ingredients.  Peanuts, sugar, salt, cucumber, tomato, fresh herbs, lime juice and sprouts.  She added some fish sauce.  She tasted and added a bit more of this and that.  She tasted again.  Perfect balance.

A large chicken quarter and large salad was less than $3.

I strolled on down the street toward more food and produce vendors.  Half of a cut-up pineapple was about $.50.  A bag of dried banana chips was about a quarter.

A small market on a side street in suburban Chiang Mai.

 

 

There were bright pink mushrooms and black mushrooms, the likes of which I've never seen.

And the small orange vegetable?  Looks like baby carrots but wasn't.  Hmmm.

Back in my room I discovered the food tasted as good as it looked and smelled.  I'm still surprised at the few dining options, given the density of housing in the area but at least I found a good spot.

Back to Chiang Mai

I've been lounging in Bangkok for the last 10 days.  It's been delightful.  I've spent a lot of time just hanging out with friends I taught with at AIS.  I'll miss them as they head off - either back to Myanmar or to the U.S.  The good news, we'll be reunited in December in Ohio, so it was easy to say "see you later".

I've been eating great food.  Yesterday was typical.  Grilled chicken and baby octopus from the street, along with some green mango (with salt, sugar, and ground chile for dipping) was delicious and cheap.  About $2 for a lot of flavor.  I found a recipe online that I'm going to try at home for grilled Thai chicken.  I'd love to be able to replicate it.

This morning I'm off to Chiang Mai.  The first time I came to SE Asia, years ago, it was to visit Chiang Mai.  I loved it then and am anxious to see how I feel when I return there.  During my first visit, my friend and I gawked and giggled when we saw a monk on a motorbike.  We loved the cooking class, learning about exotic ingredients like galangal and lemongrass.  We awed over the beauty of the wats.  And we shopped like mad women at the night market.

Now, I've lived and traveled in S.E. Asia for 2 1/2 years.  What was new and amazing then is routine now.  And Myanmar is more "authentic" in terms of culture.  There are still very few foreigners as compared to Chiang Mai which has a large expat community and lots of tourists.  I hope my expectations are set at the right level.

I'm looking forward to a city smaller than Bangkok.  Looking forward to Thai culture and food but with plenty of Western amenities.  Not planning to visit elephants or tigers but am looking forward to the orchid farm.

I'm mostly looking forward to more time for reflection, relaxation and just being in the present.  I'm not sure how long I'll be in Chiang Mai.  It could be a week or two.  Then back to Bangkok for a night and on to my 71st country, Vietnam.   At this point, only one date is firm.  I'll be boarding a flight from Bangkok to Orlando, via Guangzhou and New York on November 15, 2015.

Early Retirement

I had planned to continue teaching first grade in Mandalay until the beginning of June, 2016.  Then, retirement.  Instead, I've chosen to move the timetable forward. 

I won't go into details but it became clear that I would not be comfortable or positive in staying in my job at AIS.  The Head of School and I agreed that I would just leave for my scheduled visa run and not return.  Later, he informed me, via email, that he would retain half of my salary for the month.

Now, I'm in Bangkok.  Enjoying salad bars and Mexican food.  Also enjoying connecting with old and new friends.

Today, Saturday, I'm enjoying a rainy day in my hotel room.  So far, retirement is wonderful!

Hitting the Tourist Trail

Always fun to show the new teachers around Mandalay.  Here are a few of the places we visited today.

This is a tree trunk that is in the process of being carved at one of the places in Mandalay that does amazing carvings.

These ladies were part of a group at U Bein Bridge.  They wanted to take photos with me.  I turned the tables and took their photos too.  I ran into them an hour later and they took more photos of me.

More of the wood carvings in Amarapura.

These weren't tourists at U Bein but kids whose families where working there.  The one on the left in red was very friendly.  His friend, in the striped shirt, took a bit of convincing to get his photo taken but then turned very friendly.

I'll post more photos when the internet is cooperating.

I Bought Zucchini! and Other Highlights of Saturday in Mandalay

I deviated from my normal Saturday routine today.  I really didn't need more vegetables and since fruit choices are fairly limited now, I opted to skip my usual Saturday morning trip to Mingalar market for produce.  Instead, I went for a drive through the rice paddies.  Here are some photos:

15 minutes from my apartment in Mandalay.  Most tourists never see this.  They're missing out.

I bought a green mango from his mom.  He wasn't quite sure what to think of me.

The driving range at a nearby golf course.

Please come back - the internet is too slow now to upload more of the photos I took.

After the relaxing drive through the rice paddies, I spent a couple of hours at the salon being pampered.  Next was a trip to Citimart.  They had Australian imported iceberg lettuce and zucchini.  Ironic, in August to be paying top dollar for zucchini when some people can't give it away, but those people aren't in Myanmar.

Another lovely Saturday.

Another Typical Day...For a Queen

2800K worth of great Indian takeout food.  That's about $2.50 worth of deliciousness.

I did my normal chores today.  Here are some of the highlights (if you can call any errands highlights):

Mingalar market - nice to see all the smiles from my usual vendors.  Disappointing that there isn't a big variety of fruit in season now but I got a couple of pineapples, bananas and fresh coconut. 

I picked up the "dresses" that I'd had custom made.  Ok, they're moomoos.  I gave them a mu'umu'u (moomoo in Samoan) that I brought from Samoa along with some fabric I bought in Mandalay.  Total cost of sewing/fabric - $5 each.  My favorite mu'umu'u, which was made by a friend and co-teacher in Samoa had been damaged in Myanmar.  One of the ladies who does my laundry and cleans my apartment (have I mentioned I'm spoiled?) let the iron stay on it for too long and burned a whole.  The seamstress patched it as a gift.  BTW, I chose a lovely sky blue fabric for one of the mu'umu'us.  I'm wearing it now and it is very comfortable but I can't decide if it looks more like a prison uniform or hospital gown.

Money changer - when I arrived in July, 2013, the exchange was about $100 - 97,000K.  Last week it was $200 -  250,000K.  This week, $200 - 255,000K.  Yea for the dollar!  Bad for the Myanmar people.

New York Tailor - 30th and 66th.  I asked the ladies at Mingalar where I could find t-shirt material.  They sent me here.  No fabric but they do have t-shirts.  Cute ones, although the fabric is very thin.  But for $4, who cares?  I didn't buy any because the largest they had was 3X.  No, I'm not THAT huge but 3X here is about a large in the US.  They carry both men's and women's shirts.

Style Star - I love the ladies at Style Star.  Today, several had new uniforms.  Black and white, with very short skirts and "Guiness" written on them.  I'm thinking bar uniform, but the girls looked cute and seemed happy.  I had the works.  I was there for almost 4 hours for:  lowlights; manicure, pedicure; foot/leg massage; shoulder/neck/back massage; haircut.  $18.50.  I lied to all my friends at home and told them it was less than $10.  My bad.  Still, less than $20 for all that pampering?  And looking awesome?  Fabulous.

Fuji Grocery Store - I don't shop at Fuji often.  They don't sell meat or fresh produce or dairy products.  But they occasionally have random Western products - like brown sugar.  They have 4 types of Tabasco (shout out to my friends from Avery Island).  The only big surprise today was Reese's Nut Bars.  $.75.   They also had chilled Starbucks Frappucino, which I snagged.

Pondicherry Indian Restaurant - I asked Cho Sue (I'm sure that is spelled incorrectly but that's how I pronounce my driver's name) if I could get take out (pase = pah-say).  He assured me I could.  We pulled up in front of the restaurant.  Normally, Cho Sue leaps out of the car to open my door.  He seems to find it annoying (especially when in front of lots of locals) when I open my own door.  That's his job.  He didn't move so I started to open my door.  He turned and said "Pase?"  "Yes, I want it to go."  "Wait."

Sure enough, about 30 seconds later, a young boy ran up to the car and asked for our order.  5 minutes later, I had a large bag of food for 2800K (less than $2.50 at the current exchange rate.  The entree is paneer curry.  The rest are side dishes.  All are awesome and enough food for 2 meals.  C'mon America - catch up to the developing world when it comes to food and service!

SP Bakery - as we headed off to the bakery near the school, Cho Sue asked if I wanted to stop at Chicken King, since he knows I'm a fan of their chicken.  It's actually a mobile phone store with one freezer chest of Halal chicken.  I passed today since I ate a lot of chicken last week.

When we pulled up to SP Bakery, the young doorman (yes, there is a doorman for the bakery) ran to our car.  As Cho Sue opened my door, he had opened an umbrella to shield me from the sun as I walked the 15 feet to the bakery door.  I felt like a queen.  Then, as I went outside and tried to snag a tray to use to put my purchases on, I was interrupted by a young female employee who pointed out that was her job.  I let her follow me around to carry my choices.

When I left, the same young man had his umbrella ready to keep me from the sun's rays.  But this time, another young man joined him so I was escorted by two umbrella-carrying young men the few feet to my car.  I believe I've been promoted from queen to empress.  I also pointed out to Cho Sue that he needed to carry an umbrella in the future.  He laughed.

Home -  When we got home, Cho Sue collected all my belongings and carried them up to my 3rd floor apartment.  He came in, briefly, to drop them off.  He, as always, commented on my beautiful view.  He didn't linger, just thanked me and said goodbye.  "See you soon, my mother."  

Should You Visit Myanmar During the 2015 Election?

Tourism experts in Myanmar are predicting a significant drop in the number of tourists during high season, 2015/16.  That's normally November - February, which is also the time for the best weather in Myanmar.

An historic election is scheduled to be held in early November, 2015.  That seems to have created concerns about visiting the country during that time.  The government has already started hiring additional police to start in September to help guard against any violent protests or activities.

I can't predict the future but am not concerned about being here during the election.  I do plan to be cautious.  I don't discuss local politics.  I don't go near rallies or large crowds.  I am keeping up my normal routine, visiting the local stores, restaurants, markets and pagodas.  To this point, there has been absolutely no problems that I've encountered.

The other expats and I have a game we play when out and about.  It's based on "slug buggy", an old game in which you punched your companion in the arm every time you saw a VW bug.  In Mandalay, we punch each other every time we see a foreigner (not one of the expats who lives here).  It's a frenzy of punching and giggling when a tour bus drives past.

I hope you'll keep an eye on the news and not just automatically cancel your trip to Myanmar.  It's a beautiful, amazing country and the burgeoning tourism sector needs your support.  Plus, without you, I don't get to punch anyone.