Episode 2 Chiang Mai
Welcome to episode two of Rory’s Wanderlust Travel and my name is Rory. I am the author and host. Please don't forget to check out my blog www.roryswanderlusttravel.com . Everything I speak about in my podcast are my own thoughts and experience. I would like to thank all my followers for listening to my podcast.
The train pulled into the station, everyone including me stumbling to get their bag and debark the train. It was late at night, and I had to figure out how to get to the hotel I was staying at. I saw a line for the taxi, and I was tired, so I jumped into one and we were off. I had written the address and name on a piece of paper and handed it to the driver. He nodded and we were off.
It was another world, and it was nothing like Bangkok. There were temples and as we were driving, I saw a lit-up elephant and at that moment I thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen. It was just so beautiful. To this day just thinking about it gives me warm fuzzies.
We drove down these mini alleys that could only fit one car and maybe a motorbike at the same time. It was just all so mysterious looking at night. He dropped me off at this hotel I booked online called XOXO. From the outside I had no idea what I was getting myself into.
At the time I had no idea where to book and needed something cheap for the first two weeks as I came with limited funds. For two weeks it cost me $15 a night. Now you are probably thinking what could $15 get you a night. In Chiang Mai I actually had a nice ac room with a fridge. It was very basic but efficient. It is a must to have AC in Thailand. You will die without it because the heat can be extreme pretty much anywhere in Thailand. I was staying in the old part of Chiang Mai.
Today, after more than 700 years of growth and expansion, the physical, historical and cultural uniqueness of the city is still in evidence: the moats, walls, gates, the 40 ancient temples within the city walls, and hundreds more outside, together with the marketplaces, and the different communities of diverse ethnic groups and cultures.
Over the different historical periods and in modern time, the wall, adjacent moat, and several large gates have been rebuilt and renovated in parts with modern bricks.The ancient sites, monuments, and Buddhist temples have been restored and refurbished so that they would function as a living heritage that continues to serve its surrounding communities in many traditional ways.
Today, though congested by modern urbanization and overwhelmed by exuberant modern activities, Chiang Mai’s historical sites and monuments are well safeguarded and serve as the host for many cultural events and festival celebrations. From lantern-lighting during Loy Krathong, to water-fights at Songkran, the Flower Festivals and regular live music and cultural activities throughout the year.
Phae Gate, located on the east side of the city wall, is the most famous of all. Historically, it was the main gate through which monks, traders, and diplomats went to enter Chiang Mai. There is regular live music and cultural activities throughout the year. As the busiest and most bustling place in Chiang Mai, the areas surrounding Tha Phae Gate have always been a popular choice for tourist accommodation. There are a lot of hotels and guesthouses within walking distance from the gate, ranging from budget backpacker-style dorms to the well-known luxury 5-star resorts.
Other attractions close to Tha Phae Gate include the boxing stadium, bars, restaurants, cafes, the night bazaar, etc. Sunday evening is the busiest time here because Tha Phae Gate is the starting point of the extremely popular Chiang Mai Sunday Night Market Walking Street, which is also known as Tha Phae Walking Street.
Chang Phuak Gate, sometimes called the North Gate, is on the north side of the old city wall. In the daytime, the area is an ordinary street full of shops, (a lot of) backpacker hostels, restaurants and also several big ancient temples. It’s at night time though that the place really comes alive.
Chang Phuak Gate is most famous for its night market which opens every day in the evening from 5.00pm till midnight. Located right opposite the gate, the market is extremely lively at night with the locals and tourists enjoying their dinner and midnight supper. Many tourists come to this spot to take pictures against the wall and all so with the many annoying pigeons everywhere. People will pay to have someone take their picture with the pigeons, but I would suggest just asking another tourist to do it for free.
Another popular attraction of Chang Phuak Gate is the Jazz bar i.e. The North Gate Jazz Co-Op. With only a few places to listen to Jazz in Chiang Mai, this small building just outside the Old City often gets packed, and with good reason. The live acts are always electric, pulling in a regular crowd of expats, locals and plenty of visitors to the ramshackle yet charming space. I really like going and drinking a beer and listening to the very talented local talent.
Chiang Mai Gate, sometimes called the South Gate, is on the south end of the old city. Nothing really touristy here, except the markets. If you come as early as 6.00am, you will see some monks making their morning alms around and collecting food at the neighborhood market. The monks will get up early and walk around asking for donations from food to money. You can give an offering or not. That is totally up to you.
As I settled into the hotel, and I was really hungry I decided to go out and find some food. The city gets busier at night and the smells change at night. There is so much spice and amora in the air. Sometimes the smell will tickle your nose and burn and make you sneeze because it is just that powerful.
I ended up going to a stall along the street and getting some padi thai and sitting on the curb and having my meal. I wandered around and prayed I would not get lost. If you need anything in Asia you hit seven eleven. You go grocery shopping here. It is sometimes cheaper than grocery stores. You must try the ham and cheesy toasty. They are the best eaten at any time of the day.
I would spend the next ten days wandering the streets and getting used to the heat. This when covid was beginning to be an issue. In these ten days Thailand was threatening a lockdown. They would become the second country to lockdown and shut the airports. No flights in or out for eight months.
I knew I needed a real place to ride the lockdown out. So, I found a place on Airbnb. To be honest I was not sure where to live so I found a place and it was terrible. I lasted a week. It was located in a 24-story building and looked nice from the outside and it was close to the Maya mall, the grocery store. During lockdown only pharmacies and a few other places would be open. Let me tell you about this place. I walked in the bathtub in your living room, and it was small, but it had a kitchen. I was like maybe I could do this. The first night I could hear people having sex pretty above and both sides of me and you can hear people's full conversations in Thai I lasted a week here and I thought I would pay more to have a better place and I moved.
My next place was very nice and had a rooftop pool and a gym. I could do a lockdown here. I did do a long lockdown here, but I found outlets to help. I had no friends here in Thailand and there was really no one in my building and I was very lonely.
I would add people to Facebook that were local tourists like me. Someone told me about a motorbike group.
Yes, you heard me from a motorbike group. Seriously like a biker group. Never ever did I think I would be part of a motorbike gang. The first thing I had to do was to get a bike.
On one of the days, I could leave I walked to a motorbike shop and rented a bike for a month. This group would post coordinates and meet up outside of the city. The only challenge was to get outside of the city with no issues. I was very lucky, and I never had an issue. These rides were a lifesaver in my mental health. I met some of the coolest people and even locals on these rides. We would ride all day and sometimes end up lost in the jungle.
Even today I am still friends with many of these people. Many have not left Chiang Mai. I am currently back in Chiang Mai doing this episode. I wanted to see if I still felt what I felt when I first came here. the first time. The rush, the excitement and the newness. To be honest I do not. I will get into it in later episodes.
I need to back up a bit. Remember in my first episode I mentioned I had back surgery and hysterectomy before I started traveling. When I arrived in Chiang Mai, I was not healthy at all. I was 230 pounds and addicted to pain medication, nerve medicine and I needed to get off them. I did what any other person would. I started researching ways to get off the medications and acupuncture as one the healthiest ways.
Fortunately for me I was able to get acupuncture during lockdown. I went to a Chinese doctor, and he weaned me off the medicine with Chinese special tea and acupuncture. It took a couple of months, but I was off. I am not going to say it was easy. It was hard and I had withdrawals and I could not sleep. This Chinese guy kept telling me it will get better. I saw him three times a week. It did get better and with massage therapy, cupping and acupuncture I started feeling better.
I joined a hiking group. I had no idea if I could do it, but I knew I would try. I would do two hikes a week. On one of the hikes, we were really lost with no cell phone service. That day we met village people, and ran out of water and food. We would do a total of 27 kilometers that day.
This hike was very dangerous and extremely hard. It had rained the night before and most of the trails were washed out, so we were going to really use GPS on phone service. I need to point out I only hiked with experienced guides. The guides did hike twice a week, but there are things I could have done to help myself out and made this hike a bit more easy.
I needed to be more prepared. I was told initially it was an 8 km hike so I brought little water with me. I have no idea what I was thinking other than the previous hikes I have been on were spot on in length. Me being ex-military I knew better. I should have been prepared for the things that could have happen.
The hike started out like all previous hikes. We were all excited for the adventure. We are chatting as we are walking, and we start, and we pass by two elephants and some lower rice fields. It was such a pretty and surreal site. There were two village ladies attending to the fields. We do not bother them and keep moving on. Always respecting the land and the people is my golden rule for traveling. You will learn quickly people are more accepting when you do this.
The trail was very narrow that day and then there was no trail. We keep moving on, then we start climbing washed out hills and mountains. The thought was we would find cell service at the top. Climbing this hill was very mudding and hard and we kept sliding back down, but eventually we all made it to the top.
We all took a picture together because that was a bitch of a hill. We did a loop that day and so we continued on . there were steep inclines, streams and waterfalls we would discover. I was trying to conserve my water because I only brought two bottles. Yes, I already know this was a rookie mistake.
The afternoon was just about just keep going. The group stopped and took a dip in a waterfall to cool off. As the heat in Thailand can be crazy. The group came to a road, and we decided the best thing to do was to follow it out. There were many hills, and we all were getting tired. We eventually got picked by a Truck and we all loaded in the back of it and he took us to our bikes. This was a crazy but a great day.
A few of us friends created a group called the BQ junkies. Many were from the hiking and motorbike group. We would do a family dinner every Thursday at different places around the city. In a way we were a family. There were special dinners for birthdays and for people that were leaving. Saying see your latter is always hard.
I have debated covering this subject in my podcast and blog, but it is just part of the country is the sex tourism in Thailand. It is everywhere and seems like the western guys travel here for tourist things but also for the sex tourism. I am not going to take sides if this is a good thing or a bad thing.
Thailand is known for many things, but there is one thing that is either commonly joked about or remains hush hush locally.
It’s the country’s sex workers and red-light districts. These can be found all over Thailand. There is a fair share of travelers who visit Thailand specifically because they want to experience this ‘vibrant’ side of Thai life. But how did it all start?
This is where I take you on a journey and tell you a tale of the Thai sex industry…When waves of US soldiers began arriving on Thailand’s beaches during R&R breaks in the Vietnam War in the ’60s and early ’70s, many poor and underprivileged women who needed to provide for their families saw the economic potential. Many rural residents struggled as a result of a lack of work and low incomes, and as Thailand’s population rose in the cities, their financial options declined.
American and other nationalities soldiers began to crowd Thailand’s streets and pubs in quest of companionship and physical intimacy, countless impoverished women were forced to choose between searching for low-paying professions or red-light district jobs. The move to gentleman’s clubs, massage parlours, bars and even restaurants during the late 1990s and early 2000s represents a gentrification and normalisation of Thailand’s sex industry. The hubs for the industry also became more defined and started to become semi-respectable international drawcards for the world’s sex tourists.
Places like Pattaya (of course), Patong, Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy in Bangkok, and Bangla Road in Phuket are now well known for their entertainment ‘options’gaging in sex work.
Even today all you need to do is go out at night and walk the main areas of the city and you will find what you're looking for. The dating scene for western women in Thailand is very bad. Just do not plan to date here. That is the best advice I can give.
There are also equally vibrant ‘sois’ (streets) for the gay community, usually located near the hot zones for bars and nightlife. Here is the kicker Prostitution is illegal in Thailand, though the consequences are minor, and the legislation has plenty of grey areas exploited by operators. Under Section 5 of the 1996 Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act, a person who advertises herself or himself for sex could face a fine of 1,000 baht. This equals about $30 US Dollars. This is not even enforced.
Bottomline, the sex industry has brought in a lot of money for Thailand, especially among those who lack better employment options. And many tourists travel a long way just to experience the country’s red-light delights. Although officials know that much of the ‘transactions’ are illegal, there is no doubt they’ll continue turning a blind eye to the situation.
Thailand’s reputation for one of the most exciting red light travel options in the world remains secure. So if you are into this type of entertainment then come to Thailand. There comes a time when you know it is time to move on. This happened to me after being in Thailand for eight months. At this time was during the pandemic and the US passport had limited options to where to go.
In the next episode I will be going into my journey in Albania and how I got into a pretty bad motorbike accident.
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