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Flying into Chiang Mai, I quickly saw why so many people said it was a must in Thailand. I looked out the window in awe as the plane flew over jungles and mountains. The airport was very small and had only a few gates compared to Bangkok. Once I grabbed my bag off the conveyer belt, the taxi vendors shouted to the travelers for transportation anywhere flat rate ฿120.
I climbed in a cab and admired the country side of the new city I had just arrived to. Chiang Mai was like the Maui of Thailand, much more slow paced and laid back. I loved my time in Bangkok but was happy that I had traveled to see a different side of Thailand. This was a pace I enjoyed a little bit more. Chiang Mai was a very old city; all the buildings and homes very spread a part from each other with much more greenery.
After a short taxi ride, the driver pulled into a gated gravel driveway that led to The Gongkaew Chiang Mai Home. I walked up to the front desk that stood outside along a large covered cabana. Under the cabana lay bamboo lounge chairs, wooden tables and a coffee station. The computer stations were outside as well. Once I checked in, I walked through the courtyard and passed each small brick cabin until I reached mine, number six. My dorm was an all-female eight person dorm. I placed my bag in the ground and climbed the ladder up to my bunk. I hadn't got much sleep last night because I started to catch a head cold. Tossing and turning all night and then traveling to Chiang Mai left me exhausted. I decided to lay down for a nap before exploring. Just as I feel asleep, I heard a Danish accent call hello to me. I opened my eyes and to find an energetic girl, talking a mile a minute. She introduced herself as Astrid and was from Denmark. My head throbbing, I told her it was nice to meet her and lay my head back on the pillow. I wasn't feeling as social today. Ignoring my closed eyes, she asked me where I came from and what my plans were. I gave a very quick answer. She told me she was traveling alone and found it hard to make friends so wondered if I wanted to join her for dinner tonight. I told her I would love to join her but I needed to rest up for a little bit and shut my eyes. With no hesitation, she continued talking about her cooking class and tiger camp she attended this week. The pressure in my head was so strong and I was beginning to get irritated with her. I waited for her to take her next breathe, and then released a long sigh and told her again, that I was tired and was going to take a nap. As if surprised and telling her for the first time, she waved her hand and told me to enjoy.
Feeling rested but still congested, I made my way to the cabana to catch up on my blog. Within minutes, along strolled Astrid. My head buried in my iPad, she took a seat and asked what time I wanted to go to dinner. I told her I had some things to catch up on my iPad but in two hours I'd be ready. I began typing and in her strong Danish accent she spoke again, "Do you mind if I ask you something Julie?" Beginning to grow annoyed, I lifted my head and nodded. "Who will you be voting for in the Presidential election?" That was the last question I thought Astrid would ask me. In our own country that's a big no-no to ask. I told her I hadn't come to a decision yet. Not only did I not want to talk politics on my trip to Thailand, but I didn't want to talk about it with someone from Denmark. She dove right into her matter of fact opinion on universal healthcare and how she just doesn't understand how Americans would be against this. She jumped around on how Romney is a Mormon and she does not believe that Mormons should be running for president. Her mouth was moving so fast and she didn't even notice that I had not said a word in ten minutes. I found Astrid incredibly obnoxious and immature to not realize that her opinion was not always the only one. This was a first for me on this trip. Every person I had encountered was so kind and brought some sort of insight into my life. Then I land in Chiang Mai and am bombarded by this "Expert Politician" on countries she does not even live in. I told Astrid I had to get back to writing. She asked what I was writing and I told her a blog on my trip. She responded with "I never understood why people would waste time writing. It takes so long; I like to just take pictures if I want to remember it." Growing even more annoyed, I told her some people find writing therapeutic. This of course prompted her to say how she does not find sitting down and writing therapeutic at all. She went on to tell me she wrote an email to her parents and became so bored explaining everything she had done. She would have much rather spent her time doing something else. This girl was clueless that everything that came out of her mouth was offensive. I went back to typing and she asked another one, "Can I ask you another question?" All I wanted to do was write my thoughts down and instead was being bothered by Denmark Downer. She continued "You know what I cannot understand about America? Why there are so many rich people but then so many poor people. How you have so many extremes in a country that is so developed, I just never could understand it Julie" I stopped listening once she reached the topic of gun licenses in America. I really was regretting the commitment I had made to dinner tonight, hopefully she found some other victim to bore with her negative outlook on everything. Hours later, Astrid walked back up to the cabana with a friend. She introduced herself as Carolin and she was from England. I would be using Carolin as the buffer between Astrid and I tonight. We reached the main road and flagged down a Songtaew. Songtaews are how people got around in Chiang Mai and are red open sided pickup trucks that take multiple riders to multiple drop-off points for a set price. Songtaew means "two rows. "Astrid talked to the driver in a slow condescending tone "No, we no pay that amount. We pay 20 Baht for you to take us to the night market or we find another ride" She got us the right price but her way of talking to anyone was aggravating me. I wondered if I didn't have a headache if Astrid would annoy me so much. Once we reached the market, Astrid began talking about how she found the markets so irritating how they mark up the prices so high only to bargain them back down. I let Carolin tackle that conversation and strayed down the aisles to browse the market. I started to feel very warm and my headache was getting worse. Once we reached a row of restaurants, I asked them where they wanted to eat and Carolin pointed to a patio. Before I could comment, Astrid shook her head and said " No, you aren't supposed to eat at restaurants that don't have a lot of customers. It means it's not a good restaurant, let's move on." After noticing none of the restaurants at the night market had many customers, we just picked one. The server came over and took our drink orders. Astrid told the server in a very slow tone as if talking to a kindergartner, "I would like a coke but not diet. No diet, just regular coke." the Thai server made a strange face. Astrid repeated again and Carolin cut her off. "They don't have diet soda in Thailand Astrid, you just say coke. You're only confusing her. "Carolin was growing aggregated as well. Dinner with Astrid proved to be more painful then back at the hostel. She went on to tell us how her dad gave her money to buy a new computer but she booked this trip to Thailand instead. She was twenty-five years old but I found her to have the maturity level of a sixteen year old. After dinner we walked across the market and got Thai massages that Astrid talked down to only ฿140. I was trying to relax during the massage but my head was still pounding. I was beginning to worry that I would have to return back to the hostel early tonight, which wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if it got me away from Astrid. After our massages, we continued down the market and met up with Carolin's friend she met on a tour. He was from France and began asking me a lot of questions but I couldn't keep up. I started to feel dizzy and was burning up. I told the group that I was going to take a Songtaew back to the hostel. I flagged down the first one I saw and they would not take me. They told me it was too far for the community taxi. I walked up to another and they said if they took me I would have to pay ฿150. I walked up to another and he quoted me at ฿60 so hopped in. Driving in a Songtaew at night in a more rural city was the first time during my trip that I grew afraid. I didn't know the area and we were driving down dark country roads and I became very nervous. It wasn't smart to go alone from the market, but I wasn't feeling well so didn't really have a choice. The driver made a few more turns until I recognized the road we were on. He was taking me to my hostel and my stomach untwisted from the knots it was currently in. I reached the gate and dug around my purse for the key. The host told me upon check in that after 8pm, they look the gate and you have to unlock and remove the chain. In the dark, I reached around for the chain and found the pad lock and turned the big key. Once I opened the big iron gate, I wrapped the chain back around the gate and locked it back up. This was a totally different experience to coming home to bed. I felt like I was a teenager sneaking back in the house. I walked down the gravel road and through the dark courtyard to my cabin. As soon as I walked in, I heard hello from the bunk beside me. She introduced herself as Silvia. Although I was tired, I found Silvia very inspiring when she told me how long she had been traveling and how she is trying to decide what she wants to do in the next chapter of her life. She spoke so eloquently and reminded me of Luciana from Rome the way she spun stories into lessons. We talked for a short time until I fell asleep but I was glad that I had come back early to rest up and to meet such a positive person.
Did meeting Astrid ruin my day in Chiang Mai? No, but the reality is that not every single person along your journey is going to be riding the positive wave that you are. Astrid didn't necessarily bring me down and engulf me into her negativity. If anything she made me more aware of how you should save personal opinions for close friends, we all could be a little more filtered in public sometimes. I know I have a strong opinion on many things, maybe not politics but after meeting Astrid I am going to make a more conscious effort to think before I speak. The good news is, I finished the day on a good note by meeting Silvia.
- comments
Honey Glazed & Bavarian So, it sounds like you and Astrid were like peas in a pod!!!!!!! (Insert 5th grade "NOT" here) Thank Goodness for Silvia, and Carolyn too for that matter!! I hope you feel better. Get HEALTHY so u can be in good Health & Spirits while enjoying your trip.
Kristen OMG Astrid sounds like a P.I.T.A. Make sure you give her the link to your blog... ;)