Markets, massage and temples

I arrived in Chiang Rai this afternoon after a 3-hour bus ride from Chiang Mai. I found a guesthouse that is just slightly more expensive than the one in Chiang Mai, but much richer in amenities. I feel like I've hit the jackpot; there's a Western-style toilet and a HOT shower! I haven't had a hot shower since Bangkok, so I'm pretty excited. Woohoo!

I spent a few hours wandering around Chiang Rai. It seems like a pretty small city and I think I'm going to max out at two days here. There's a night bazaar, on a much smaller scale than Chiang Mai, and not far from this main market I found another one... which led me to conclude that Thailand is just one giant market. It's astonishing, really, the amount of commerce that goes on here. There are actually some different things up here, which is refreshing, and there's a lot fewer counterfeit goods. The other thing I've noticed is people seem a little friendlier here, and speak a lot less English. Signs are mostly in Thai, which is cool, but also challenging for non-Thai-speakers like myself.

I had an absolutely atrocious day of eating, which started with a crappy "trekkers breakfast" near my guesthouse in Chiang Mai, complete with runny eggs. From there it just went downhill, as travel days don't really lend themselves to three square meals. I grazed throughout most of the day - a pre-packaged croissant (tasty, but I'm sure packed with preservatives), coconut yogurt, Thai iced tea, a Belgian waffle, grilled corn-on-the-cob, and seaweed potato chips. Lay's is really good at tailoring their flavors to the local market. In Quebec, of course, they have ketchup chips, in India it's masala, and here in Thailand it's seaweed. Anyway, it was a pathetic day in terms of food. I decided to do something healthy for myself, in that case, so I went for a one-hour Thai massage. Heavenly. I've decided I'm going to get one every day for the rest of my time in Thailand, about one week. There's no excuse not to. And whenever I return to a more "normal life," my goal is to include a weekly or bi-weekly massage in my schedule. They're just so good for the body and soul.


Aagh! This was a first. I've seen the insects for sale, but only in their cooked form. At this market there were bins next to each final product... full of live, crawling creatures. As if I needed any more reason not to try this!


These I intend to try. Mini eggs. So cute.


Here are some of those funky drinks I've talked about. The middle one's definitely pomegranate, but the others, I'm not quite sure.


And here's a more normal tourist picture. ;) The clock tower at night.