February – Thailand, Laos

Thailand was another country that wasn’t on my bucket list. After 5 weeks there, I believe I have had my fill. Thailand is a beautiful country full of friendly people, but in my opinion, tourism is harming it (Cruise-ship tourists will love Thailand. They can get their alcohol, french fries and hot dogs practically everywhere).

Traveling with RY, there are local city teams that advise us on other things to do besides what is touristy. This is a great asset. For example, one of our track events took us to a reservoir (Mae Ngat dam), where we sat on wooden verandas, swam and ate yummy food – outside, in nature. Another day, two of us biked to the local lake, Huay Tang Tao, sat in a wooden hut over a lake and ate fresh fish.

We spent the month in Chiang Mai, which has become a digital nomad hub. The neighborhood we were in was very safe and full of ex-pats. The nearby bars and restaurants catered to a western international crowd. To see the “real” Thailand was challenging. One evening, we went for a 23 minute walk to the other side of Chiang Mai University. We ate in a vegan restaurant in a row of buildings with garage door openings. The food was amazing and the clientele was mainly university students.

During the first week, members from Urban Light Foundation and HUG Project came to speak about child sex trafficking. Thailand is one of the worst sex trafficking countries in the world. A good part of the reason lies in the combination of good internet infrastructure and availability of vulnerable peoples (refugees from surrounding countries). Add to that the ease and relatively cheap global travel, as well as the fact that many when faced with opportunity (even if not looking for it) simply try it out (see this article about child sex trafficking in the US).

So what can a tourist do? Be aware, be vigilant. Know the hotlines to call, but never confront suspected victims or traffickers. A woman who worked in a Thai massage / brothel says she suspects 95% of massage parlors are actually brothels. So if in Thailand and going for a massage, vet the place first. Are there 10 made-up women outside and 3 massage tables inside? Maybe not the place to go. And the ping pong shows? No, not a local custom.

Temples

There are tons of very ornate temples in Thailand – all are amazing to look at. I couldn’t include all I visited here.

Wat Sri Suphan in the heart of Chiang Mai is almost completely covered in plated silver. Unfortunately, it is also one of the few remaining temples that still believes a women defiles the temple since she menstruates. I only came across two temples I couldn’t enter.

One of the buildings at Wat Ban Den that we visited on the way to the reservoir.

Wat Rong Khun, Chiang Rai. The temple is built by an artist, Chalermchai Kositpipat. When he studied art at university, Thai traditional art was looked down upon. What he has done with this temple is merge western and Thai traditional art. There is so much symbolism in all of his work that one must look really close to actually see.

Food

I went vegan in Thailand and it turned out much easier than I thought it would! Then again, I believe the extant tourism had a hand in that … My favorite dish became Khao Soi, which is the local dish of Chiang Mai. At a track event with Niti, an Akha chef , I learned to make the vegan version. I’d be happy to make for anyone who visits me 🙂

Luang Prabang, Laos

My absolute favorite weekend was spent in Luang Prabang, an UNESCO World Heritage site. It was hot, sunny and the pace was slow. One day we spent walking around town, sitting at cafes to rest and refresh and ended with a two hour sunset boat tour – not with a random person hawking from the street, but organized by a waterfront restaurant / bar, Sa Sa. The boat took us a couple of kilometers up the river, away from all other boats.

In general, we enjoyed many sunsets. The day we arrived, the hotel manager was practically throwing us out of the reception to go across the street, have our welcome snack and watch the sun go down. We were very happy he was so insistent!

Another day we went on a tour of the Mekong river and Kuang Si waterfalls. Our guide for the day, an engineer who used to work for the water company, was born in the early 1960’s and experienced the decade long, daily bombing of Laos. It is sometimes referred to as the Secret War of Laos, since all attention was turned to Vietnam. The population at the time was about 300,000 and 3 million tons of explosives were dropped on Laos – do the math. Our guide told the story of how a village, with 374 people, hid in a cave to escape the bombing. Somehow, the US airforce was told communists were hiding in the cave and they sent a missile into the cave – the second one went straight in. Today, about 200 people a year die due to the bomb debris that still litters Laos. President Obama, the first sitting president to visit Laos, pledged $90 million to help clean up the debris.

Similar to Wat Rong Khun, Chiang Rai, there were tons and tons of tourists and it was challening to get pictures without people in them.

Muay Thai

Turns out, Lanna Muay Thai is one of the pre-eminent Muay Thai boxing gyms. There were competitors training there from around the world. Classes were 3 hours a day, twice a day. I went 5 times one week, once 2x a day. That was intense. The trainer in the photo has been training since he was 6 and that was 65 years ago … I couldn’t keep up with him for the life of me!

Wildflower

The local organization that we volunteered at for the month was Wildflower. My friend Sara was visiting during the time and she was gracious enough to come with and pull weeds. The mission helps young, single mothers who have been thrown out of their tribes and/or escaping abuse. The women learn a skill and work while the camp helps with child care. They also run a farm. It is an amazing organization.