Life in Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai is a mixture of new and old, Thai and international, urban and agricultural. We're staying in the old town of Chiang Mai which is surrounded by a wall and moat. Yes, it sounds very Medieval. If you walk all the way around the moat, it's about 6 km. There are now many entrances thru the walls, but the four main gates in the center of each of the four sides are Tha Phae Gate to the East, Chiang Mai Gate to the South, Suan Dok Gate to the West, and Chang Puak Gate to the North. We are located between Suan Dok and Chang Puak Gates in the northwest quarter of the old town. This area feels much less touristy than the east side of old town. 

Moat on the north side

Moat lined with lights at night on the south side

Enjoying a banana smoothie on a moat bridge

There are several major roads cutting all the way through old town. The smaller streets are named for the major street they branch off of and then given a number and the designation "soi". For example, Singharat Soi 7 is the 7th small street branching off the main road called Singharat. 

Moat, four main gates, and many roads

Bustling around old town and the moat are hundreds of cars, motorbikes, taxis, and tuk tuks. You cannot escape breathing in large amounts of exhaust. We were not expecting this, and it has not been a pleasant surprise. Many people on motorbikes wear face masks to lessen their fume intake. Having a motorbike gives you a lot of freedom to get around. They also zip around cars and traffic jams quite easily. Motorbikes are easy to rent here for about 200 baht ($6 USD) for a full day. 

Tuk tuk, car, and several motorbikes

All this traffic makes crossing streets an interesting experience. We have seen one pedestrian street crossing signal in the entire old town. One. The rest of the time you're on your own. Think of Frogger or of the opening scene of Mulan with Mulan's grandma crossing the street blindly. It's a jaywalker's paradise. All this is further complicated by lack of proper sidewalks on most roads either because of parked cars and motorbikes on the sidewalk or just no sidewalk. It's quite an adventure to wander around town. 

When wandering around town there are several things you see over and over again that begin to stick out. First, the mass amounts of 7-11's. They are everywhere! And, they all seem busy and full of Thai people. 7-11's here sell much more than in the United States. People, including our host, buy eggs and bread and other little grocery items from 7-11. 

For complete, full meals people partake in the many food options right on the street. There are numerous street carts with meats and fried chicken or little restaurants right off the street that freshly prepare rice and noodle dishes. Eating out is cheaper than making your own food and thus very cultural. It's fun to try to read the signs or look at the pictures and figure out what people are serving. 

Street food set up on the left

The other thing you see in multiples are massage places. In one block, I've seen five massage places! They range in fanciness and price. At the low end, you can stop into a place off the street and get an hour Thai massage from 150 baht (just $4 USD!). 

And finally, temples (called "wat(s)" in Thai) are everywhere throughout Chiang Mai. Seriously everywhere. There are over 200 temples with most located in the small area of old town. They range in size, opulence, and popularity. The major temples always have tourists streaming in and out. 

Wat Phra Singh: The closest major temple to our house

And coming with the temples are monks. There are orange-robed monks going in and out of temples, markets, and 7-11s. More common than older monks are young monks. We see orange-robed elementary or high school aged children, usually in groups of three or four, all over the city. 

Orange-robed monks walking down our street

If cats were the street animal of Tonsai, dogs are the choice of Chiang Mai. There are street dogs on every corner it seems, but most are congregated around temples and running around the temple grounds. As it turns out, this is because many temples have programs to supply dogs with food and medical care. So, we have begun to associate street dogs with temples. 

One of many street dogs

Not a street dog. Our host's dog, Manee 

Also related to temples are spirit houses. Most businesses have little, ornate houses up on poles. These houses are supposed to entice spirits to live there rather than in the businesses. They are decorated with flowers and garlands and may have figurines and even furniture in them. Fresh fruit and Fanta are common offerings to the spirits. To me they look like deluxe birdhouses; probably because I have seen birds at quite a few lured in by the sweets. 

Huge, fancy spirit house

There is one more common Chiang Mai animal to mention. Elephants. There are elephant statues, fountains, symbols, shaped bushes, and tourists wearing elephant pants throughout Chiang Mai and its temples. Chiang Mai also has a lot of elephant tourism and elephant rescue parks. 

Elephant bushes

One of a multitude of elephant statues

Clean water is a necessity for every day life. Buying a lot of individual water bottles will leave you with a lot of plastic waste. Instead, people buy their water in bulk in re-usable containers. We have also seen clean water refill stations around the city for a fee that look like Culligan, bottle-free water coolers. Our Airbnb host gets a delivery of water in glass bottles. Every Tuesday, she puts out the empty bottles and they are filled and sealed again. It makes me think of milk bottle deliveries of the past. Costs of water can add up, so thankfully it is included in our Airbnb. 

Water in glass bottles delivered every Tuesday

All restaurants, even little street ones, offer free water with your meal. Usually you just ladle it out of a big jug or use the water-filled pitcher on the table. You know you can trust the water, because everyone here needs clean water. It's not good for anyone, locals or tourists, to drink tap water. 

Laundry is another necessity of every day life. Washers and dryers are expensive to own. You have two options if you do not have your own. You can either go to a self-serve laundromat or you can bring your laundry to someone to have it done. The latter is a much more popular, efficient option and certain parts of town are full of places advertising laundry washed, dried, and folded for 40 baht per kilogram. 

Our Airbnb does not have a washer or dryer. Our host has her usual laundry lady. She has gone to the same place for so long that she can just leave her clothes on the doorstep and her laundry lady knows whose they are. However, our host told us that any place for 40 baht/kg would do. We wandered to the east side of old town where many laundry places are conglomerated. The first place we say for 40 baht/kg was a coffee shop. So, we went in, dropped off our laundry, were given a receipt, and were told to return anytime the next day. Our laundry weighed 3.75 kg, so it cost us 150 baht ($4 USD). 

We returned the next day with trepidation to see how the laundry turned out. It was given to us washed, dried, and nicely folded in a bag. The only hiccup was that there was a nice beach type towel in the bag that wasn't ours. We noticed it before we left and returned it. Thankfully, all our laundry was present and accounted for. While we prefer to be in control of our laundry, we felt very Thai having our laundry done this way. 

Clean, folded laundry

The busy old town, stuffed with houses, businesses, pavement, and transportation seems to trap heat within it. With the sun blazing down, midday heat feels especially smothering. Brandon and I usually try to get out in the morning, return to the coolness of the house for the afternoon, and then get out again in the evening. Evening feels the best as it cools with the setting of the sun. Plus, the people watching improves as the street comes alive with food carts and families eating out. It's a great part of the day. 

These at least are our observations for now. I'm sure we'll have many more experiences and find other things that exemplify typical life in Chiang Mai.