My First Time in the City of Chiang Mai

I made a trip into Chiang mai, but this time it was not by the school vehicles. I rode in what is called a White Song Toa because it is only the white ones that drive outside Chiang mai’s city limit. The flat rate from Mae Tang, the village that the school is in, to Chiang mai is 24 baht ($0.60). The Song Toas are pick-up trucks with two seats on either side of the flat bed and a cover that has windows that can be opened and closed. I climbed in through a little opening in back and found a seat closest to the front. The White Song Toa will stop for anyone on the side the of the road who waves them down, or in some cases the driver will stop himself to pick up that day’s paper and a drink. The ride was about an hour long, 29km (18 miles), into the inner city of Chiang mai. I was traveling with the younger teacher and the writing translator for the school, Gap. We got off at the corner and instantly I saw the Song Toas change from white to red. I learned that the Red Song Toas are for riding within the city limit, and they can cost anywhere from 10 to 20 baht ($0.25 to $0.50) depending on where you want to go. If they know you are a furan who does not know the going rate or is not willing to bargain then they will charge you double rate 40 baht ($1.00). After arriving in the city, all three of us went to eat at a nice restaurant where the food was very good. The chicken salad was vegetables with a chicken leg on the side, but as my main course, I had noodles and pork covered in a sweet and sour sauce. One thing I have learned about Thai food is that they put sugar in everything; it might explain why some Thais have horrible teeth.
After eating I went with Gap to see the University of Chiang Mai or CMU. It is written as CMU because in Thai the adjective is placed after the noun. University of Chiang mai is a large university approximately 5km (3 miles) from one end to the other. It is similar to most any university; the grounds are well taken care of and while I was there they were busy planting flowers because of graduation this month. The university has different colleges (i.e. math, veterinary, biology, etc.), a mess hall were you can get a full meal for 10 baht ($0.25), and dormitories. The dormitories are separated by sex; a road separates the women’s and men’s dormitories, and members of the opposite sex cannot be in the other sex’s dormitory after 10PM everyday. I found it interesting that the only exception to the 10PM rule is during final exam week. Another major difference was the student body government at CMU. The student body government is not a three party system like universities in the United States, the student body at the University of Chiang mai is run by a parliamentary government. Just the pervious week, there had been elections where each party had a camp set up on a big grassy field where they were able to gain support. The whole school gets involved during the election time.
After leaving the University of Chiang mai, Gap left me, but first he helped me catch another Red Song Toa to the market where I was able to find my favorite fruit, Logan, in Thai it is called lam-yai. The fruit is naturally sugary and has a flavor that lasts a long time in your mouth. After realizing I had forgotten my map back at the school I ventured out for another map and found one in a short amount of time. I then walked all over exploring shops and found the Roof Top Bar that I read about in a book where I went to get a drink and enjoyed looking at the market from above ground. The best part of the Rooftop Bar was watching the sun set over the mountains surrounding Chiang mai. Around 7 PM it was time to head back to the Starfish Country Home School, and I found that doing it on my own for the first time was an experience I will remember. I first had to take a Red Song Toa to the Chiang Puak bus station, but where the driver dropped me off was 100 yards from the bus stop, which I did not know. I was able to orientate myself on the map and after figuring out what direction I needed to walk in, and I was able to get to the bus stop to pick up a White Song Toa. This is when the trip became memorable; I was, of course, the last person to be dropped off from the White Song Toa. It was about 8:45PM when I arrived at Mae Tang, and the pay phone that I was supposed to use to call someone at the school to pick me up was broken. Trying not to fret, I decided to just walk the 5km (3 miles) uphill towards the Starfish Country Home School. Now I know I was told never to get a ride from strangers, but when I passed the police station on my way I could hear them speaking Thai and probably laughing at me. Since Thai people are so friendly, one of the policemen offered me a ride the next 3 km (2 miles) to the school. I will forever be thankful to the policeman who was able to bring me back to the school by 10:30 PM. What a day it was!