I’ve realised that I’m not a very good tourist. Perhaps this is because I’ve never really been a tourist before. Or perhaps it’s because I’m just itching to get to Mae Sot so haven’t put much thought into Chiang Mai. I’m not sure. But I do think that waking up at 5.30am and not being able to get back to sleep may play a part in it. I woke up, ate my complimentary breakfast and was ready to hit the mean streets of Chiang Mai by 7am. Unfortunately, the mean streets weren’t ready for me yet. So all I could do was wander about feeling warm. By about 8.30 I headed back to my hotel as nothing was going to open until 10.30am. So after a swim (in which I discovered my amazing 1970s homemade one piece that I got from a garage sale, is actually see-through), I went for another walk. This time things were open which was nice. But I think my haggling skills need some work. When is it appropriate to haggle? What kind of price is silly to ask? How the hell do I know if I’ve scored a ‘deal’? Because the bag that I got for 120 Baht this morning, about $4.20, would be sold for around $25 in NZ. Sounds like a deal to me. But I’m sure one of you will be thinking that I got jipped. Should I have tried to get it even cheaper? And what’s the deal with haggling in shops? Do you do it? Do you just haggle everywhere? These are serious questions, I know. Example: I bought two books for my bus ride to Mae Sot on Tuesday, they were both brand new, and were ‘classics’. I got George Orwell’s Burmese Days and Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient (I know, I know. But I couldn’t stop thinking of that episode of Seinfeld). Anyways, together they were about 350 Baht. As I was in a bonafide shop and not some kind of market/stall, I didn’t know if it was appropriate to haggle, both books together only cost me about $12NZ, and just as with the bag, still a good price I recon. Long boring story short, I don’t know how to haggle. And I don’t know how to be a tourist either. I’ve looked around the city, I’ve seen some very beautiful temples, and I’ve attempted to buy things. Oh, and of course I’ve eaten lots of delicious treats. What do I do now? Another question, do you tip in Thailand? I sure hope you don’t, because if you do, I’m being an asshole.
In other news, I’ve managed to give myself a ridiculous sunburn on day one, consisting of two halter singlet lines, two different necklaces in the middle, and then the aforementioned one-piece line thrown in for good measure. And have gigantic blisters between my toes and on the ball of one foot. Now, I don’t want you to think I am complaining. Because I am most certainly not. I am merely letting you know how ridiculous I look at the moment. Next time I venture out of this nice cool room it will be to buy some more delectable food, but I will also hunt down some sunblock and band aids while I'm at it. I’m meeting with my new work people tomorrow (hence why I’m in this city in the first place), and I’m going to look like an idiot. Ah well, that’s what you get eh.
PS. Chiang Mai is exponentially better than Bangkok (after all, the 16 hours I spent in Bangkok do qualify me as an expert in the place).
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