funny things in thailand

so here are some funny things i've either thought about while here, or thought about today as i wandered chiang mai alone for a few hours:

- you know you are getting used to thailand when riding third person on a motorbike with no helmet on any of the people and only having one hand on the shoulder of the person in front of you is normal and comfortable

- you also know you're getting used to thailand when 23 Baht for a pack of M&M's seems ridiculously overpriced (by comparison, a full meal is usually 35 Baht, and $1.00 = 33 Baht)

- markets here are crazy - filled with people, all the womens clothing is knock off designer labels (i just bought guys t-shirts, they were cooler and since thai guys are small, the small/extra small fits great), and i would rather avoid them and the frantic pace and bargaining...this means i won't be bringing much back, i got a couple things at regular fixed-price stores, and i'll be haggling over jewellry at one stall on sunday, but that's about all i can tolerate, i apologize to those of you i could not get something for, it was my intention to do so since you all have been so great during this, but i will do something for you i promise

- 7-11's are EVERYWHERE and commonly used (i've been to one almost everyday, or at least every other) there like your one stop shop for whatever you want, including coffee

- there are some funny western transplants here: sizzler, which i think i mentioned earlier is considered a pretty fancy place to go to eat; auntie anne's pretzels, not fair might i add, there isn't even one near the u-district, you have to go to alderwood; i think those are the funniest i've seen, but there are loads more...oh like starbucks, there are a LOT of starbucks, there are a lot of coffee shops in Chiang Mai in general which i find odd considering the weather here isn't really conducive to hot beverages, maybe this time of year for thai's though because it gets "cold"

- a book costs more than a shirt, i paid 150 Baht for a used book today, granted thats like, 5 bucks, but i paid 90 Baht for one shirt, and 200 for another.

- having food available to you at every step is awesome, and that is one thing i will definitely miss. restaurants are everywhere and you can find any type of food in like a one block radius, and then there are all the street vendors who serve delicious things like roti (which i spelled rotee eariler, i've seen both so i dont know which is right, doesnt really matter i guess) all day long...yummmmm

...hmm

i'm sure there are more, but i cant think of anything else. but yea, so today was a good day on the whole. there were bad moments but i got through them with the help of certain people, thank you again for that, and i spent the morning just looking at stuff online, blogging, e-mailing, and looking at what my options are for taking classes in digital photography when i get back; then i went to lunch with gaelle, we had khao suay (i think thats what it was called, its a northern thai curry soup with a chicken leg in it and crispy wheat noodles on top - very very good) and then i went off to visit some temples and shop a little while she went to teach a class. at first i was bored and visiting the temples was okay, the time of day wasnt great, midday/afternoon, so it was hot, there was little activity at the wats, and the light was crap so i didnt get many good pictures, and then i got overwhelmed at the market and came back toward gaelle's place and went to the mall, kad suan kaew, and got a couple shirts and a couple other souvenir things. after that it was getting dark so i went back to gaelle's place. i realized i could use myspace to listen to the music i missed, so that helped me feel better, AND i realized that since i would be back for new years eve so i can go to the devotchka show at the showbox, so that got me excited too. after that i met up with gaelle and doon for dinner, but my stomach was kinda blah after having an iced coffee from 7-11 (i didnt think about the fact that there was probably milk in it) so i got a pack of M&M's to eat for while i watch the movie i rented, juno, and now i am back at gaelle's, and i figured i would write on this, so here i am, and i'm watching 50 first dates, cause it's on tv here (in english too, just with thai subtitles), so i'll save juno for tomorrow maybe. so i got through today, here's to 3 more, hopefully i can stay busy...

oh, something else i was realizing today, while i want to go home, it is not the actual GOING home that i want to do, rather i want to BE home. so, what i mean by that is that i really like chiang mai, and i dont necessarily want to leave here, i just want to have the feeling of home here. so like, transplant home and everything about it, my apartment, my friends and family, etc etc here and i would be delighted. i dont know if i would want to live here though, it's nice this time of year, but in the rainy season and in the hot hot months i would probably hate it, but this is definitely somewhere i want to come back to with someone else so that i can enjoy it more...