Tuesday (Thailand Edition)
Back from Chiang Mai, Thailand, today. What an incredible city. I'll do a proper travel post on it in the future with photos, but here's the runday of a fantastic 4 days.
Day 1
Arrived, with my first order of business being swimming in the rooftop pool. It consisted of a beautiful sunset, kids splashing around, a couple who needed to get a room, and me doing laps and attempting underwater handstands. After that I was hungry and wandered into the city. Found a vintage shop and bought a Hawaiian shirt, then stopped at a nearby restaurant for khao soi. Went to an English comedy open mic at a bar and had a great time. Ended up drinking with the comedians and joining them at a karaoke bar until the midnight hours. Extremely drunk and fun.
Day 2
Slept in waaaaay too late into the afternoon. Hungover and hungry. Wandered the city, caught some amazing temples, and went to a very chill bar. The bartender spoke English, and we talked rock music. Called it a night early.
Day 3
Went to the Nimmanhaemin area, which is like Chiang Mai's version of LA's Arts District. Walked around, had coffee, very nice. Joined a Chiang Mai local/expat/traveler meetup dinner and met a lot of awesome folks. We ended up doing karaoke in the restaurant! Also there, was a woman from Chicago who just moved to Chiang Mai from her previous abroad stint. We had a nice talk and she was very cool. Anddddd we exchanged WhatsApps for if she ever comes to Taiwan. That would be very cool, Universe, just sayingggg šš. I joined a few of the other folks for pool at a bar that night. They wanted to go bar-hopping into the late hours, but I was tired and had an early morning tour to mountain temples the next day.
Day 4
Oops, actually the tour was at 1:30pm, but I had wanted to wake up earlier to swim again! Later, I got picked up in a songthaew bus, and it was awesome! Went to Doi Suthep Mountain for some amazing views, temples, and a lesson in Thai history. The tour included a hike on Doi Suthep's monk trail, which was surrounded by a beautiful, tropical forest. In the evening, I ventured off to Chiang Mai's Sunday Night Market, which... was the final boss of all night markets! It stretches over 1 km, with big food areas branching off to the sides. As it was my final night in Thailand, I had three dinners that night: pad Thai, egg rice (huge egg), and honey chicken.
The trip ended with me very full and with several new Hawaiian shirts. Plus I logged some amazing new birds in the Merlin Bird ID app. The vibes reminded me a lot like my Mexico City trip last year, with the laid-back, chill energy. I also felt almost reverse culture shock due to the number of expats in Chiang Mai, similar to my Beijing visit earlier this year. So different than Taipei!
It was a much-needed break, and I definitely want to see Chiang Mai again, although other parts of Thailand are calling to me as well. Bangkok for Songkran again would be amazing, plus I can visit an old friend. And Krabi has piqued my interest for something new.
Flight movies:
Friend Zone (2019):
A feel-good Thai rom-com that actually had legit comedy. It's the second Thai rom-com I've seen after Heart Attack (2015), and once again, it was a winner. The first lead actor, who was friend-zoned, is a male flight attendant accompanying his adored best friend, the other lead in the movie, all over Southeast Asia (plus good 'ole Hong Kong) as she tries to catch her boyfriend cheating. I loved all the shots of countries they visit, especially Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Yangon in Myanmar. And of course, Thailand's Krabi, which looks epic here. As they travel, things happen. Feels.
I don't really like the term or idea of being "friend-zoned" but the movie is a comedy. I have been too shy to state my feelings in my younger days and know the feeling of crushing on a friend hard, making the movie highly relatable to me. I've been listening to the main song from the soundtrack since I've returned, excited to this watch again.
Scream 7 (2026):
UGH. Bad. Thin story, uninspired kills. They need to stop making these.