Jungle fever

Breakfast place at Akha Hill.
"Non mais là tu vois, c'est la jungle quoi, ça déchire. Je suis plus jungle que désert: le désert c'est sympa, mais bon, c'est pas pareil. Ouais, c'est sûr, je suis vachement plus jungle comme fille".

Busy bees and other lovely bugs

  

Chiang Rai and around

Thaïland

Looking for Bill M.

Over there, and in the most stupid  fashion, I broke one of my ribs.
I told it "OK, you do whatever you want, you go home if you want, but I'm staying here".
The day after I went biking around to make my point.
Every other day, my rib would try to complain. I pretended to care. A little.

I just loved the region: both the city and the moutains around. Great markets, loads of expats but none as arrogant as in Chiang Mai. It has the bustle of Thai cities but also some almost suburbian neighbourhoods. And the landscapes around are juste amazing...

Chiang Rai, Thaïland

Comme un léger décalage....

Une immense salle de roller-skate disco désaffectée, tout droit tirée des 60's US.
Sauf qu'on est à Chang Maï (hors les murs), en 2013.

I smell a wolf

So, OK, I'm no super cop, but I would say, someone here is missing and must have been seriously misbehaving.

Chiang Mai
Thailand

Yummy maybe

Butin du jour au marché chinois:
- Riz collant (qu'on mange avec les doigts (c'est ça le meilleur)
- Des fraises (pas lavées parce que je ris face au danger)
- Un assortiment de 3 coupelles de feuilles de bananier remplies de gelée de haricots rouges (avec des noix dedans, pour que ça croque)
- Des nougats au sésame (la version tendre)
- Des biscuits chinois dont une sorte ne doit contenir aucun ingrédient naturel
À faire passer avec une rasade de lait de soja.
Attendre quelques heures avant d'envisager le moindre effort au delà du déplacement de la chaise pour rester à l'ombre...

ChIang Mai
Thaïland

Why the Buddha smiles

 He's made of gold, which is good for self-confidence.

He gets lots of presents on billions of occasions.

And I mean cool presents: shampoo, moisturizer, coffee, tea, crackers...

... fruits and strangely enough, many toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste.


I mean, the guy definitely has perfect hygiene habits and everyone is bent on him keeping them so.

Who wouldn't smile?

Chiang Mai,
Thaïland

A few things about Chiang Mai

 So, right, Chiang Mai is a lovely city if you want to hang around with hundreds of patronizing expats and thousands of fun-looking tourists (and there's admittedly a WIDE range of fun activities of all kinds over there).

 There's also no denying that the many temples are gorgeous. Crowded with global bermudaed people fighting for the best photo shot or waiting more or less patiently for the enlightening 30 mn talk wih the monks.
Good if you can fit it between a thai boxing game and the night market.

 The city centre itself is pretty tiny and even the market smells neutral, which was one of the things I was really disappointed about.

But if you're into it, you can get your fair share of Budddhas in any positions, attitudes, ages (FYI, this one is a resting Buddha)

So obviously, Chiang Mai was not my favourite place even if I had lots of fun there based on soy milk, noodle soup and beer.

But just right  now and probably for the few months to come, there's a place I would pay a dear price to hide into.
 Oh well...

Looking for Bill M.

Chiang Mai
Thailand

Just a bridge to cross...

 Sukothaï,
Thaïland

so much safer, appealing, tempting, promising and so much else, than the bridge between today and tomorrow.
Plus there's not  a single rice pad on the way to school.

S