Chiang Chiang Chiaaaaaang

"So the trendy new thing here is toast."

Kelsey, our fellow PiA-er and one of our hostesses with mostesses this weekend, shared this tidbit of info with us when we arrived at her apartment Saturday afternoon, referencing a "toast-themed restuarant" that had just opened up across the street. Did I mention the Nan-ies decided to go big and get out of town for the weekend? Our destination: Chiang Mai, the largest city in northern Thailand, and a 6-hour trip west of Nan. Kelsey's toast comment just about sums up our weekend in Chiang Mai: a little bizarre, washed in whitiness, and full of things and terms (like "trendy") that are basically nonexistent in Nan.

To get there, we splurged for the "VIP" Nan-Chiang Mai bus, which for about $30 roundtrip bought us reclining leather seats, snacks for the long ride (fish flavored chips, mm!), a super-loud Thai action movie, and some seriously frigid air conditioning. Aside from feeling like I was in an icebox, the bus ride was incredible. Nan Province is surrounded by mountains and rural hillsides that encase the low river valley of the city. Our bus driver - who paid no mind to speed limits nor traffic laws nor correct sides of the road the entire ride to Chiang Mai - took us through these windy mountainous overpasses on our way out of Nan. The large tour bus heaved left and right with each bend in the road, and out the movie-screen sized windows we had a constant view of lush green hillside, mountain peaks shrouded in low-hanging clouds, and quaint little huts lining the highway. Oh and, you know, the occassional elephant strolling by on the road. Nbd.

We arrived in Chiang Mai in the early afternoon Saturday and took a cab to Kelsey's neck of the woods, where we soon met up with her and several other Chiang Mai PiAers and friends. We spent a few hours cooling down at the apartment pool, and then made plans for the evening. Having had our fair share of authentic Thai culture and food in Nan, the Nan ajaans and I decided to use the weekend as an escape into civilization, allowing ourselves to blend into the white sea of thousands of other ex-pats and backpackers inhabiting Chiang Mai, and going all out for the best shopping and western-style foods the city had to offer (that Nan most certainly does not). Meals for the weekend included a dinner of pizza and wine, Sunday brunch of burritos and cheese-everything, a real salad (!), Starbucks (had to), and a 4th of July all-you-can-eat BBQ of hot dogs, hamburgers, and corn-on-the-cob (I'll get back to that soon). I know it may sound weird (or awful) that I came to one of the most culturally important cities in Thailand only to surround myself with white folks and pig out on burgers, but it was exactly what we needed this weekend. After a month of almost constant and complete Thai cultural immersion (aside from each other), and in honor of the special holiday, we wanted to spend a brief moment basking in the the obnoxious familiarities of Amurrica. And a moment was all wee needed.

Saturday night, after visiting the walking market where I picked up some saweeeeeet Thai handicrafts, we grabbed drinks and got a glimpse of Thai nightlife at a club called "Warm-Up," which was packed, primarily with Thais. Nightlife in Chiang Mai is.... wow. Intense. Plus, I don't think I've so much as seen a drunk person in over a month spent in Nan, but there outside the club were packs of inebriated Thais and Americans alike, stumbling across the busy street, tripping in sidewalk potholes, piling onto motorbikes and swerving away. It was bizarre.

Actually, the whole weekend in Chiang Mai was incredibly bizarre for me. Everytime I saw a white girl pass by (i.e., every 5 seconds), I instinctually assumed it to be either Anna, Nicole or Emily. Every time I heard English being spoken in an unfamiliar and unaccented voice, I found myself startled by it. The city sounds, the speeding cars, the loud music - it took a while to adjust and get used to. In a single month, Nan has officially turned me into a frumpster: someone who rarely does her hair or makeup (why bother? I only have 5 and 11 year olds to impress), who goes to bed around 10:30 every night, and who dresses like... well, like a Kindergarten teacher. It's okay - perhaps the frumpster's life is for me this year. It's still nice to know, though, that we have this incredible city to run off to every now and then...

On Sunday, after some morning shopping at a few boutiques and a mall (a mall!), we went to the U.S. Consulate's Independence Day celebration that was being held at a large park inside the city. We spent the whole afternoon there, standing in and out of long lines for delcious hot dogs, hamburgers, cole slaw, corn, watermelon, ice cream, American-imported beers, and every other kind of American food imaginable. There were swarms of Americans at the event, plus a fair amount of American-loving Thais, plus an Australian (?) band playing country songs up on stage. There was face painting, raffle prizes, cartoon caricatures, tug-of-war, and the requisite outdoor trailer restrooms (only with squat toilets instead of western ones). After the sun set, our national anthem was played (following Thaiand's), and a brief but impressive fireworks show was set off. This was by far the most all-out-American 4th of July I've had in quite a few years... and who knew? I had it in Southeast Asia.

We took the 10:30pm bus back home Sunday night, and arrived at the dark empty city streets of Nan early this morning. Only the morning market vendors near our school were out and about, already starting to set-up shop. Emily and I had agreed on the bus ride home that our Chiang Mai weekend was awesome, largely thanks to our fabulous PiA friends who hosted us and showed us around, and that we'll be back again soon. But also that in the meantime, we're very happy to be living our non-life Nan-life.