Musings of a Massage Therapist: I made it!

by the river

After a very long journey I am finally here. I've spent the past two days settling in and getting my bearings. My hotel is in a great location, right across from the night market and close to everything I need. I can just walk from where I'm staying and see a ton of things in Chiang Mai! Thai massage is everywhere, practically every other shop, there are so many places I don't even know where to start. I eased my way in with a mani/pedi/foot massage that was very relaxing. At one point I had 3 people working on me and the massage was a combo of oil and thai. Very helpful for my cramping feet.

Everyone is friendly but the language barrier does create some difficulties. I'm getting by with the little bit of Thai I learned but need to practice more. School starts Monday and I'll need to go shopping for appropriate clothing - nothing too revealing, tight or above the knee. They really do take this seriously. Thankfully theres lots of stores with just the right kind of pants I need - I've scoped them out and will go shopping before school starts. I'm looking forward to a regular routine and making new friends. Wandering aimlessly by yourself isn't so much fun! Not quite sure what to do with my next two days off, perhaps I will visit the zoo or the old city and some temples. Will definitely have a massage (or two). I slept for 14 hours yesterday!

Getting used to food in a foreign country is always hard with my fussy stomach, especially after getting sick on the plane (there was a lot of turbulence). I've been walking around trying to find a few places that I can eat at easily and am not being too adventurous so far. There's lots of strange foods I've never seen before, including a fruit one of the locals staying at my hotel gave me. It looks like a potato and tastes like a pear. I will try more as I get used to all the new tastes. For now I'm staying safe! Except for breakfast at the hotel - the thai breakfast looked much better then the ham and eggs they keep serving me, I think I'm going to ask for it tomorrow.