safe and sound in chiang mai

sawasdee kah! ("hello" in thai)

i'm now adventuring solo in chiang mai!

yesterday i flew here from bangkok...i got settled into the sweet "3 sisters b&b" in the heart of the old city. i'm still dealing with some intestinal issues, which entailed an emergency stop several days ago in the middle of NOWHERE on the island of koh phangan...we were on the hour-long bumpy backroads F150 ride...making our way from our secluded hotel back to the main town to catch the ferry...i desperately lurched from the truck and scampered off into the jungle, toilet paper roll in hand...i find that the older i get, the less pride i seem to have...i see this as a very positive thing, as norwegians are allotted 200 times more pride than most other human beings are given to begin with.
anyway, due to this bodily issue i have right now, i have not been rip-roaring around town as i might usually upon arrival to a new place. i have been sauntering slowly about...stopping for many water-sipping, people-watching breaks...leisurely hanging out at temples, striking up conversations with monks...going back to the b&b for rests...eating piles of bananas. i am enjoying this city immensely. it reminds me of ubud, bali...but not as crazy...sidewalks are solely for pedestrians (and some PARKED motorbikes!)...and they aren't caving in with areas where you could easily fall into the sewer.
tonight, as i was meandering back to my room after eating an intentionally simple dinner at the only middle-eastern restaurant in town, "jerusalem" (been craving hummus and warm pita bread since the day i left san francisco for korea five months ago), i heard some chanting...i followed my ears and found my way into a beautiful temple grounds. i sat down under the towering, willowy trees and the fullness of the moon and watched as a group of monks, in their flashing orange robes, followed by about twenty lay people, slowly circled a giant golden pagoda/chedi with four golden buddhas...each buddha facing in one of the four directions. every person circling carried a long-stemmed rose and several sticks of incense between their praying hands. when the chanting was finished each person lit their incense and placed their flower in a vase on the altar of one of the four buddhas. it was such a beautiful ritual...i sat there feeling so glad to be alive...so lucky to have witnessed such a moment...and as i settled into the quiet...all alone in an unfamiliar place...i felt nothing but safe...