Tips Accepted
George and I have become tour guides. The reason for the transition is that some of our children came to Chiang Mai to see us, and we wanted to show them around. I put together a few itineraries to highlight different parts of this city: the old and the new, as well as a little bit of Thai life, e.g., our neighborhood Santitham, touristy Nimmanahaeminda, the Old City (within the moat & walls circa 1300’s), the upscale Ping River area, Central Festival mega-mall, and others. We either walked, rode the public bus or took a GRAB. Sarah and her husband, both avid cyclists, warned us away from bicycling anymore (ref. our blog post Have Wheels. Will Travel). “Too dangerous, Mom!”
We showed them around Santitham and took them to our favorite restaurants which, since we cannot read the Thai names, we had renamed in English: “The Corner Couple”, “The Noodle Place”, “The Golden Wok or Guy with Two Wives”, and “The Coffee Kid”. We introduced them to the boba (“Bubble Tea”) couple who work their magic in a closet-size space, and to the Smoothie Girls in Siri Wattana market with whom George has fallen in love (he says it’s really they who are smitten with him and his man-bun). The highlight tour was the Women’s Correctional Institution Vocational Training Center (aka Women’s Prisoner Massage, ref our blog post The Massage is the Medium) where everyone took selfies under the “Welcome to Prison” sign. Add pickle ball, Muay Thai (boxing), a day with elephants, and the Miracle Cabaret (Lady boy musical review), and I think we all had a great time.
We thoroughly enjoyed showing them around this city we have grown to love. It should be noted that because Thai law does not allow foreigners to work here, we accepted their gratitude (no debit card needed to access the Bank of Mom) and unsolicited tips (“Dad, 2 wats max today.”)