Day 19 - Thursday, March 3 - Chiang Mai

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY ZACH AND JOY!

9AM:
Got back from travel agent. The flight I want to take only operates on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and the only options today are with connections through Bangkok and they get into Phuket too late. I'm sticking around Chiang Mai one more day and booked my flight to Phuket for tomorrow at 11:15AM. Had breakfast at Libra and watched a group that got back from the 3-day trek yesterday say their good byes as they each moved on with their respective travels. Some were off to Pai and then into Laos, others to Burma, and one girl was leaving for Australia for 6 months. The hugs, kisses, exchange of e-mails, and even a tear from one girls eye made me think how "normal" by goodbye with Unai and Eider was yesterday. Met a girl from Canada and she too was hanging around CM one more day awaiting her visa for Laos to come back.

She's going to spend most of her day getting massaged, answering e-mails, and internetting. I will do some of the same and will probably have to dedicate a good hour to post some photos. I dislike PC and I crave for iPhoto.

12:00PM
I just left an internet "place" (it wasn't a cafe) after unsuccessfully uploading photos. Their connection kept messing up and I got frustrated. On my way out I saw a guy with a great 17" Powerbook. He told me he learned his lesson last time he traveled and takes it with him everywhere now. He laughed at me for trying to upload photos on Snapfish using the Thai PC's. I'm now going for a walk around parts of the city I have neglected to see and find a faster connection speed. Remember, high speed to one, is not high speed to another.

1:30PM
I spent another hour at an internet place (this one also wasn't a cafe) but the connection speed was faster so I was able to do the photos. I'm now going to wander some more. I'm going to head back towards Libra as there was this little massage place that was advertising Herbal Sauna's. I need to see what that's all about. It sounds great.

8:00PM

I walked some more and tried to get lost in the tiny little alleys and soi's (little streets) of Chiang Mai. I think I know my way around pretty well now as I couldn't seem to get lost. Found the massage place and gave it a shot. I told him I wanted an Herbal Steam and an "oil massage". They led me back to the showers and told me I should steam for an hour first. AN HOUR STEAM? Well, there were all these instructions on "how to herbal steam" and I followed them exactly. I showered first and they gave me a little loin cloth to wrap around. I then was placed in a little individual sauna that was 3.5' x 3.5'. When seated, I couldn't raise my arms to the side and extend them fully (remember, your wing span is roughly the same length as your height) and there was about 3.5' from my head to the wall in front of me which had the door out. They recommend staying in for 15 minutes, then coming out, having some of this tea blend they make, and then another 15 minutes in. After the second 15 minutes, I got out, had my tea and a lady was waiting for me. She proceeded to rub this play-dough like mixture all over my body. I think she said it was a blend of oats, honey, almond and something else. Once I was all rubbed down, she sent me back inside. As the heat rose above the top of the thermometer (125 degrees fahreneit), I stayed in for another 25 minutes breathing in all these great herbs and letting the play-dough moisturize my skin. At this point, I think I was high on heat. I felt great. After finishing my hour herbal steam, I had some more hot tea (they say it's NOT GOOD to drink cold beverages when you get out of a hot sauna) and I showered again. I was led to the massage room where I proceeded to get the worst "oil massage" I've ever had. I was so relaxed that I didn't mind but this lady might as well have left me there alone and let me imagine getting a good massage at Burke Williams. Aftet the hour, I was served more tea and there was more oil on me than in the bottle. I started to wipe it off and she told me to leave it and let it soak into my skin. There was no way I could let all this oil stay on me so when she left, I wiped some of it off and got dressed. I left feeling very relaxed, very herbed, and my skin was glowing. Good thing the sun wasn't out as I don't think this oil had any sunscreen in it rather I believe it to have the same effect that baby oil would have on a nice sunny day.

I then proceeded to find a barber shop with a buzzer as my goate was getting a little long and it needed trimming. One place wanted 80 baht. I thought that was a bit high considering I could have taken the buzzer and do it myself in 8 seconds. I finally found a nice lady who wanted 40 and I agreed. I am now nicely groomed for my trip down south.

Back at Libra, I found Rooney conducting his pre-trek meeting to a group of 9 youngens who were leaving in the AM. I contemplated staying and joining them but they aren't so lucky. Dropped my pack off, and headed to find some dinner.

10:30PM

Found a different Italian Restaurant from last night and treated myself to a Caprese Salad and some Tagliatelle Bolognese and it was even tastier than last night. I then did the unthinkable - I walked throught the night maket one last time and headed over to the river to hear some music. It was still a little early so I walked back over the bridge and listened to some music on the main road. It wasn't bad. A little classic rock was on tonights set list. I am now back at Libra, going to pack my stuff again and this time, I'm really heading down South in the AM. My plans have changed yet again so I may only be in Phuket for 2 days or so before venturing on to Koh Lanta via Phi Phi for a day. I'm sure you'll all be the second to know once I decide.