The train ride was overall pleasant. Apart from discovering that my supposed fan carriage was clearly air-conditioned, and quite cold, the ride went smoothly. I woke up, and rather early (around 7 a.m.) I arrived in Chiang Mai. I left the train and sat down to figure out where I was going. Immediately after leaving the station, I was surrounded by taxi drivers and tour agents. Eventually I got a ride to downtown for a reasonable amount. A woman joined me who was clearly part of Chiang Mai’s tour-booking circuit. She went through the different sites I could see, trying to get me to “book” one of each. I felt slightly trapped because she was mostly talking at me. The routine seemed all too familiar to me through my travels: she simply gets a commission for bringing people to certain agencies, and of course since nothing is standardized, that commission gets passed to me. Finally I got downtown, after having been asked if I wanted to book a myriad of hotels and activities through her.

A nice coffee shop was across the street, and since I didn’t have breakfast or my daily coffee, I went inside. The coffee was pretty good, albeit expensive. Inside the shop I asked a group of people where they were staying, and after they recommended their guest house, I went on my mission to find it.

Since it was only a few blocks away, I quickly found the guesthouse. The woman did not have any rooms available at that point, but would shortly. I walked around for a little while, came back, and checked into my room. The room was of decent quality, and appeared clean. Well, actually, the strong smell of bleach in the bathroom reassured me that everything was clean.

I left the room and picked up the rental bike, then started to bike around. For lunch I had a regular Guinness, which seems to be something I try in every country I visit. I went to a temple, and I read a little about the history of Buddha. Next I biked around Old Town and soon became lost. Lunch time crept up on me, and I ate at a small cafe frequented by expatriates. Then I went across the bridge on a mission to go to a shopping area not really on any of my maps.

In the process I somehow got very, very lost. Twice. I saw some beautiful sights and temples, since Chiang Mai seems to have something interesting around every corner, but I was not going in the right direction. Eventually I stopped and asked where I was, which was a full 90 degrees off course. Since I didn’t really know where I was going, or how to get there, I just turned around and started to go back to my hotel. En route I stopped at a little cafe shop, had some more coffee, and chatted for a while.

Next I somehow made my way back to the guest house, and went upstairs to freshen up. After this I came back down, got on the rental bike, and booked my trekking trip for the next day. I compared places and prices, decided on the least expensive, and booked. I inquired as to the best Thai food around, and they told me to go to the Sunday Market.

I rode around briefly, then went to the Sunday Market. One thing I hadn’t mentioned so far is that one of my good friends had just returned to Thailand after studying there for a year. The problem was that I had no idea how to contact him, so I had to do a bit of detective work to find him. Eventually I tracked him down, and he agreed to meet me at the Sunday Market. Because I was outside a 7-Eleven, which, as in Taiwan, seemed to be everywhere, he eventually found me.

I wandered into the Market, which resembled the night markets in Taiwan, so I was in heaven. After stepping off the main “road” I picked up some drinks, and ate some dinner. The food was good and, fortunately, was something I could have ordered without Sean’s help. After dinner I walked back out to the main road, but a particular dilemma became apparent. I was planning to go trekking, yet had booked the package at the last minute. The dilemma was that I did not have any appropriate walking shoes. I jumped in a taxi thing and, with Sean following me, shuttled up to the nearest mall. Most shops were starting to close throughout the city, so I thought I would be out of luck. After arriving at the mall, and running through the shops, nothing was open. I had decided to then wander over to Sean’s place, and take a look if any spare shoes would fit; an unlikely possibility, as I am quite a bit taller.

Sean jumped on his motorcycle, and I decided to walk. The directions appeared simple: three blocks down the road, look for the picture of the King, then head to the apartments.

What Sean neglected to tell me is that a) the King picture wasn’t really near the apartments, and b), more importantly, the name was written in Thai. That would have helped if I spoke Thai…

I walked to the road, and took a right. There were about three ~14 story buildings around the corner, so I walked to what seemed the most logical. Upon arrival I realized this was more of a hotel, and by the looks of it, a hotel that had not yet opened. A group of search-and-rescue workers stood beside the road. Great! I’m lost, help! None of them spoke English. After calling Sean, they soon realized the building, and I jumped in the Search and Rescue truck and was taken to the front door. Up the elevator, and Sean was awaiting me.

Sean’s apartment was decent, about four times the size of mine, and about the same price. It had a few large sofas, a big bed, and a simple design. I had a beer, talked about old times, then went through some spare shoes. Soon I found an old pair, which somehow fit, and left. Once I reached the main road, a taxi quickly took me back near my guesthouse.

After a confusing walk back to the 7-Eleven, because the city looked quite different at night, I collected the rental bike and rode home.