Happy New Year 4-17-15

Helllooooo everyone!

I thought maybe I’d take a blog holiday for a bit while I regrouped, but then I realized what a terrible idea that was.  You guys are my cheerleaders, I need you right now!  I was talking to my friend Vicky one day when I was feeling down and she said, “go get a massage and then some chocolate.”  Who am I to argue with such sound advice?  I got a 1-hr Thai massage and 2 Toblerone chocolate bars.  Ahhh, that’s better.  The chocolate is cheap here and the massages are a steal at $6 per hour.  Yes, you read right, $6 per hour!  While I am uber excited about the cheap chocolate and fabulous Thai massages, I think I am most grateful for the Thai wifi gods that allow me to stay connected with all my peeps around the world.  I even got to Skype with my soul sister Siggy.  I didn’t even realize how much I missed her until I heard her Aussie accent.

I’m liking Chiang Mai so far.  It’s a nice combination of Thai culture and westernized conveniences that make it comfortable to be here.  It’s also considered the digital nomad capital of the world and a popular place for ex-pats.  Plus as I mentioned, it’s super cheap to be here!  My guest house is $9.50 a night.  That’s an upgrade from my other guest house that was $8.00, but I kept getting a roach visiting me each night and I just couldn’t sleep knowing he might be there.  You are worth $9.50 Eryn, just do it!  The food is cheap, water is cheap; I think the only thing I’ve found so far that isn’t cheap are tampons.  Those seem to be expensive all around the world.  Of course they want to know about the cost of tampons! 

I haven’t explored the city too much yet, but I happened to arrive right before the Thai New Year, known as Songkran, so all the action was right in the old city where my guest house was. Songkran is a combination of traditional Buddhist ceremonies and a 3-day water festival.  The early traditions of Songkran called for people to pour small cups of water over their friends and family to wash away the misfortune of the previous year and bring cleansing to start fresh in the New Year, however, it’s evolved into a street party of epic proportion.

Stay tuned to ‘As the world turns in Chiang Mai’ to hear about me renting a scooter and learning how to drive in Thailand.

Happy New Year from Chiang Mai to wherever you are in the world!  

Here’s where I am for those that are curious