My two weeks in Chiang Mai were very much a continuation of the working holiday that had started in Bangkok the week prior. I found a nice guesthouse in the north-eastern corner of old city that I’ve walked past for years but never patronized; I derived a strange, satisfying closure that after all these years, I finally stayed there. I stuck to the same early morning routine as the previous week, again mainly because my guesthouse room was bathed in sunlight at 7:00 in the morning. There was never any question that I would go back to Punspace, my favorite coworking space in the whole world, if only because it’s the first I ever went to and going there brings back lots of nice memories. That said, it’s a world-class office space and I was incredibly productive for my entire stay.
Other than my first night in town, which devolved into a sweaty, Jager-soaked, bar-hopping hot mess with a South African expat, my stay was perfectly pleasant and exactly what I was looking for. I worked my usual hours during the day and then met up with friends – old and new – in the evenings. Chiang Mai felt almost exactly the same as last year, with the usual closing or relocation of familiar places and opening of new ones. Most notably, THC Bar moved out of the no-way-this-passes-fire-inspection death trap of a building and found a new home down the street. I still have no idea how that place stayed open for that long.
Once my friend Laurie had arrived in town, I met up with her in the evenings. I’d suggest a different restaurant and nightlife option each evening and she would tell me about whatever excursion or tourist activity she had done that day.
Throughout the week, we visited an artists’ village just outside of town, met up with my friend Pim (of Citylife) to go to her friends’ anniversary/Christmas party, wandered the Sunday night walking street, listened to live music at North Gate Jazz and Boy Blues Bar, watched Muay Thai at Thapae Stadium, enjoyed the full sensory experience that is Zoe’s, ate late-night crepes on the street, drank beers by the river at Bus Bar, and treated ourselves to peaceful foot massages at Wat Mahawan, one of my favorite temples in the city.
And as usual, I hit up all my favorite spots in town and discovered some new ones too. Get ready for lots of photos of food.
Peppermint for Thai food:
Fresh & Wraps for breakfast:
Italics & Rise at Akyra Manor for fancy Italian food:
Cat House for breakfast:
Kanjana for khao soi:
The Swan for Burmese food:
Lert Ros for grilled fish:
Farm Story House for Thai, Isan, and Burmese food:
Cooking Love for Thai food:
And a different place every morning for my requisite Thai omelette:
Just like last year, the last day of work was incredibly satisfying. My project was in excellent shape and I had reached a natural milestone; the next task on the list was fairly big in scope, so it made sense to defer that until 2018. I finished working at a cafe on Saturday morning and closed my laptop for the day, the week, the month, and the year. Free!
That night – my last night in town – I met up with my friend May, who I’ve known since my first month in Chiang Mai, way back in 2013. She had recently bought a bar south of old city, so I got an Uber and stopped by in the evening to catch up over beers and spicy food.
Much to my immense disappointment, I had heard through the grapevine that the entire Zoe’s complex was going to be demolished in a few months because the land had been sold. Supposedly they’ll be relocating the bars to a new location somewhere, but we all know it’s not going to be the same. I insisted that May and I go there one last time, so I hopped on the back of her motorcycle and we went.
We sat and drank Thai beer with ice in it and chatted with all the random friends that appeared out of nowhere. We watched the dancing backpackers in their elephant pants and the ladyboys in their tight dresses and the children hustling to sell flowers and trinkets. We reminisced about past party nights and talked about her boyfriend and her new business. And as if on cue, about ten feet away from us, a severely inebriated backpacker with a massive head of curly hair stood up, took one step, and executed the most beautiful, perfect faceplant I’ve ever seen. Peter Griffin would be so proud.
Don’t ever change, Zoe’s.
As the two friends of the sentient rag doll tried to help him up, the bars started closing, so I finished my beer and said goodbye to everyone. I walked home down empty streets, passing the occasional stray dog, listening to the far-off sounds of motorbikes, and admiring the full moon.