Transportation and Self Reflection

Getting around in Chiang Mai is the same whether approached as a realist – destination oriented, or as an idealist – spiritualist. Our bodies are the vehicles that carry our spiritual essence -- the journey is life. That is something I could picture Lim saying. My current philosophy is the happy joining of both, the real and spiritual worlds. I, the elephant, believe that compromise is the basis of all peace.

            Without the destination, there would be no journey. Or maybe you can help me turn this thought into a cliché. Choose a goal, then hang on for the ride and check out the roses along the way.

            In either case Chiang Mai offers three possible means of transportation. The metered Taxi that is never flagged down and typically used for longer trips, like to the airport or in my case, the twenty minute ride back to “The Cabin” for my scheduled appointments. The most common used by the locals without wheels is the Sorng-taa-ou. These are the red shared-taxis that exist everywhere and in numerous quantities. You can flag them down, tell them your destination and if they are going in that direction they’ll nod and let you climb aboard. Along the way they may pick up other passengers heading in the same direction. For the traveler that is not encumbered with exact time tables or structure of route these are definitely – not bad.

            Lately my favorite is the Tuk-Tuks. These are the open-air motorbike driven coaches. They are flagged down and scoot around through traffic at an amazing pace. The driver’s wife or child can be found sharing the front seat and keeps the driver company on evenings or weekends. The only downside is the breathing of the carbon-dioxide exhaust of traffic during rush hour. Some drivers wear hospital masks. In all cases the drivers in this provincial mountain city have quoted honest prices and no one has tried to inflate or purposely taken me out of the way to increase a fare.

I am beginning to be concerned about the non-structure I have induced since leaving “The Cabin”. Last night after the Saturday Walking Market I tried the bar scene, though I didn’t stay long. The bar girls that appeared to work for each establishment weren’t very interested in talking to a man drinking club soda … and besides the young social butterflies that did migrate in my direction were amazingly uninteresting. It looks like I must find a new form of recreation; even the live music scene so far has been disappointing, at least compared to Bangkok. What I need is a local friend, someone familiar with the city vibe. My social antenna goes up today.

New Years or not, I have found a comfortable routine for myself. I’m in bed by 8:30 pm and up by 4:30 am. I drink tea and write my thoughts from the previous day. I meditate in my own way, in the quiet of the early morning hours I wait for the sun to rise and let the present sounds and thoughts of yesterday drift inward – they pass through my mind and into the depths of my heart.

The words you have been reading are the secretion of those thoughts in route. My experiences are the ‘food for thought’ and enter the mental compost I created that lies between my ears. If these pages give off a rotten odor, you now know why, you are the recipient of verbal fertilizer.