Anthony and I decided this week to head up north to Chang Mai...

Arriving in Chang Mai after a hunger-filled plane ride, Anthony and I thought we would be smarter than the average farang and cheat the taxi drivers by asking to go to a temple that was near the hotels we were interested in. We thought we were getting a good deal and saving some baht, but it turns out there are two temples with the same name in the city. We picked the wrong one and ended up in this massive forest monastery on the outskirts of town. We explored it a bit since we were there, but were starving at that point so we found a little place to eat near the monastery. The food was good and amazingly, for the first time in all of Thailand, we were undercharged for something. Impressive, to say the least. So, we consulted the Lonely Planet and found another temple that was near the places we wanted to say and asked a Tuk-Tuk driver to take us there and we were off on another adventure.

We got out and tried to get our bearings. Once we had an idea of where we wanted to go, we started on foot...but in the wrong direction, unknown to us. We wandered lost and bewildered through backroads, going through countless streets and alleys trying to find a landmark to figure out where the hell we were. We didn't really succeed, but we eventually found a guesthouse mentioned in the Lonely Planet and asked for directions. Turns out, there were also two guesthouses with the same name in Chang Mai, and of course, this was the incredibly expensive one, but the lady was friendly and gave us directions to the cheap one. We finally found the real "Smile House" and got a room for 1/3rd the price of the "fake" Smile House.

That night, Anthony and I went to eat dinner at a Thai place we chose simply because we looked at an outside menu and the workers setup a table for us and we felt awkward. I had spaghetti in a delicious Thai style. Then we grabbed some Beer Chang and headed for the Night Bizarre to haggle drunkenly for things that we didn't really want. Many of the vendors were fun and many more appreciated the Chang in our hands. After buying things, we headed back to the Smile House. Along the way, I saw a "club" full of Thai hookers, so once the Tuk-Tuk stopped, I ran back and took a picture despite the crowd of hookers and their pimps screaming "NO!" at me. After that, I sprinted away in a drunken, terrified haste.

Once we were all-together, Anthony and I headed into the Tiger, a bar near our hotel. Darts, a live band, and pool seemed like a nice way to spend a Wednesday night. I proceeded to drink my third bottle of Beer Chang on the evening. It only takes 2 to get me drunk, so by this point, I was DRUNK.

Anthony and I soon grew tired of the bar. No one was particularly friendly and when the band stopped, the offered to play some Jay-Z for us, but then couldn't find the CD. We left and headed to a 7-11 to get water and at this point, the heavy consumption caught up with me. As we walked back, I began puking. Not normal puking, the type of puking where you're so drunk you don't even stop to acknowledge that what you're doing isn't normal. I just continued walking and carrying on a conversation with Anthony, using the time where I was supposed to listen to what he was saying as pauses to puke as I walked down the street.

Not a pretty image, but my first day in Chang Mai was an adventure, to say the least.