How to Do Nothing in Chiang Mai

toptraveller - Saturday, April 28, 2007 - 17:55 Tags: General Visiting • Travel Tips

Watch the Traffic Go By in Chiang MaiIn Chiang Mai, Thailand, travelers pore over their guidebooks, deciding what to do with the days before and after their hill tribe trek. They plan a trip to Wat Doi Suthep, and when they return, they proudly wear the string they received as part of a monk’s blessing. They prowl the night market hunting for bargain fake designer clothes, handicrafts, or replacements for worn out shirts and broken sandals. They check their watches and scurry off to their evening cooking class or to use the climbing wall.

Chiang Mai makes it difficult to do nothing by offering a great variety of activities, but many of us manage. I became quite skilled at it.

Read

Multiple used book stores provide a great selection for those who happily spend our days reading. Finding a book that interests you isn‘t the major activity it can be in some countries. Unlike used book stores in many other parts of Asia, the Thais in Chiang Mai have organized their stores by genre and author. For Americans, prices seem high, since they are generally about half the English list price.

Since books in England list at double those in the US, Americans are faced with new book prices. Return policies which give you half back when you return the book help keep costs down. That‘s a big help to those who have been doing nothing in Chiang Mai for a long time. Do not count on the full rebate if you have dropped your book in the pool (see below) or caused other extreme wear and tear.

While reading, you could be avoiding rock climbing, touring an umbrella village, or visiting a wat (Thai Buddhist temple).

Lounge Around a Pool

Several swimming pools are available to you for a fee. Hotels generally charge 100 baht (approximately three US dollars) for a day. I moved out of a place that had a pool, got a room in a less expensive place, and only paid for the pool when I needed it. Of course I would then stay a whole day, including lunch, to maximize the benefit of my 100 baht expenditure. Pool days combine perfectly with days devoted to reading. A motorbike or other transportation is required for some pools that are further out, but they charge half as much.

As you work on your tan, remember that you are not out in the heat on a mountain bike.

Hang Out in a Restaurant

Those of us who do nothing frequently spend a day at a restaurant table, armed with our beverage of choice, and ordering the occasional snack or meal. We read a book or the Bangkok Post, bring our journals up to date, or write postcards. Soduko is popular. The truly skilled just watch the traffic go by, the tuktuks (three-wheeled open taxis), the food carts, and admire the various ways bicycles and motorbikes can be modified to haul goods.

This is much more relaxing than that muay Thai (Thai boxing) class you aren’t taking.

Walk the Sois

Another popular do-nothing activity is walking around with no destination in mind. It is possible to do nothing when you have plans, but only if you get lost or distracted and never reach your destination. I started out to see Wat Phra Singh six times before I actually got there, and then it was because I moved to a guesthouse next door.

My favorite do-nothing walk starts with noticing a soi, or small lane, and realizing I’ve never been down it. One day I started off and found myself in a residential area that I hadn’t known existed. All the signs were in curlicue Thai script, and several sois met at odd angles, then turned and twisted, keeping me from spotting any landmarks that I might recognize and or find on my map. It was perfect.

While aimlessly wandering, you may run across a place that would normally qualify as a destination. Enjoy it. You aren’t really doing anything, the pottery factory is an accidental find.

Interrupt Your Walk With a Foot Massage

I’m not sure if massages, manicures, and pedicures qualify as an activity when you are on the receiving end, but they certainly don’t feel as if you are doing anything. Massages are offered on the sides of the streets and in temples. If your feet start to ache after walking to the flower market, soon you will see some chairs, stools, and masseuses sitting at the side of the road. Plop yourself down and have a foot massage right there. Pay sixty baht (about $2 US) for half an hour, or if you really want a rest, 120 baht for an hour. If you still don’t want to get up and leave, have a head, neck, and back massage.

Instead of abusing your feet on a three day trek through the mountains and jungle to visit the hill tribes, you are treating your feet with respect and care.

Drink, But Be Careful

If all else fails in your campaign to do nothing, you can always drink. However, be warned, many of the drinking establishments have bar girls dedicated to relieving men of as much money as possible. Declarations of love by any Thai woman that met in a bar refer to your wallet. Otherwise, drinking is a fine do-nothing activity and there are a lot of bar-girl-free places to do nothing with a glass in your hand.

Instead of drinking you could be well into your 24 hour silent retreat at a local Buddhist wat.

Slurp Some Noodles

Since drinking counts, shouldn’t eating also be considered part of doing nothing? Well, yes and no. If you are eating in a restaurant that is a destination, or ‘experiencing’ street food at a sidewalk stall, or trying dragonfruit or rambutan for the first time, eating is an activity. If you regularly idle away an hour with a bowl of khao soi (Chiang Mai curried egg noodles) at the same stall every day, then you are doing nothing.

Eat without shopping for ingredients in the market, then learning to cook green chili curry.

Do the Other Stuff, Too

Chiang Mai offers culture, religion, learning experiences, and adventure. But you really don’t have to take the city up on any of them to enjoy it. Of course you will visit wats, take a class, and maybe go on a trek. But if you need a rest, take some time to do nothing. Chiang Mai is a perfect place for it.

Of course, you can do nothing in other places, too. But there are few small cities where you can avoid as much activity as you can avoid in Chiang Mai.

About Chiang Mai

Old fortifications and a moat define the old city center. Travelers stay inside the moat or in the area between the moat and the Ping River to the east. In addition to Thai standards such as pad thai and local specialties such as khao soi, a wide range of international food is available. Restaurants that specialize in a particular country’s food are usually owned and operated by an ex-pat, so you can listen to chatter in Italian as you eat your linguine. The Thai food served in the tourist areas is not highly spiced. To get to Chiang Mai from Bangkok, fly or take an overnight bus or train.