Faux Canada (Feb. 7/09 - Chiang Mai, Thailand)

This morning we set out onto the streets of Hanoi to walk to the airport bus pick-up point. It was an interesting walk, as the town was cool and quiet with the exception of dozens of people who were out getting some morning exercize. The first group we saw was involved in a hardcore game of badminton on a makeshift court set up right on the sidewalk. It must be a regular (daily?) thing, as the lines were permanently painted on the ground, and the net was suspended from what looked like permanent posts. We had to dodge flying birdies a few more times where other groups took over various chunks of sidewalk. We walked along the lake and were very entertained by the people, generally older people, who were doing a variety of stationary moves that must have been with the intention of either possibly increasing flexibility, or more likely trying to look like a fool. Some people simply stood still and swung their arms back and forth, others rotated their upper body while touching their ears and alternating hands, one guy simply walked along and clapped his hands together really loudly. We almost got run over by a group of tracksuit-clad girls who were running in a way that can only be described as like Phoebe from Friends. The winner, though, was the guy standing facing a tree, running his hands up and down it like a pole dancer and then alternately touching the trunk with his elbows while blasting music on his MP3 player and totally breaking a sweat. Maybe these people knew something we didn't, because none of them really looked like they were accomplishing anything!

A couple other people were waiting at the shuttle bus pick-up spot to head for the airport, so instead of waiting for a bus to fill up, we negotiated a price with a cab driver to take us instead. It was quite a relief to arrive at the airport knowing that we wouldn't have any more crazy Vietnamese roads to contend with. It was interesting to talk to the Irish girl and Dutch woman we rode with, who were each traveling Southeast Asia solo. Both commented that they have met multiple Americans traveling in this part of the world under the cover of Canadian badges on their bags. Although we hadn't noticed that specifically, we have had people ask us if we are actually Canadian when we claim to be since our southerly neighbours are trying to cover their identity by assuming ours! We thought that said a lot about the opinion some parts of the world have about Americans - in general, of course. Indeed, the Irish girl had met Americans who were actually being treated badly because of their nationality.

The flight to Bangkok was quick and scenic, as we ascended over the hilly northwestern corner of Vietnam and then passed over part of Laos and the upper reaches of the Mekong River. Greater Bangkok appeared below us soonafter, and pretty soon we were on the ground in our 13th country! The Bangkok airport was a refreshing dose of civilization - modern, new, and friendly. It was also home to an unbelievable number of currency exchange outlets - dozens of them - yet NONE of them accepted Vietnamese dong! Apparently none of Thailand does, which makes no sense since so many people come and go to/from Vietnam through this airport. I guess it's really worth that little! We wandered around hoping to find some people checking into a Vietnam-bound flight to sell some cheap dong to, but no luck.

Another quick flight and we were on the ground in Chiang Mai. Live purple and white orchids lined the hallways in the airport, and the staff were noticably friendly and welcoming. We grabbed a taxi into town and were dropped off at a guesthouse we picked out of the guidebook. Cheap and clean enough - works for us! They even have their own Thai cooking school right at the hotel, so we might have to check that out in the coming days. It was an easy day of travel and now we're in one of those countries that sends all sorts of lovely images to mind just at the mention of its name...