Coming Home

Flying over land and seeing the specs of houses below, my heart does a somersault in excitement-we are back in Thailand!
Driving through the streets of Chiang Mai, I take a mental note of what is new, what has changed and test my memory on where I am. Spotting familiar landmarks, I recognise the street and mentally navigate our taxi driver to our little soi.
Settling in to our sweet little guesthouse, Tony kindly obliges me as we head off on a little reminiscing walking tour. Finding the workshop and

now very swanky jewellery shop I did a silversmith course at and my favourite second hand bookshops that always seemed to bulge with interesting books, I have memories of living here flooding over me. Thailand was the first place I ever travelled to and when I touched down in Bangkok although met with fumes, open sewers, humidity and the pungent spicy smells, I instantly felt at home. It is a feeling that I have never had replicated in other countries yet one that arises each time I visit here. My brain has kicked into sub conscious mode and I'm easily speaking Thai and negotiating with tuk tuk drivers and bringing Tony back to the night market where I brought him as my passenger over ten years ago. A taxi driver even compliments me on how great my language skills are! Spotting a

vendor who makes nam prik num and som tam, I settle in, making jokes with the chef about my love of chilli whilst requesting sticky rice. My mouth is on fire, but my soul is singing in pure delight. I love this country.
The following day we head off on a wander through the old city. Tony hasn't been to this part before and I'm determined to find the women's prison where they train the soon to be released inmates in Thai massage. Walking through the ancient walled city, we pop into beautiful temple after beautiful temple. Stopping in one for a reprieve from the heat of the day I am struck by the sense of peace I always have in Thai Buddhist temples. I'm not sure why, but I have never felt this way in any other

organised religion's place of worship. Sitting quietly, the breeze drifts over us through the open windows and I ponder on this some more. Temples are always open, and whomever comes in are welcomed. You can come and go, wander through wherever you want and if anyone sees you, they ask you to stay. The community uses the temple as a meeting place for celebrations and religious activities but not on one day only-they'll pop in most days for a quick wai and silent prayer to what becomes a part of who they are as opposed to something that is imposed upon them. The other aspect that inspires me so much is that Thais are encouraged to come and be a monk or nun from as little as one day to permanently, whenever they want and repeatedly if desired. The birds are singing along with the

crickets and we head off again to explore.
Sadly, the women's prison is full-it seems word has gotten out that it is a great way to support women who have a bleak employment future ahead of them as by lunch, they are booked solid for the rest of the day. Meandering off again, I find the best of massage locations-the temple, jumping on a makeshift mattress under a tarp in the corner, I happily pay to be pummelled hard by a woman I am surprised to see has decided to stand on my legs. She is hanging off the rafters holding up the tarp and using her toes to find the twisted knots that are my muscles. The occasional breeze, tweet of birds and change from her feet to her elbow makes for a somewhat painful yet delicious relief from my tired and sore body.

Tony and I have become obsessed with the night market. It is the perfect solution to our eating preferences as I can eat eye wateringly hot chillies and Tony can get loads of awesome stir fries. I've found two Volmeisters, one, the man who makes my chilli dip who keeps putting in hotter and hotter chillis for me to try with a sly evil smile and my mango and sticky rice man who has jewellery to die for, long luscious black hair and a talent for crochet. God I love this country!
As Tony and I have spent a reasonable amount of time in Chiang Mai in the past so we have decided to be Tommy Tourist and jump on an organised minivan trip into Doi Inthanon National Park. I'm not sure why I've never been before as it is stunning scenery and much cooler than the 40 degrees below in the city. We are at the highest peak of Thailand and up here, flowers are blooming, the air is crisp and the hill tribe market we've stopped at is brimming with strawberries, tomatoes and nuts which makes for a great little picnic. We travel past the King and Queen's temples, beautiful waterfalls and I reminisce about the numerous trekking trips I led through remote hill tribe villages. Everywhere we go, we are welcomed. Sadly however, I've been unable to meet up with my Thai friends, missing both Bom and Noi by a matter of minutes. I came back from the temple as Bom went up it, and I came to Chiang Mai just as Noi left. We will have to come back, simple! In fact, we are loving being back here so much, I wonder if it's possible for us to stay just a bit longer....