by Terry Crawford
with Thailand since seeing the old version of "The King and I" and so I decided to go see for myself.
I arrived in Bangkok late at night and had arranged for an international hotel to pick me up. The
representative was there when I arrived but seemed surprised when I met him. He looked at me
strangely and I had to point out my name on the list of arrivals because he had seemed to have "trouble"
finding it. He showed me to a seat and told me that he had to get a few more people and for me to wait
there. He never returned and I had to call the hotel personally to have the van pick me up. I had to
wonder whether leaving me was an honest mistake or whether the rep was hoping that I'd find
somewhere else to stay.
Anyway, after spending the first night in Bangkok, I flew on to the main destination, Chiang Mai.
Chaing Mai is a smaller northern Thai town. It’s much less cosmopolitan than Bangkok and not as
touristy as the south of Thailand. I had made reservations at a hotel through the internet and caught a
cab. The desk clerk was very kind and there didn't seem to be any problem with getting a room.
walking. I find that walking the neighborhoods
gives you a "feel" for the place. You can also note
restaurants and shops that you may want to visit.
Chaing Mai was certainly a more country town. As
I walked, I could hear the roosters crowing in the
front yards. I found a small buddhist temple that I
wondered around while the monks went about their
business. I also found several small parks where I
could sit and rest awhile.
One thing that really helped me was studying the
culture before I went. There's a series of books
about foreign culture in various countries. I think it’
s called Culture Shock. I learned that upon entering
a home or shop, you're supposed to remove your
shoes, especially if you see a row of shoes at the
door. Also, I made certain not to step on the
doorsill, which is the residence of ancestor spirits
and is really rude to put your foot on it. The feet in
general are considered dirty so you have to be
careful, even pointing your feet at something or
someone is very bad form.
then observe, the etiquette of a culture, you will find the people especially kind. That goes for any place
you go.
On the second day, I hired a tuk tuk (motorcycle taxi) to take me to the most important temple in
Chaing mai. It's located on the mountaintop and has golden Buddas in it. I left especially early, 7 a.m.,
in order to beat the crowds. I was rewarded for getting up early. The tourists arrive about 9:30 or 10:00,
so I had the place to myself. The locals were doing their morning prayers and making their offerings and
the monks were out with their food bowls. Monks do not work and have to get their meals from
donations only. Also, the touts and souvenir salesmen weren't set up yet so I wasn't bothered by them.
The stairway leading to the temple was enormous. If I remember right, it has about 1000 steps. It took
me a while to climb and I had to rest a couple of times along the way. Entering the temple's courtyard, I
came upon a long row of Buddas. Every one had a different style and represented a different aspect of
life. The main temple was the home of the giant Buddha, covered in gold. It also had paintings on the
walls and ceilings depicting the life of Buddha. As I entered the temple, an old monk was sitting just
outside of the door. He looked at me strangely.
together and bowed to him. That
is the respectful way to greet a
monk. He smiled slightly,
surprised, I guess, that a
Christian would know to do this.
(I wear a large crucifix around
my neck) He was so intrigued
that he followed me into the
temple and took a seat by the
Buddha. He watched me as I
admired the beautiful statue and
wonderful paintings. As I left, I
bowed to him again, and smiling,
he nodded his head at me.
shorts and tube tops! Would they enter a European church like that? After a nap at the hotel, I decided
to accomplish one of my goals, having some custom suits made. I went down to the main street which
was a short walk from my hotel and started to browse tailor shops. After some bargaining, I was able
to find a shop that would custom make two three piece silk suits (jacket, skirt and pants) for $75.00 a
piece. I'd bought a pattern from home but the tailors can make anything for you simply from a picture
in a magazine. The next day, I returned for a first fitting and the second day, a final fitting. The suits
were very well made, all lined and expertly sewn. However, the tailors are not accustomed to fitting to
the African American figure so you have to really be insistent about fit. The fact that my waist was so
much smaller than my hips threw them off at first.
The next day, I met a special friend who remains one today. I was always being asked by tuk tuk
drivers if I wanted a ride. I prefer to walk, but that day I'd decided that the first driver who asked me
would get my business for a shopping tour. That first driver was Kriangsit Somcheun. Kriangsit was a
young man just starting as a driver. He had a wife and a new son. He was very proud and showed me
his baby's picture.
That day, Kriangsit took me just outside of town where the stores sold shoes, jackets, scarves, etc. I
didn't really see anything there because everything was strictly priced for tourists. But then Kriangsit
asked if I wanted to go to the superstore. Now that's my kind of place! We rode just on the outskirts at
the other end of Chaing Mai to a middle class neighborhood. I found some nice things in the Thai
"Wal-Mart". This was a store for the locals and something that tourists generally don't see. Then
Kriangsit said, "let's go to the mall." Again, this is a place that the locals go. It wasn't listed in any
guidebook. I found a few great quality leather handbags at an exclusive shop. The price was $15.00 a
piece American. While at the mall, I saw a western ice cream shop. I told Kriansit that I wanted to go
there. I treated him to his first ice-cream Sunday-- strawberry. He'd never had strawberries either.
minutes outside of town. I'm a collector and had
gotten the location from the tourist office on my
walk during my first day. In the countryside,
Kriansit stopped to let me watch rice patties
being planted. We also passed by his village. He
wanted me to meet his wife but she wasn't
home. When we got to the shop, it turned out to
be the doll maker’s home. He showed me the
workshop in the back where his employees were
making the dolls and his extensive doll collection
from all over the world. We also sat down for a
cup of tea and talked about our favorite dolls and
places around the world that he'd traveled to.
Kriangsit got bored by all of the "doll talk" and
went back to his tuk tuk.
all this way to his home. Usually, people bought his dolls from shops in town and he had very few
visitors. When I got back to the tuk tuk, Kringsit was fast asleep and snoring! I had to laugh. I took a
couple of leaves from a nearby tree and tickled his feet until he jumped up in surprise. Then both the
doll maker and I laughed.
That night, I went back to the market to have a fitting for my suits. I heard someone calling my name
but thought, "who would be calling me here!?" It turned out, of course, to be Kriangsit. He had been
telling his friends and others tuk tuk drivers about his Black American friend. Again, some of them had
never talked to a black woman in person before and had seen very few. I had only seen one other Black
female during my whole week in Chiang Mai!
I'll relate an example. I was in the market when a young teen approached me. He said, "Do you speak
English?" I replied "yes" and began to help him practice his words. Then he asked, "where are you
from?" I said, "America." He looked absolutely shocked, pointed to his arm and said in amazement,
"BROWN SKIN!" I laughed and said, “Yes, there are brown skinned people in America."
Krinagsit had been bragging about the things we had done and how we had become friends. He friends
really didn't believe him. They were accustomed to westerners being formal with them, especially
women. I confirmed all he had told them.
On my last day, Kriangsit and I (or “sit” as he was called by his friends) just sat around talking about
how different our lives were. He had big plans to buy his own tuk tuk someday and send his son to
school. My most recent letter confirmed that Sit is realizing his dreams. He works very long hours and is
really proud that he's doing it all himself without any help. He does allow me to send his son a gift for
new years but won't accept anything else.
I think that Black Americans should investigate a trip to the east. Although, my first experience with the
hotel made me doubt whether Thailand was a good choice, the rest of the trip confirmed that indeed, it
was an excellent one!