{"id":11385,"date":"2018-01-15T10:00:46","date_gmt":"2018-01-15T15:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theprofessionalhobo.com\/?p=11385"},"modified":"2024-06-18T07:36:19","modified_gmt":"2024-06-18T11:36:19","slug":"chiang-mai-10-years-later-impossible-search","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theprofessionalhobo.com\/chiang-mai-10-years-later-impossible-search\/","title":{"rendered":"Chiang Mai, 10 Years Later: The Impossible Search"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I wandered the narrow streets of the old city of Chiang Mai, knowing full well that chances were I’d never find him, yet reminding myself that stranger things have happened. Everything felt so familiar. I remember that restaurant! I can’t believe I actually know where I am right now. Oh my \u2013 this is the street where my guesthouse was! And holy moly: it’s still there! It hasn’t changed one bit. <\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This, is the search for the old \u2013 and the new \u2013 in Chiang Mai, 10 years later.<\/p>\n\n\n

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This post was originally published in 2018. It has since been updated for accuracy of links and content.<\/em>

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Chiang Mai, Revisited<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Visiting Chiang Mai Thailand was a full-circle experience for me. After visiting so many Asian countries new to my repertoire in 2017<\/a>, I eagerly anticipated a poetic return to Chiang Mai, 10 years after my first visit. To my amazement, some things were exactly the same. Unsurprisingly, it had also changed drastically.

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10 Years Ago<\/h3>\n\n\n
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\"The
The old city of Chiang Mai, 10 years ago<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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\"Nimman,
10 years later, the old city hasn’t changed too much, but this….this is all new.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

10 years ago, I stayed in the old city<\/strong> of Chiang Mai. Nimman (more on this neighbourhood in another post<\/a>) probably didn’t even exist at the time. If it did, it wasn’t for visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10 years ago, Thailand was my first Asian country<\/strong> in my full-time travel repertoire (I toured China with a ballet in 1993, but that’s another story).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10 years ago, I was traveling with my partner at the time<\/strong>; somebody who embarked on the full-time travel lifestyle with me, but with whom I broke up in Australia. (See also: My Sordid Attempts at Finding Love on the Road<\/a>)<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

10 years ago, we accidentally started an international NGO<\/strong> to assist the survivors of Cyclone Nargis, which all but obliterated neighbouring Burma (Myanmar). What hatched as a modest plan to rent a truck, fill it with drinking water, and drive it to the border where an aid worker could pick it up, quickly exploded into the assistance of the Royal Thai Air Force and a C130 Hercules cargo aircraft that we couldn’t possibly fill on our own. (Hence, a three-week fundraising initiative that damn near killed us). Here’s the news story that was produced about us in the midst of our efforts to stay sane:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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