Here is a rare and amazing sight in Chiang Mai: a stretch of even, unbroken, obstacle-free sidewalk. People come from all around northern Thailand to behold this marvel, and to walk a few steps on it with their eyes closed without fear of breaking an ankle (or worse).
Now look at a typical Chiang Mai sidewalk: the crumbling concrete drain covers you dare not test your weight on, the oddball utility poles and outdoor advertising and whatever that leaning metal pipe is supposed to be ... and this is a pretty tame example. For extra obstacle-course points, throw in parked motor-bikes, vendor carts, crazy up-and-down curbs, feral dogs and, when it hasn't rained in awhile, the minefield of
kii maa they excrete everywhere. You don't dare let your feet fall out of your peripheral vision, ever, or you will get hurt.
Last year Lian gave me a Buddhist tract on the topic of "mindfulness" -- the notion of being vigilant and deliberate as you do whatever you're doing. I think about that little book every single moment that I am on foot in this town, and it has saved my aging bones more times than I can remember.
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Sunday is Mother Day in Thailand. The temples, the shops, the streets, all full of sons and daughters taking their maternal units for an outing.
At noon the checkout lines at Rimping Market are overflowing with multigenerational customers. So I guess it's the one day you can honestly say that everybody and their mother is there.
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I'm not sure what exactly happens in this place and I hate to ask, for fear of looking dumb.
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