121

I'm listening to Miles Davis Milestones live in Berlin 1964. Lanna Music just closed, and I had some fresh kaow neo and mu ping from the vendor on Soi 8. The vendor's son used to always be in the neighborhood, but he was drafted to become a soldier and he's already gone to a new city.

I feel like I am gradually gaining a better understanding of the wider geography of Chiang Mai. Last week I took a motorbike adventure north on the superhighway up north to Mae Joe Plow. It was sprinkling rain in the morning. I was able to confirm my directions using basic Thai. Then I took a bike ride down Canal Road 121, riding around the lake as the clouds transformed from white to dark gray. Last night I rode across Suthep and went south on canal road and came back up to Sirimankalajarn past midnight.

The traffic can really be a headache sometimes, especially on busy roads like Nimmanhaemin. The traffic flows continuously and nobody slows down or stops to let you in if you are trying to merge into another lane or cross the street. It's extremely dangerous, especially with motorbikes bombing down the street without being aware of their surroundings.

Even if there were more traffic lights I don't think it would really solve the problem, because the red lights here seem to be the equivalent of yellow lights in the States, and even the police officers run them all the time.

On Huay Kaew the songtaews are the cause of most of my stress. The large red trucks belch smog and drive slowly, drifting into and out of lanes and occasionally driving into the middle of the street, stopping abruptly and without warning. Meanwhile motorcycles and the regular flow of traffic swarms around the red cars.

I'm going back to Sirimankalajarn to have a cold Singha and read Bukowski.

(Photos: R. Zoey Setiawan)