Chiang Rai trip

I’m back from Chiang Rai. We visited quite a few places and got taken care of very well by the tour company the origanizers hired. We visited a few temples, museums, the Golden Triangle area, and even made a short excursion to Burma (unofficially). I found Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai to be quite pleasant places. The weather is cooler and the atmosphere is relaxed. I liked those two cities far more than Phuket.

So I enjoyed the trip quite a bit. But even more than the sightseeing itself it was interesting to interact with the people from my gf’s workplace. Since I don’t work in an office I have limited opportunities to meet and talk to people other than shop vendors or the condo facilities administrators. One thing that struck me as I watched people around me enjoying their trip, dinners, partying and group dynamics is that despite cultural differences people here are much more similar to people of the same background in other countries than I realized. Particularly to non-Asian countries I’ve lived in: Israel, USA and NZ. This is quite different from my experience in similar situations in Singapore and to a lesser degree in Hong Kong.
It was also surprising to see new dimensions of people I haven’t seen before. Most Thai people are usually very reserved, polite and understated in their behaviour. But on this trip it looked like some of those barriers and rigidity can disappear in a different environment. Any trip in which I discover or learn something new is a great experience.

I’ve got one more trip coming up, flying back home tomorrow evening. I’ll be working from there so expecting to start trading again soon.

Other possibly related posts:

• links for 2008-04-07
• Worth noting today
• Worth noting today