Quote: (01-28-2013 07:59 PM)GameTheory Wrote:
i was reading up on culture in Chiang Mai when i ran across this article filled with Hamsterism:
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Chiang Mai is FILLED with creepy old men.
All over Chiang Mai — from visiting the temples to strolling the markets to sitting in restaurants — you see older Western men with young Thai women. While I don’t mind these relationships in general, I DO mind them when the girls are young enough to be their grandchildren and the men speak to them like they’re babies.
Is seeing these relationships just a part of visiting Thailand? Absolutely. You see this throughout the country — but after traveling extensively through Thailand, I can say without a doubt that it’s more prevalent in Chiang Mai than anywhere else I’ve been, including Bangkok.
At least in Bangkok it’s mostly confined to certain neighborhoods. In Chiang Mai, it’s everywhere — not just its designated neighborhood — and the girls seem to be far younger. It was Chiang Mai that inspired me to write my post, Young Thai Women and the Western Men Who Love Them.
The strange thing? Though I’ve talked about this with some of my Chiang Mai friends (some of these men are their neighbors), I haven’t read one blog post that references this facet of the city.
Seems painfully obvious from her article that she never got off the tourist track - which in Chiang Mai means beyond the old center.
For one, she talks about the "amazing street food" at Chiang Mai gate and describes it as the best she's had in the world. LMFAO It's painfully obvious to most of us that in the tourist areas the street food is lacking in quality and served to suit more of a foreign taste. Don't even get me started that Chiang Mai gate is about a five minute walk away from where every farang who arrives gets dropped off - shows how much exploring she did.
I know the area she's referring to and while it caters to more Thais than the rest of the Center, it's nothing to write home about if you've done any proper fooding in Thailand. One measly trip to a market outside of the city center would have introduced her to a whole other adventure in street eats - not to mention how the quality of sit-down restaurants goes up exponentially the further you drive into the city.
Then she calls the place boring...It's not Bangkok, but it seems clear she didn't hit any of the big discos and nice restaurants up. My guess is she spent her time at Zoe in Yellow, Spicy, and Lucky Bar like every other backpacker.
Finally, in her other article that explores this "creepiness" further, she talks about going to Number One Bar, which is posted up almost right on Loi Kroh Road, the premiere area for prostitutes who serve foreigners in that city. What does she expect?
Immerse yourself in the red light district and then complain about how that entire city is characteristic of old sexpats and young thai women...Yeah, that makes sense.
I personally found that old men in Chiang Mai tended to be with older women, or at least 30+. You saw the old guys with teenish-looking girls, but they were a reative rarity beyond the whore bars she was hanging out in.
On another note, I've observed that it takes 3 weeks to a month for the appeal of Chiang Mai to really start making sense. This girl seems to have spent a week or two there and yet feels like she has an educated opinion to offer on the place. Interesting.
The plus side is that when everyone else is so lazy about travel, including the "travel writers," it makes it that much easier for the rest of us to find sweet spots off the beaten track.
Beyond All Seas
"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling