First Run!

I finally was able to get out running yesterday.  It was scorching hot.  Running in the afternoon is a terrible idea.  Way too hot.

We are in Chiang Mai now, in northern Thailand.  It is much more manageable than Bangkok.  We took a flight up here yesterday afternoon got in around 2.  Flying in I could see green mountains in the distance and it was sunny, not smoggy and hazy like Bangkok was.  Driving to the hostel was an easy trip only about a 10 minute ride.  We're staying in the southeast corner of old city which is surrounded by a "wall" (it used to be a wall but now it's mostly torn down, but there is a canal around this part of town).

I decided to go running around 5 which was too early as the day was still very hot and the sun was still strong.  But I figured a short run would do.  I set out (carrying a city map and 100 baht just in case) along the southern wall.  I ran along the outside of the canal, on a skinny sidewalk where I was constant ducking and juking trees.  The canal water is green in color and there are hundreds of small fish constantly jumping around.  The sun was strong and reflecting off of the water which made it difficult to see.

I thought I would get a lot of funny looks as a foreigner running in the heat, but only one child in the back of a tuk-tuk seemed to pay any attention to me.  I even saw an Aussie man running, which made me feel less out of place.  I followed the canal to the southwestern corner where there was a park that I ran around the perimeter walkway twice.  The park was very green and full of families picnicking by the pond, girls doing crunches on the benchs, schoolboys playing some game, men playing hacky sack but with a collapsible bamboo ball and a handful of runners.  I'm pretty sure running counterclockwise was the wrong way to go because I didn't see anyone else running or walking that way.  Oops!

The park in general was very peaceful and a bit secluded from the busy road I had run down.  I ran back along the other side of the canal, and was constantly fighting the heat, heavy air and exhaust fumes.  I finally was able to make some sense of the traffic pattern as I weaved in and out of cars and motorbikes while crossing the street a few times.  I think all together I ran about 3 miles, judging by time.  All in all it was a good first run, though my knee hurts today and it took me an hour to stop sweating.  Hopefully for my next runs I'll be able to find more interesting places to write about.

Last night we went to a night bazaar.  It was very much like JJ market but not as big and more open aired: it was all just under one huge tent.  The vendors had anything from handmade wooden items, to clothing, to jewelry.  There was a lot going on but it wasn't nearly as overwhelming as the market in Bangkok.  It looked pretty as the lights were large strings of bulbs almost like Christmas lights.

On the walk back we saw an alley of bars that looked interesting and decided to walk down.  I'm not really sure what that place was but it was crazy.  Each bar was about 15 ft wide and completely indistinguishable from the next.  There was nobody in any of them except for the girls (hookers????) cat calling at us as we walked by.  The whole place was dimly lit and there were some old guys surrounded by girls in the corner of the last bar.  At the end of the alley was a Thai boxing ring.  It was a very strange and uncomfortable place.  We walked back down a different street.

That's all for now.  Going to attempt to stay up to watch the soccer game tonight, though it doesn't start until 1:30 AM here so we'll see what happens.  Going on an overnight trek tomorrow.