Dance Extravaganza, the Ambassador of Laos and Little Boring Puppets

An
American in Asia:

His Quest for Cosmic Truth

(or at least a Decent Espresso)

I was sent on a mission to Chaing Mai again Friday. I was happy to go back there as the town is a pretty pleasant place to relax and get away from the city, but not too far away. I didn't end up having much time to relax though, as I was part of a Thai Airways International press tour. I found myself again living a cliche from the world of journalism: I was on the press bus.

One of my colleagues was a lovely woman who'd been doing a travel show on Australian TV since the early seventies. She seemed mildly miffed that I didn't know who she was until I explained that I was American. She told me about how much easier I had it since I was only writing and not filming. I didn't mention that I don't even own a TV and am in no hurry to buy one.

The bus went to and fro, loading in and loading out. We had lunch at an outdoor garden cafe and then it was off to the hotel. We were already behind schedule but at the insistence of the Australian travel show lady we got a full hour to laze about and recover from the early plane flight. I watched a little TV and read a James Ellroy book until I snoozed. I woke up five minutes before the bus was to leave and rushed downstairs.

Getting ready for the Dance Extravaganza.

We were carted off to Chiang Mai's only large shopping mall. I stumbled into the press conference I was there to cover when it was already halfway over. The guy who puts the rubber stamp on the papers when UNESCO decides to make some temple a World Heritage Site was there, talking about the sites in Southeast Asia. It was fascinating though I've got to write about it from a travel trade perspective so I can't get all mushy and sentimental about the disappearing ruins of the world.

I was one of the only two press people there to ask questions and I had the little question mike for a good fifteen minutes. I could have just talked to the guy instead of having our simple conversation booming over a PA system but that was the way things were set up. I cornered him for photos and then skipped the puppet show to wander around the mall looking at stuff.

Then it was off to the bus again. No time for dinner, we were shuttled to the main event which was an expensive song-and-dance (literally) put on by Thai Airways to celebrate a new connection between Chiang Mai and Luang Prabang. Since it was already old news, I was just there for some pics.

After the performance, I attended the cocktail party where I met the sister of the Prime Minister and the Laotian Ambassador. I was thrust on the poor ambassador by some Thai Airways guy who thought I was lonely and should meed people. The guy knew in less than a second that I could do nothing for him. He gave me a tired smile and was already walking away while we were shaking hands. Someone from the Thai press must have thought I was important and made the ambassador pose with me, so somewhere there is a neat picture of me and the ambassador of Laos.

I met a couple of girls who worked for channel 5: a feature anchor and her handler. TV makeup must be really bad for your skin.

The cocktails were fine but I was starving by the time they got us back to the hotel. Despite the fact that I had to wake up at 5am, I couldn't let a day in a different city go by without a long walk, so I took off immediately in search of food and entertainment. I ended up at an all-Thai bar, listening to a cover band play awful American pop music. I ate there and had a glass of wine, hit the disco next door for a couple of dances and walked back to the hotel.

I was pretty shagged by the time I rolled off the plane in Bangkok at 9am, but in all it was a good time. Chiang Mai is an awesome little city.

Jeffrey Studebaker has been (in no particular order) a SE Asian correspondent for a Singaporean travel magazine, a teacher, consultant and translator in Japan, a guitarist with the band, Swoon 23 in every city of the US of A, a coffee roaster in Seattle, a bike messenger in Portland, a marine fire system repairman in Seattle, an osteoporosis clinic researcher in Providence, a mental ward counsellor on the night shift in Portland, a brief success in New York, and he has now returned to the US after nearly a decade in Asia to pursue a publishing career.