Where is there a toilet when you need one?

April 22, 2008 | Filed Under Chiang Mai, Thailand 

Well in some cases that was an easy question to have answered. We spent a day in a market area just outside of Chiang Mai. We found all kinds of wood carved crafts for gifts for friends and family back home. This market area reminds me a lot of the open air flea markets on some roads winding away from the interstates here in the states. There were rows and rows of various vendors in these off-road market places.

However after a long day of shopping you sometimes have to find a bathroom and take care of business. If it takes up space, they will make a business of it. Also, they had an understanding of the concept of competition. As you can see, the sign above has no clear direction on where this bathroom is, that I could recall, and is probably charging an arm and a leg for something that….

someone has a “storefront” of a business. This one has very good signage and it is clear where you go. All kidding aside, some of these bathrooms go on a kind of honor system. That is you put the money in some kind of bucket and go. (this was the case when we returned from one of the days at Phayam Island) Or, as in this case, you find the owner of this fine establishment and you pay him and he will then give you a roll of toilet paper or a few squares to get you through.

Here is a common picture one of main modes of transportation around Thailand. You may see more pictures, like these, because scooters are everywhere.

We stayed pretty late that they started closing the booths. Not at all in Thailand would do this, but at some that we went to they would close about the afternoon hour for an hour or two and the night market kicks into full gear in its place. It was interesting to see the transition through the day at this particular market; to go from an active thriving market to all of a sudden noticing that some of the shops were closed!

 I absolutely love this picture that Katie captured. It shows the length of on of the rows. The details of the roof along with the details along the street just bring the whole story alive. It congers up memories of when we moved through there on one of the first few days in Thailand. Keeping our eyes open, so we could drink in and understand this culture. Live your life with you eyes open. You will never know what you might miss!

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