Fascinating Peoplescape of Chiang Mai II

Location: Chiang Mai, Thailand

Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai is really a special city - and this is coming from someone who spent 6 years traveling as a homeless nomad across most of Asia. Here, people are more laid back. Travelers are friendly and open for interaction. They want to interact and they expect to be interacted upon. At Nawa Saraan Hotel where I look after guest needs, I become friends with some. Of course, it's short. But it's also sweet. This is a highlight of the fascinating souls I had the good fortune to be crossing paths with. To those not mentioned or not written about, it's only because pressing schedule keep me from completing the write-up.

Amjad
Amjad's life experience spanned many aspects. As a learned man from Pakistan, we talked life, geo-politics and global domino-effects. He also gave me a more realistic narrative of Pakistan, apart from the US-fed media I'd been exposed to. It was refreshing to talk to someone with such depth and insight. Nuts and bolts about existence without the candy-coating. Stumbling upon wise men is always a treat.

Neng
Neng is an inspiring optimizer - if ever there is one. She has a keen eye for inefficiencies and quick to suggest a better alternative. She seems to be the go-to of Chiang Mai's movers when things need to be done. And yes, I somehow felt that sense of assurance that when she takes on the job, it's as good as done - and done right the first time!

Yang
Yang exudes exuberance of youth - defying convention and braving what's out there. We casually met at Kad Suan Kaew and that was followed by a breakfast invite at Nawa Saraan where long engaging talks merged seamlessly with sumptuous kitchen offerings. We could have hung-out more, but something kept getting in the way. Anyway, just feeling grateful the moment was there to be celebrated with.

Saffiya
Power of Laugh
Saffiya is the default laughter yoga teacher. Attend her Tuesday class and you get your healthy dose of therapeutic laughter that boosts the immune system and literally uplifts your spirits. It's a case of fake it til you make it. Yes, according to the newest Epigenetics technology, consciousness architectures our biology - it's not entirely about genes. This explains a claim how someone cured himself of cancer by laughing his way out of it. It is sad to see her leave Chiang Mai. Her contagious laughter will sorely be missed!

Goi
I met Goi at Saffiya's yoga class and we started hanging-out up until she left - at least, that's how I remember it. She'd be a regular at Nawa Saraan where we ate, indulged in caffeine and just carried on with our conversation, wherever it took us. We spent a hot afternoon dipping at Nawa Sheeva's infinity pool and perhaps even went to see a free movie at Maya. It seems like a blur now, but the lingering feeling is that of fondness and affection. Hopefully, she visits Chiang Mai again.

Sabrina
Soul Yoga - Wise Ways Of Living
Apart from being a yoga teacher at Yoga in the Park - Chiang Mai, Sabrina is also a vegan and animal rights crusader. When not teaching yoga, she's out there in an animal rescue center doing her part in the service of those who cannot speak for themselves. She loves hiking and frequents the Doi Suthep area for bliss and tranquility.

Ali
Chiang Mai Holistic
Ali is a refreshing take on "conscious" people. He doesn't look the part - no dreadlocks, no elephant pants or lavish ornamental body accessories, but he walks the talk. Compare that to the gamut of babas of Rishikesh who look the part - beard, saffron robe and ashen face paint, but would control, collect money and if you're a girl, touch you inappropriately (I know, it's a handful). He founded Chiang Mai Holistic which hosts events designed to foster human evolution in consciousness. On the side, he also extends himself to the rehab of those with addiction problems. He talks straight bordering on irreverence without the esoteric 50,000 ft-above-sea-level intelectual discourse.

Mimi
Mimi C. | mimi_dance_with_it
As a performance artist with talent to wit, Mimi is a refreshing departure from what could be called conventional. She is on the far end of conventional as she pushes herself, her art and her audience's buttons while performing on onstage. Across the coffee table, her mind is as free as her art. People like her add color and animation to what could be drab-reality.

Alan & Nicola
Alan: Ecstatic Dance
Nicola: Nicola Symons Yoga
In my mind, I refer to them as the dynamic duo...2 sides of a coin complementing each other in a loving, respectful and supportive union. They are fiercely independent - so I'm not talking co-dependence here where when I say 2 sides of the same coin. It's just a wonderful togetherness where they can finish each other's sentences but also don't need to utter a word to be understood. Maybe I'm saying too much given my short acquaintance with them. But I do love this couple. I'm glad to have them as regulars to Nawa Saraan's coffee gathering.

Iza
A random conversation at Thapae East with Iza allowed me to invite her for coffee at Nawa Saraan before her departure from Chiang Mai. Beautiful and an accomplished performance dancer, I found her grounded with a good head above her shoulders. I got the impression she's immersed into dance and somehow interprets life to be a kind of dance. I can only wonder how she is on stage pouring her heart out translating music into a poetic and graceful movement.

Ying
Ying's Thai Massage Courses
Ying started out a referral to a good massage therapist. I've had 2 sessions with her where she identified knots on my back. What? I do my asanas almost daily with long held stretches. And I have knots? Oh well, it only shows some muscle groups need more than stretches - they need to be kneaded and dissolved. Anyway, because of her professional competence, I made a collaborative offer to work together with her in holding courses at the hotel. In a way this paved the way for a looming friendship.

Amm
Prajna Yoga Shala
Amm is a Sivananda yoga teacher in Chiang Rai. That's how I met her 3 years ago when I offered to conduct a class. I'm just glad she visited Chiang Mai to conduct a course. It was good catching up, although we didn't really have much time to reconnect. I still remember her as the lady who put up a yoga studio in Chiang Rai and empowered the women who attended her class. This empowerment led the women to realize they were getting the short-end of the stick in their marriage. Result? They all left their husbands/boyfriends and are happier for it! Careful when you practise yoga - the transformation can profoundly affect your life!

Yvonne
Meeting Yvonne at Heart Space during World Meditation Day started a looming friendship that spawned long coffee talks, pizza-making and chillout time. If we don't agree on something, we just agree to disagree. Sometimes, we don't even talk - we just do our own independent work together in the same space. It's a getting-to-know-you process that's all good.

Hasan
He's the 2nd Pakistani I've met in Chiang Mai. I don't meet too many Pakistanis along my travels. Hasan is smart and faced with a fork on the road - get a conventional job suited to his education as a mechanical engineer or follow his bliss into an unknown and esoteric path. Given my experience and insight, I did most of the sharing...of what it's like to live a nomadic life as a renunciate where you rely on the charity of a benevolent universe for your survival and eventually for life's well-kept Easter Eggs. I straddled between solid ground and the ephemeral glimpses of staying on the path, converging 2 worlds as one singularity. It would be too abstact to most 9-5ers, but Hasan gets it.

Vaida & Scott
Conscious Fit Coaches
They are perhaps yoga's equivalent to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie - the dream couple. With their stunning visual appeal on the outside and conscious inner workings within, it's an inside-out total package. Attending Vaiya's yoga class with strong dance-undertones where we moved freely with closed eyes was like dancing while nobody's watching. We were given freedom of movement and exercisable options to find our range of motion. Her killer-sequence killed me on the mat a few times only to be resurrected out of Savasana like a phoenix rising out of its ashes.

Katie
Neal just postponed our coffee gathering while I was talking to a strong yogini attending his class. So, I looked at her and asked, "Wanna join me for coffee?" It was a wonderful beginning of long talks at Nawa Saraan about 'the journey' and staying on the path. She spans a broad spectrum playing hard on the urban jungle while walking placidly on the meditative realm.

It's amazing how some young people (Katie is 24) "get it" at such a tender age. When the awakening came to me, I wasn't a spring chicken anymore - divorced, going through mid-life, with a whole life behind me. As the saying goes in the movie Casablanca, "this could be a beginning of beautiful friendship."

Ending Thoughts
The last chapter hasn't been written yet. As Chiang Mai's peoplescape continue to shift its sands, I'm sure to meet more magnificent lives who will positively shape mine. Always grateful for the abundance, the energy and the opportunity. Thank you Chiang Mai 🙏❤

--- Gigit (TheLoneRider)
YOGA by Gigit | Learn English | Travel like a Nomad | Donation Bank

Chiang Mai Peoplescape blogs

1. Fascinating Peoplescape of Chiang Mai II May 22, 2019
2. Peoplescape of Chiang Mai Jan 24 - Mar 13, 2019

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Next stop: The Outsiders

Chiang Mai, Thailand

IMPORTANT PLACES
Bus Station
Train Station
Chiang Mai International Airport
Nong Buak Hard Park - free yoga classes daily

HOTEL
Arun Dara Villa - 7 exclusive rooms, 1 swimming pool for every room, grand opening
Nawa Sheeva Hotel - big rooms, high ceiling, salt-water pool, restaurant, cafe
Nawa Saraan Hotel - low density (4 spacious rooms), stone garden setting, Koi fish pond, Old City location

RESTAURANT
La Pizza Chiang Mai - Italian pizza, pasta, wine, dessert, coffee
Natural Bird Nest by Burapa - authentic bird's nest soup

WELLNESS
ITM - International Training Massage School - Chiang Mai's most prestigious massage school
Float Chiang Mai - sensory deprivation float pod
Zira Spa - upscale authentic Thai massage and spa treatment

MOTORBIKE RENTAL
Tawan Bike - motorcycle rental | +66 91 635 2863 | Si Phum, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50200

USEFUL INFORMATION

Travel Tips for Thailand

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