dwell comfortably in the midst of profound uncertainty...: New experiences

My first time driving a motorbike:

Chiang Mai is one of the few cities I've ever visited without a public transportation system, and with a limited number of sidewalks. As a result, motorbikes are the common mode of transportation.

Some might think it's odd that I have gone skydiving and bungee jumping without so much as thinking twice, but that I would be afraid to ride a motorbike. I, however, think it's completely logical.

According to the Public Health Ministry, motorcycle accidents claim the lives of 27 Thais and injure 438 every day. And from observing the motorbikes zig-zagging through traffic, cars changing lanes without signaling, and the complete oblivion to traffic rules, I'm honestly shocked it's not more than that. Also, Thais drive on the left side of the road, which can get a bit confusing at times when crossing the street, let alone driving.

Luckily, after a few friends taught me the basics of the motorbike (such as how to turn it on) I built up enough confidence (and Dan, enough trust in me) to try renting an actual bike for a day. Yesterday we drove around Chiang Mai for a few hours, and to be honest, it was quite exhilarating. We made it back alive, and although I don't think we'll be buying a motorbike for the remainder of our time here, I'm sure we'll rent again in the future!

Frozen in time:

I have read that every day at 8am and 6pm the Thai National Anthem plays and everyone stops what they are doing and stands with their hands to the side. I had yet to actually see this happen until this past weekend when I was in the market. At 6pm on the dot, everyone froze in place. Food vendors stopped selling foods, street performers stopped performing, everything came to a complete stop. It was quite a strange feeling being frozen in time...especially in the middle of a market.

Some other things I learned:

Thailand has reverse osmosis water vending machines which release filtered water for as cheap as 1 cent to fill 2 water bottles. They are pretty great.