18th Jan 2015 – Making Friends in Chiang Mai

I barely slept last night on the night train. The mattress was rock hard and I was freezing the entire time. The air-con makes the room feel like a refrigerator. Once I was awake I stayed up and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. The mountains and greenery of country Thailand, shrouded in fog, while the sun is still streaming through is gorgeous.

Goodnight!

 

At 10, we arrived at Chiang Mai train station, where Jane, a volunteer and foster parent at FFAC was waiting for us. She drove us to breakfast and onto the Babies Home.

I felt rude taking photos, so none for everyone else unfortunately. Many of the children here have severe disabilities. They often come from Nong Khai or Bangkok and then moved here. While the carers do as much for them as possible, it’s still quite hard to see them and hear their stories. The building is very make do, quite run down and small. One girl’s birth mum tried to abort her with drugs they suspect and by consequence she has severe developmental issues. Another was about to be adopted when she climbed out of her crib and fell. Her injuries caused severe brain damage, and now she is confined to a chair, unable to sit or stand on her own. It’s a good reminder that although the children hate being tethered and they scream and cry when you do it, it could save them. Most of the children I am with are awaiting families now. The paperwork just needs to be approved. These children, their only chance for adoption is if a couple specifically ask for a special needs child.

After we were introduced to the children and carers, Raj and Shoba took us outside to demonstrate Pranic healing. It works with people’s individual energy and clearing out the stress energy before healing the damage. We sat and meditated for 15 minutes and they showed us an exercise to help channel sex energy. I hope it will help the carers and the children. We were supposed to do some work with the children today but Shoba was feeling unwell so we took them to the hotel.

When arrived we found out there was no vacancy for me, so they went to another hotel to find room for me. They found one eventually at Noble Homestay (Chiang Mai), about 10 minutes walk away from the main gates of the old city.

I was starving by now so I went straight out to find some fruit. While waiting for the shuttle van to come, a Thai girl, Ying befriended me. Thais have an aversion to being alone apparently, and as this was my first time alone in Chiang Mai, I didn’t mind the company. First we ate at a little restaurant. She had some yummy looking soup and I had mango. Afterwards we walked down the street for a while, until she hailed a tuk tuk and we caught that to the Art in Paradise Museum. It’s a museum filled with illusion paintings. A good way to waste a couple of hours, taking silly pictures out of the heat. Many of the paintings are actually really life like and there’s a huge array. It helps to know a Thai, because foreigners pay 300 baht and locals only pay 180 baht. My job was to stand silently and smile, otherwise my accent would certainly give it away!

 

Starving again, we caught a bus (which is really an open van) to the Sunday walking markets. These markets are sprawling, set on the streets of Chiang Mai, blocked to traffic. Much of the products on sale aren’t just touristy garb either. There are vintage shoes, clothes, leather goods, paintings, home made skin care, lots of food and beautiful decorations. It never ceases to amaze me how clever people are. It’s almost impossible to keep track of which street you turned down, which intersection is which or when the markets will end, so if you want to buy something, do it while you can. You might not find it again.

Streets and streets of shopping

Don’t forget the amazing number of Wats or temples in Chiang Mai. It seems there’s on every few metres. I adore how intricate the designs are. They are well worth a look, but remember to remove your shoes and don’t act like paparazzi when taking photos. Also, the closer you approach, be mindful it’s really disrespectful to be taller than Buddha and to point your feet at him.

By the time we walked back, my feet were aching, I was constantly swatting mosquitoes and I just wanted to relax on my own. Tomorrow we are flying to Nong Kai, though I’m pretty sure Ying would love it if I went with her to Phuket!

Protected: 10th Jan 2015 – Weighing, watching and being children (minus the technology)

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20 Nov 2013 – Hair Loss Diary

I’ve just been to Thailand and as much as it was a holiday, it was also a test to see how I would cope in terms of finding enough to eat. Especially since it’s been almost an entire year that I have been maintained the diet without gluten, white sugar, hydrogenated oils and added salt. I also wanted to see whether the delicious Thai food would tempt me and although it did multiple times I never gave in. Firstly, it was easy to find enough fruit to eat. Vendors have multiple varieties (although mangosteen proved harder to find at this time of the year). Furthermore I no longer crave sweet, salty or oily food which is amazing considering I used to crave salty food so badly my mouth would water and I felt that my body needed it.

Unfortunately I did happen to accidentally eat a tiny amount of oil, twice. I ordered steamed fish from The River Market Restaurant in Chiang Mai. At the time I didn’t notice anything, but the next day my hair shed quite badly. It was a bit of a shock considering this hasn’t happened in a long time. This was the only thing out of the ordinary I had eaten, but the next night I decided to order it again. I found out that they poached it instead and there was a small amount of oil. I didn’t mind too much, since it’s the first time that I have eaten any hydrogenated oils in a long time, but I did discover that my hair shed terribly the next day. I didn’t notice any of the irritation though and there were no under the skin pimples.

Now that I am back, I have found another patch of baldness right at the bottom, on my left hand side. It is still covered by a lot of hair that falls over it and when I put it up I can cover it with hair that goes into my ponytail. I haven’t decided yet to return to the Naturopath as I think that I can handle this on my own. My only worry is that last time it started as such an inconspicuous little spot that expanded into such a drawn out ordeal that was quite stressful. I still become anxious when I see hair in my fingers that I’ve easily pulled out. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt that anxiety, but it still feels raw. It definitely reminds me of my previous experience. It stresses me out, which of course is counter-productive. I feel though, that I am much better prepared to deal with this.

It’s kind of deflating, to know that after all this time and effort, two meals can so drastically affect me. But it does reinforce my belief that I must continue to be strict with my diet. I’d much rather have my hair than enjoy the taste of something for a few minutes.

It’s also hard to judge if anything else could be affecting my hair. I haven’t kept up with herbs or my iron. I’d definitely had my dose of vitamin D, probably too much if that’s possible.

While this trip to Thailand was a great holiday, it was also a test to see if I can live, with my lifestyle and the supplements that I need. The plan next year is to live in Thailand for at least a month and then I will work on building up that time away. My next move is to learn the language. I’ve decided that I will aim for next year in winter, since I really despise the winter weather in Melbourne!

For now though, I’m going to resume the treatment that I still have from the Naturopath. I will also continue to supplement with the iron, zinc and silica. Being back at home will make it easier to control what food I am eating. All I can do is wait and hope that there’s nothing else affecting my hair other than what I’ve already deduced.