We arrived at Chiang Mai early in the morning, before daybreak. We were so tired that we just grabbed any tuk-tuk and let him take us to any guesthouse that he had a contract with. It wasn't bad, I think we got lucky. We got to our room and got a bit of a second wind. Madoka took a shower while I went in search of a 7-11 for donuts and water. Then I took a shower and Madoka was asleep before I was finished. The journey was over.
We woke up before noon, somewhat refreshed. We still had to make Madoka's meeting. I decided to go with her. The prominent feature of Chiang Mai is a square moat encircling the older part of the city. The circumference of the moat is maybe three miles, everything within being within walking distance of everything else. Chiang Mai outside of the moat sprawls out. Chiang Mai is the second largest city in Thailand, but is nevertheless dwarfed by Bangkok.
The guesthouse was a short walk from the moat, and we caught a tuk-tuk to Madoka's meeting. I just tagged along and didn't pay much attention to Madoka's business. I think by then we were just being cordial to each other and tolerating each others' presence. We were just pretty drained.
After the meeting, Madoka wanted to visit the office of an NGO she had visited on her prior visit to Thailand. It was on the other side of Chiang Mai, but we decided to walk. It wasn't terribly far, I wasn't paying attention to time. Again I was just tagging along. Eventually, I decided to head back to the guesthouse alone and let her hang out with her friends. I walked all the way back to the guesthouse on the other side of the city. Again, not terribly far. I didn't take any photographs; I don't know why.
After Madoka got back to the guesthouse, we decided to go for dinner and do some shopping at the night market. It wasn't raining and it was cool, and it was pleasant to finally be able to relax with Madoka. We went to a vegetarian restaurant. The ambience was nice and relaxing, so different from the camps. I reflected on how a day ago we were in a refugee camp in the middle of the jungle with people scraping a living, exiled from their homes. I suppose what makes Madoka special is that we can share such disparate experiences.
After dinner we went shopping and I bought a bunch of gifts stuff. We retired relatively early that night.
