Day 1

 

“We plan for days and days and when the time comes, we proceed to improvise.”

Quicksilver ,Amazing X-men (AOA)

 

Well, it’s only the first official day of our research trip and we have already proceed to throw away all of our plans.

The series of lectures at Chiang Mai University (CMU) was definitely illuminating. It made us realise that we are definitely on the wrong track with our research.

The big old conflict about how economic development is clashing with heritage preservation? Nope. Not in Chiang Mai apparently. Most of the CMU students we interviewed told us that they don’t believe the development of the CM economy (especially the Creative Chiang Mai Project) will hinder the preservation of their culture. I think we failed to consider the uniqueness of Chiang Mai before we came to that conclusion.

Chiang Mai is a city whose lifeline hinges on heritage tourism. It is, in fact, what that distinguishes it from Bang Kok and other areas of Thailand. Their local community has always acknowledged the importance of heritage to their economy.  And they are proud to be Lana people, they are proud of their roots. The Chiang Mai University has played a pivotal role in many of the local heritage preservation projects. The local community was heavily involved too. It seems like we were the only the only one who didn’t get  the memo.

At least… I have learnt a lot about the heritage of Chiang Mai. The most interesting fact I have picked up today was their mind boggling dating rituals. Apparently, Boys are supposed to stroll along neighbouring villages and look at the ladies who are sitting on the steps of the porch and wait for their prince charming to appear. If any of the ladies caught their eye, they can then return again next week, where they will be invited into the living room for a chat with the girl. (In full awareness that the mother of the girl is listening to their every word in the nest room) Then, after the boy leaves, the mother and daughter will have a full on gossiping session where they would try to analyse whether or not the guy is worthy to enter the house again. Hmmmm……

And their idea of prince charming is very different from ours too. To be suave is to be covered in as many tattoos as you possibly can, from waist down. They are encouraged to take as many public baths as they can to display their tattoos. And for girls, covering their modesty meant covering their calves- not their chest. Interesting…..

Also, we had a group meeting later that night and sorted stuff out! Hope that it will all turn out well!