Today was the best day I’ve had in Thailand so far. Finally! Finally, I feel as if we’ve reached the true heart of this country. The place that people don’t see on vacations. The reason why Thailand IS the land of smiles.
11:42am, Get a late start on the day and drive 30 minutes outside of Chiang Mai to meet up with our buddy David, a karaoke loving expat slash Chiang Mai local who’s agreed to help with our house search. We left behind all the clueless tourist in the city square and rambled on through the countryside. This whole time in Chiang Mai we’d been wondering where all the Thai people were at, it seemed as if there were more foreigners on the city streets than local residents, and honestly there probably are.

Almost immediately after leaving Chiang Mai we started seeing hints of what I had been seeking this whole time. No more street vendors trying to hustle dumb tourists, no more fucking massage parlors, no more bullshit ass signs for guided tours or zip lining or adventure treks or monkey farms, no more old white men with young Thai girls on their arms, no more Goddamn bullshit. This was the real deal Holyfield; I’m talking about glistening rice paddies and impoverished locals with smiles on their faces, blasé cattle languidly lounging on the ragged street tops, and wayward cocks darting every which way. Sankampaeng has soul in places that the city couldn’t possibly conceive.

Before heading out on our search for housing we decided to sit down for a bite to eat. David took us to a place on a quiet side street near his house. Four or five elderly Thai women sat out front of the open air restaurant shooting the breeze, talking about this and that. A handful of chickens roamed the ground below our table, unaware that they would soon be on it instead of safely below it. The shop owner turned on a TV and the women gasped and chuckled lightly to the musing of the telecaster. I think we all took comfort in something that needed no translation or explanation to appreciate, just a group of old ladies enjoying each others company and an unusually pleasant day.

After having what was hands down the best meal I’ve had since being in Thailand we began the terribly long and arduous struggle that is house hunting in Thailand. 5 minutes later we’re standing in front of a beautiful unfurnished 3 bedroom house with a leafy green yard and a slithering creek. Well, I guess the search wasn’t that long or arduous after all.

I almost couldn’t imagine living in a more perfect place. A short walk from our front door at the end of the street an endless sea of kelly green rice fields crash against the smoky mountain tops of Doi Suket, farmers tend to their crops in the cool country air, and 4 American travelers stand idly by, searching deep within themselves for the space to take it all in. This is it. This is what we came here for. This is the place we’re going to cry about when it’s time to leave. This is home.