Jet Setter. Go Getter. Nothing Better.: Gettin Adventurous in Chiang Mai

the peds inpatient ward


vaccine clinic

Chiang Mai is awesome. At first, I was a little intimidated by the big city feel. As soon as I got off the bus (which was thankfully, at the right stop) I had a variety of tuk tuk, motorcycle, and pickup drivers surround me. Still knowing only three words in Thai, and none of them related to transit, I'm surprised I made it to my hotel (which is way less classy and a good deal dingier in person than it was on the website). But it's all good--hot showers and softer beds. Mm, miss me my cushy bed and squishy pillows.

The past couple of days have been relatively productive. I met with a couple people at Thammasat University in Bangkok, which led to several conversations with the international Masters and PhD students, some from Zimbabwe and Burma. They had valuable input regarding the situation in Burma. What's interesting is that the info I got from talking to UNICEF is significantly more optimistic than the info I'm getting from almost everyone working on the Thai border, particularly the NGOs.

made from fish

Basically, everyone living on the borders of Burma (ie ethnic minorities) get most, if not all, of their care from sources other than the government. On the Thai border, that involves crossing into Thailand or getting care from mobile clinics--mobile in the sense that they are built to disassemble within minutes when word of military action comes through. These communities will literally run into the forests to hide to avoid becoming victims of gross human rights violations or killed. The Mae Tao clinic is a pretty big hub for Burmese refugees, migrants, and those just crossing in for the day, as well as your average (very dedicated) NGO lot. I got a chance to tour the facility as well as talk to an American PA working there and some of the patients in the peds/newborn depts. It's been incredibly interesting to hear from these different perspectives, but just as frustrating--the ever-present dilemma of seeing unending need meet limited resources--an every day story at MTC. Saw quite a few kids with malaria. Drug resistance to the last remaining antimalarial medication that had not before seen resistance has been seen on the Thai-Cambodia border, and they're beginning to see some on the Burmese border. This makes the situation particularly urgent because if this resistance were to spread, we'd be SOL all over the world and we'd see a surge in malaria deaths. Within the last few days, the WHO has acknowledged this little predicament and convened what they call GPARC (Global Plan for Artesunate Resistant something or other). HIV drugs also pose a big problem. I won't go into details but basically the most effective and cheapest drugs don't get to these patients efficiently because the Thai government has really high import tariffs on drugs and will only buy from China. USAID money only allows for drugs manufactured in the US, and malaria drugs aren't a big priority for US pharmaceutical companies (I know I switched back to malaria, but it's all infectious disease related.) NGOs can get HIV drugs for, on average $2/pill (vs. $14/pill in Thailand) if they go over to Cambodia, but the import restrictions imposed by the Thai government make that difficult. Up on the northern border, Shan refugees aren't recognized by the Thai government and are pushed back into conflict zones in Burma (acting against human rights agreements, but Thailand technically hasn't signed'em). Without legal status in Thailand, and targeted by the Burmese military government, these communities are SOL for life. Frustrating. And that's just scratching the surface.

In lighter news, I ate real gold while in Mae Sot. Emmie (the Thai Masters student I had with me there) had me try these little yellow sweet things. Yes, that's real gold in the pic. Pretty crazy.

real gold!

Here in Chiang Mai, I've been keeping pretty busy. Talked to a big NGO here, SWAN, for a couple hours, before checking out the city and finally the Night Bazaar. So overwhelming how many vendors there are...and I'm terrible at bargaining because I always feel too bad. ha. The jewelry and crafty things are neat, and the artwork was absolutely amazing. I suppose the subject matter is pretty typical, but the talent is evident.

I wish I had infinite space in my pack...and cash money...cuz the market's a fun place to bargain hunt.


amazing talent


Karen hill tribes

Even better than the market here though, are the tigerssss. I have always wanted to play with tigers and today, I got to get up right next to them. So muscular under all the fuzziness. The big ones liked having their tummy rubbed. The smaller ones (2-4 months) were really playful (except for the sleepyheads). The guy who was driving me around also took me up to see this Karen hill tribe. I almost asked him not to because I had heard about the "Long neck" tourist attraction and it kind of bothers me that people come through like they're zoo animals...then again, I ended up conceding and played the tourist role myself, so I can't start to criticize. It was interesting to see the women with rings around their neck in person, though. They start ringing it up at around age four. Pretty intense stuff.

Other than that, haven't done too much. Tried a couple different restaurants. Mango and sweet sticky rice seems to be a popular dessert and the curries are awesome. Nothing unexpected, of course. Gonna check out more of the city, do some work maybe. Hope you like the pics!