Penises and passports
The penis, or lingam, shrine is packed with penises in all colors and sizes. Thin, thick, long, short, red, blue, white, green, covered with veins, penises with penises and legs, you name it, the shrine has it.
The fertility shrine was 'born' when some women made an offering to the residing spirit and shortly after fell pregnant.
No, not in Chiang Mai, but in Bangkok. Last time I got a new passport, the old one was completely full only when it expired. Now, only three of five years in, my passport is already fully stamped with visas and I had to go down to the Dutch embassy in Bangkok to get myself a new one.
What's more, in two weeks I can go back to pick it up.
Not flying, I'm taking two night trains, in and out of Bangkok. On the incoming train, a very touchy and giggly ladyboy, with surprisingly bad teeth, served food and drinks.
I'm not too much enchanted by Bangkok and have seen all, well almost all, I wanted to see in Bangkok on previous visits. Hence my visit to the fertility shrine.
I went in search for DDR again, with no success, but I did find plenty Guitar Hero II and Guitar Hero arcades. Guitar Hero, though easier than Guitar Hero II, has classics such as Killer Queen , Ziggy Stardust and Spanish Castle Magic
Close to the Dutch embassy, I'm staying at the Sukhumvit Soi 1 guesthouse. A hostel with only dorm rooms, its vicinity to the Dutch embassy and free wi-fi weighing in heavily for my choosing the place. It's not bad, as backpackers places go and has a friendly owner but an annoyingly arrogant and pedantic Australian teenage caretaker.
Thai food
Thai eat five times a day, be it sweet or hearty. On my way back to the hostel, I went for chopped up bread and sweet warm milk. At least, I thought. I expected fried pieces of bread, but got regular bread, chopped up. The sweet warm milk was to drink and to dunk my breadcrumbs, I ended up with a green sweet slimy goo.
But it was good.