mai ow toong

“Have you noticed the changing of the seasons? How the weather is going from hot to… slightly less hot?” These were the words that Jum, our program director, imparted to us during this past week’s follow-up orientation. While at first we just laughed, I have realized that on some days, the heat is less oppressive and that daily downpours are becoming more of an every-other-day or every-few-days occurrence. Even though I have adjusted quickly to the tropical climate here, I can’t say I’ll miss getting drenched at least once a week by a surprise rainstorm on my way home from class. 

Now that I’ve been here for almost six weeks, I’ve had a chance to reflect on my initial impressions of Thai culture and daily life. For someone who will walk out of a store juggling fifteen apples rather than taking a plastic bag when I’ve forgotten a reusable one, the most challenging aspect of living here has been the pervasiveness of plastic and single-use packaging. With every smoothie, iced tea, and plastic water bottle comes a straw and plastic bag, and even street food that would otherwise be zero-waste (sticky rice wrapped in a banana leaf) is handed to you in a plastic container, which is then placed in a bag with plastic utensils. 

An encouraging sign found at Lamphun’s walking street – the next step: composting stations for discarding the plant-based packaging

Fortunately, in my Thai Language for Daily Communication class, I recently learned to say, “mai ow toong,” meaning “I don’t want a plastic bag.” I immediately started using the phrase (rather than using frantic hand gestures when the seller reaches for a bag); not only does it get my point across in a way that people understand, but it also makes many street vendors smile at the fact that I actually know how to say something other than “a-roi maak” (“very delicious”) or “khub khoon kha” (“thank you”).

While it is a bit of a drop-in-the-bucket effort, I am trying my best to avoid contributing to the waste stream. As long as I am prepared, ditching single-use plastic is relatively simple: I save the plastic bags I’ve been given and bring these to markets along with a reusable bag when shopping for fruit and vegetables; my set of bamboo utensils and metal straw permanently reside in a pocket of my backpack; and the som tam vendor down the road happily puts the freshly-made green papaya salad in the reusable container that I hand to him. I have yet to find a cup that I can bring to smoothie stands and coffee shops, however, as they all sell their drinks in containers of slightly different shapes and volumes.

Cups carved from bamboo – plastic-free if you say no to a straw!

Grabong tawd (deep-fried vegetables) on a wooden stick

Another mode of transportation that is already dear to my heart is Mobike. This bike share company has a fleet of orange-and-silver fixie bicycles that can be found on nearly every street corner in Chiang Mai. All you have to do is download the app, scan the QR code found on each bike to unlock it, pedal to your destination, and leave the bike wherever you end up. There is a small fee of 5฿ (around $0.15) for every 30 minutes of riding, or a whopping flat fee of $8 for 90 days of unlimited riding. Even though Mobikes aren’t meant for climbing hills and seem to be ideal for people under 5’3”, I love using them to get to class in 7-8 minutes rather than walking for 25.

Shoutout to Mobikes for getting me to class on time

I have also learned how to ride the motor bikes that are the preferred mode of transportation here, but I plan to reserve my scootering for roads outside of the city. Navigating the roads on foot is challenging enough, and while I doubt I’ll ever get used to the traffic patterns in cities here, the adrenaline rush that I feel when crossing the street now has subsided to a more productive level.

* note: sadly, I am not sponsored by any of the companies providing these goods and services, but I appreciate everything that they are doing to help make living sustainably accessible, affordable, and stylish.