Critical Mass

Change of Plans. Well, it's less of a change of plans and more that I actually have a plan now. I went to Documentary Arts Asia (DAA) last night to  see "Tim's Vermeer." The movie was interesting and the theater was great. The movie was projected on the wall in the lobby and the seats are all folding chairs set up in rows. I learned that it was the only indie movie theater in Chiang Mai and that they were putting on the fourth annual Chiang Mai Documentary Arts Festival starting on Sunday. They said that there was still quite a bit of work today including mounting photos and building screens. I initially thought I would just show up and help before leaving on Saturday but the Festival seemed cool so I decided I would stay for a bit longer to help. I talked to a couple folks who worked there and they said they would welcome the help. The festival is from the first to the eighth and takes place in a number of venues across Chiang Mai. Tonight is the last night I have booked in my hostel and when I mentioned I would extend my stay, I was offered a place to stay by Non, the Assistant Director of DAA. She said I would be welcome to stay in her spare room while I helped out with the festival. Awesome!

This morning I went back to DAA. I mostly mounted photos but also removed staples from frames. It was tiring work but it was fun because all the people there are awesome. I got two meet two artists who have shows in the festival. One is an Italian man displaying photos of an abandoned prison in Chiang Mai and the other photographer I met is a South African woman showing portraits of women with HIV from all around the world. I spent many hours cutting foamcore and mounting photos while talking with everyone about photography. It was fun.

Cutting foamcore all day long.

This evening, I went to Critical Mass Chiang Mai. For those who don't know, Critical Mass is an event that happens all over the world where a bunch of cyclists get on their bikes, form a friendly mob, then ride around their city. The folks at DAA were all going and invited me to go. I didn't have a bike but someone lent me one.

We biked to the meetup point. There were maybe fifty to a hundred cyclists there. The organizer made a speech through a megaphone then we set off.

Photo stolen from Critical Mass Chiang Mai Facebook page.

Readers may recall that I described myself as "a bit shaky" when I biked in Phitsanulok and this was certainly the case in Chiang Mai. Traffic was crazy and biking was absolutely terrifying. Somewhat fun but terrifying nonetheless.

At first, it was pretty easy. Being in a large group made it way less scary. But it wasn't long before I fell behind. Eventually, it was just me and one other person going my pace with nobody else in sight. Luckily for me, the other person knew the route so I followed her. She went off on her own after a while but gave me directions to the meetup point where the route concluded.

I made my way on my own to the meetup point and everyone was already there. I took the bike back to DAA then walked back to my hostel.

But first I stopped for ice cream.

I deserved it.



PS: the place I'm going to be staying at from now on doesn't have wi-fi. I will try to keep blogging regularly but if I miss a day then that's why.