Monday, July 7, 2008

Travel

Hi,
We had a pretty mellow weekend. It didn't rain too much so we had a little break. Sunday we had a visit from Kek, the landscape guy. He walked the grounds and surveyed the progress of the plants and was a little concerned about the corner of the yard by the pool. We explained that the pool guy had been dumping pool water onto the grass and that's why it was brown. I'm still a little unclear about why he does this and we've told him it must stop. Kek told us the tree we thought was dead was still alive and that he'd guarantee it. Today we got our first yard service from two of his guys. It took them most of the day to do the front. Then the rains came. I mean a storm, like the one that hit the party. They slept on the front porch until it let up, did a little more work and had to stop again. They'll be back tomorrow.
Some of you were on the 'good foot' this weekend since you knew "I Feel Good" by James Brown. You all should know that one. Try this: "...I been in the right trip But I must have used the wrong car My head was in a bad place And I'm wondering what it's good for."
Hint: It's about timing, by an artist who is not really a doctor, per se.
We have finalized all our arrangements for our visit to the States. Two weeks and we'll be 'Coming to America'. We had planned to come in June, but we wanted to make sure the house was finished and we had a chance to get settled. For the first time, we had to go through a travel agent to get our flights. We usually time things so we don't have to stay in Bangkok (BKK) too long. This time we have a flight that leaves at 6:30 a.m., which means we have to arrive in BKK late at night and hang out in the airport for about six hours. Oh well, we'll just park ourselves in the lounge, surf the internet and watch our little collection of old T.V. shows on the computer. Then, when we get to Taipei, we have a longer than usual layover. It's a nice airport and I'm sure there are parts we haven't explored yet. We arrive in the U.S. on the afternoon of the 21st. We'll be in town for three weeks.
We've been noticing a large number of tourists here in Chiang Rai, for this time of year. Typically, this is not a big travel time since it's the rainy season. Actually, it's the best time to come because everything is so green and lush. I guess some people figured that out, or maybe they're just here because it's their summer vacation time. Whatever the reasons, it's good for the town because it brings business to merchants who rely on outsiders. The economy here is centered around farming.
Speaking of farming, there was a lot of activity in the corn field behind the house today. They were harvesting the crop. Very interesting. As I looked out on the field, I could see the corn moving in various places. On closer inspection I could see a person. It was a weird effect, seeing the tall corn stalks swaying for no apparent reason. Then an odd little truck would drive in and large sacks of corn would be tossed on the back. The little trucks would drive out of the field and the sacks transferred to pick-up trucks. Quite an operation. I think they had to stop when the storm came. Tomorrow I'll be looking to see if they take more corn. Our balcony is like a ring-side seat to the harvest. Who knew?
Have a Great Week.

Peace,
Danny

"Though we travel the world to find the beautiful,
we must carry it within us or we will find it not."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style

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