Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Life In Chiang Rai

Happiness

Hi,
Life in Chiang Rai moves at a different pace than the big cities here. This is only from brief observation since I've never lived in one of the big cities, but I've been there. Having said that, I'm looking forward to our weekend in Bangkok with mixed emotions. More about that later.
The song that got Googled a bunch over the last few days was "Everyone's Gone to the Moon" by Jonathan King. Now you know. This should be easy: "The best things in life are free, but you can give'em to the birds 'n bees I want __..." Clue: I'm not sure I really need to give you one but I will. Everybody needs some, it's all we hear about lately. Oh you know this one.
There is an openness about the pace of life here. There are a couple of times a day on certain streets when you know the traffic will be a little hectic so you just take another route. Nobody tries to force anything on you at the Night Bazaar and smiles are everywhere. Our experience with the 'city' is much different. Maybe the opposite. So, while I enjoy the hustle and bustle and the fascination of it all, there is a certain tension that I'll have to try and put out of my mind. We won't be in the streets that much, but we do want to take a trip to MBK and maybe Siam Paragon just to gawk. Of course I'll fill you in on how it goes. I don't mean to discourage anyone from going to Bangkok. It's quite a rush. This is just one 'country guy's' experience.
There are funny little things we come up with to entertain ourselves when we're out in the street. For instance, the family at the furniture store had another baby and we haven't been by to see him yet. We took a gift by after he was born but he was asleep. So now every time we pass the store we say 'Where's the baby?' or 'Show me the baby' and laugh. Nothing like cheap thrills. When motorbike riders do something stupid like drive the wrong way and head right for us, the big question is: 'How big is your death wish?' which has been shortened to 'How big is your wish?'. Then there are all the parking attendants and their whistles. I may have mentioned this before but I bought a whistle and one of these days I'm going to blow it at one of them. (Ha)
This afternoon our insurance man came by with our policy papers for our house. We've got some amazing coverage for what we're paying. There was an interesting clause when it came to earthquakes. If the quake is caused by an object falling from outer space, we're not covered. Oh my.
That just made me wonder about something. Have you ever noticed that when a man-made object has lost its orbit and is heading for Earth they always tell us it's going to land in the Indian Ocean? Excuse me but that sounds a little too convenient to me. I'm just sayin'.
Well, I think it's time for Wacky Wednesday.

Peace,
Danny

"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed.
Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love,
grace, and gratitude."
~Denis Waitley


Gettin' Funky, Thai Style
www.flickr.com/photos/gratidudepics
www.risingstardom.com
www.lisamosesgallery.com

No comments: