Flowers

Hi,

Today was a travel day, complete with a few twists and turns that we didn't expect. The excitement is building for the Songkran Festival next week as crowds are already enjoying hanging out by and in the river. It's so hot, the water throwing of Songkran will be welcome for some.

The 'Easy' song was recognized by the regular players. I'm sure some of you know this but are being shy. (Ha)
"__, it ain't nothing but a heartbreaker. __, friend only to the undertaker. Oooh, __, it's an enemy to all mankind. The point of __ blows my mind..." Clue: The hit version of this song was actually a cover, from the same record company. 'Super Cool Points' if you know the original artist and the hit maker. If you don't know the song, you just don't know.

The plan for the morning was to leave for Mae Sai Immigration with enough time to arrive about 20 minutes before their lunch break. This would expedite the paperwork and get us out with a short wait. Ha! The best laid plans... We left with just enough time, but needed to get gas. A few minutes later we realized it was the morning we were to reserve our seats for the trip to America in July. We began looking for an internet cafe along the highway. After several stops we realized it was time to get to Mae Sai. We got there too late. "Come back after lunch, one hour." We found an internet station near the border with Burma, picked our seats, and had lunch at the big hotel. As we ate, Lisa wondered why they made so much food when no one was around to eat it. My guess was that the tour buses hadn't returned from the morning excursions. Just as we got up to leave, a huge crowd of Thai tourists poured off a bus and into the dining room. The 'High Season' may be over, but people still like to visit "The North."

We did a little sidewalk shopping to kill some time before returning to immigration. I got a couple of rechargeable LED flashlights and Lisa found a nice leather waist bag. Back at immigration I filled out a form, handed over both passports and waited for them to set things up. We took copies of things we thought they'd need, but they wanted pages we didn't expect. It always happens that we end up going to the copy booth in the driveway for more paper. There is a set-up like this at every office. Someone to make copies and someone else to take your picture. This time we had the pictures just in case, and they wanted one. We left thinking it was all done. Then Lisa noticed there was no re-entry visa in my passport. A U-turn later we were back, trying to get an explanation. The new passport requires a new re-entry stamp. The one I bought before was now void. Fill out another form, give us some money and you can come back in after you leave. Oh, thank you so much. Hmm. It's all settled now and there's nothing to do until our next check-in in May. The adventure continues.

The beach next to the bridge we cross on a daily basis has been transformed over the last week. Make-shift food stands made from bamboo and netting, tables and floating platforms for eating, and carnival machinery now 'live' on the beach. This evening there were some people in the water, others were eating on the 6'x6' platforms, and children were running around having fun. This weekend we'll probably start hearing the music from the big stage at the fairgrounds on the shore. It's the time of year when many Thais return to the villages where they grew up, to be with family. Many foreigners leave the country to avoid the burning of crop refuse that usually comes at this time, along with being annoyed with the throwing of water. We just stay and close the windows in the car and the house. It's all a part of why we're here.

Have a Happy Tuesday.

Peace,
Danny

"We are all flowers in the Great Spirit's garden.
We share a common root. The garden is
beautiful because it has different colors in it,
and those colors represent different
traditions and cultural backgrounds."
~Grandfather David Monongye, Hopi

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style
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