Essence

Hi,

Well, we're back from our weekend in Bangkok. What a ride. The art exhibit opening was great, we saw lots of the city, and stayed in a very special place.

Only one person knew the 'Old School' song. Young Seth knew it was "Little Darlin'" by The Diamonds. The first recording of the song was by The Gladiolas, featuring the writer of the song, Maurice Williams. Now you know. Hey, it's time for 'Easy Monday' and I'm sure you remember this one. One of the words in the title is in the first line:
"He came from somewhere back in her long ago, the sentimental fool don't see. Tryin' hard to recreate what had yet to be created, once in her life. She musters a smile for his nostalgic tale, never coming near what he wanted to say, only to realize it never really was." Clue: This song is by a bunch of brothers who weren't brothers at all. It's about denial, among other things. They also took us minute by minute on a long train runnin'. Hmm.

Friday night we took the last flight to Bangkok and arrived around 10:30pm. Riding the freeway in Bangkok late at night was no indication of what was really going on in the street. When we got off the freeway it was solid traffic and 90 percent of the cars were taxis. It was bumper-to-bumper as we made our way to the Sheraton Hotel. Our friend Jaffee got us his special rate and it was well worth it. It's one of those hotels that treats you like you are very special, and that's a nice feeling. There was an orchid on the pillow, a comfortable bed, an elegant bathroom, a fruit plate, and a 'mini bar' that was full of stuff we don't drink, plus three drawers of treats. Our view from the 17th floor was an amazing panorama of the city.

Saturday morning we met with our friends Louise and Jasper for breakfast. After that we called our new friend Pete to see if he knew about the gallery we wanted to see. He and his girlfriend Jeab came to the hotel and picked us up and we went to the Nielson-Hays Gallery and then to Siam Paragon for lunch. We had a fun time with them and made plans to go to the opening of Khun Sompong's exhibit at the National Gallery in the evening. With the help of his navigation device we found the place. We were treated to music by a string quartet led by Sompong's son Tanoi. We had seen some of the paintings before, but some of his new work was a very dramatic commentary on the unrest that took place in Bangkok months ago. He introduced us to his 'best friend' and one of his teachers.

Getting around Bangkok can be a tricky thing if you don't know the city. Sunday morning we wanted to go to Chinatown to visit the art supply store that carries materials that Lisa uses. They also told us they could show us an airbrush kit that we were interested in purchasing. The taxi ride wasn't too bad, even though the traffic got thicker as we approached our destination. We found the shop and they took us to another shop that had the airbrush. It took a phone call to Pete to find out that they were afraid to ship the compressor, so we'll have to look elsewhere.

Another cab was hired and we slowly moved in the direction of the National Stadium, which is near the Jim Thompson Museum. Jaffee told us we should eat lunch there since it is in a tranquil surrounding. We finally found it and had a nice lunch. Then a Skytrain ride back into the center of town. We were getting tired, but we wanted to go to the MBK Center, and Siam Paragon. MBK is five floors of little shops. Lots of walking, looking, and a mild case of sensory overload. We moved from there to the Bangkok Center for Arts and Culture. It houses shops and displays of various crafts. Right next to it was one of three giant department stores that are connected by walkways. Eventually we got to Paragon, but we were too tired to really appreciate it. Back on the Skytrain to our hotel. Whew.

It was a busy weekend, but we accomplished what we went to do. We wanted to swim in the hotel pool, which was like a tropical lagoon, but the one time we could do it, it started to rain. Hmm.

Sunday night we arrived back in Chiang Rai, got a big greeting from Daku, and mellowed out. Today we got in a swim in our own tropical lagoon.

Have a Great Week.

Peace,
Danny

"If you're able to be yourself, then you have no competition.
All you have to do is get closer and closer to that essence."
~Barbara Cook

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