Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Life

Hi,

Chiang Rai had a day without rain. What? We spent the bulk of the day in Mae Sai. The water came back with extra power, and Daku is acting like a puppy.

The 'Easy Monday' song was "Stormy Weather", originally sung by Ethel Waters in 1933. It became a hit when Lena Horne sang it in the movie of the same name. There are many wonderful versions of this song, mostly by women. Now let's go to 1967, and the 'Summer of Love'. This song is by an organist from across the pond. Do you remember?
"Well, my temperature's rising and my feet hit the floor. Twenty people knocking 'cause they're wanting some more. Let me in baby, I don't know what you've got, but you'd better take it easy, 'cause this place is hot. So glad we made it, so glad we made it...." Hint: The title is three words. Singer is begging, and there seems to be a party going on.

With patches of blue sky here and there, we set out for the northern town of Mae Sai. Normally we go there for our immigration check-in. Today we went to shop, or at least make an attempt. The hillside maze of streets that makes up the main part of the shopping district has lots of duplication. One look at the front tables will tell you what will be in a shop. There are tons of handbag shops, all selling designer knock-offs. There are gadget shops selling a range of stuff from pocket knives to pellet guns to LED flashlights. It means that one has to play the odds and hope something unique will pop up every ten shops or so. We determined that part of the monotony is because it's the 'low season' and there aren't many shoppers. Hmm. I found a bag for my iPad, Lisa found some clothing, and we found a few things to bring back for family.

Finding food in Mae Sai has always been a problem for us. Today we ate in the depths of the shopping zone. It was a busy little place and we shared a table with three women. The whole experience was 'very Thai'. The noodles, chicken and broth were good at the time. After lunch we walked onto the main street and had some Doi Chaang Coffee. That was just what we needed. There was more looking, a little more shopping and we left for home.

There are several police check-points on the highway between Chiang Rai and Mae Sai. Today we had the dubious honor of being pulled under the 'awning of scrutiny' on our way home. Usually, they just wave us through, or ask where we are going. Today we got 'the look'. After requesting our passports, a man at a table examined them, wrote something down, laughed with the others, and we were set free. While all this was going on, Lisa was getting her phone ready to call our high-level policeman friend. If they only knew. (555)

Daku is not feeling his shoulder so he really wants to run and act crazy. We take him out on a leash, which usually calms him down. This is a good thing because at 72 pounds, when he wants to run, he'll run.

Time for Wacky Wednesday.

Peace,
Danny

"When I hear somebody sigh, 'Life is hard,'
I am always tempted to ask, 'Compared to what?"
~Sydney Harris

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style
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