Encourage

Hi,

I'm coming to you from the beautiful Dusit 'D2' hotel in the heart of Chiang Mai. The weather was good on our drive, and it's been a mellow time so far.

Our 'Easy Monday' song was "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" by The Righteous Brothers. 'Summer of Love' is next:
"I've been tryin' to get to you for a long time. 'Cause constantly you been on my mind. I was thinkin' 'bout a shortcut I could take, but it seems like, I made a mistake. Well, I was wrong, ooh, took too long, I got caught in the rush hour, the fellow started to shower you with love and affection, now you won't look in my direction on the __ __ __ __..."
Clue: Love and a traffic jam are not a good mix.

This morning, as we got ready to leave for Chiang Mai, Lisa noticed that Daku had put the Firehose toy in our suitcase. The last time we packed he left his ball. I think he's trying to tell us something. We had a rather uneventful drive through the mountains and plains. Everything is very green and in some places the growth is very dense. The rice fields are in various stages of development and each has it's own distinctive shade of green. Going through the mountain passes the jungles are very impressive. We made our usual stop for coffee at the half-way mark. There was a sign in front of the cafe that read: "Drink coffee, feel good". I guess that's being to the point.

We're staying at what is simply called 'D2'. It's a very hip hotel with a color scheme of orange and white. They play mellow background music and all the staff is young and very attentive. Today it struck me as to why I like having a young staff: I don't feel guilty about being waited on. (Ha)

The traffic in Chiang Mai is intense. It's a bustling metropolis compared to Chiang Rai. We went out after lunch and our driver gave us a whole long pitch about calling him for anything we needed. This town is a big tourist attraction and everyone who's driving anything wants to take you places you don't want to go, or help you buy something. Hmm. There is a moat around the old city and after all the visits here, we still get confused. The city also has a very large expat population which makes it different visually, seeing so many 'Western' faces.

This evening the doorbell to our room startled us. It was a young man from the hotel bringing us a complimentary bottle of mineral water and two fortune cookies. Amazing.

Tomorrow we will meet our friend Ten for coffee, and then go on a quest for the compressor with our friend Mark. We'll also hit the bookstore that sells books in English, and stop at the market that specializes in Western food products.

Yesterday I should have wished you a 'Happy Tuesday' instead of a Thrilling Thursday. For now, have a Wacky Wednesday.

Peace,
Danny

A student asked Soen Nakagawa during a meditation retreat,
"I am very discouraged. What should I do?"
Soen replied, "Encourage others."
~Excerpted from Essential Zen

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style
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