Courage

Hi,

We appear to be out of the rainy season here in Chiang Rai. Hot, sunny days with hardly a cloud in the sky. We had a very busy weekend as you will soon find out.

Our 'Old School Friday' song was "Tonight You Belong To Me", by Patience & Prudence. Now do you remember? It's time for 'Easy Monday', and a song I know you know: "__ __ __ __ __, the rain is gone, I can see all obstacles in my way. Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind. It's gonna be a bright, bright sun-shiney day." Hint: Really?

Saturday afternoon we had an early dinner at Vivien's before the opening of Chezmoi Boutique and Home Stay. We were the only patrons in the restaurant and it was quite nice. When we arrived the Chezmoi there was already a crowd gathering. The time finally came for the presentation and we were a little curious as to what was going to happen. First the two young women responsible for the evening were introduced. They introduced their parents and the home stay concept was explained. Basically, you stay with the family instead of just renting a room. You take meals with them and learn more about their lives. It's a nice way to learn about a culture.

The main attraction of the evening was the fashion show. We were ushered into a large empty space that is usually their boutique. There were flowers and candles on the floor. The music began and a young man came out and just stood there. His role was to escort each model up the steps to the runway. One by one the models appeared wearing original fashions that were breathtaking. The theme of the show was 'Tribal Warriors' and each garment depicted one of the Hill Tribes of the region, except they were modern, fantasy costumes. All of the models were stunningly beautiful as they walked in slow motion on the runway. The audience reception was very enthusiastic and the feeling was that this was a 'world class' presentation. When photos are available I'll try and post a link.

After the show, the models did a little mini-parade down to Praatap Jai, where some of the art work of the designers were on display. We had to leave at that point in order to get to 9 Art Gallery for the opening of an exhibit of two artists that we know. By the time we got there they had just cut the ribbon and the crowd was huge. I've never seen an opening with so many people. We got a chance to talk with each artist as we viewed their work. That made a big difference since some of the pieces had deep meaning.

Sunday we did Big C, and the vegetable market. In the afternoon Lisa prepared her now famous mashed potatoes and gravy for the Canadian Thanksgiving dinner that evening at Bob and Noni's. There was a big spread of food, lots of friends and conversation. While we were standing in their outside kitchen I noticed a large, white statue of The Buddha on the mountain to the west of their house. It was quite a sight.

Have a Great Week.

Peace,
Danny

"It takes as much courage to have tried and failed
as it does to have tried and succeeded."
~Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style
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