Hi,
We're back home in Chiang Rai after an overnight trip to Chiang Mai. We've had a very busy weekend as you will soon see.
The 'Old School Friday' song was the classic "Crossroad Blues" as sung by Cream. The original was sung by Robert Johnson and recorded in 1936. Now it's time for 'Easy Monday'. "When I wake up early in the morning, lift my head, I'm still yawning. When I'm in the middle of a dream, stay in bed, float up stream. Please, don't wake me, no, don't shake me, leave me where I am, __ __ __." Hint: A perfect song for a Monday morning. Four lads sang this one during the 'invasion'.
Saturday we went to 9 Art Gallery for a small opening of an exhibit that featured the owner of the gallery and a good friend of ours. Khun Sompong and Khun Bob presented some older works and some pieces from new series they are both working on. Sompong's new work is a series based on the hand gesture called the 'wai', where both hands are brought together at varying levels in front of the face. The piece he showed featured just the hands, with smaller images surrounding them. It was very dramatic and we can't wait to see more. Bob exhibited some linocuts of village life that really told a story. We saw friends and had informative conversations about art.
Sunday morning Khun Sing picked us up at 8am and took us to the bus station for our three hour trip to Chiang Mai. We passed some of the time looking at the countryside, which was a treat for me. I don't get to enjoy it the same way when driving. After a little nap we watched some of our favorite TV shows on the iPad and that really made the time pass quickly. We stayed at the Orchid Hotel, the same place we stayed the last time we were in town. After a little rest and a change of clothes it was time to go to the gallery for the 'Encore Reception'.
Things started a little slow at the gallery, but soon picked up and we had a small crowd that was very interested in Lisa's demonstration of the cast acrylic print process. Two representatives from The Sold Project made a brief presentation on the nature of the work they're doing in the village and it was well received. There were lots of questions during the demo and one of the guests, who runs a print making facility and is a professor at the university, spent a lot of time with Lisa afterwards, exploring the many possibilities. They will probably do a joint workshop in the future. More sales may also have been generated as a result of the second reception.
After everyone had left the gallery Lisa, Jaffee and I went to the Sunday Walking Street. We had heard about it and were curious to see what it was like. It was huge compared to the one in Chiang Rai. Most of the things for sale were similar, but the energy was different. There were street performers, lots of food and hand-crafted items. It was nice walking through the street with Jaffee because we could ask him about food that we didn't recognize. We didn't eat any of it, but at least we knew what it was. There were two very old temples along the way and at one of them we stopped for a closer look. It's made of wood, which is very unusual. It used to be the Royal Temple. Inside there was a giant golden Buddha.
This morning we had breakfast at the hotel and then went next door to the shopping mall. We just went to hang out and explore, but ended up getting shoes before discovering an amazing costume jewelry shop with an unusual and suggestive name. It was a lot of fun and is on our list of places to go for gifts.
Khun Sing picked us up at the bus station and brought us home to two very excited dogs. It was as if we'd been gone for two weeks. They finally calmed down and life is back to normal for them.
Have a Great Week.
Peace,
Danny
"Never believe that a few caring people can't change
the world. For, indeed, that's all who ever have."~Margaret Mead
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