Monday, March 12, 2012

Imagine

Hi,

Here in Chiang Rai the air is a little bit better and the evening temperatures are rising. We never got the rain that was forecast, but we're still watching the skies. Update: As I'm writing the wind has picked up, there's lightening in the west and it feels like rain.

The 'Old School Friday' song was "Two Lovers" by Mary Wells. OK, it's time for 'Easy Monday' and you know this one:
"On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair, warm smell of colitas rising up through the air. Up ahead in the distance I saw a shimmering light. My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim, I had to stop for the night. There she stood in the doorway, I heard a mission bell. The I was thinking to myself this could be Heaven or this could be Hell... Welcome to the __ __, such a lovely place, such a lovely place...." Hint: It's about a place in the Golden State, by a group named for a bird.

Saturday we did nothing special. Sunday we did some shopping and met with Jaffee in the afternoon. That's when things got interesting. We were given directions to a coffee place that he discovered down on 'Old Airport Road'. It was across the street from the Red Rose Hotel. On the way, we passed by the new Harley dealership. Nice looking place with lots of shiny new bikes in the window. We couldn't find the coffee place with the curious name 'Mummy's'. We decided to drive into the Red Rose and see if it had an exit that might point us to Mummy's. The Red Rose is a real strange place. It looks like a cross between Disneyland and an old movie set. There were castle turrets, a giant gorilla, and a big sign with photos of the rooms. Each room has a theme that looks like a fairy tale. I plan to go back and take pictures.

We finally found our destination and sat under a tree by a fish pond and had coffee. We discussed the 'Encore Reception' we're having in Chiang Mai for Lisa's exhibit. We met the owner of the place and he showed us some coffee beans that he roasted and explained the difference between roasts. The area around the old airport has lots of small hotels and it's where people come to exercise. Next to the airport is a small golf course where we used to get chicken burgers. It's another part of Chiang Rai that most travelers don't visit.

The bridge is getting close to completion. The pink railings and curbs are done and now they just have to paint the bars on one side. It's an awesome sight to see. Now we can tell people that we live near the pink bridge and they'll know what we mean. I'm sure it will be the talk of the town. Today we noticed that the road-side stand where we used to buy watermelon is now active again. We're not sure if it's the same family, but there was a table full of melons and other fruit.

Evening at the Night Bazaar was great. After our dinner we walked around and when we got to one of our favorite shops the woman, who is a fan of Lisa's work, told us that her class went to the museum at Rachapot University and she saw Lisa's cast acrylic print of The King. She was very excited about it and told her teacher she knew the artist.

Today we went to the bus station and bought tickets for next Sunday. We'll take the VIP bus to Chiang Mai for the reception and then return on Monday afternoon. It's been years since we took the bus to Chiang Mai so another adventure is coming.

The wind is really whipping around outside and it's finally raining, so it's time to walk around the inside of the house just to check things out.

Have a Great Week.

Peace,
Danny

"Imagine what a harmonious world it could be if every
single person shared a little of what he is good at doing."
~Quincy Jones

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