Hi,
The Chiang Rai weather is the same as it's been for weeks. It's cool at night and hot during the day, and no rain in sight for weeks.
The 'Old School Friday' song was "Kansas City", made famous by Wilbert Harrison in 1959. The song was actually recorded in 1952 by Little Willie Littlefield, but I guess it never made it to the radio. 'Easy Monday' should be easy for most Californians (555). "I'm __ __ __ where the rain gets in, and stops my mind from wandering where it will go. I'm filling the cracks that ran through the door, and kept my mind from wandering where it will go." Hint: You would be doing this if you have a leak.
Saturday morning, after setting up Lisa's art exhibit at Chivit Tamma Da, we hit the Super Highway for Chiang Mai. This drive has become quite familiar for us and the little van. The road stays the same, but the scenery changes with every trip. The most notable change this time was the 'browning' of most of the vegetation. There are places where it's still lush and green, but most of it is drying out due to the heat and lack of rain. This happens every year during the hot season. I think the pockets of green are areas where there is a stream or river running through. It's still a great drive since there are plants that seem to thrive in this kind of weather. There are many flowering trees that stick out in sharp contrast to the pale brown of the landscape. We made our obligatory stop at Charin Gardens for pie and coffee, and then motored on to Chiang Mai.
When we arrived at the outer part of the city we turned onto a highway that was to take us to the area where we'd be staying. Somehow we missed something in the roadside signage and drove for a long time without knowing where we were. When we turned around and went in the opposite direction we saw a giant sign that gave us the right directions. We finally got to the B2 Budget & Boutique Hotel. It's part of a chain of low cost hotels for business travelers. The word 'Budget' was right on target with this place. None of the walls were painted. It was what one might call a 'concrete motif'. I had the feeling we were staying under a freeway or something in the middle of nowhere. Considering it only cost $18 for the "deluxe" room, it was a real deal. Our main goal was to go to the music festival anyway.
As a driver, it's helpful when there are signs that let you know what's coming, and where you are. There are many signs on the highway that read: City limit, reduce speed. The name of the city will be in Thai, so you really don't know where you are, just to slow down. Hmm. I guess it takes a long time for a country to embrace the idea of being bi-lingual. Adopting another language is not only time consuming, but expensive.
Today's photo was taken during our excursion into the unknown while looking for our hotel. I can't tell you where it was, but I think it's south of the city someplace. This giant statue of a monk totally caught us by surprise.
As our cab pulled up to The Promenada Resort Mall, we could see the outside stage and all the tents for the food vendors. The audience was made up of Thais and Expats of all ages. It was like seeing a cross-section of the city. The booths around the perimeter of the 'festival area' had food from various hotels, some local businesses, and a few local craft people. The first act was a Thai 'Smooth Jazz' outfit that was very good. They put on a diverse show, using some traditional instruments in the jazz genre, which was very interesting. We saw an entertaining band from Singapore, a solo artist from South Africa, and the American/Nigerian singer from the U.S. whose video had intrigued us. It was fun trying to guess which audience members came to see what band. It actually turned out that the artists drew in most of the crowd, once they got started. It's been a long time since we've been to an event like this, and I forgot what it felt like to have the percussion from the speakers hit me in the chest. The system was a little overpowering, or at least the mix on the bass and bass drum. We found out that the sound system was to be used for Eric Clapton's concert in Bangkok, but he pulled out due to the demonstrations in that city. As the evening went on, more and more people were dancing in front of the stage.
Sunday morning we drove around Chiang Mai with our list of things we wanted to find. During our travels we went to another new mall called 'Maya', but pronounced like May-ah. The list was still intact when we left for home (555).
We got home in time for dinner. The dogs gave us their usual 'where in the world have you been' greeting. It's so nice to come home.
Have a Great Week.
Peace,
Danny
"Man can learn nothing except by
going from the known to the unknown."
~Claude Bernard
going from the known to the unknown."
~Claude Bernard
Gettin' Funky, Thai Style
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