History

Hi,

The weather in Chiang Rai is in a new pattern.  It’s very hot during the day, but begins with cool, cloudy mornings that almost look like rain.  We have a forecast calling for rain but there seems to be disagreement among the ‘experts’ as to when it will happen.  It’s pointless to live by the forecast, unless farming or set on sunbathing (555).

It’s cool that so many of you remembered this ballad.  There are tons of covers, any artist will do on this one.   

“Walk my way, and a thousand violins begin to play.  Or it might be the sound of your ‘hello’, that music I hear.  I get __ the moment you’re near.”  Clue:  The use of the title word is not referring to the weather.

We like the way the tile on the pool deck looks so much that we’re going to change the patio to match.  This morning Kkun Yee, the young man who built the Thai kitchen and other jobs, came over to measure and give us a price.  Next month he’ll come and do the work over 3 days.  It will be nice to have non-slip tile on the patio just in time for the swimming season.  

Songkran begins on April 13 and there has been lots of speculation as to how it will be observed in Chiang Rai this year.  With the year-long official mourning period in place, big celebrations are discouraged.  Apparently, the large gathering in Bangkok on Khao San Road has been cancelled.  This is a street that has become a mecca for tourists and Thais alike to come and throw water and party.  We don’t have a street quite that notorious, but it will be interesting to see just how ‘busy’ the revelers are this year.  At Big C and at Central Plaza Mall, Songkran shirts, and power squirt guns are all on sale in mass quantities.  Hmm, maybe it will be splashing as usual.

In our early days in Chiang Rai we used to go to an ‘Everything Store’ that sat on a big dirt lot near the fruit market.  We haven’t been there in years, but at the suggestion of Gong, we went there today.  It’s grown into quite a shopping center.  There are rows of little shops carrying a variety of clothing and accessories.  It’s like the neighborhood mall for those without the Central Plaza budget.  

The big corner lot where Doi Chaang Coffee and the car wash used to be is going to be a parking lot.  At least that’s what it appears to be, with chalk lines in the dirt, what else could it be?  Every time we pass by, I hear Joni Mitchell singing about how they paved paradise…  The lot is not open for business yet, it just sits there being a reminder of what used to be.

Today’s photos were taken on Sunday at the home of Somluk and Tamako.  One side of the house is decorated in large platers made by Somluk.  The large fish pond is a very quiet spot that can also be viewed from inside the house from several angles.

Have a Happy Tuesday.

                   Peace,

                             Danny

“History, despite it’s wrenching pain,

cannot be unlived, but if faced with

courage, need not be lived again.”

~Maya Angelou