Peace

Note:  If you haven’t written to stay on the list, remember, March 10 is the last day.  That is, unless you want to be heckled a bit (555).  

Hi,

We’re home from our whirlwind trip to Chiang Mai.  It was super hot there as opposed to the hot in Chiang Rai.  Very happy to be back.

The ‘Old School Friday’ song was “My Blue Heaven” by Fats Domino.  Nobody wrote me with an answer.  Hmm, I guess that goes in the ‘Stumped’ column.  Let’s hope ‘Easy Monday’ fares better.  “I don’t wanna lose you, this good thing that I got.  ‘Cause if I do I will surely, surely lose a lot.  ‘Cause your love is better than any love I know.  It’s like thunder, lightning, the way you love me is frightening.  I’d better __, __ __, baby…”  Hint:  The title is from a very old superstition.  Classic ‘70s R&B.  

Saturday we managed to take care of ourselves.  I know, amazing, huh?  Sunday morning we packed the bags and the van for our overnight trip.  We had already gassed up, so we tried a new route out of town.  The eastern ‘by-pass road’ has been in operation for a few months but we’d never tried using it to go around the city on a road trip.  We drove east to the road and headed south.  There are three traffic lights from north to south, with pretty fast, light traffic in between.  Considering what it is usually like on Saturday morning in the city, this was a good way to go.  We made our compulsory stop at Charoen Gardens, this time leaving with not only the lemon pie, but a slice of pineapple pie as well.  

When we arrived at the D2 in Chiang Mai, we remembered why it’s our favorite hotel.  It felt like being in an old movie, where the featured couple are greeted with, ‘Welcome home, so good to see you again’, and everyone rushes to take their bags.  When we got to the front desk, the young man behind the counter came out and escorted us to the 7th floor.  There, we checked in and were given a little packet of perks.  Our room on the 7th floor also gave us use of the lounge and a happy hour with snacks.  Oh, just keep spoiling me.  

The main purpose of our trip was to visit our chiropractor, who is only in town once a month.  What we didn’t realize was that Sunday is a busy day for him since many people are off work.  We had a wait, but it was worth it.  

In all the trips to Chiang Mai over the years, we’ve only been to the Walking Street once, a long time ago.  This trip we decided to check it out.  A Tuk-Tuk from our hotel zipped us through the streets to the beginning of this mammoth bazaar.  Compared to the Chiang Rai Walking Street, this thing was on steroids.  The number of vendors was overwhelming.  In many parts of the street there were musicians down the center.  Most of the music had a gentle tone that didn’t conflict with other players or the general tone of the night.  We heard languages from all around the world, and only managed to see about 40% of the ‘Street’ before calling it a night.  Our plan it to return in October and do our holiday shopping in this wonderland of ‘stuff’.  

Today’s photos are from the Chiang Mai Walking Street.  The first photo is a band we’ve seen before.  They play blues and light rock, and they are all sightless.  The second photo is a man playing a Khan (a multi-reed instrument played by inhaling and exhaling while covering tiny holes in the bamboo), while the woman did an improvised Thai dance.

We drove back non-stop today.  That’s right, no pie stop.  Daku acted like we’d been gone a week, Neetchanon had big smiles, and Natcha had dinner waiting.  There’s no place like home.

Have a Great Week.

                   Peace,

                             Danny 

“Peace cannot be kept by force;

it can only be achieved by 

understanding.”

~Albert Einstein