Light

Hi,

I’m coming to you from the Night Bazaar district of Chiang Mai today.  The weather is very similar to Chiang Rai.  It feels hotter where we are because it’s all concrete and not much breeze.  Let’s just say it’s very hot.  The rain forecasts are just made up, the sky is clear with patches of puffy clouds.  We’re going to stop reading the reports.

The ‘Old School Friday’ song was “Unchained Melody” by (in chronological order Al Hibbler, Roy Hamilton, The Righteous Brothers, etc.  Try this one for ‘Easy Monday’:  “__ __ __ __ __ my head is filled with things to say.  When you’re here, all those words, they seem to slip away.  When I get near you, the games begin to drag me down.  It’s alright, I’ll make you maybe next time around.”  Hint:  It’s from across the pond, 1966, by those guys.  The singer is dying to reveal his feelings.

Saturday morning we had coffee with our friend John.  The directions to the newly relocated Polar Cafe sounded like we were going to the country.  We were, but it was worth it.  John warned us about the bad road so we were prepared.  When we finally arrived, it was hard to understand why someone would open a business in such a remote location.  Apparently, it doesn’t matter.  The place was packed at 9:30 Saturday morning.  We had to wait for a table.  There were lots of families and young couples.  They have a big wide slide that the kids can access by way of a climbing wall.  That was a big hit.  We didn’t see the sign, but permission was granted to eat cake and dessert in the morning.  Next time I’ll know.  The time just flew by as we got caught up on our activities of the last few months.  

Sunday we had a very special experience.  We had been invited to an event at The Wanderer.  All we knew was that it would be a concert by jazz musicians from Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai featuring musical compositions by The King.    The whole affair was to be from 4:30 to 7:30pm.  In the afternoon, we arrived half an hour early and there was already a crowd.  There were chairs set up in the open area, with seating scattered in areas of the woods as well.  The event was titled “Echoes in the Woods” and was put together by The Wanderer family along with donations and support of from a large number of cafes and coffee shops around town.  The ‘Glass Room’ was filled with tables containing treats from the participating cafes.  There were a number of highlights during the concert, and overall, it was a very enjoyable, moving evening.  The arrangements of The King’s tunes were very hip, and the musicians and vocalists were really good. There was also a group of children who sang a few numbers and did a good job.  The finale of the evening was when the lights were dimmed and the candles we’d been given were all lit.  Everyone stood and the performers and the audience sang The King’s Anthem.  

Today’s photos are from ‘Echoes in the Woods’.

Today was Chulalongkorn Day, celebrating King Chulalongkorn, also known as Rama V.  He made many dramatic changes to the way things were done in Thailand, most notably, ending slavery and establishing international relations with the Western world.  This morning in Chiang Rai and as we traveled down the highway, we saw large assemblies of uniformed men and women preparing for ceremonies in towns and villages.  

Have a Great Week.

                 Peace,

                           Danny

“There are two ways of

spreading light: to be the 

candle or the mirror that

reflects it.”

~Edith Wharton