Hi.
We had a cloudy, warm day with pockets of rain east of the city. The airport offered a challenging adventure this morning, we lunched in town, and attended an open house that was really a garden party.
The 'Zany Day' song was "Drive My Car" by The Beatles. That means it's time for 'Old School Friday'. This one is pretty easy so I'm going to give you a lyric from deep into the song. "Rich relations give, crust of bread and such. You can help yourself but don't take too much. Mama may have, Papa may have, but __ __ __ __ that's got his own, that's got his own."
The first thing I must tell you is: it's very quiet here. It's 8:45pm and there is no music from across the river, there are no bombs going off and there is hardly any traffic on our road. Loy Krathong is over. On our way home this evening I did notice that there were some remaining 'campers', but it didn't look like a party. The whole area was dark.
Since we don't have to go to Bangkok on Monday it meant that we had plane tickets that needed 'adjusting'. The only way to deal with this is to go to the airport. To get the flights we needed we had to book on two different airlines. Our first stop at the airport was the Nok Air window. We were able to change my ticket to February 22 when I'll be going to my Recovery convention in Pattaya. The return ticket meant a stroll over to the Air Asia window and that's when things got weird. First there was one window open and we were in line. It was taking a long time but then another window opened. Someone was standing near it and just stepped up, instead of letting the 'next in line' move up. Then both windows had long dramas. It took us almost an hour to get served. With a deep sigh, we are grateful we don't have to go to the big city and pack up the exhibit.
As we were leaving the airport lobby we noticed a Toyota van being driven through the door. It had been on display. When we got outside we saw a brand new pick-up truck lining up to squeeze into the lobby area.
When we first moved to Chiang Rai we lived at the Wongcome Hotel for one month. In that time we had a chance to sample the restaurants in the downtown area. One of our favorite spots was a little place behind the hotel called
'Siam Corner'. The big attraction was chicken burgers. Today we returned for lunch and it was as good as the first time. The owner and his wife are very devoted to The King and have lots of photos and articles about his life covering the walls of their restaurant. Next Wednesday, December 5, is The King's birthday.
As I was driving home from New Life today I drove under a banner announcing the Chiang Rai Food Festival. I totally forget that it happens this time of year. It's a busy time up here in the north. I also noticed lots of lantern remnants up and down the roads.
Tonight we went to the Mantrini Boutique Hotel for what was billed as an open house. It was all held outside in the driveway and the newly created garden area. There were booths containing vendors of traditional and organically grown products, clothing, and crafts. There was a corner where kids could learn to make iPhone covers with artwork on them, and a man drawing caricatures in charcoal. In the garden area there was a stage, and chairs, benches and hay bales. We visited with all of the members of the host family, and watched a group of young men in traditional attire play traditional tunes. I'm pretty sure the electric bass and the cajon are not traditional, but the audience didn't seem to mind.
Speaking of tradition, Atom told us that she is changing her formal first name. There are certain names and vowel types that correspond with the day of birth. If you are born on a Monday there are certain names that you should have. That's a very loose explanation, but you get the idea. And here you thought you could just make up a name and it would be OK. That is saved for the 'play name'.
Tomorrow morning we will go to Central Plaza when it first opens and do our visa check-in at the temporary immigration tables. This will be much easier that the last time when we were renewing our visas. After a few mall necessities we will go up the highway a bit for the opening of the remodeled 'Tile store'. This is the place where we spent hours going through tile selections for various parts of the house. The same family that owns the Mantrini owns the 'new' store so we'll see them again. From the road it looks great.
Have a Wonderful WeekEnd. Oh, there's 'Funnies'.
Peace,
Danny
Gettin' Funky, Thai Style
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