Hi,
The travelers have left, but the memory lingers on. We brought our car home from the shop today and it's beautiful.
The 'Old School Friday' song was "I Heard It Through The Grapevine", as made famous by Marvin Gaye. It was recorded and released by Gladys Knight and The Pips as well. I won't give you the whole story, but it was a regular Motown soap opera. It's time for 'Easy Monday' and a song I just know you remember: "On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair, warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air. Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light. My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim, I had to stop for the night..." Clue: Title is in two words, it's a place, and it's by a group named after a bird. It doesn't get any easier.
Saturday was the last day for exploring with Bruce and Danielle and we made the most of it. When we left the house to go to the Hill Tribe village we got a bonus adventure. Down the street from our house there is a canal that comes from the river. We noticed lots of cars and motorbikes along the side of the road. When we slowed down to see what was happening we saw at least 100 people in the water with various kinds of nets, catching fish. It was the strangest thing we've ever seen in our little neighborhood. Men and women, fully clothed, some dragging nets, others throwing the traditional weighted nets while others had big inverted basket devices. Most of the fish were about 6 or 7 inches and one woman was selling them on the spot. She had one very large fish that drew lots of attention. People were driving away on their motorbikes, in their wet clothes holding the day's catch in their laps.
A small portion of the crowd
Fish for sale fresh from the water
We tore ourselves away from the fishing derby and drove out to the Mixed Hill Tribe village. It's called 'Mixed' because there are about 6 tribes on a large plot of land and they each maintain their traditional style of living. Some of the more interesting highlights were the needlework of the Yao Tribe and the weaving done by the Long-Neck Karen. The Karen are the tribe whose women have brass coils around their necks. They add a coil every year and the weight of the brass compresses the clavicle, giving the impression that they have longer necks. This trip, I also noticed several of the teenagers listening to music and texting from smartphones. Hmm.
About two minutes up the road from the Hill Tribes is the Doy Din Dang ceramic compound. The peaceful, wooded oasis made us feel like we'd traveled a long way. We had coffee, walked the grounds and had a short visit with Tamako, the wife of the artist. This was the first stop on what turned out to be 'Art Day'.
Lunch time on the highway can be problematic. Where to eat? We ended up in a hip little place in the community that supports Rajabhat University. It took a bit of doing, but the food was quite good.
Ban Dam (Black House) was our next stop. This is a giant installation created by Tawan Duchanee, one of the senior members of the Chiang Rai art community and a National Artist. There was an exhibition in the big hall, plus all of the houses and displays he has built over the years. In a little dome structure we experienced some very 'other-worldly' acoustics. At different spots in the room the voice sounded like it was amplified and doctored. We met a very friendly Thai man and his family while playing with the sound.
There were more things we wanted to show our guests, but we still had an evening ahead of us so we just relaxed for a while. Saturday night we went to 9 Art Gallery for the opening of an exhibit that featured paintings by a young artist who was showing a series on Phikanet (Thai version of the Hindu Deity Ganesha). It was also an opportunity for Bruce and Danielle to meet many of the friends we had mentioned so often in various conversations.
Five days can go by really fast when you're busy having fun and seeing the sights. Bruce and Danielle were great guests, with a ton of energy and an eagerness to see everything. Sunday morning I took them to the bus station for their trip to Chiang Mai. They will also go to Cambodia and China before returning to America. Their visit left us with a bunch of wonderful memories and new insights on this place we call home.
Sunday we collapsed and just hung out all day. Today we were at it again. The sewer project is finished, we got our teeth cleaned, picked up the little black car, and made plans to tap the well in the back yard so we can water the gardens for free. Whoa, it's only Monday.
Have a Great Week.
Peace,
Danny
"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass.
It's about learning to dance in the rain."
~Unknown
Gettin' Funky, Thai Style
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