Hi,
The weather in Chiang Rai is now at that ‘cool nights and very hot days’ stage. Jackets in the morning, T-shirts in the afternoon. It won’t be long before we’re in the ‘Hot Season’.
The ‘Old School Friday’ song was “In The Still of the Night” by The Five Satins. Time for another dose of ‘Easy Monday’ and I think you’ll agree that this one really is easy. “__ __ __ __ __ is love, sweet love. It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of. __ __ __ __ __ is love, sweet love. No not just for some, but for everyone.” Hint: Seriously? You need a hint on this one?
The big event on Saturday was the wedding dinner at Le Meridien Resort. In the lobby there were beautiful photos of the bride and groom, some enlarged to bigger than poster size. There was a ‘set’ at one end with a garden motif, for taking photos where we took pics of ourselves with the groom. We got to sit with our friends Nu and Dr. Nan (Cat’s orthodontist). At the front of the room was a big stage, with a 7-piece band. They played a mix of Thai and American hit songs and were very good. We had dinner before going since we knew the dinner was a traditional Chinese menu that we couldn’t eat. To our surprise, a hotel staff member came to the table and asked us when we would like our special meal. Hmm. I told him to bring it with the main course, not knowing what was happening. It turned out the head chef, a friend of ours, had seen us in the lobby and had his staff prepare steamed chicken and pumpkin for us. We saw many people we knew and also realized that we were the only non-Thais at the affair. Being friends of a very large family is nice. It’s the same family that took us under their wing when we first arrived in Chiang Rai.
Sunday we went back the Le Meridien for ‘Australia Day’ lunch. There weren’t many Aussies there and we were told that there really weren’t many in Chiang Rai, other than young teachers. The music for the lunch was from an Australian radio station in Sydney and we got to hear some pretty cool tunes from down under. Blue and I had the same meal as the night before, while Lisa and Cat got to sample the buffet. Oh well. When we first walked into the restaurant, the first thing I was confronted with was the dessert table. I just told myself, ‘I don’t eat that’ and moved toward our table.
Lisa has begun work on her elephant and it’s going to be beautiful. It’s a different experience, painting on a contoured surface that is not canvas or paper. We have to get some low tables for those hard to reach places, but she’s up for the challenge.
This morning we dropped Cat at school and discovered that we couldn’t drive to the Super Highway because of street closures. We kept running into detours until I finally figured out a route. As we drove down the highway we passed Pho Khun Mengrai Square. There was a parade being staged, and the square was full of people in costumes of various types. Later we found out it was Poh Khun Day, in honor of the founder of the province. King Mengrai, born in 1238, is highly revered by Thais in the north and considered the father of the Lanna Kingdom. He united many smaller kingdoms as a way to protect themselves and be more productive. He led this united force in a campaign that forced back the Mongol armies that tried to invade. When locals pass the monument in the square, they ‘wai’ to Mengrai as a sign of respect. Needless to say, the traffic was quite heavy all over town. Cat told me that this evening there would be parades around town and for 10 days there will be festivities at the old airport, south of town.
Today’s photo was taken by our friend ‘Nine’ in front of her art gallery on the highway.
Have a Great Week.
Peace,
Danny
“A mind that is stretched by a new experience
can never go back to it’s old dimensions.”
~Oliver Wendell Holmes
Gettin' Funky, Thai Style
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