Voyage

Hi,

For the second day in a row, we encountered heavy fog in the early hours, followed by bright sunshine and a very warm day.  What happened to the rain?

Our ‘Easy Monday’ answer song got a bigger response than the song it answered.  Hmm, oh well, here’s more:

“How I’ve waited for this moment to be by your side.  Your best friend wrote and told me you had teardrops in your eyes.  __ __, your __ __ to stay.  I’m not a thousand miles away.”  Hint:  It was recorded by the same group with a different name.  

Today’s message will be shorter that usual due to last minute packing and a late start on everything.  We got invited to a surprise birthday dinner for our friend Nukoon.  It was held at a new restaurant that is operated by his son and nephew.  In English, the name means Rose Garden.  There are over 400 roses on the grounds of this riverside spot and the smell at sunset was wonderful.  It was a gathering of ‘The Family’, the folks who helped us get started here in Chiang Rai.  We met Nukoon in 2001 on our first visit to Thailand and we’ve been friends since then.  The menu was all Thai food and it was a good feeling to be able to not have to decline eating because of this or that.  We all had a fun time.  There was also a trio playing music that we really enjoyed.

Our new back-up fridge was delivered and is filled with food.  It feels good to know Blue, Cat and Daku will have things to eat while we’re gone.  It’s not everything, but enough to set our minds at ease. 

The photo today was taken in the village of Ban Du, a few miles north of us.  We had stopped on the Super Highway at Dr. View’s office, she’s one of Daku’s vets.  The image in the center is of several birds' nests constructed on the telephone wires.  There were many nests up and down the lines.  No worry about predators in this location.

Tomorrow we rise at 5am to get ready for our journey to the U.S.  It’s another one of those 26-hour things that seems like it will never end.  Knowing it does end is great consolation about 3/4 of the way (555).  

Have a Happy Tuesday.      I’ll write to you from Taipei. 

                 Peace,

                           Danny

“The voyage of discovery 

lies not in seeking new vistas,

but in having new eyes.”

~Unknown