Change

Hi,

Over the weekend we experienced all the different kinds of weather Thailand can dish out.  Traveling south to Chiang Mai we encountered scattered clouds in blue skies, a range of light to heavy rain, various winds and of course hot and humid air.  Yeah, that’s what happened.

The ‘Old School Friday’ song was “Gentle On My Mind” by Glen Campbell.  On to a new set of tunes by a group you may have heard of and an ‘Easy Monday’ song that will loop:  “I did you wrong, my heart went out to play and in the game I lost you.  What a price to pay, I’m cryin’, __ __ __ __, __ __ __ __…”  Hint:  Lyrics don’t really provide a hint to the content of the song, but sing well.

Saturday was the beginning of the monumental weekend.  It was the weekend that we finally got to meet Jai Dee and bring him into our family.  The journey to Chiang Mai was not what we expected at all.  We knew it would take longer going north to Mae Chan and then west to Fang followed by a southern route to our destination but no one mentioned the twisty turny mountain road that went on forever.  One should never ask a motorcycle rider about the nature of a highway ride.  Better to ask a truck driver.  This road, highway 107, is probably great fun on two wheels,  but it got tired real quick.  I should say that the scenery was magnificent.  Lush jungle covered mountains, miles of rice, and the occasional forest were all refreshing.  Not counting the stops for food and coffee, it took 5 hours.  The bumpy way we normally take was only 3 hours.  That’s how we came home.

Now for the good stuff.  Saturday evening, Dr. Intorn and his wife picked us up at our hotel and we went to one of their favorite Chinese restaurants, which happened to be just a few minutes from our hotel.  They told us it was very old and is very popular among Thais and Chinese in town.  We ate dishes we’d never heard of, and had a really good time sharing aspects of our lives.  After dinner they took us to a dessert place a short walk from the restaurant.  We had a dish that consisted of fruit, crushed ice and coconut milk.  Now we know something else we like.  Next stop was a large gated community where they live.  It was very quiet and almost mysterious as we drove down the different streets on the way to their home.  When he is on call in Chiang Rai, he has a small apartment where he stays, but Chiang Mai is home.  We may have dinner with them this week here in Chiang Rai, since his wife came up for the week.

Sunday morning we got up early and prepared to be at the park by the river at 10am to meet the doggie broker.  We did some shopping at a market we like on the way, and arrived at 9:30am, just in case they were early.  I had a chance to talk with some friends that were there for a meeting.  At 9:45 a station wagon pulled into the lot and it was Jai Dee (not driving).  After going through the formalities of paperwork and explanations about a few things, we took our bundle of fur for his first ‘walk in the park’.  We had a harness for him, but it was too small.  We made it work for the moment and set out to walk him a bit before hitting the road.  He was attracted to all of the people.  As far as we know, this was his first time out in the world.  He tried to climb a tree, and darted around with that look of wonder that small children have.  Once we were on the road he was an easy traveling companion.  He had already been trained to hang out in his ‘crate’ so it was no problem in the car.  He and Lisa hung out in the back seat and we made a couple of stops on the way home.  

Jai Dee loves to play.  He is slowly learning how to do things like jump down single steps, which he does now when entering the bathroom.  He knows how to bring things back about 80% of the time, and loves to slide on the floor when attacking a toy.  Natcha and Nitchanan were waiting when we got home.  There is already a ‘kid’ energy between Jai Dee and Nitchanan that was quite apparent last night.  They revved each other up.  Natcha adores him and was quick to say yes when we asked her if she could ‘baby sit’ this morning.  

Here are two of Jai Dee at 8 weeks old.

Stay tuned for a whole lot more stories about the adventures of Jai Dee, The Wonder Dog (555).

Have a Great Week.

                       Peace,

                                 Danny

“You can’t look back and change

the beginning, but you can start

where you are and change the ending.”

~C.S. Lewis