Adventures In Thailand

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Smile

Hi,

We finally had a day without rain here in Chiang Rai. It was beginning to feel like Seattle (Ha). Our trip to the country was put off until tomorrow, so today was filled with 'in town' stuff. It was a good day.

The 'Easy Monday' song was "Yesterday" by The Beatles. The 'Zany Day' song may not be as easy, but it's fun:

"I went and bought myself a ticket and I sat down in the very first row, wo wo. They pulled the curtain but then when they turned the spotlight way down low, wo wo. __ __ came out strutin' wearin' nothin' but a button and a bow, wo wo singin' 'Yeah yeah! Yeah yeah!, Yeah yeah!, Yeah yeah!." Hint: The two words are the stage name of the main character and there's a country involved. What?

This morning the pool guys came to do their usual job and discovered a problem with the filter pump. It seems that the temporary capacitor that was installed last week allowed too much capacity (Ha) and it stopped working. Johan arrived with a proper one and the day was saved. Unfortunately it was misty this afternoon and the water temp was down to 77. Had it not looked like rain we might have put on our wet suits and gone in anyway.

We went to Makro for some supplies and realized that it's not as simple as it used to be to go there. With the highway repaving still going on, we have to go past our usual U-turn and then sit in one lane of traffic. It's still no where near the traffic in a big city, but you get used to just going a certain way. When the work is done the ride will be smoother and that will be nice.

Mornings at the vegetable market are always interesting. You never know what you might see. Today a young man drove into the market on his motorbike with a load of wrapped packages. I don't know what they were but it must have been important. He sat there with his motor running until the woman in the stall made him turn it off. Sometimes we see people come in on their bikes, but it's just a quick drive through or they're coming to work. There are enough vendors in the market that if one doesn't have what you want, another one will. All except celery, which seems to be out of season right now.

Our masseuse, Joy, has moved to a new location. Atom has been talking to her and explained where it was so we made a date to go see the new place today. We picked Atom up from work and made our way to Viviene's for coffee before going to see Joy's place. After a fun time over coffee we found the location of the massage 'shop'. It's a large, two-story house and it's beautiful compared to the shophouse she had before. We will get back on our regular schedule next week. I can hardly wait. Below is a photo of the new place. The house on the right is her new home as well as place of work.

The New House of 'Joy'

Might be a Wacky Wednesday.

Peace,

Danny

"Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile,
but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy."
~Thich Nhat Hanh

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Teach

Hi,

The weather for today was rain, all day long. As a result, it was a slow day at the Big Brown House. We had an extended visit from a friend and that brought sunshine.

The 'Easy Monday' song was just that for some of you. Today we'll take it from the top so you know where you are in the lyrics. Here's a major hint: It's a day that's not today or tomorrow. Oh, and it came from across the pond:

"__, all my troubles seemed so far away. Now it looks as though they're here to stay. Oh, I believe in __."

This morning there was a brief window when the rain turned into a slow drip. That's when we took the dogs out for their exercise. After that, it did that slow, steady kind of rain all day. Daku enjoyed looking out on the yard. There is something hypnotic about light rain, especially when looking out at lots of green. Unfortunately, it can also make one sleepy.

Lots of Green

Our friend Atom came over for lunch. This was the first time we've been able to hear about her adventures in China. She spent the last six months at a language school outside of Beijing. There were young people from Russia, Indonesia, Korea, Japan and Thailand and she made lots of friends. They had classes in the mornings and the afternoons were for study. She said her biggest accomplishment was learning how to bargain in Chinese.

After lunch she and Lisa looked at Lisa's cast acrylic prints and arrived at names for the new pieces. Atom has been involved with helping Lisa come up with names that would relate in Thai as well as English.

Tomorrow we will go out to the frame factory to pick up Lisa's prints. A morning drive in the country after the rain should be nice. I'm assuming it won't be raining, silly me.

Have a Happy Tuesday.

Peace,

Danny

"He who teaches children learns more than they do."

~German Proverb

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style

Monday, July 16, 2012

Friend

Hi,

Chiang Rai got it's full share of rain this weekend. We had dry spells that let us get things done, but oh, the rain.

It's sad when no one remembers "Come and Get These Memories" by Martha & The Vandellas. Oh well, on to 'Easy Monday', and just to prove I still want you to feel like a winner, here's a song with a one word title, by four guys:

"Why she had to go I don't know, she wouldn't say. I said something wrong, now I long for __." Hint: This one is so easy I started in the middle, knowing you'd get it.

Saturday it looked like it could rain any time. We basically camped out at the house all day. In the late afternoon the rain came. On Saturday's we always speculate as to whether there will be a 'Walking Street', based on the cloud formations. This time there was no doubt. It was one of those hard rains with the kind of thunder that hits overhead and feels like it's going to knock things down. None of that happened, but it was quite dramatic. The power stayed on and we just cruised through it all. BamBam was at Boot's house and Daku was with Tatt, so we had no dogs.

Sunday morning we went to Makro, our new most frequented store. It's like going to Costco in the States, except that there are much more exotic things to buy. I'll bet you didn't know that crickets are a big food item in Southeast Asia. So big that there are cricket farms in the Northeast of Thailand that are shipping to Thai communities around the world. It's a new frontier in nutrition. Hmm, oh, never mind.

We made plans to meet with our friend Jaffee for dinner at the Night Bazaar. We hadn't been in weeks and the sky looked like it might wait. The weather seemed to discourage many of the vendors from opening, but we did get to say 'hello' to a few of our friends. At dinner Jaffee showed us a brochure for 'Happy City', a golf resort east of Chiang Rai that is almost finished. It has three golf courses and three very large apartment buildings, plus lots of resorty things to do.

There is a shop near the entrance to the Night Bazaar that sells movie DVDs and luggage. The woman who owns the operation has a little dog that has become a mascot. We call it 'Little Purple Dog' since it struts around with purple fur. This dog seems to understand the art of posing for a photo and will give you the 'good side' any time.

'Little Purple Dog'

This morning we went to Big C for a few supplies. We have also been looking for a large piece of plastic to cover the packing crates for Lisa's art. One place we hadn't looked was Home Mart, a store that sells building supplies and hardware. They have a salesperson who speaks a limited amount of English, but she didn't get the concept of what we were describing. We decided to use the plan that Lisa came up with, which was to cut up some large trash bags and tape them together.

Last week I told you about the new taxi fleet here in Chiang Rai. We learned that the Tuk-Tuk drivers were not happy about this. Apparently they drove around town with signs on their vehicles protesting, and even had a little strike. On our way home from our morning adventure we notice a bunch of Tuk-Tuks coming toward us. Then more and more until we realized that they had all been at the Fairgrounds. There must have been another driver meeting about the new taxis. If I had my choice of rides in rainy weather it would be the taxi. Eventually, they'll find a way to coexist.

Have a Great Week.

Peace,

Danny

"The only way to have a friend is to be one."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style

Friday, July 13, 2012

Friday Funnies

Hi,

Our Friday weather was pretty much the same as every other day this week. Sunny morning, clouds move in, humidity and heat, threat of rain, pleasant afternoon. We went into town and did things at some of our usual stops.

The 'Zany Day' song was "Life's Been Good" by Joe Walsh. Now it's time for another installment of 'Old School Friday', and a trip back to 1963: "Here's your old friendship ring, I can't wear it no more. Here's your old love letters, I can't read them any more. Lover, you've gone from me and left behind so many memories." Hint: It's by a 'Girl Group' whose lead singer had a distinctive voice. This was their second release and they danced in the streets. I think this title should be obvious in five words.

This morning Jago was supposed to come over for a play-date, but due to a mixup he didn't make it. We played with the dogs and then went to Makro. It seems like every time we go there we hear some music that we like. They have a DVD player near the entrance that plays compilations of popular songs and they always get me. This morning's song was really nice, but the credits on the video were in Thai. I should have asked someone. I'm going to start recording portions of the songs I like on my phone. Then I can just play the clip for the nice woman at the Boomerang Music store and get the music I want.

While we were at Doi Chaang Coffee there was some wonderful guitar music playing. As we paid for our coffee I commented on how much we enjoyed the music. Our friend 'Frog' told us it was a young Korean boy she discovered on Youtube. She then clicked to several links showing him at different ages. His name is Sungha Jung. Check him out.

After lunch I drove out to New Life Foundation for my weekly session with the residents. This morning there was an article on the center in the Chiang Rai Times http://www.chiangraitimes.com During the course of my drive I encountered bright sunshine, light rain, and portions of road that looked like it had just rained heavily. Weather systems can be very isolated around here. Hmm.

A Lotus Pond at New Life Foundation

Just before dinner the policeman came by to get his 'payment' for the Red Box Security. We had given Boot the money in case he came when we were not home. She gave him half of the amount and he accepted it. She said it was too much money. This made all of us laugh. Amazing Thailand.

The weekend is here and there's no Formula One, no Grand Slam tennis, but there's always football (soccer). Who knows, we may stumble into another unique adventure.

Have a Wonderful WeekEnd. There's something 'Funny' below.

Peace,

Danny

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Helping

Hi,

We had another super hot day today in Chiang Rai. Last night we had another storm with all the trimmings.

It would appear that this 'Zany Day' song is still a fond memory for many of you. Here's a line you might remember:

"My Maserati does 185. I lost my license, now I don't drive. I have a limo, ride in the back. I lock the doors in case I'm attacked..... __ __ __ to me so far." Hint: The song pokes fun at the life of a R&R star, or is it real? Hmm.

The morning we went into town. On the way we noticed a large gathering of policemen getting into small boats by the Pink Bridge. Across the bridge there were ambulances and rescue trucks at the Fairgrounds. On Clock Tower street there was quite a commotion at a large hotel and we saw a stretcher being lowered from the roof. This afternoon Boot explained that it was the earthquake preparedness exercises. That made sense, looking back. It's nice to know that there is a plan.

We went to see our friends Kay and Martin. They are renovating a 4 story shop-house that will be a multi-purpose building. Things are still under construction, but we got a tour of the proposed configuration. There will be a gallery for local artists to display their work, an area for Martin's art work, a restaurant, clothing stalls, and hand-made jewelry. It will be a place where one could spend a lot of time hanging out and/or shopping. We're looking forward to the opening.

This afternoon I met with my friend Siam for coffee and conversation. It turns out we both look forward to our time together. He looked up a way to tell me about a concept that he only knew in Thai. The idea was that our little meetings are not an accident, but somehow supposed to be. Now he can express it in English and it made him quite happy. We share experiences that seem, on the surface, to be cultures apart but are very similar. Part of today's discussion was on the history of belief systems. When we ordered coffee the topic turned to health and our mutual intolerance of milk. Things just flowed along from one thing to the next. The hour flew by and it was over. One day I hope I can watch him as he creates some furniture with bamboo. Below are two samples of his work.

Bamboo Couch and Wood/Bamboo Table by Siam

We're having another overnight storm. The thunder is rolling in the distance and the rain comes and goes. All of the new plants are loving this weather and seem to like their new home.

Have a Thrilling Thursday.

Peace,

Danny

"It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life

that no man can sincerely try to help another
without helping himself."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Student

Hi,

Our little corner of Chiang Rai was hot and sunny this morning. This afternoon it was a mix of clouds, sun, and hot. We stayed home all day but it was far from boring.

If you said "We Are The Champions" by Queen was the 'Easy Monday' song you were correct. It's 'Zany Day' time:

"I have a mansion, forget the price. Ain't never been there, they tell me it's nice. I live in hotels, tear out the walls. I have accountants pay for it all. They say I'm crazy but I have a good time. I'm just lookin' for clues at the scene of the crime. __ __ __ to me so far." Clue: The singer was once in a gang, soared with some birds, and played a lot of guitar. The song offers his perspective on how things are going. Hmm.

Wednesday is pool cleaning day. This morning things began as usual until Boot called upstairs to say that Johan was here and there was a problem. We had to have our pump repaired after the massive storm about a month ago. Now it wasn't running. Johan determined that it was a capacitor, which I know nothing about. He left and came back with a temporary solution. Meanwhile, Gary came by to give us an update on the condition of Jago, who had a run in with an aggressive dog and was recuperating. The dogs have a play-date scheduled for Friday morning.

With no morning clouds the day quickly turned into a scorcher. We just hung out in the coolness of our room. It is difficult to imagine living in a dwelling that has no insulation from the heat on a day like this, yet people do it every day. Not far from us, on the same side of the road there are shacks with tin or thatch roofs. I guess that's when you just sit under a tree and wait for evening.

Sunday there was an event here in Chiang Rai that we totally missed. It was the grand opening of the Chiang Rai United football stadium. It's just as well that I'm not that big a fan since the parking was apparently a mess. I wondered about that as we watched the place being built. Muddy fields do not make good car parks.

In this era of digital communication and mass marketing on an international scale, we sometimes forget how it touches some lives. When I was a boy there were comic books with super heroes like Superman, etc. Today there are so many super heroes that you need a data base to keep up. In Thailand the kids have grown up with a whole generation of things that fight evil. There are the everyday heroes that are humans with special powers, and then there are things that appear to be machines that change. Hmm. All of this is leading to the picture below of the throngs that turned out for super hero day at the Central Plaza. The sound of the screaming kids was deafening.

Super Hero Day

Tomorrow will be an 'adventure day'. Stay tuned.

It looks like a Wacky Wednesday.

Peace,

Danny

"The secret to mastery in any field is to forever be a student."
~Martin Palmer

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style