Adventures In Thailand

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Mind

Hi,

Today was a beautiful day in Chiang Rai. After a light morning rain we had blue skies with puffy clouds. Blue went exploring again and the walls are empty in the Big Brown House.

Well, a lot of you remember our 'Easy Monday' song. Some of you even knew who the original artist was. Here's more:

"Your love give me such a thrill, but your love don't pay my bills. I need __ (That's what I want) that's what I want."

Clue: This is an easy one. What does it take to buy anything?

This morning we went to Makro to pick up our air cooler. It had been sent to the factory repair center after it just stopped working. We were expecting some kind of charge, but there was none. On the way home we passed the motorcycle 'inspection' stop that has become a permanent fixture on the highway. They check for helmet, license, insurance and collect the fine on the spot. We watched with amazement as a guy approached without a helmet, was waved over by the police, but sped up and just kept going. Hmm.

Blue had good experiences yesterday with his visits to some Hill Tribe villages, so today he decided to go to one of the more remote locations. Apparently, because of the heavy rains, many of the villagers had left and moved to the Chiang Mai area. There has been lots of rain there as well, but they can live on higher ground. He did find a woman whose photo he had taken two years ago and they had a nice visit. After leaving the village he and his driver spotted a giant statue of Buddha on a hill top. They found their way to the statue and then discovered a very large reclining Buddha in what seemed like an abandoned jungle area. Hopefully, we'll see photos of this soon.

This afternoon we packed up the three crates in the living room with Lisa's artwork for the Chiang Mai exhibit. Tomorrow morning they will be trucked to the gallery in Chiang Mai. We will hang the show on Friday.

We went to the Night Bazaar for dinner and shopping. We hadn't been in over a month and we noticed many changes. It was clear that some of the vendors are waiting for the rains to stop before setting up shop again. Others have sophisticated coverings for their stalls that they must assemble and take down every day.

Today's photo is a 'portrait' of BamBam captured by Blue.

Have a Happy Tuesday.

Peace,

Danny

"Your mind will answer most questions

if you learn to relax and wait for the answer."

~William S. Burroughs

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style

Monday, September 9, 2013

Education

Hi,

Here in Chiang Rai we had lots of rain, lots of sun, and a great party on Sunday. Today our elephant arrived.

The 'Old School Friday' song brought out a lot of different versions of "The Glory of Love", but the one I was humming was by The Velvetones. If you don't know it, listen to the whole thing here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiZjjLbFy_g Now it's time for 'Easy Monday'. I think we all know this one: "The best things in life are free, but you can give them to the birds and bees. I need __, that's what I want..." Hint: One word that seems to be running things where ever you turn.

Saturday morning we went to Central Plaza and renewed our retirement visas for another year. It was the smoothest immigration encounter yet. Blue and I bought some Thai music and we left before we got carried away. (555) Our favorite radio station was having some sort of talent show but we didn't stay. The sound system was very loud and we had lots of things to do.

While having lunch at Doi Chaang coffee on Sunday we learned that the storm drain project is going to take one year. Once they reach the river on one side of the street, they will do the other side. Oh my. Most of the merchants on the street are feeling a loss of business due to the lack of access. There is also a problem with dust since most of them are completely open to the street. There are a few that have closed entries, but the dust still gets in. I guess next year there will be no worry about flooding, if they can remain open that long. Hmm, progress.

The party was wonderful. We set things up to have an indoor affair since it kept looking like rain. It didn't really rain, but having everyone inside made for a more intimate gathering with lots of conversation between all of the guests. Some of them knew each other and everyone made new friends. Connections were made, both social and business and we learned more about some of our friends. Blue had a chance to meet some of our 'circle of friends' and put faces to some of the names we'd been throwing at him. We had 20+ in attendance and with lots of food and fun. After it was over we were very tired.

Today we went into town to get more bubble wrap for Lisa's artwork. It was time to start getting things ready for the shipping company on Wednesday. We now have three crates in the living room and tomorrow we will load them up. We also had a delivery from Kkun Tawd of one cute little elephant. Daku checked it out briefly and then ignored it. BamBam did exactly what we thought she'd do. She came out barking, crept up sniffing, then ran away barking. After a few minutes she realized it wasn't moving and left it alone.

Our New Pet

Have a Great Week.

Peace,

Danny

"Educating the mind without

educating the heart

is no education at all."

~Aristotle

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style

Friday, September 6, 2013

Friday Funnies

Hi,

The rain is still coming down. Tiny little breaks hardly let things dry out and then it hits again. We had a very interesting encounter at a coffee shop today.

The 'Zany Day' song was "The Beat Goes On" by Sonny & Cher. If you thought that was old, think again. It's time for 'Old School Friday' and we going way, way back this week. "You've got to live a little, take a little, and let your poor heart break a little. That's the story of, that's __ __ __ __." Hint: There's a talking part in the middle of the song, and the title has been used for many other songs. It's by an 'Old School' singing group.

In preparation for the renewal of our visas tomorrow, we went to the bank this morning. We met a new person who just started working at our branch. She speaks English and was very helpful. We hope she stays.

After a visit to Healthy Market for fruits and veggies we went to Work@Home for bread. They were out of bread, but Jonathan, our English Retriever friend was hanging out. Blue had been wanting to see him and they had a little reunion. Blue took photos and as we sat talking, the owner came back to the shop. During the course of telling her about the exhibition in Chiang Mai, she mentioned that she likes to draw. She got some of her 'Happy Diaries' to show us her artwork. The books are daily drawings of how she would like her life to be, or the things in her life that make her happy. What a great idea. Her drawings are simple illustrations, and very charming. We learned a lot more about her today.

When we got home, Jago's dad Gary was waiting to deliver some chairs for the party. Daku could hear his voice from the kitchen and got all excited, thinking Jago was at the house for a play-date. When he finally got outside after Gary had gone, he checked out everywhere he'd been. When the rain stops long enough for the yard to dry out they will have to get together and play.

Today's photo was taken at Doi Din Dang looking outside from the gift shop. Ceramics among the trees make for an interesting 'forest'.

We have a busy weekend ahead with a violin concert on Saturday night, and the party on Sunday, not to mention the US Open and the Formula One Grand Prix in Italy.

Have a Wonderful WeekEnd. It's time for the 'Funnies'.

Peace,

Danny

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Win

Hi,

We went exploring today, had lunch with a friend, weathered a storm and dined with more friends, and we got an elephant. It was a good day.

How cool that so many of you know the 'Zany Day' song. Here's the last verse just in case you need help remembering:

"Grandmas sit in chairs and reminisce. Boys keep chasing girls to get a kiss. The cars keep going faster all the time. Bums still cry 'Hey buddy, have you got a dime.' And __ __ __ __, __ __ __ __." Hint: The key word in the title is something that one does/keeps with a drum.

This morning we drove north to the frame factory of Khun Tawd. Blue took lots of photos of the many statues that are scattered around the grounds. There are relics from castings of temple installations, elephants and dragons. We saw a little elephant that we liked and Tawd is going to bring it to the party on Sunday. He's going to paint it white and then Lisa will do something creative with it and it will sit in the front yard. Tawd also gave us some old plaster faces of Buddha that were sitting among some vines. Today's photo is of one of the 'masks' that Tawd gave us.

A little farther north, through some lush countryside, we explored the grounds of Doy Din Dang, the ceramics factory/gallery of Khun Somluk. More photos, a cup of coffee in the quiet, Zen-like atmosphere, and then back to town.

The storm drain project in the downtown area has moved north, making it difficult to get to Doi Chaang Coffee. What ever will we do? We had planned to have lunch there with our friend Andrew. We ended up eating at Aye's on the main street, in the section where the work is almost done. He told us that the new giant drain is going all the way to the river. This is going to take a long time. I'm already mapping alternate routes in my brain (555). Lunch was full of conversations about the growth of the city. Andrew and Blue have a longer history with Thailand than we do and it was interesting to hear them remembering the 'good old days'.

A major storm flooded the yards during nap time. The sky relaxed long enough for us to go to dinner at Moomai with our friends Nukoon and Sutheera. That was a lot of fun since they have known Blue for many years. We sampled food we'd never had and discussed everything from tennis to airplanes. Just as we were leaving it started raining again.

Looks like the rainy season is not over yet.

Have a Thrilling Thursday.

Peace,

Danny

"First they ignore you,

then they laugh at you,

then they fight you,

then you win."

~Gandhi

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Quick

Hi,

This was another weather as unusual day in Chiang Rai. A cloudy, something's coming day that began raining in the late afternoon and kept dripping into the evening. Blue went exploring during the day and we got supplies for the party.

Our 'Easy Monday' tune was "I Feel Good" by James Brown. Ya shoulda known. The 'Zany Day' song is next. What is it?

"Charleston was once the rage, uh huh. History, has turned the page, uh huh. The mini-skirt's the current thing, uh huh. Teenybopper is our newborn king, uh huh. __ __ __ __, __ __ __ __. Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain.

La de da de de, la de da de da." Clue: Sung by a married couple, about the changing times.

There was lots of activity this morning at the Big Brown House. Blue had engaged a taxi to take him to Chiang Kong and point north and he was leaving at 9am. While we were waiting for the cab, the pool guy arrived. The dogs were busy checking to see who was coming and going.

On our visit to Makro we discovered that our air cooler will not be ready until the 20th of this month. I also noticed that there are new racks in the beverage section, which really completes the 'Costco' look. Big metal frames now line the aisles where the sodas and waters live. There are also things one just doesn't want to see while shopping for food, and yet they are dealt with in a very casual manner. That's all I'll say about that.

What was to be a simple trip to the art supply store turned out to be an exercise in traffic negotiations. A portion of Clock Tower street was closed due to the storm drain project. It meant that traffic in two directions had to circle the clock and go another way. I got to go around the clock twice because there was no parking. It was interesting that people seemed more willing to yield in this congestion than they do on a normal driving day. I guess there was a communal feeling of 'we can all get through this' if we cooperate. It was nice. Our last stop of the morning was the Talat, for treats. We ended up going off the main aisles, into the maze to look at light weight shirts. We were successful on all counts and left with shirts and treats.

Tonight we went to the big farewell party for our friend Marc, the manager of The Legend. We saw lots of people we know and it was fun. We introduced Blue to some of our friends of interest and listened to a few speeches. They were still going strong when we left.

Today's photo is another installation at Art Bridge by the artist who carves wood. This scene of village life comes alive with the drop of a coin. I am still baffled and amazed as to how he does these.

It's time for Wacky Wednesday.

Peace,

Danny

"Be quick to listen and slow to speak."

~Unknown

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style