Sawasdee/sawatdee kha (in English the Thai greeting is spelled differently depending on who you're reading - also men would say khrap at the end of the greeting)!
Did you think, "Wow-Gloria has a typo in the year?" Actually that's right...the year here in Thailand is 2558. If you want to know more about that, follow this link: http://www.thaiworldview.com/feast/feast.htm
First - a confession...even though my mantra (from Yogi Bhajan) is "Travel light, live light, spread the light, be the light"...I am a TERRIBLE packer & came with way too much stuff! 2nd - I made an error in the time difference between Atlanta and Bangkok - we are 11 hours apart (not 12) due to DST. On November 1st, we will revert back to 12 hours apart.
Bangkok was a bit of a blur! I was jet-lagged & had so many urgent things to do, that I wasn't able to do much touristy stuff in the 3 days that I had. Instead I went back to our old soi (street). Wow - things have really changed. It used to be a sleepy little soi tucked away from the busy main drag. The main drag has kidnapped it - now it's full of bars and hotels. I couldn't even find our old apartment building! I also went to the school building where Marc & Lauren received 5 years of excellent education. It's no longer the same school, but someone was nice enough to take me around and let me take a few pictures. Brought back fond memories~
The best time I had when I was in Bangkok was meeting up with our former family dentist, Dick, (from 25 years ago), and his friend, Brian, who was visiting from Alaska. What lovely men! We started the evening at happy hour on the rooftop of my hotel and ended up going out to dinner afterwards. It was great to re-connect with him, and to meet his friend!
Me & Dick
I have done a lot of walking and sweating of late. It's going to take me some time to acclimate to Thai weather. But - I'm not complaining because yesterday and today have been 2 wonderful days! Han (another lovely man) showed me around Chiang Mai. I learned that I live next door to the compound where Anna's son (of Anna & the King) built 4 teak houses. The one that Anna's son lived in has just been restored and is now called 137 Pillars House. Here's the website: http://www.snhcollection.com/137pillarshouse/
Also next door is Hinlay's Curry House - we had delicious pumpkin curry and vege stir-fry with yellow rice. Here's a website that talks about this restaurant - http://chiangmaibest.com/hinlay/
After lunch, we visited Wat Gate (Wat Ket Karam) - Gate Temple, which just happens to be right around the corner from my new home. Could not have asked for a better location...many thanks to my friend, Angela, for the accommodation recommendation.
Han at Gate Temple
For all my dog loving friends...I learned that this temple was dedicated to people born in the year of the dog. Every day dogs come to the temple to be fed. And...there are many dog statues all around the temple compound.
After Wat Gate, we went to Meeting Room Art Cafe, which is a very relaxing coffee shop that houses the works of local artists. We stayed there a long time sipping iced Cafe Lattes, talking and relaxing. Later we walked around the old town a bit, then went our separate ways.
My Home - I live in a very large 1 bedroom/2 bath apartment on a relatively quiet soi. It is very comfortable, and not too far from supermarkets, restaurants, and the Mae Ping River.
Today 5 of us went on a moonlight hike up to Wat Palad. We saw the waterfalls, walked around the temple and saw the city under the moonlight. Everything about it was beautiful! Here's a website that talks about Wat Palad. http://www.travelfreak.net/wat-palad-chiang-mai/ - I'll include my pictures next week:-)
Thanks to Han, I have lots of wonderful upcoming events for the week ahead! Stay tuned...
Sawatdee kha - have a nice week!
