TWB - Texting Whilst Boating - WTH!

Hello Family & Friends!

I hope you had a lovely week...I sure did!

I believe I have solved my internet problem.  Right now I am sitting in the bathroom (no more bathroom stories:-) because it is the closest room to the router!  I'm actually sitting in the bathtub alcove - I've put in a couple of pillows and am quite comfy.  I don't have all 5 signal bars, but I have 4!   There's probably a better way to deal with this, but for now this is working for me.

Yada, my friend who had Dengue, is feeling much better, so we went out and did several things this week:

Tuesday - we decided to try the infamous Rice Barge boat ride on the Ping River.  It was rather nice, although we worried a bit about what might happen to us if the boat had a problem.  We were sure to scout out the life vests!  The scariest part of the whole trip was that the driver was texting almost the entire time!  Thank goodness we were not on the river when there was a lot of boat traffic - but still...texting while boating - there ought to be a law!  Every time we saw another vessel coming our way, we would check to see if the driver was looking or texting.  Overall, it was a pretty relaxing trip, and it was wonderful to see the city from the river!

 Chiang Mai from the river

After the boat ride, we took a songthaew to a place called Gymkhana.  It's a sports facility that offers golf, tennis and squash.  They also have a restaurant...so we had lunch.  The most lovely thing about this place is that it has a humongous rain-tree.  It's so big that they periodically have to prop up its limbs!  Here's a link (note the rain-tree):  gymkhana chiang mai

Thailand has quite a lot of British influences.  Gymkhana is one influence, and driving on the left is another.  I don't always remember to ride on the left when I'm on a bicycle, which could be quite dangerous and life threatening.  Luckily, I've decided to only cycle in a group - that way they keep me straight.  On Friday Yada and I, along with 3 other people, were brochure bicycle models for Grasshopper Adventures (I sent their link in an earlier post).  We were asked to ride in front of certain landmarks near the town of Lamphun for photo ops.  It was interesting because I'd never been to Lamphun or been photographed for a bicycling brochure.  It was also pretty tiring - especially since it was hot.  We started out around 8:45 a.m. and didn't get done until about 6 p.m.  Fortunately, being treated to free temple tours, free lunch and free snacks made it more than tolerable. 

During one of the photo shoots (in front of Lamphun train station), some men jumped out of a van and starting taking our photos and giving us instructions about how to pose.  We didn't know who they were, but they acted like they knew who we were (and never asked permission to take our pictures:-).  Turns out they were from the tourism authority.  So...some of us might make the cover of the Tourism Authority of Thailand brochure or website.  Will send you links if I get published:-)

After lunch, we rode to the town of Ban Tawai.  It is called the village of Handicrafts.  They make beautiful things there.  Here's the link:  http://www.ban-tawai.com/

A picture of me at Ban Tawai Temple:

After we completed the bike tour, Yada and I devoured a whole steamed fish, stir-fried vegetables, rice and a couple of Chang beers - yeah!  I slept very well~

Saturday I went with another one of my new friends, Janet, to the Expat Club meeting and luncheon, as well as a theater production of Driving Miss Daisy.  It was at Le Meridien Hotel - here's the link to the hotel: http://www.lemeridienchiangmai.com/?&PS=LGEN_AA_DAPI_CGGL_TPRP&SWAQ=8CPE
The food was varied, plentiful and delicious, and it was nice to get to meet some of the expatriates who live here.  The production of the play was superb!  They only had a few props but did an excellent job!  Here's a link about the production:  http://www.gate-theater.com/driving-miss-daisy.html#.Vi3fnGvDofU

Sunday Yada and I had lunch and then went swimming at my apartment pool.  Before swimming, we went to a restaurant called Bake & Bite.  They are a 5 minute walk from my apartment, and they serve delicious Western food!  We shared a hot turkey (real turkey!), mayo and cranberry sauce sandwich (probably doesn't sound appetizing...but it was really tasty).  We also shared a spinach and 3 cheese quesadilla - also very tasty.  Here's the best link I could find for Bake & Bite: http://chiangmaitraveler.blogspot.com/2012/07/bake-and-bite.html  It wasn't a particularly warm day, so the pool water was cool.  It took us a few minutes to adjust and be able to swim.  Very relaxing~

One really cool thing that has happened over the last couple of weeks is that one of my Atlanta friends, Andrea, connected me with one of her Thailand friends, Jim.  Jim was kind enough to connect me on Facebook with a group of people - foreigners and Thais - who used to work with me at the Orderly Departure Program (ODP).  I have attempted to contact several of these former co-workers, but only a few have written back.  A couple have become Facebook friends.  This is very exciting for me!  I left Thailand in 1990 (a time when we didn't have all this technology) and tried to stay in touch with folks, but it was hard...so we lost touch.  I'm hoping for some kind of reunion possibly in December.  Wish me luck!

Picture of the week:

In the rice paddy section of the bike ride: Photographer taking a photo of me taking a photo of him!

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Don't hurry, eat curry!

Hello – I hope you had a fantastic week!

Honestly…this has been a pretty uneventful week for me.  I did hear from several people regarding the picture that I posted last week.  Thanks for letting me know that it worked!  Also…because the internet is not so great here, I’ve decided that I’m just going to unabashedly sit in the lobby and type my blog – that’s where the best reception is.  It also gives me a chance to eavesdrop on all the happenings (tee-hee).  I'm sure the staff is not happy about that...but, oh well~

Thai Humor – I love quotes.  This is one that I found somewhat humorous this week: “Don’t hurry, eat curry!” – seen at the entrance of a curry shop on the main tourist drag.  Also - I went into a public western toilet this week and found this instructional photo: 

Last week was vegetarian week – everyone was encouraged to eat vegetarian for the week. I think it's a really good idea & wonder if we should try this in Georgia! Here's more about that (it's hyperlinked - so I hope it works - thanks, Rachel!) http://www.chiangmaitouristguide.com/10-2010/feature1.html

Museums – I bought the 180 THB 3-museum pass and went to the National, History and Lanna Folklife museums over several days (they give you 7 days to complete your tour of all 3).  The Lanna Folklife was by far my favorite - where it is housed is beautiful, and it is very well done.  Hyperlinks (I like that word:-) for the 3 museums here (the 2nd one is mostly in Thai & gives you a look at the written language.  It's a beautiful written language...just wish I could read it:-(

http://www.tourismthailand.org/See-and-Do/Sights-and-Attractions-Detail/Chiang-Mai-National-Museum--135 

http://www.cmocity.com/history/indexhall03.html 
http://www.bangkokpost.com/travel/25959_info_lanna-folklife-museum.html

I love Thai food, but I started out slow – didn’t want to eat too much spicy stuff too soon, or eat things off the street that might make me sick.  This week I decided it was time to jump into the food fray.  The somtam (green papaya salad) was FAB!  Street/market food here is really the best!  No turning back now...

One good thing...my friend, Angela (the main reason that I'm in Chiang Mai), is still in Bangkok recuperating from a rare form of pneumonia.  We were finally able to spend some time talking by phone this week.  It looks like I will get to see her here in Chiang Mai in November.  Wonderful!

One bad thing - one of the Americans with whom I've become acquainted has contracted Dengue Fever!  She was told that there are 3 kinds going around now, and that Dengue carrying mosquitoes bite during the day.  We have all been convinced that we should not leave the house without slathering on mosquito repellent!  Sitting here writing this...just realizing I forgot *sigh*

Do you miss family & friends?  Like crazy...and wish I could share this experience with each and every one of you!  We could seriously tear up some market food:-)

Smoking in Thailand - several people wondered what this would be like here.  I'm happy to say that I actually see less smoking here than in the US or Europe.  It's banned in most public places and has not been a problem for me. 

My favorite picture from this week:

This is what I see almost every day when I walk over the bridge to the Old City.  It's the Ping River with Doi Suthep in the background.  It always makes me feel peaceful.

Make it a great week - kha!

Bandwidth, bathrooms & Buddhism

Sawadii Kha...I hope you have had a fantastic week!

First - I'm still not sure what is happening with the photos on this blog, but I have some ideas.  It might have to do with bandwidth, and the way I included them.  Please let me know if you are able to see the photo in this post.  In the meantime, I will continue to work on getting the photos to show in the old posts.  It seemed to work better when I only put one photo in...so that's what I'll do from now on.  Call me old-fashioned or too cautious, but I'm not interested in putting all my photos on FB - however, I will post a couple of new ones there each week. 

I met a Swiss lady in Tanita House cafe (http://www.tanitahouse.com/index.php?lay=show&ac=article&Id=538794828).  She was looking for a place to stay with her two adolescent daughters.   Tanita House did not have any rooms, so I took her back to my residence & introduced her to the day manager.  I wasn't sure she'd come and stay at our location, but two days later, I happened to go to the pool, and who do I see?  Yep - Rosemary and her two daughters.  The next day we all went up to Doi Suthep mountain together in a song thaew.  More about Doi Suthep here: http://www.chiangmai.bangkok.com/attractions/doi-suthep.htm
It was hot and the girls were  a bit bored.  We stayed for a while, then ate in the worst excuse for a restaurant ever - more like a shanty - I wasn't sure even I (iron stomach) could eat there!  It was kind of thrown together and didn't look too clean.  Actually...the food was good, and as far as I know, no one got sick.  Just proves that you shouldn't make a judgment by the way something looks~


Bathrooms in Chiang Mai – if you’re queasy discussing bathroom issues, please skip this section. I’m sure you can imagine my surprise when I walked into my apartment and noticed this sign near the bathroom toilet – “Please do not drop toilet paper and sanitary napkins in the WC.”  My first thought was, “And how am I going to manage that when it’s not just #1?” Well…it’s amazing how quickly we get used to things when we have to.  All toilets in Chiang Mai have a similar sign.  And not all toilets here have been “Westernized” – there are still plenty of squat toilets around.  These are little porcelain holes in the floor that have places for your feet and, instead of sitting or hovering, you squat.  You flush squat toilets by either flushing (rare), using the water hose provided (less rare) or by dipping water out of a bucket (very common).  Here is a very graphic link about squat toilets in Thailand.  http://www.thailandclimbing.com/how-to-use-a-squat-toilet/  All I can say is that yoga helps and humans can adapt to just about anything!  

Why so many wats/temples? 
From tourismthailand.org - "Buddhism is the official religion in Thailand. While roughly 95% of the Thai people are practitioners of Theravada Buddhism, the official religion of Thailand, religious tolerance is both customary in Thailand and protected by the constitution."  One source states that there are approximately 40,717 temples in Thailand, and there are an estimated 200 Buddhist temples in the Chiang Mai area.  On one street block the other day, I went to 3 Buddhist temples.

Industrious Thais: I remember a Bangkok friend of mine, Janice, saying that Thais are some of the most industrious people on the planet.  They figure out ingenious ways in which to survive.   So I was walking down the street the other day and saw this little old lady sitting on the sidewalk.  She was just starting to put down her wares - hand-sewn wrist bands.  She was so cute that I couldn't not stop.  I asked her how much for one.  At first I thought she said 5 baht, but she corrected me - 50 baht (about $1.50).  Compared to the prices of other things here, 50 THB seemed expensive to me, so I started to walk away.  She called me back & in Thai and sign language, she told me how she had sewn them by hand, and how it hurt her fingers, and how she needed the money to buy food.  Of course I bought one!  To her this is a successful business model.  Although she may not get rich, she's figured out a relatively painless way to survive.  Good for her!

I started Thai lessons this week.  My teacher, Khruu (teacher) Salad, has been teaching Thai to farangs (foreigners) for more than 20 years. He began by teaching Peace Corps workers and eventually ended up teaching at the American University Alumni (AUA) - here's the link: http://www.learnthaiinchiangmai.com/.  I taught English at AUA in Bangkok for one year when we lived there.   My students were all preparing to study for a masters degree in the US.  Anyway...Khruu Salad has a classroom right behind AUA where he teaches.  I go for one hour twice a week.  My brain is protesting (mainly because we meet at 8:30 a.m. - early for a retiree), but I'm sure this will be good for me.

It's a small world after all...I was at the supermarket the other day and ran into one of Bob's former colleagues.  Dave used to live in Atlanta but, upon retirement, decided that Thailand was more to his liking.  Always good to know what you like:-)  Hopefully we'll see each other around town again.

Picture of the week:

View from my apartment balcony - that's Doi Suthep mountain in the background!

Have a wonderful week!

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

I hope you've had an enjoyable week.  I've been having internet problems of late.  Not sure what's going on, but I'm determined to get to the bottom of it.  I have some great pictures to share, but I'm not able to send any of them due to this internet problem.  Sorry~

How are things going so far?

The Good ~ This week I only got really lost once!  I'm finally learning my way around this city and getting involved in activities that I enjoy.   I'm re-learning that you need to know how to say landmarks in Thai in order to be sure of getting where you want to go.  Otherwise - lostness:-( 

The best way to get around here in Chiang Mai is in a songthaew.  I wanted to include a picture but if you're interested, you can put "picture of a songthaew chiang mai" in a search engine and get the idea.  It's really just a pick-up truck with benches in the back for people to sit on.  If there are other people already on board, and the driver says he's going near/to your location, it only costs you 20 Thai baht (THB) or about 80 cents.  What I've also learned is that sometimes the driver will still only charge you the 20 THB even if you're the only one riding.  Sweet!

Another good thing about this week was that I went on two bike rides with a group called Grasshopper Adventures (http://www.grasshopperadventures.com/en/tours.html).  They are well-established in Bangkok but have just opened up an office here in Chiang Mai, and they needed people willing to go on trial bike rides.   I'm not much of a street or city bike rider, but I went anyway.  Both tours were free, plus they provided bikes, helmets, two guides, water, snacks and dinner for one of the tours.  Still debating whether or not I want to use a bike to get around here...

Massages are really cheap, so I had my first one this week.  It cost me about $8 for an hour.  Not the best massage I've ever had - not the worst either.  Nothing like Alan in Tucker, but I will return!

The final good is that I have discovered the pool at my place of residence.  It's really nice on a hot day:-)

The Bad ~ Traffic in Thailand can be a bit wild.  They have zebra crossings, but it takes a miracle to get the traffic to stop for pedestrians!  So...on my way to meet up with the bike group, I decided to cross at a zebra instead of an actual traffic light.  What was I thinking?  I was almost hit by a not so marvelous songthaew driver!  I had to run fast to avoid getting hit.  I think I'll be avoiding crossing at zebras without traffic lights during the rest of my stay here!

The Ugly ~  I went to a yin yoga class.  I've been taking a Gentle Yoga class with a wonderful teacher, Angela, off and on now for several years, so I thought..."OK - in yin yoga they hold the poses longer, but that shouldn't be a problem!"  Well...let me tell you - it was a problem.  #1 - I couldn't even do the first pose.  #2 - the poses only got harder as the night wore on (a whole 1-1/2 hours) - and the harder they got, the more I sweat (no air conditioning).  #3 - I wasn't invited back!  Well - that's not technically true, but the owner of the yoga studio said that this was the easiest class of all of the classes that they offer.  I don't think I'll waste anymore of their time by returning.  I'm trying a Gentle & Restorative class this week...hopefully it will suit me better!   I'll let you know.

Hopefully I'll be able to share pictures in my next post.
Have a great week!