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!