Sunday Night Walking Street Market II

Sunday January 31 was the last meeting at noon. Next week we change to 1:30. Yay!! Will gave the talk Decisions you Face, How do you make them? The yeartext is in Lahu, the language of the Hill Tribe Congregation. (To the right is Thai and to the left is English.)

After the meeting we ate burritos and drank Margarita's at Miguels. Then on to massage and the Sunday Night Walking Street Market. We recorded a few of the scenes. This market is enormous. We've never seen the end.

Any more suggestions?

I have four responses to the question regarding what we should do for our super nice neighbors. (The picture is the front of their place. They have a litte store/restaurant. They feed monks every day too)
1) Cook a meal for them
2) Buy them beer (if they drink-we're not sure they do)
3) Buy them a very high quality rice
4) Buy them a gift set of tonics. Apparently there is some special vitamin drink that is a bit expensive and Thai's love to get it as a gift.

Any more ideas??

Polling

Early on I created an opinion poll regarding where Will and I should eventually end up. There were 17 votes.
12 for Athens
2 for Chiang Mai
2 for Phuket
1 for Other ( who wrote other and where did you have in mind??)

Now, I want you to know that I am very touched that you want us to stay in Athens. And we love Athens! Our favorite restaurant in the world is in Athens.







The BEST dogs are in Athens.













And of course so much of our family is in Athens. (or at least a car drive away)





But since you have now had time to see a bit more of Thailand, Chiang Mai specifically, here is another chance to voice your opinion. So refresh your memory by re-reading our experience and cast your vote again!

Thanks,
Natalie

Thursday

So today started out great, didn't it? I got up early, went for a run, left the house for service.
And that's as far as we got. Check out my bike and our neighbors gathered around.


Some things don't need translation, do they? If something is broken or possibly might be broken, you will find guys trying to fix it. Will and I both tried to get it to start (More Will than me. I was ready to quit trying fairly soon). The neighbors heard our attempts and joined in. Our neighbors really are great. They brought in a mechanic (who also tried and failed in starting the bike). And tools (to take the battery out of Will's bike and try on mine-good idea but the batteries are different so no go). Finally everyone gave up and our neighbor went out to the main road and negotiated a Songthaew - (pronounced song-tow as in cow) A large pick-up truck used as a local bus service. Song means "two" and thaew means "row".
The guys loaded the bike into the back of the Songthaew and we set off for town. We had to go to the bike shop today anyway to renew our rentals. I have a new bike now. It's pink! So now there is no way to miss seeing me flying by you at 95kph.











I wish there was a way we could communicate to our neighbors how much we appreciate all of the help they have been giving us. Does anyone have any good ideas? We would like to do something for them, but aren't sure what to do.

Since we missed the group we witnessed at a few coffee shops and chatted with a fellow American from the east coast. Isn't this a beautiful coffee shop?
( And yes I am eating fresh pineapple, drinking freshly squeezed Orange Juice while sitting on my ADORABLE pink bike-I know you were wondering)



This area is part of the Thai Cooking School area we explored last time we were in Thailand. There are some amazing schools such as Baan Thai. Hopefully we will make the time to take another cooking class.

Early morning run

This morning I woke up with all kinds of energy. It was so unusual I decided to go for a run. I grabbed my music, popped a piece of gum in my mouth, double knotted my Mizunos and hit the road. I ran a loop that took about 30 minutes. After leaving my soi, I turned north on 107 then east on 1st ring road then south on a cool little road by the river then turned west to watch the sun hitting the tops of the mountain. It was beautiful. And cool. The only drawback with that time of day is that there isn't adequate light for my phone to take great pictures. Oh well....That's not a very big drawback.

Email

Hi
I sent a group email. If you didn't get it let me know. I may need to add your address to my Thailand list in gmail.
Thanks,
Nat

Our Chiang Mai Bungalow

I promised a tour so here is a quickie. We spend most of our time on the front porch when we are home. Either sipping hot coffee while reading in the morning or eating dinner in the evening. Some nights our neighbors break out the Karaoke and we are given a real Thai treat! There are loads of dogs and heaps of cats. Of course there are roosters. Everyone seems to have roosters. They are natures' alarm clocks (but we're pretty sure they are raising them to fight).

Mae Sa Waterfalls

On Wednesday I couldn't connect to my office computer so Will and I went exploring. We hiked around two different parks. My favorite is Mae Sa. The falls there are so pretty and accessible.
A few places looked great for swimming at a later date. There are also several cozy picnic spots.
I video recorded a few of the falls as well as proof that we actually ran. At one point there is a flight of 132 steps that we tackled. It kicked our butts. I hope you enjoy the little video. Next year you should really think about exploring it for yourself when you come and visit us.

Kao Soi or Chiang Mai Noodle

Kao Soi (pronounced kinda like Cow Soy) is a famous, yummy dish served in many places in Chiang Mai. Today for lunch we stopped at a bustling Thai restaurant and had their version. As it turns out this particular restaurant is well known. I found a posting about it along with more information on Kao Soi. Check out the link Kao Soi . When we come home and you are interested in trying this delicious meal, let me know and we will make it for you. Will's version rivals the locals!

Another First

Will and I have had so many "firsts" here it seems silly to comment on this one. But when it's life and death? Yes, it is worth mentioning. Today's first was driving on wet roads. Surpassed, however, by driving in a downpour. For experienced motorbike riders this may seem inconsequential. We, as a few of you know, are not experienced motorbike riders. (excepting my debut motorbike ride when in high school-for a more detailed story you have to email me)
There are many things to be wary of when traveling in the midst of traffic in Chiang Mai. If you have time, read this blog post I am attaching.(adults only-no need to worry the wee ones). MOTORBIKES IN THAILAND .
Did I mention what kind of bikes we are riding? I am riding a Yamaha Mio (green). Perhaps you recall it's image from a previous post. I know it is cute, but my Mio's tires are small and mostly bald meaning that it can potentially slip and slide on wet, oily roads. Let me reassure you that this didn't happen, however the entire time I am riding, I am very tense because I know that there is a potential for it to happen. We made it home from service only slightly damp. By the time I left to accompany a friend on a study, it was dumping buckets of water. I felt like the son of the vineyard owner who said he wouldn't work and ended up going anyway. Earlier this week I had in no uncertain terms told Will that I would NOT go out in the rain. Here I am, by myself, driving down Route 107 with cars and motorbikes whizzing by while I am puttering safely along at 40kph. I showed up on time. No damage. Soaked to the skin.

Tim Tam Slams

In case you need to see a Tim Tam to make your decision, click on the title of this post for a Wikipedia link.

PRESENTS FOR YOU!!!

If you tell me who you are when you vote on presents (by commenting on this post) I will bring it to you.

Cool Story

Let me know what you thought of the story!