Sign Of The Thais

I love reading signs. They tell you so much about the culture. Here are a few I saw in Thailand that made me smile.

I saw this one a lot. The caption over the little guy's head is: "Clean food Good Taste". In Thailand they don't have the same food inspection standards as we do in Canada. So you can imagine that telling us that their food not only tastes good but is 'clean' could be a selling point.

This sign really sums up the beauty of the Thai philosophy. You are not in the right place here; you ARE the right place.

I found this sign everywhere. When I would tell the store owner that it was supposed to read: 'Overseas' she would just smile and ask what country I wanted to call.

I stayed in a Hotel in Chiang Mai that has this notice on the wall of each bathroom in all 28 rooms. The owners had it proofread by a Dutchman who spoke English as his second language.

I enjoyed this sign at a Bangkok Hotel because of the enticement. No mosquito is safe tonight!

Now this sign is very enthusiastic but didn't Pizza places already win that battle?

This sign hangs in front of an office in Phuket. I never found out what the doctor does, but it sounds painful. I'm glad he has that room available just in case.

This is my favorite sign of all the ones I saw in Thailand.

Here's a close up of the sign.

They really understand the idea of having a good time in that wonderful country. Thank you Dodee's Thailand for capturing this photo. I only saw it for a fleeting moment while riding on the Sky Train in Bangkok.

Happy Birthday Diana Rainbow! April 18

Just as I began writing this post, I was adjusting the pull out keyboard tray at this Internet Cafe here in Chiang Mai and it suddenly came crashing to the floor. All I could think of as the woman rushed over to help set things right was: "I'm still the beaver..." which is an old saying between Diana and me. It comes from the old TV series: 'Leave It To Beaver' and it refers to how the kid in the show was always getting into trouble no matter how hard he tried to conform. His parents would just shake their heads and say: "He's still the Beaver...".
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I've know Diana for 31 years. She drove out West with me in 1976 and we were married for 14 years. She and I don't always see things eye to eye. Sometimes I have irritated her so much that she hasn't talked to me for a while. But then I'll get an email or a phone call and she will say: "I'm still the beaver." Well so am I Diana. And I just want to say that it makes me feel a little safer here in Thailand to know that you're there watching out for me on the inner and the outer Planes. I wish you a good day and send you my love and best wishes.
Baraka Bashad, and just for the record; I agree with you. It was a beaver, not a muskrat that day in Kin Coulee Park. I don't care what that Ranger said!

Chiang Mai: April 13; Songkran!

The Songkran Festival is Thailand's Lunar New Year and it's all about WATER!!!! It is the Year 1378 according to the Buddhist Lunar Calendar. I decided to go to the heart of the Festival; Chiang Mai; to see what this holiday is really all about. I was told that Chiang Mai is different in the way it celebrates the Water Festival because it is the only place where both young and old participate equally.

This date represents the symbolic hottest day of the year and it doesn't come too far from it in real life. It was 37 degrees celcius as far as I know and it felt a lot hotter than that to me.

This little guy had such a deadly aim!

Remember the sweet innocent woman who gave me such great foot massages in Chiang Mai when I was last here.

I went back to her today; shucking and jiving to try to avoid the crazies with buckets and squirt guns who brought this city under siege. I went all this way so that I could bring some sanity to my day with a calming massage from my friend 'Roon' who did such a good job the last time I was here. But when I arrived, there was Roon, bucket in hand; crazier than all the rest combined! She has become a raving maniac; dousing people with water as they pass on the street.

One of the communities had their own parade but as they walked along, they were soaked again and again.

And this is the one time of the year when the transvestites can come out on the street and strut their stuff; and boy did they!

Many Thais asked me why the Farangs seemed to get into it so much. I said we do this all the time in Canada, only it's freezing cold and we call it a snowball fight.

On the way to Chiang Mai, I rode on the bus to Suri Thani with Rachael, Nick and Katie who were also heading for the celebration. Katie is an English teacher working in Khon Kaen and her two friends are visiting from London England. They were polite and sensible and quiet...

It only took one word to change all that...SONGKRAN...

Dennis: Chick Magnet

While my French buddies and I were walking around like lost puppies in the sweltering sun, Dennis was sitting in the front of OUR GUESTHOUSE! He just smiles that Santa Clause smile and women come running.


This is Althea from London. She has been travelling for about 6 years and takes pictures as she goes. Dennis just said hello and they ended up spending the day together. She says she will see about hooking up with Dennis again when she gets down to the Islands. This is the infuriating thing about this guy, Peter. Right now he's with three Thai girls somewhere in Bangkok while I'm chronicling his success story. I'm really going to have to rethink this beard thing. All seriousness aside, Dennis does really attract a lot of people with his easy going manner. All I know is that he still owes me for a beer, and I'm going to keep an eye on him until he pays up.

Tonight In Chiang Mai

When we left our heroes, Steve was battling the forces of adventure as he put his 'Day in The Life' post to bed. As we were finishing up, John suggested we go to a 'jam' bar,

this is Warren, Aey (The owner of the The Hug Bar), and John.

Heinrich Makes his own saxophones out of bamboo and they really put out a strong clean sound. I was very impressed. The atmosphere that last night made me want to come back to Chiang Mai, now that I know where the ex patriots hang out.

This was our piano player for the night, with John.

This little guy had quite a hit to his neck but he was seeming to heal very well since the bandage was removed He was the guardian to the Internet Cafe while I was there. I had a Tabby cat named Baju so seeing another Tabby here, made me feel sentimental.

Here's the lane I spent most of my time in, here in Chiang Mai. I had my breakfast here every day.

And this is the Guest House I stayed at (no towel, no toilet paper, no bottled water; just nice people.)

Today In Chiang Mai

Waking Dream: I am seeing the luminous face of a woman I know very well. I know I've met her before but I can't remember where. Her face has the bright glow that I described when I first met Jude on the Kanchanaburi Trek. I try to write down the features of her face because I know I need to remember it. I wake up here and the face is still strong in my vision, like the Oriental Vision I described in another Blog post.

My sister asked me to show her what Chiang Mai is like. Do you see elephants in the city? What does your Hotel look like? Let's take a tour together...

That's the bathroom in my hotel room. What you see on the wall is an electric heater. It heats the water for my shower as it comes out of the hose; and it works very well. When I turn the bathroom light on it acts exactly like that scene in the movie 'Apollo 13'. Remember when NASA has the astronauts turn the lights on in the capsule after being off for 5 days. They sputter to life and make a ping sound. That's the lighting here. "okay, yes, Houston, the light is operating. Tooth Brushing is commencing..." I already solved the mystery of the toilet flush so let's move on...

this is my bed. It is hard and has just the one grey sheet. I have a fan in the room to keep me cool at night. Sometime early in the morning, Chiang Mai cools down enough that I need to turn off the fan and use one of the red blankets.

This is the door to my room. I knocked on 203 but then I remembered it was the wrong city. Sorry Judy. You notice the second, padlock. I bought it to give myself security in my room. No one ever comes by to clean the suite. The ants like it that way. I lock my door, forgetting my key. When I come back with one of the Hotel staff, I meet two woman just coming downstairs with their packs on ready to go on a trek. I'm in a hurry to get on with my day so just nod to them and head downstairs.

Then it's downstairs and a five second walk next door to my favorite breakfast place: 'Nice Kitchen' where I eat my usual; scrambled eggs on a croissant with a slice of ham and Thai coffee. I hear the sound of Sitar music in the background and smell sandalwood suddenly; and then it's gone. I look over and there are the two women I saw upstairs, sitting at the table next to me. I don't know why I seem to need to meet them but I say hello. I learned from reading 'The Celestine Prophecies' not to take such meetings for granted. Or maybe it's from seeing too many episodes of 'Joan of Arcadia'. Anyway, we talk for a moment and they tell me they are here from Bavaria. I don't know what it means. I'm just the reporter.

Then I head one door over to read my email and answer my fan letters; well at least read my email...

Then Dennis shows up and we head out to do some shopping. On the way we pass by 'Mikes' which is the local hangout for Americans and Canadians who get nostalgic for the greasy food back home and for the political satire that bashes the Bush administration.

I keep looking for the brand names and so I bought this shirt from a sweetie at one of the shops. 150 baht. She wanted 220. I told her she needed to sell to me because I was her first customer today. "Ist customer Lucky" I reminded her.

Chaotic shopping and in it's midst, beautiful Thai Temples, all swirling together as one community.

This face reminded me of the link you made on your site for me. Namaste'!

We were getting hungry so we headed down the street to 'The Salsa Kitchen' where I had a bowl of Cuban Black Bean Soup. As we sit eating, we listen to twangy country music droning in the background: "...that's all it took for me to yurn for your embrace..."

Dennis had the chicken but couldn't remember the words (which was a blessing).

In the afternoon, Dennis rode off to the Train station to take the train to Bangkok. We will meet up on the 23rd to head off to the Islands for some well deserved R and R after our gruelling time here In Chiang Mai.
I went for dinner at a smorg that serves 'steak' that you fry yourself and all you can eat for 95 baht (less than three dollars).

The interesting thing about my trip is that no matter where I go, I seem to have some Soul to watch out for me. In Bangkok it was Sanga. In Chaing Mai it has been Dennis. Now that I'm alone for a night I find that this little dog walked around the whole restaurant while I was eating and settled down right beside me for a sleep.
I meet John McCoy, who has a bookshop called Irish Rover, just down the street from my Hotel. just as I'm writing this entry. He's been here since July of 98' He says he moved here and met a woman who he had a beautiful boy with. Now she's gone and he's looking again. Please send your proposals to the Blog. I'll pass them on. John has invited me to go to a Jazz bar that starts at 10pm so off I go.

As a footnote: As I write this post, I met John, who I then added to the Blog right as we talked. Meanwhile, as I'm talking to John and uploading pictures and writing this Post, Melissa is back in Ontario, reformatting the pictures as I'm adding them. Meanwhile, Kathy from Calgary is chatting with me on Yahoo Messenger. Meanwhile I am already receiving comments on the Blog I'm working on, from people all over the world who are reading it. This is the Chaos that is my life. And I love it. Oh yes! I forgot to mention the elephants! Maybe next time Meliss...

Proof Of Reincarnation?

Dennis says that his totem is the Naga. When I saw this one today, the startling truth of that statement came to me. Proof of Reincarnation? The Missing Link? You decide...

What do you think Peter? Am I on to something about your brother?

Chiang Mai: Tai Boxing

A few of us met last night in the SP Hotel outdoor patio, just in from where I'm staying. My two Friends from Massage were there along with the, now world famous, Dennis (Yes Angie, he's still here).

After a little while we were joined by the resident entertainer, A Thai guitarist who loves to play Beatles songs.

Steven, from Laval Quebec, Canada, (treated us) to some Karaoke as we drank our Singha beers. He wanted to send this message home to his family:
"Allo, Caro et William (his year-and-a-half-old son), Je pense a vous, je vous aime. Jespere que vous tirez se message...bye, Steven"

Then there was Patrice who says that he hasn't had a really good shower to sing in for a while, so he sang the ever present, 'Hey Jude'. Some of you out there might want to sing along. I know I did. Patrice wanted to send this message to his sweetie: "Cherie mon coeur est avec toi, comme tu peux voir je parles de toi a' toute lemande!"

Someone suggested that we had Kenny Rogers with us, so quite a stir was created when this famous Country singer graced our gathering with a song as well. (I hope I don't have to pay royalties for this.)

Sensing that some strange Thai animal was squealing in pain in the lobby, Kevin and Carol joined us. They are brother and sister from Brisbane Australia. I know that Carol is 22 years old and is studying Eco biology. I told her that she would enjoy meeting you Sarah since you both have such passion for life. I forgot to ask Kevin what he does but I assume he is ex-CIA and just left it at that.
Steven (sitting next to the Aussies) suddenly started chanting 'Thai Boxing' and so off we went. When we arrived at the match, the really chincy amongst us (Dennis and me) almost had a heart attack (just a figure of speech Angie, I promise) when we found out it cost 400 baht each. I know that is only $12 Canadian but when you can get a whole Massage for $6 it has a new meaning.

I was thinking maybe we should just stay a short time but then Patrice reminded us that he was pretty good at Karate and he wanted to stay, so it sounded like a good idea to do what he said.
The sound of Thai Boxing is clashing symbols, bells and a snake charmer's recorder gone terribly wrong. Within this monotonous cacophony of noise, the boxers kick and punch each other and mostly just hold on to each other to keep from being kicked harder. Meanwhile, the onlookers eat Styrofoam dishes of rice with tomatoes and balls of deep fried pork and chicken on wooden skewers. These meals are bought from vendors outside the arena at a cost of 20 baht a meal.
The serendipity of this situation was that we were sitting up on the wood slat bleachers right beside the keynote fighter of the night: Leam Phet. I motioned to his trainer to ask if I could take a picture as he got ready for his fight. Leam was delighted and let me take this picture.

That fight took place at midnight, against an American Kick Boxer; Jack Jai. Jai's body was covered by tattoos including one across his chest that read "Loved+Lost". My expectation was that Jai would be the stereotypical Ugly American but he was anything but. I stood at ringside and I saw the force of the kicks as each man punished the other with bone jarring blows. Jai certainly had the advantage size-wise, but Leam Phet was all muscle too.

The match was short lived though, when Phet started to bleed above the eye.

The ref declared it a technical knock out, but instead of the American putting his gloves up in victory, he immediately ran to Phet and threw himself onto the mat in a bow of respect. Then after a few moments Jai jumped back up and the two hugged as friends. I had never seen such a display of sportsmanship in my life.

I took this picture of Jai as he stood for photos a few minutes later.

My favorite sight that night though, was Leam Phet's son, who was given a blanket when he just couldn't stay up any longer to watch his dad. Phet's trainer took tender care of the boy as he slept quietly in the stands, amongst the cheering and clashing symbols and bells down below.

Such a beautiful scene.