A girl dressed in hilltribe clothes posing on the steps of Doi Suthep
Well, things change (as they must), and after two years, some of the things we were most looking forward to have changed or gone completely. The guest-house we were looking forward to staying at is gone: razed to the ground! As for my all-time favorite vegetarian restaraunt with the kitschy, coca-cola decor… it’s still there and the food is still great, but the prices have doubled, and I think it has changed hands… *sigh*. Oh well.
We (my wife, our friend from BKK and I) arrived early this morning via bus from Bangkok. After discovering the ruins of our intended lodgings, we got lucky with number two. Ironically though, this also is under new (but friendly) management. We have a beautiful room in a good location, and have spent the afternoon window shopping around town (talaat Wororot and Chinatown area…). Right now Ize (my wife) and Nes are getting their hair done next door while I right this. I can’t wait to see what color Ize’s hair is now!
Chiang Mai is hot right now, but not as uncomfortable as Bangkok. In fact one day last week, we took an overnight trip to Ko Samet, just to get away from the heat! It was our first trip there, and we liked it–even though we got there late, left early, and it rained most of the time ^__^! Actually, that just made it nice and cool, and the contrast of the dark sky and green water was beautiful! I jumped in and swam around for a half hour or so, and the water was simply mah-vellous!
We chose Samet because of it’s proximity to Bangkok, but we were happy to find that it was so nice. The sand was white and smooth, and there were more Thai tourists there than foreigner (as opposed to other places we’ve been, like Samui or Pa Ngan). In fact, that was really nice for us, because as a mixed couple/group- we didn’t seem to draw so much suspicious attention.
Well we took plenty of pictures but I don’t have a way to load them onto this computer right now, so maybe next time I’ll share some.
Right now, my wife and I are so happy because we just checked our final grades online… and we both got straight A’s! Thank you… thank you very much. She was worried but I never had any doubts about it. As for our friend… she just finished up her exams in Bangkok, and she’ll be in suspense for another month. So I guess we can’t celebrate to riotously until then…
Ok, since I’m obviously unable to focus my thoughts into a logical, and relevant sequence… I’ll say goodbye for now, and I’ll try to write again soon.
(^__^)
-mike
