Community Events in Chiang Rai

[sceadugenga]

Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them.

And some, it appears, put in a written request.

[lannaman]

Tessaban 5 School, Denha have an open day tomorrow 19th Jan. At it's best from 9am to 11am so get on over there, plenty of good grub so maybe get your breakfast there.

The kids have worked hard all week to make it a success.

Added attraction: Lannaman will be found lurking around near Big Ben closeby the coffee shop!

[kandahar]

The Tessaban 5 School thing sounds good. I think I will see what’s for breakfast there. (I’m trying to stay “on topic” here.)

Just a quick “Expat Club” update here guys. Made the trip to CM and checked in with the CM Annex of the CR Expats Club. The brief meeting went pretty much as anticipated.. Started off bad and went downhill from there.

The initial greeting offered the perfect example of just how out of control the CM Annex of the CR Expats Clubs has become. I’m sure all of us here in CR know the secret handshake and how to greet fellow expats with the secret handshake. We all know the importance of the proper execution of the secret handshake and that the purpose of the secret handshake is to insure that we are indeed greeting a GENUINE CR Expat club member. There are lots of wannabes out there and it is our duty to ferret out the fakes and to exclude them from our exclusive club. Of course, at the initial greeting, the CM member seemed to first recall that the secret handshake involved extending only one upright finger. After my quick rebuke, the CM member tried again and was fairly certain that it involved the words “pull my finger”. Neither version is right of course and only caused offense with the visiting VIP from CR, especially when the VIP actually did pull the finger, thinking maybe he had forgotten the original secret handshake and never expecting a fellow expat could be so crude. My embarrassment and humiliation was only heightened by the gales of laughter and thigh-slapping of the CM member.

Putting that behind us, we moved on to addressing some of the concerns of the CM group. The first concern was the naming of the CM Annex. Issue was taken with the word “Annex” and it was explained to me that “Annex” had connotations of being “taken over” by a higher power. I quickly offered a change and suggested “sub group” but that was explained as being inferior to “Annex“ , as “sub” is short for subordinate and the CM bunch doesn’t really want to be seen as subordinate to anyone. I quickly pointed out the obvious, which led immediately to name calling and then a few punches being thrown.

The meeting was adjourned and I retreated to my hotel room to plan my next move in this monumental power clash with our ANNEXED and SUBORDINATE CM bunch.

An additional note here on the behavior of this rogue outfit in CM: Apparently, the member in CM has been going behind my back and making phone calls to other expats in the CR area, trying to convince them that they should join his ANNEXED and SUBORDINATE group in CM. I’m told that he sees that group as superior to the CR group and that this belief is based solely on the fact that CM offers about thirty different places where pizza can be purchased. Personally, I don’t think the number of available pizza joints is that much of an indicator of how superior one group is over another but apparently the CM member puts a lot of stock in that. I’ll have to sit down over a good pizza tonight and try to come up with some arguments to dispel this myth so that we don’t lose any CR members to the CM crowd.

Okay. That’s the report from CM at this moment. I know you guys have my back on this thing and I appreciate that so much. Don’t worry. You know you can count on me to protect your interests. That deadbeat bunch down south isn’t going to get the best of us. But just so you know, when I get back to CR, we are going to have a meeting and try to figure out who’s bright idea it was to ever get the CM crowd involved in THE Chiang Rai Expats club. We’ll get the answers and there will be consequences. I suspect we may lose at least one member over this folly.

In other news, many of you have been posting here with your interest in becoming full-fledged members of THE Chiang Rai Expats Club. I‘m really overwhelmed at the moment with trying to salvage this disaster down south but when I get them back on track, we will try to have a get-together and show the CM bunch how it is done. In the meantime, I have been besieged with PM”s from MANY interested expats and as they are most persuasive and emotional in their offline and very private pleas to become members, and officers, I will probably try to expedite their claims to membership first, before I can give any attention to the “general” requests that I am seeing posted here. With that in mind, please know I’ll be unavailable to the general public while I conduct the interviews of the entire PM group. My favorite local coffee shop has a great little corner table that I like and both of us will enjoy our time there. But for those of you posting your requests publicly here, know that we are saving the choicest officer positions for folks like you. We’re certainly not going to be giving those positions away to the needy and selfish crowd that feel compelled to PM their vain requests for attention, trying to get a leg up on better people.

Oops! Another PM coming in right now! Man, I just have too much going on right now. I gotta go! I’ll keep you guys posted.

P.S. I’m also starting to get requests from people in Bangkok. They are wanting to be a part of this successful organization that we have here. Does anybody know where Bangkok is? Maybe a small place close to Mae Sai? Or perhaps a ruse from someone in a little burg near CM? I smell a rat. If any of you know anything about this, let me know.

Edited January 29, 2010 by kandahar

[sceadugenga]

Chiang Rai members have proved notoriously difficult to organise. All attempts to set up a ThaiVisa BBQ, or even travel as a group the Chiang Mai event have been met with total indifference.

Why don't you set up a dozen or so new member names and use them to start a club? This would also enable you to shout down other members in discussions by sheer weight of numbers and dominate polls with your opinions.

Actually that's brilliant.... now what's some good names that don't sound like sceadugenga.......

[kandahar]

sceadugenga, great idea! Of course, your name is at the top of the list, occupying the same space as the other two "first names at the top of the list", Dingdong and Limbo. I'm assuming I can delegate this first task to you and whoever else shares that coveted "first name at the top of the list" spot? Let me know the who, where, when and how much of the very first BBQ. We all know the why. I am VERY busy but the wife and I will find time to contribute and partake. And thank you so much for stepping up like this. We're in business now! CR needs more folks like you and your cohorts.

Man, you just freed me up to do so many other things. Things like attending BBQ's with good folks. Thank you. I am so relieved.

[kandahar]

This just in!!!

Looks like my workload at home is going to be increasing, according to my wife. Any of the duties I have had in the past concerning the CR Expats club are going to have to be handed off to different people. I'm sure you guys can work this out at the next meeting (the first BBQ). My wife says I will still be available to attend the BBQ's and social events. That is good news.

I guess this is as good a time as any to nominate VF as the "recorder" for this outfit. His writing skills will lend themselves well to the narrative needed to publicize the official upcoming happenings of the group here on the CR Events forum and will come in handy on reports afterwards ( the aftermath).

[dindong]

annex and subordinate of Chiang Rai expats club.

[villagefarang]

This just in!!!

I guess this is as good a time as any to nominate VF as the "recorder" for this outfit. His writing skills will lend themselves well to the narrative needed to publicize the official upcoming happenings of the group here on the CR Events forum and will come in handy on reports afterwards ( the aftermath).

I'm not sure whether to be pleased or perturbed by this nomination, as I am not sure that my "writing skills" are suited to recording gossip, data, historical or organizational events. I'm more inclined to report on the beauty of the colors in the evening sky or the fullness of the rising moon, just moments ago.

Besides I am somewhat preoccupied with my own self indulgences and producing my own Google Map for my loyal readers. Surely there are others better suited.

[jubby]

VF, why not share the position with Limbo . I get the impression you two hit it off

Now PLEASE answer the question

[kandahar]

[

I'm not sure whether to be pleased or perturbed by this nomination, as I am not sure that my "writing skills" are suited to recording gossip, data, historical or organizational events. I'm more inclined to report on the beauty of the colors in the evening sky or the fullness of the rising moon, just moments ago.

Besides I am somewhat preoccupied with my own self indulgences and producing my own Google Map for my loyal readers. Surely there are others better suited.

Dear VF,

I just can't think of anyone better suited. In fact, I'm pretty sure you own several suits. But clothing isn't the issue here. Shorts will be okay.

I'm thinking that we will have some beautiful sunsets on BBQ/meeting days/afternoons and some full moons if the thing goes into the later evening. There will surely be much gossip exchanged during the BBQ's/meetings, data will be abundant and surely a little history will be made. "Organizational" or organized, I'm not sure about. I think that if you view the "colorfulness" of the gossip and the data (true or otherwise), the words to describe it and to relate to the unfortunate few that couldn't attend will come easily enough. It appears that a fairly colorful group will make up the majority of the attendees. Easy pickings as I see it and an opportunity to cast your own light on the events/personalities.

Now, I have read a fair bit of your writing and a majority of it is historical (after the fact, event, or motorcycle trip), so don't fret on that. You have a good memory when you finally sit down to the keyboard. I'm sure your narrative would do the group justice. And having your own Google map to pinpoint the place where the carnage occurred would only be a plus. Good way to promote your map while promoting the group. (By the way, please PM me with the link when you get the map up and running. I'm interested.)

However, if you resist this offer with a fair bit of enthusiasm, then I will stay quiet about it long enough to do a Google search to find the opposite of impeach and see if there is another way to bestow you upon the literary throne that awaits a man such as you. I know the opposite of explode is implode. Based on that logic, perhaps we can "expeach" you??? I dunno. We'll see what Google says and we'll see if another person out there is just imploding to be the literary representative of the fine group to come. I doubt that. But truly, you write well. We would be lucky to have you post a paragraph or two after an event, even if you couldn't make all of them. I believe even if you missed one, you could probably hammer out a paragraph describing the outcome just because you have a feel for the personalities involved.

I can't be that person that will record these things. I don't have the words in my vocabulary to do the group justice. I'm just not very good at writing. Here I am without automated grammar correction and spell-check- "sicks munce ago, i wanned to bee a righter an now i ar won" And I often have a lot of trouble with this computer. SometimesthespacebarsticksandIcan'tfigureouthowtofixit.Surelyyouunderstandmypredicament.

[kandahar]

VF, why not share the position with Limbo . I get the impression you two hit it off

Now PLEASE answer the question

Ah, yes. The very thing I was talking about. Colorful, one and all. jubby shines the light on a very good point. VF, how could you want for more than to have such an ideal antagonist vs, the ideal protagonist for the little short stories that would present our deeds to the interested public and to be able to present them with your take on the subjects? And, you could always leave us with a question, just for fun and the joy of role reversal.

( My thanks to Microsoft Word and Spell-check for help with the above.)

Edited January 29, 2010 by kandahar

[mcgriffith]

CM Expat Club- geriatric, with the palsy, takes 2 hours to get a meeting started due to short-term memory loss.

CR Expat Club- Hash Hound Harriers, adventurers, ex soldiers of fortune, miscellaneous brigands and miscreants.

When you get it up and running, will attend with gusto.

[Limbo]

.

.

.

.

The Mekong Festival was as good as it always was after the first time when a complete Chinese

opera was part of the performances at good old Pattaya Noi.

Thanks to the people who organized it the first time it became an enormous succes.

Though at that time, I guess almost ten years ago, they were already surprised about the height

of the amounts that were necessary to please the local 'popes'.

More than halve of the budget ...

Since then they refused to organize it again, so it became what it is now.

I still think it's worth a visit, especially concerning the Lao weavings.

It gives you a good idea about the richness of the northern thai traditions (Thai Lue)

before they were commercialized at this side of the Mekong by the people in charge

on the lower and middle levels of the administrative machinery of the north.

The Por Khun Festival, opened just a few days after the tents of the 'Quadrangle' festival were

removed, lost some of its charm after it moved from the Sanaam Kila. Now it is all built on the airport strip (of the old

airport) and the gardening companies that turned the festival into a great experience, didn't show up or

restricted themselves to a smaller presentation. Also here I hear prices being mentioned of two thousand Baht for a

square meter and that takes of course away the cosy 'flee market' aspect.

The concerts however, wow!

Last weekend (Tata Young performed) it would have taken you more than one hour to arrive there and

this week, with Sek Loso (Wednesday?) and Ad Carabou (Thursday?) on the programm I even strongly

would suggest to wear a helmet, as at the last concert in Udon the enthousiasm was that big that suddenly bottles

started to fly through the air.

Or just bring your water-buffalo horns, because then you get a place on the first row and they are protective as well.

Great atmosphere!

Limbo

Sek in Bern with Swiss Martin's Goi

goiloso2.bmpgoiloso3.bmp

goiloso2.bmp

Edited February 1, 2010 by Limbo

[flupke]

Mae Chan bicycle King Cup race

6 - 7 februari 2010

big event : downhill , Xcountry and road race , location start on rd1089 , about 5km from Mae Chan highway 1

downhill race saturday morning

Xcountry saturday 1 pm : 2 hours race , 4 laps , beautifull track with spectacular downhill also

Road race on sunday

it is a interesting stop if you passing by in the area , coming from Tha Ton or Mae Salong or going to Mae Sai

always many good riders at every king cup event

some of the professional japanese and korean teams who prepare temselves here in north thailand biking paradise for next season will join also

i will join xc myself

cheers

[Limbo]

Mae Chan bicycle King Cup race

6 - 7 februari 2010

i will join xc myself

cheers

How did it go Flupke?

Sorry I wasn't there.

This weekend it is time for the twelfth International Mountainbike Challenge again.

I remember doing the first five. Great experience.

Too lazy now...

Looking forward to Allen Bates' go for the worldchampionship around the world.

The first of April is coming closer and at the first bang of the Big Ben he will start midnight in London.

29000 Kilometers and he tries to do it in less than 175 days (the present world record).

Chiang Khong is bicycle town number one in Chiang Rai province and Allen trained

a lot of talents, with special successes with the ladies (2nd in Thailand and now in the Northern Bike Team).

It was or is the lady that broke her arm two years ago, but she is up on the bike again and how...

When in Chiang Khong, visit his bicycle museum (soi 2 I think, otherwise ask anywhere

as everybody knows him)!

Limbo

[kandahar]

For those of you who know the latest in CR, this will make sense. For those that don’t, please feel free to read some other posts that make sense to you and ignore this one.

In the absence of our designated reporter, I am tasked with reporting the following. If any of you wish to take over these duties, as reporter, I’ll graciously (and happily) step aside. I’m not very good at this.

Herein lies the latest report on the activities of “The group” in CR.

“The group" responded to a request for the “usual downtown performance” on the eve of 7 March, 2010. The call was in response to the reported arrival of an out-of-town mudslinger, otherwise known as “the mark”. Sufficient notice was given in order for a satisfactory showing of the actors. Anecdotal evidence points towards a successful performance.

It looks like of the 53 of us that were at our designated posts on that night, the mark actually saw only about forty of us. Still, not a bad showing and kudos to the ones who were where they were supposed to be but didn’t have the opportunity to perform their role for the patsy.

To all, good job posting your indignation and smart remarks in answer to his original post. They looked genuine and heartfelt.

Okay group, let’s go over what went wrong and what went right during the mark’s brief visit.

Lots of things went right, as usual. Some of us are really getting into this thing as the years go by and are making it even more believable. Toybits, perfect frown. Good job, great execution at just the right moment and the raised eyebrow in the mark‘s direction was classic Toybits. VF, the slouch thing with the hands in the pockets was priceless. No sane person could ever have guessed that your calling is academia. dingdong, where did you EVER get that hat? I hope you continue to make that a part of your costume. Sometimes I think you must have been in the movie business previously, handling the wardrobe department for epic blockbusters. Bifftastic, you’ve got that shuffle down to an art. Keep up the good work. Donger, that busted bicycle thing really sealed the moment for you. Great ideas come from great minds. We all hope that you will make it a permanent part of your routine on skit night. CB35, you need to share your technique with the rest of us. Several of us can use a bit more finesse in our character. Maybe we all could enjoy a rise in our success with a bit of coaching from the pro. jubby, you brought down the house, man. The locals are still discussing the positive impact of your performance on the overall outcome of the night. Several have even said that it could rightfully be called “the icing on the cake”. And on the night before the Oscars, no less. How many degrees less would our success be without your constant , 100 percent contribution? Sven, glad to see you realized at the last moment that the CR Hasher’s T-shirt wouldn’t work. Your second choice was right on.

All in all, a very good turnout and a very good effort on the parts of most of us. However, in some areas we’re getting soft and we have some work to do. Here’s some critiques turned in by the locals, as well as by some of our own participants and unfortunately, even one by a local cop, who finally saw through the whole thing after all these years. We‘ll hope he keeps quiet about that. He was still laughing when he spoke to me about it.

Ambertwins, you two have got to get it together. I know you’re doing your best but you HAVE to have someone else look over your outfits before you take your places on the street. The “I’m with him in CR”, “I’m with her in CR” shirts are perfect but you have to make sure that each of you is wearing the proper slogan for YOUR sex. You had it reversed. Again!

Or, wait. Are you two doing that on purpose? Oh, man! Ingenious!!

sceadugenga, what purpose does it serve us to stage you in front of a shop of lovelies if you are going to turn away from them and smile and say something nice to your better half EXACTLY at the moment that the mark is walking by? Pay attention to the props, man. You’ve got all night to be the real you. The dude is there and gone in seconds and then it is back to real life for you.

cmjantje, we all know that you JUST got married to the perfect woman but you gotta remove that big smile from your face at the critical moment. When the dude is approaching, you have to let go and get into character. Remember, CR skit night is a serious thing. If you can’t turn on the sour-puss for those few seconds, we may have to move you to another location. Perhaps standing on top of the sewer grate in front of Edison’s will cause you to lose the smile, especially if it is one of the hotter, more pungent evenings. We don’t want to move you there, my friend.

Limbo, we know, we know, we know!!! Art is cool! But you can’t be caught looking into the window of the gallery with that satisfied, wistful half-smile when the guy approaches. You know, all of us were against letting you choose that place as your designated post but you promised to clean up your act when the right moment arrived. You can’t get lost in this thing. You have to stay focused. And when the mark made that u-turn and came your way again, you still couldn’t tear yourself away from the oil-brushed canvasses. My personal suggestion is that you move on down the street to that shop full of acrylic replicas. Maybe you can find just a bit of repulsiveness in that and pull off your scene in a believable manner . I'm thinking your new misses might need to lean on you a bit. Limbo, if that guy’s type finds out we have art lovers in this town, the jig is up.

Okay. Moving past the critiques, let us shine a light on our special guests of this past evening.

McGriffith, thanks for showing up. I know you were going to be in town for other business anyway but I think your cameo came off perfectly, especially considering how little time you had to prepare. A few people have mentioned your footwear and you might consider something older if you join us for this fun in the future. One person remarked that the newness of your shoes lent suspicion as to whether you were a tourist or one of us. But thanks again. You are appreciated and I‘m sure the guy bought it.

GaryA, what can I say? Stupedous! It looks like your Buckeye state upbringing was good to you and perhaps you were even born for the role you played on this evening. Some of the locals actually thought you were a newly arrived permanent resident. It was so gracious of you to leave your home and come here to participate in the effort to preserve our image. I know you have made some noise about not wanting anything in return for your help but the group has approved reimbursement of your travel expenses. Don’t fight this thing; you’re an out-of-towner and it is only fair. Thanks so much for your contribution and if you have others in your area as talented as you and wanting to participate in a good deed, let us know. We’ll add some more place-marks to the map. You and your kind are always our welcome guests. And I will make time to reciprocate should you need me in your area.

For those of you that weren’t mentioned here, please know that we got LOTS of good comments on your performances. For those of you that found their names in the critique list, don’t be disheartened. For any flub any of us might make, all of us have enough stellar performances under our belts to make up for a bad night. Also know that the more exposure one gets, the more chances of having an off night.

Folks, we all know that, inside, each and every one of us is a good Joe with a colorful and meaningful past and our gals are the greatest in the country. Yeah, most of us are a bit older and have more years behind us than in front of us, but we still have IT, don’t we? Thanks to all of the gals for their participation in this evening as well. You’re a younger lot than us, aren’t you? It is true that most of us have ended up with younger partners. It is also true that most of us are in long-term relationships, or, like me and many others, even married. My wife, and I’m sure many others, take great offense to being considered part of the “sex tourist” culture just because there is an age difference between us. She has many more years of education than I do and enjoyed an honorable career in the investment industry in this country, finally marrying at 42 years of age. And yeah, a bit of that trade exists here in CR. But ninety percent of the guys I see on the town are guys that I have seen with the same women since 2006. I don’t think they, or most of us are a part of that “trade”. I have met quite a few of these guys and haven’t met one of “those” yet.

Uh, oh. Looks like we have some incoming traffic from the CR travel and ticketing department. More marks coming, I presume. I have to break away and check this out. I’ll post the updated schedule as soon as I have confirmation.

One other quick note. You older guys need to make sure you pass the Falang CR creed on to the newbies. We are starting to see too many comments about this smile thing. I think some of them don’t know the deal.

Until the next performance, good people, live the retirement, live the dream in this paradise, love your women and always remember the FCR creed: Never smile at a Farang unless you know him; he just may be a mark that arrived under the radar.

[villagefarang]

In this and all other reported sightings of Village Farang, I will proclaim mistaken identity and insist that I was not really there, regardless of all evidence to the contrary. I was not even at that other 'thing' that I did not write about on my blog.

Please take it easy on the troops in the future, Big K. Most here will not have read this much for years and some may have been driven to drink after the first few sentences.

Man, you have way too much time on your hands.

[sceadugenga]

The chances of sceadugenga's better half allowing him close enough in public, or private for that matter, to her to say anything, let alone nice, to her is too remote to contemplate.

If an appropriate stand in is available discuss my contract with villagefarang. Who is currently in hiding after not receiving death threats from men who don't run and drink, or drink and run, whatever.

[kandahar]

In this and all other reported sightings of Village Farang, I will proclaim mistaken identity and insist that I was not really there, regardless of all evidence to the contrary. I was not even at that other 'thing' that I did not write about on my blog.

Please take it easy on the troops in the future, Big K. Most here will not have read this much for years and some may have been driven to drink after the first few sentences.

Man, you have way too much time on your hands.

Man, I sure thought that was you. My mistake. I might have mistaken a few others, as well.

Yeah, I'm expecting a few lumps over this one. But I ain't scared to have fun.

I do have too much time on my hands. I've been shut down for almost two weeks now. I think the pollution has done me in. Had my labs done a few days ago, all came back great. Just now returned from a visit with a heart dude and had an EKG while I was there. He says my heart has no issues and his diagnosis was the pollution, as well. So, I'm going to try to ease back into it tomorrow with some simple things. But I really think I'm on a slowdown until the skies clear.

Get this, though- 300 baht for the consultation AND the EKG, combined. Still in shock over that. How do these folks make any money? And last year, I went to a skin specialist for several suspect spots. She spent 20 minutes checking me out, another five minutes asking questions and then there was NO CHARGE, because she hadn't actually treated me for anything. Who woulda thunk it?

[mcgriffith]

In response, the immortal words of R. Crumb:

[dindong]

Kandahar,whatever you're on, I'll have some of it.

[Gary A]

I live in the boonies of Loei province with my Thai wife. I have a good friend who lives near Phan, about 50 kilometers south of Chiang Rai.

When I get the urge to roam, I drive up to Phan and spend a few days with my friend. Both of us dislike Chiang Mai and much prefer Chiang Rai. I just returned to Loei Saturday after six days in your area. We usually spend a couple of days and nights in Chiang Rai.

No way could I enjoy living in Chiang Mai unless it was quite a few tens of kilometers out of the city. I could enjoy living in Chiang Rai and do enjoy my visits.

[skybluestu]

This years King's Cup Elephant Polo will be from March 22-28, more info at the link below

http://anantaraelephantpolo.com/index.php

[Limbo]

It is a little bit like Charly Mingus and Eric Dolphy in the old days, but

without Max Roach pinning down the rhythm with his drums.

Tonight free at the MFL University and tomorrow not free at 'Le Meridien'.

Could be fun!

Limbo

. . . . .

[jubby]

Is it Mushroom Season ?

Kandahar, Hows Life in the 4th Dimension. ?

[kandahar]

Is it Mushroom Season ?

Kandahar, Hows Life in the 4th Dimension. ?

Mushrooms are always in season, somewhere, in this dimension.

Jubby, life is great where I am. You're very kind to ask. How are things with you?

In my youth, I HAVE checked out some of the other dimensions where some other people dwell. The first dimension is described as a straight line with nothing beside, above or below it and movement available only along that straight line. If two people who inhabited the line were to meet, they could not pass each other. The only option is a standstill or a retreat. Not a fun place for me but it is still VERY popular with lots of folks. Read the forum.

The second dimension is described as being an area that is flat, with movement available up, down and sideways. However, there is nothing behind any object that inhabits that space and the objects that can be seen are the only ones that exist. If individuals were in that space, they could only see what is immediately available to them. They could not envision or imagine what they could NOT see around them. If a clear glass was sitting in front of them, they would only see the side of the glass that faces them, not the back side of the glass nor any contents if later it were to be filled. Again, not too keen of a place in my book but it is all the rage. Read the forum.

Okay. I'm jaded. Bad. But, I got that from the third dimension, not the first or second. Can you imagine how jaded a fifty-something year old would be if he/she had spent all of his/her life on either of the first two dimensions? If you can't imagine it, just read the forum.

The third has been great but I get too bored with it sometimes. I'm jaded. Bad. So, yeah, I step out there sometimes. I gotta admit that to you.

But there is hope. Last night, I read the forum. Someone wrote about finding a new business idea for his Thai wife. Priceless.

Edited March 11, 2010 by kandahar

[kandahar]

It is a little bit like Charly Mingus and Eric Dolphy in the old days, but

without Max Roach pinning down the rhythm with his drums.

Tonight free at the MFL University and tomorrow not free at 'Le Meridien'.

Could be fun!

Limbo

. . . . .

Limbo, does MFLU have a symphony and if so, are their concert dates published?

[Limbo]

Limbo, does MFLU have a symphony and if so, are their concert dates published?

Not as far as I know.

But Le Meridien has a great breakfast buffet (if they still have) and they organize this 'special' events.

Okay, you won't go there for the conversation but the drinks and snacks are superb (the kitchen is

under supervision of a miraculous Australian chef).

Send an e-mail to Ann Scott, the general manager, and tell her that you are a nice boy

and she will probably give you a discount card worth twenty percent ("the card normally costs 5400 Baht,

but because you are a very appreciated member of the local society of Chiang Rai" and so on ...).

The breakfast will only cost about 650 Baht then and you are expected to do the 'high class' thing once in

a while at special occasions (just standing mostly, but with a glass in your hand, having this special 'high class'

expression on your face, suggesting intelligence and class, and, sorry that I have to add this, wear shoes of course).

Tell her that you are the 'charity' type of person, who loves to donate 150 Baht for instance for surgery on

a little ballooning hilltribe boy who is three years old and never managed to shit, if the drinks are free.

That was at least the thing when I joined the introduction of a new coctail there.

I wonder if the little boy is still alive. I know that he went through several operations, but that

the initiators of the project seem to have lost interest: Okay, five operations and you still won't shit?

I hope I am wrong, but the drinks were great!

Sorry for sounding cynical, but ...

Limbo

Edited March 12, 2010 by Limbo

[kandahar]

Limbo, does MFLU have a symphony and if so, are their concert dates published?

Not as far as I know.

But Le Meridien has a great breakfast buffet (if they still have) and they organize this 'special' events.

Okay, you won't go there for the conversation but the drinks and snacks are superb (the kitchen is

under supervision of a miraculous Australian chef).

Send an e-mail to Ann Scott, the general manager, and tell her that you are a nice boy

and she will probably give you a discount card worth twenty percent ("the card normally costs 5400 Baht,

but because you are a very appreciated member of the local society of Chiang Rai" and so on ...).

The breakfast will only cost about 650 Baht then and you are expected to do the 'high class' thing once in

a while at special occasions (just standing mostly, but with a glass in your hand, having this special 'high class'

expression on your face, suggesting intelligence and class, and, sorry that I have to add this, wear shoes of course).

Tell her that you are the 'charity' type of person, who loves to donate 150 Baht for instance for surgery on

a little ballooning hilltribe boy who is three years old and never managed to shit, if the drinks are free.

That was at least the thing when I joined the introduction of a new coctail there.

I wonder if the little boy is still alive. I know that he went through several operations, but that

the initiators of the project seem to have lost interest: Okay, five operations and you still won't shit?

I hope I am wrong, but the drinks were great!

Sorry for sounding cynical, but ...

Limbo

Okay. Thanks. We'll see about CM.

I'm not a suit and tie guy. But the wife has never been to a symphony so I guess I will be one for a night one of these days. Unfortunately, I was married to a professional viola player once upon a time. Because of that, I have been to a symphony a time or two.

Sounds like the cynicism is well placed. That wouldn't be my bag, either. But hopefully some good comes out of the breakfasts.

I'm a helping person but not that kind. I help where I can see who and what I have helped. I tend to donate time, material and my limited skills.

Speaking of that, yesterday I met a fella who runs an orphanage. We're off for a visit to the place tomorrow.

[Limbo]

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The only time I know of that orphans and violins have been brought together before in these

columns was when Insii Thaihouse, the base of the Chao Pya Abhai Raja Foundation, invited

Geertje Podevyn, a Belgian violinist of the Bangkok Symphony Orchestre, for two months

to Maechan to teach a group of twenty orphanaged hilltribe children to play violin.

The children were students of the Suksa Song Kroh School in Maechan.

The school had at that moment 945 students of which 742 were from 10 different

ethnic minorities. Homeless orphans, children with HIV, abused children, disabled children,

let's say heavily underprivileged children. They lived out of necessity a very sober life in the

school and this project allowed at least some of them for once in their young lives to develop

pride and selfconsciousness by learning a special skill.

For three of the children passports were arranged that enabled them to travel to Belgium for

further violin lessons and a three week stay as a trainee in the workshop of a very prominent

Belgian violin builder. Here they learned the essence of the symbiosis between wood and sound

enabling them to develop some basic skills necessary to repair violins.

The Hilltribe Violin Orchestre has in the mean time performed at many occasions here in the

north but also in Bangkok.

Some of the hill-tribe violinists are also member of the Chiang Rai Youth Orchestre.

I am not sure if the orchestre of Acharn Paramet still gives a concert every Friday or Saturday from

17.00 to 19.00 in the Doi Chang coffee shop opposite the First Church (the former Esso gasoline station),

but I think they do.

The foundation of the 'Hilltribe Violin Orchestre' is one of the projects in a long row of which

the all hilltribe football team 'Chiang Rai Hills FC' is another.

I remember that many members of this forum at that time expressed fear that this project would

contribute to the alienation of the children from their cultural roots and therefore ventilated the

opinion that they should have been given drums and flutes instead of violins.

If these critical gentlemen actually bought drums and flutes to give to the students of the Suksa Song

Kroh school history doesn't tell, but what history does tell us is that a group of underprivileged

children proved that also they can learn to play violin and that they even love to do so.

Limbo

Some articles, from the Nation and Chiangmai Mail:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Edited March 13, 2010 by Limbo