I Love Today In Chiangmai

[Rasseru]

Today that particular translucence continued into the early evening. In this view to the north, one can see even the mountains of Chiangdao, off to the left side.

[MonsieurHulot]

Today that particular translucence continued into the early evening. In this view to the north, one can see even the mountains of Chiangdao, off to the left side.

I can see clearly now the smoke is gone

[Blinky Bill]

Dear ~o:37,

Thank you for your almost always a pleasure to read posts.

BB.

Sawasdee Khrup, All,

Khun Blinky : so sorry to hear of the missing Kitanee ! My cat, Khun Montarattnachompalongmeow na Chiang Mai, has not disappeared in a long time, but he is frequently in more than one place at once.

Khun Hulot : thank you for revealing the plot. may the dis-animate container that formerly held squirrel-essence rest in peace. may no cat dig him up and desecrate his tomb saying : "Alas, poor Yorick, I knew him well."

Last night about 3am when I went off on my soy bicycle-run, I was astounded by the clarity of the night sky with the just-early-waning moon. And (must be) Jupiter was so brilliant. Coming out of a programming trance lasting several hours I just stopped and stared : yes, "moonstruck." I felt the ghosts of all the Mother Goddesses moving all around me, hovering over the swollen russet Ping where their larval divine sprite children (Nang Fa) are just putting on some fat after birth (to protect them from any rogue Phiyanaak [Nagas]).

My usual vendors on Charoenmaung being absent (probably sold out), I bicycled down to the Talat Thong Kham the small market near Talat Sanphakoi where there is a very nice lady who charges five baht per bag of soy-milk ... but she is generous : three of hers yield near a liter compared to the average 290-320 ml. per bag. Her husband was busy preparing the rising dough for the kind of "inflated crullers" that are usually avaiable at all the soy milk stands : he was working with complete concentration, and I watched him fascinated for nearly ten minutes. There was a zen like quality of economy and absolute practicality in his movements as he kneaded the dough, sprinkled more flour on it, stretched it, cut it into a strip, slowly elongated the strip, went though the strip about two inches at a time stetching it further while patting it and kneading out any lumps. But there was also a dramatic quality in his movements, and a rhythm.

Like Khun Rasseru, I really like the rainy season here. I like the contrasts of several days of cloudiness and near constant rain, then real hot sunlit days, and then (still to come) the torrential downpours that only four years ago saw the small soi in front of my house turned into a river near one meter high with a current so strong you could barely bicycle or walk against it. But those are rare, those kind of floods, that reach this far from the Ping, I am told by the old-timers around here, in this neighborhood.

Noctilucent !

regards, ~o:37;

[bojo]

There's hope yet BB, it's early days, below is a story of my neighbour's cat and his 'happy ending'!

It was a 'great day in Chiang Mai' last year for my neighbour, who's cat had gone missing for 6 days.

One morning, my wife could here meaowing from somewhere and low and behold; over the road, upstairs in the neighbours house, anxiously crying out at the window, was the missing cat.

He'd sneaked into the house while the maid was working and got locked in the bedroom. The maid, who was looking after the vacant house, had no idea he was there. He'd managed without any food or water for 6 days and seemed really quite fit after his ordeal. Quite amazing. The room was a mess, mind!

Regards Bojo

[Mapguy]

A big THANK YOU to all of you for a lovely thread

As some of you know, I am presently in cold and wet Farawayland (summer fell on the week before last this year ). It is really heart warming to read something like this, reminding me why I moved to the Land of Smiles

/ Priceless

Sorry about that! Gather you are some place "down under." Hope you packed a sweater and a poncho!

Isn't it sad that people really don't understand how nice the early (as well as actual) rainy season can be around here!! It wasn't just today. We have had more than a few utterly terrific days of late. Sorry you have missed them. Only one extended rain, which was really quite unusual, really.

Isn't it sad that TAT really doesn't know how to market well when it comes to Northern Thailand? Now, Chiang Mai is fairly empty of tourists. Not a surprise, of course, for reasons that include more than misinformed notions of air quality. Discretionary Thai as well as farang tourist traffic is slim. Take a look at the Thai May export figures compared with a year ago to get a clue! And never mind peoples' perceptions abroad of the political situation! I don't have the figures in hand, but there seems to have been a June - July bump up in numbers from abroad, but not a big bump. My friends in trade bear this out.

Priceless, you and I sometimes go nose-to-nose regarding perceptions and misperceptions/misrepresentations having to do with the serious seasonal air pollution problem of Chiang Mai (mid-February - early April, normally), but if people would look now, they'd at least begin to understand the air-cleansing nature of a good rain. Of course, the city also does unfortunately have the same air pollution problems of most countries of its type having to do with industrial and transportation pollution. They are not as severe as in some places, but the traffic police don't wear face masks to avoid chapped lips.

Back on point (?).....

Hello, TAT! Get it right! How can you miss getting the Western European - North American summer break traffic! I watch all the promotional adds on TV that market countries. Even Angola, for pete's sake!! I have never seen one for Thailand on CNN, BBC, or any major media outlet!

Anyway, an occasional rain really doesn't cramp anyone's recreational style (except watch out for the very slippery mud in the country, which I guess the ATV tourists [shudder!] probably love anyway!)

I am not the least bit interested in Chiang Mai's turning into some sort of Disneyland with casinos. If people want a Disneyland, go to one. Why here? We haven't got one. Don't need one. You want to gamble? Go to Macao or Vegas? Why here (an undelivered promise of former primer minister Thaksin of legalizing casinos that lured entirely too many five-star hotel chains into town to their current bottom-line misery. Well, they might convert into luxury assisted-living residences!

Anyway, today was a gorgeous day!

Cheers! Come home soon, Priceless!

//edit - removed unnecessary and inflammatory comment//

Edited July 10, 2009 by Tywais

[Rasseru]

I can see clearly now the smoke is gone

Yep, and it looks like today too is gonna be a bright, bright, bright, bright sunshiny day.

[Blinky Bill]

Well, many thanks for the kind thoughts from those who cared about my son's missing cat, Kitanee.

After 5 days she has returned but not by her own resources. Some of the local kids heard that she was missing and found her wandering around the bush almost 1 km from home. They bought her back looking very dirty, thin and obviously hungry. Poor little thing has had a big feed and is now undergoing a very humiliating bath. Cats, at least not this one, don't like baths.

My little boy is ecstatic and we both had tears in our eyes upon Kitanee's return. Guess we'll know soon enough if we are expecting little kittens around the house.

[Nienke]

Glad to hear/read a happy ending to this story. One little boy with his huge teddy bear dad very happy.

[gatorhead333]

Well, many thanks for the kind thoughts from those who cared about my son's missing cat, Kitanee.

After 5 days she has returned but not by her own resources. Some of the local kids heard that she was missing and found her wandering around the bush almost 1 km from home. They bought her back looking very dirty, thin and obviously hungry. Poor little thing has had a big feed and is now undergoing a very humiliating bath. Cats, at least not this one, don't like baths.

My little boy is ecstatic and we both had tears in our eyes upon Kitanee's return. Guess we'll know soon enough if we are expecting little kittens around the house.

finally something that really matters on TV...

great to hear pussy is now safe.

take her now and get her fixed she will be a happier, mellow, fat kitty. stay closer to home with no hormones to make her crazed as the pussy cats sometimes get when in heat.

[Rasseru]

Excellent!

[eek]

Great news!

[MonsieurHulot]

Awesome!

[Blinky Bill]

Thanks again to all. Kitanee will be off for the neutering asap.

Might get myself done at the same time, maybe I'll spend more time at home too.

[PeaceBlondie]

Getting neutered by a mere vasectomy won't keep a man at home.

[Ulysses G.]

What nice kids!

The cat could have starved if not for them.

[Rasseru]

Kitanee will be off for the neutering asap.

Good. That'll teach her.

[MonsieurHulot]

All quiet on the southern front.

[dave2]

re All quiet on the southern front.

and tonights sunset over doi suthep was nice.

enjoy the view from my window ..... dave2

[MonsieurHulot]

South of Chiang Mai. The view from my bike.

[MonsieurHulot]

An update on the legendary Dead Squirrel.

[Nienke]

Nice cool (ish) weather while listening to Queen. What an unbelievable good music they made! Makes me a bit nostalgic, though.

[Blinky Bill]

Nice cool (ish) weather while listening to Queen. What an unbelievable good music they made! Makes me a bit nostalgic, though.

Good old Farrokh Bulsara, aka Freddie Mercury. Pity the big A got him. He's been dead almost 18 years now.

Edited July 27, 2009 by Blinky Bill

[MonsieurHulot]

A new life has come to bless my garden. Allahu Akbar, n'est-ce pas ?

Edited July 27, 2009 by MonsieurHulot