Saturday, December 24, 2022
Christmas Eve Party

For those of you following my blog who might be wondering if all I do is visit Buddhist temples, the answer is, no, I do many other things. I do find visiting and learning about the temples interesting. Their artistry is quite elaborate and beautiful. At first the temples may seem to be similar, but they are very different especially in their artistry. And, the temples are intimately intertwined with the history, not only of Chiang Mai, but of what was once Lanna, the northern part of Thailand and Laos.

No temples to show in this blog post, just a fun Christmas Eve with friends and new friends.

Last Before-Christmas workout

On Friday, December 23, I had my last pre-Christmas workout with Ning. She likes to take photos or short videos during the workout sessions.

And if you look to the upper right of the picture, you can see Ning in the reflection taking the photo.

I have known Ning, the personal trainer, only a short time. She invited me to come to a Christmas Eve party at the condo where she and Patrick, her long-time boyfriend, live. She said there would be a mixture of Thais and American ex-pats there. They are in a very nice condo just across the Mae Ping River over the Mengrai Bridge next to a hotel that was the Sheraton, then the Holiday Inn, now refurbished, upgraded, and called the Centara Riverside Hotel. This is just over 4 kilometers from where I am staying, so I got a Grab ride there. Patrick and Ning live on the 19th floor (the top floor) so the nightime view was very nice looking over the whole city of Chiang Mai.

Ning’s boyfriend, Patrick, is a very interesting and fun man. He was dressed as Santa, and was instantly welcoming, energetic, with a fun spirit. Patrick is the captain of a ship from which deep undersea explorations are launched. All the work is for the U.S. Navy, and from the minimal detail Patrick shared, I suspect much of what they do or find is classified. I only got to talk with him for a short time, but liked him immediately, and he set the foundation for a very fun evening engaging with other Americans who live in Chiang Mai, as well as the Thais. One of the older Thai ladies came to me and quietly said, pointing out various Thai ladies, “she is single…she is also single…” Not an uncommon thing. Here is a photo of me, Santa (Patrick) and three of the “single” ladies:

There were about 25 people, and as Ning said, a mixture of American ex-pats and Thais. It was clear that Ning and Patrick know all of the people well, so I was the newcomer. Everyone was accepting. Good food, good conversation with interesting people, a really fun time. Seems that there was some interest in maybe matching me with this Thai lady, Laa. She is very nice, but no connection emerged. Maybe had there been some mistletoe???

Later in the evening, Patrick and Ning had gifts for everyone. Ning even had a gift for me. Here she is giving me a gift, not in her workout clothes, Santa’s helper:

As the party was starting to wind down, I left, and feeling very uplifted and energized, decided to walk the 4 kilometers back to The 3-Sis. The evening was cool (about 20C or 65F), making for very pleasant walk. A very nice Christmas Eve in Chiang Mai. Thank-you Ning and Patrick!

Next: Minor Post-Christmas Drama