Sunday 01 November 2026
Final Thoughts and Preparations for Another Winter in Chiang Mai

In just over a week, I leave home in San Diego, California for what will be my 14th yoga-focused winter in Chiang Mai Thailand. I plan to be in the Kingdom of Thailand for 90 days where I will be very active as in past years. As in years past, I plan to practice yoga at Wild Rose Yoga several times per week, do strength training at the Pump Fitness gym with my trainer Ning twice a week, and walk around the city visiting temples. At least once a week, I’ll go on longer hikes into the mountains west of the city. I love the Monk’s Trail up to Wat Phalad, and then hiking further up the mountain to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. My friend Rudy from France and I also hike into the hills beyond that temple (and have gotten temporarily lost a couple of times).

I’ll be immersed in a very different culture with different and tasty food, much of which I have come to love over the years. What still eludes me is the language. All Asian languages are tonal meaning that two seemingly similar words with different tones can have very different, unrelated meanings. The tones are often subtle, so harder for western ears to hear the nuances. I am considering taking a course on writing Thai while I am there. I am told that learning to write Thai greatly facilitates speaking Thai. It seems a daunting task. The Thai language has 44 consonants, 16 vowel symbols that combine into at least 32 vowel forms, 4 or more tone diacritical marks, and other diacritics. I have considered this in the past, so I am unsure whether it will really happen, but it is being considered.

I have been asked often why I return to Chiang Mai after having been there many times before. Partly the answer comes from a quote attributed to the Greek Heraclitus in 544 BC:

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.”

In all of my previous yoga-focused trips to Chiang Mai I do many things the same:

– stay in the same place (The 3-Sis Guest House),
– practice yoga at the same place (Wild Rose Yoga),
– strength training at the same gym (Pump Fitness) with the same trainer (Ning),
– visit and learn about many of the same temples,
– hike up the same mountain west of the city, and
– eat in many of the same places.

And each trip has been distinctly different. I see things differently, experience the same places differently, the yoga is advanced and challenging, and my trainer Ning make sure I really work out. And while so many things are “the same,” I an eager to return; I enjoy my time there.

I leave in 12 days to start the long journey from my home just north of San Diego, California to the Kingdom of Thailand. And it is a long journey, about 34 hours from the time I leave my home to the time I walk into my hotel in Bangkok. The major steps are:

1. ReLAXsan shuttle from Sorrento Valley (near my home) to Los Angeles International Airport
2. Wait for Korean Air check in to open
3. Check in for Korean Air flight KE012
4. Korean Air flight KE012 Los Angeles to Incheon (Seoul) airport (13 hours)
5. Wait for Korean air flight KE657
6. Korean Air flight KE657 Incheon to Bangkok Suvaranbhumi airport (6 hours)
7. Immigration and baggage claim
8. Airport Rail Link from Suvarnabhumi airport to BTS Skytrain
9. BTS Skytrain to Four Points Sheraton Ploenchit

This blog intends to share my journey: what I am doing, and pictures of what I saw, the places I visited, and the food I ate (and I’ll discuss whether I was able to learn to write and/or speak Thai).

The Pacific Ocean

I live a short distance from the Pacific Ocean, which I see most days on my frequent bike rides near or along the coast. I used to walk on the beach at Del Mar early in the morning at sunrise, but recently not as frequently. The sound of the ocean and the waves hitting the beach is meditative and peaceful. Chiang Mai is in northern Thailand, in the foothills of a mountainous area in northwest Thailand. I’ll be far from the famous beaches and islands in the south so I will not see an ocean until I return home next February. So I took my camera with me on a recent sunrise walk along Cardiff State Beach to photograph what I’ll miss while I’m in Chiang Mai. This was the morning after the last full moon and the moon was still high in the western sky. The waves were low and not ideal for surfing, so only a few surfers were out in the early morning.

Here are two views of the early morning as the sun is starting to rise behind me as I look out over the ocean to the west and the bright moon. Some of the sunrise color is in the sky looking south towards Solana Beach in the second photo.

A little later, returning to almost the same spot where I took the first photos, I took the same photos. The sky is much lighter, the moon still visible, and there is only a hint of the sunrise color in the sky to the south. I love being on the beach in the early morning.

Packing, Packing, Packing

I am getting ready for the final packing. I have made this trip to Thailand many times so I have a good idea of what to bring although it changes a little every year (and I do have a list). It does look like a lot of clothing and other things, but it is for a three-month long trip.

Clothing: here is a photo of the clothing I’m taking. I take two bags and a small backpack. The teal bag is a roller bag and holds 40 liters. The black duffle-style bag also holds 40 liters. Both bags get checked and I carry the backpack on with me.

The blue backpack holds my electronics, primarily my Samsung tablet & keyboard. Also anything with a lithium-ion battery, like my camera (and spare batteries), my electronic toothbrush, my Kindle, etc.

Next: Journey to Thailand